Web Studio 01 - Lesson 09

DEFINITION OF TERMS


GIF

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is an 8-bit-per-pixel bitmap image format and has come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability.

The format uses a palette of up to 256 distinct colors from the 24-bit RGB color space. It also supports animations and allows a separate palette of 256 colors for each frame. The color limitation makes the GIF format unsuitable for reproducing color photographs and other images with continuous color, but it is well-suited for more simple images such as graphics or logos with solid areas of color.

GIF images are compressed using the LZW lossless data compression technique to reduce the file size without degrading the visual quality.

JPEG

In computing, JPEG is a commonly used standard method of compression for photographic images. The name JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group.

JPEG is the format most used for storing and transmitting photographs on the World Wide Web. For this application, it is preferred to formats such as GIF, which has a limit of 256 distinct colors that is insufficient for color photographs, and PNG, which produces much larger image files for this type of image. The compression algorithm is not as well suited for line drawings and other textual or iconic graphics, and thus the PNG and GIF formats are preferred for these types of images.

TABLE

Grids and rows and columns that can either be used to hold tabular data on a Web page or as a basic design tool for page layout.

CELL

Small boxes within a table that are used to hold text or images. Cells are arranged horizontally in rows and vertically in columns.

CSS

Cascading Style Sheets. A file used to assign sets of common formatting characteristics to page elements such as text, objects and tables.

FTP

Stands for File Transfer Protocol, the process for uploading and down loading files to and from a remote site.

ROOT

Root is the name of a folder that holds all the files and folders for a Web site.

ASSETS

Files that are not Web pages, such as images, audio files and video clips.

OBJECTS

Web page content such as tables, images, forms and layers.

BEHAVIOUR

A behavior is a combination of an event with an action triggered by that event. In the Behaviors panel, you add a behavior to a page by specifying an action and then specifying the event that triggers that action. For example, if you want a Web page to open in a new browser window when your user clicks a link, you can use a behavior to achieve this effect.

ABSOLUTE URL

A path containing an external link that references a link on a Web page, and includes the protocol "http", and the URL, or address of the Web page.

RELATIVE URL

A path used with an internal link to reference a Web page or image file within the Web site.

TEMPLATE

A web page that contains the basic layout for similar pages in a Web site.

EXTENSION

Is an acronym such as .html, that describes the language used to create the web page.

NAVIGATION

A set of text or image links that browsers use to navigate among the pages of a Web site.

HOTSPOT

A clickable area on an image that, when clicked, links to different location on the page, or to another Web page.

IMAGE MAP

An image that has a clickable areas defined that, when clicked, serve as a link that will take the viewer to another location.

DIRECTORY

A list of files and folders that contain Web pages and other items that make up the Web site.



References: Adobe, Wikipedia & Sherry Bishop's MacroMedia Dreamweaver 8.

Promotional Design Project - Stage 02

Abstract:
Animation: can it facilitate?
Source: International Journal of Human-Computer Studies

Graphics have been used since ancient times to portray things that are inherently spatiovisual, like maps and building plans. More recently, graphics have been used to portray things that are metaphorically spatiovisual, like graphs and organizational charts. The assumption is that graphics can facilitate comprehension, learning, memory, communication and inference. Assumptions aside, research on static graphics has shown that only carefully designed and appropriate graphics prove to be beneficial for conveying complex systems. Effective graphics conform to the Congruence Principle according to which the content and format of the graphic should correspond to the content and format of the concepts to be conveyed. From this, it follows that animated graphics should be effective in portraying change over time. Yet the research on the efficacy of animated over static graphics is not encouraging. In cases where animated graphics seem superior to static ones, scrutiny reveals lack of equivalence between animated and static graphics in content or procedures; the animated graphics convey more information or involve interactivity. Animations of events may be ineffective because animations violate the second principle of good graphics, the Apprehension Principle, according to which graphics should be accurately perceived and appropriately conceived. Animations are often too complex or too fast to be accurately perceived. Moreover, many continuous events are conceived of as sequences of discrete steps. Judicious use of interactivity may overcome both these disadvantages. Animations may be more effective than comparable static graphics in situations other than conveying complex systems, for example, for real time reorientations in time and space.


Abstract:
Quantitative Graphics in Newspapers

The use of quantitative graphics in newspapers requires achieving a balance between being accurate and getting the attention of the reader. The statistical representations in newspapers are drawn by graphic designers whose key technique is fusion--the striking combination of two visual images. This technique often results in visual puns, personifications, and other visual figures of speech. However, when the aim of statistical information is communication, these fusions may be inaccurate and confusing. A study of samples from newspapers revealed 10 common pitfalls in using graphs to display quantitative information: (1) the tilted graph--the perspective is altered so that comparison is difficult; (2) the stacked graph--elements to be compared are stacked on top of one another; (3) the pseudo graph--illustrations in the form of graphs that are not graphs at all; (4) the graph with little or no variation--comparisons have no real meaning in these graphs; (5) the convention-violating graph--the logical rules of graph reading are ignored and confusing images are produced; for example, the growing federal deficit depicted by a deepening hole; (6) the bar graph with obscure bar ends--pictures used for bars have imprecise bar ends; (7) the buried line graph--the line that makes the meaningful part of the graph is hidden in a picture; (8) the three-dimensional graph--added perspectives add no information; (9) the overly complex graph--by presenting everything, they emphasize nothing; and (10) the multiple pie chart--comparing slices of two different pies is difficult. (Examples from newspapers illustrating the ten pitfalls are appended.) (SRT)

Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (69th, Norman, OK, August 3-6, 1986).

http://www.watercorporation.com.au/education/index_funstuff.cfm

http://www.yvw.com.au/waterschool/juniors.html

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/sq3.html

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/sc4.html

http://www.sydneywater.com.au/SavingWater/interactiveHouse/

http://www.myinternet.com.au/edu/water_year/survey_pr.htm#water_ques

http://www.sydneywater.com.au/EnsuringTheFuture/WaterSchool/WaterSaverChallenge.html

http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/images/environmental_management/water/waterwise/clipboard.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/environmental_management/water/waterwise_toolbox/home_waterwise_test/&h=137&w=200&sz=8&hl=en&start=818&um=1&tbnid=07qCkyCjC7p5MM:&tbnh=71&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwater%2Bsaving%26start%3D810%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.geocities.com/ljacoby_2000/meg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.geocities.com/ljacoby_2000/news.html&h=224&w=168&sz=11&hl=en&start=685&um=1&tbnid=H4dAnFjKgm6GvM:&tbnh=108&tbnw=81&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwater%2Bsaving%26start%3D684%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

AGIDEAS 2007 Assignment

Nigel Swinn (Enterprise IG)
Nigel Swinn (DesignWorks)

Head of DesignWorks, Enterprise IGs strategic services, Nigel works as a brand consultant to a number of Australian and New Zealand businesses working closely with the senior executives of companies as diverse as Westpac and Tabcorp to Camp Quality and Wesley Mission.

Previously a marketing manager at Tourism New Zealand, Nigel has facilitated business and design strategies for large and small brands, ranging from corporates such as AGL and Rio Tinto to small and entrepreneurial brands like the award-winning BEE eco products range, the Cape York Indigenous Enterprise community and Taronga Zoo.




Mike Staniford (Landor)

As Executive Creative Director of Landor Sydney, Mike is responsible for establishing and maintaining the overall creative vision of the company.

Mikes career began in London, working with several small design companies before starting his own business. He successfully ran his consultancy for 12 years until 1994, when he was approached by a well-established design firm in Sydney to be their creative director. The firm grew and was acquired by Landor Associates, the worlds pre-eminent design and branding agency, with offices in 22 cities around the world.

Mikes strengths include a thorough understanding of consumer and corporate branding, with its implications and advantages to marketers, combined with a unique design flair. He has created branding programmes for Nescaf, Fuji Xerox, Diageo, The Australian Stock Exchange and Mirvac.

Working closely with clients, he seeks to bring a new perspective to the business of branding, and believes that design is pivotal in bringing brand and organisational strategy to life in a powerful and compelling manner. His experience is multi-disciplinary and includes environments as well as corporate and packaging.

Mike now travels extensively across Asia with his work. He is fascinated by the rise of the Chinese economy and the human endeavour that exists on every street corner from Jakarta to Seoul, Hong Kong to Tokyo.

He has won numerous design awards around the world, including the prestigious Clio Awards in New York.




Paula Scher (Pentagram)


For over three decades Paula Scher has been at the forefront of graphic design Iconic, smart and unabashedly populist, her images have entered into the American vernacular.

Scher has been a principal in the New York office of the distinguished international design consultancy Pentagram since 1991. She began her career as an art director in the 1970s and early 80s, when her eclectic approach to typography became highly influential. In the mid-1990s her landmark identity for The Public Theater fused high and low into a wholly new symbology for cultural institutions, and her recent architectural collaborations have re-imagined the urban landscape as a dynamic environment of dimensional graphic design. Her graphic identities for Citibank and Tiffany & Co have become case studies for the contemporary regeneration of classic American brands.

Scher has developed identity and branding systems, promotional materials, environmental graphics, packaging and publication designs for a broad range of clients that includes, among others, Bloomberg, Coca-Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Botanical Garden, and The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.

During the course of her career, Scher has been the recipient of hundreds of industry honors and awards, including the AIGA Medal in 2001 and the Type Directors Club Medal in 2006. She is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale. Her work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York; the Library of Congress, Washington, DC; the Museum fr Gestaltung, Zrich; the Denver Art Museum; and the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.

Scher has authored numerous articles on design-related subjects for the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design, Print, Graphis, and other publications, and in 2002 Princeton Architectural Press published her career monograph, Make It Bigger.

References:
www.enterpriseig.com/
www.designworks.com.au/
www.landor.com/
www.agideas.net/2007

Day one:

Paul Davies:
Interesting apporach - professional speaker - well rehearsed and targetted - bit glib at times: too many things like 'in Brazil or New York' or I sold this for 500 quid why? - good work anyway

Glue Society:
Didn't really understand no clients only projects deal? Interesting approach, but a stunted presentation

Tim Kanda - not sure how his presentation fits in the scheme of things, maybe appeasement - and what about this remark: "to design you have to be creative"???

Material by Product: obviously very clever stuff - bit over my head and again wondering if the organisers are covering too many disciplines.

David Dare Parker - same again good stuff , but not sure how this fits in with pulling rabbits out of hats.

Nick Rennie - did not like - his why am i here attitude and hurried presentation and internal mumblings - not impressed.

Soundfirm - glossy presentation. entertaining - but to much reliance only lengthy film clips and little practical examples.

Steve Stamatiadis - difficult to understand at times - thought he missed golden opportunity to present himself in the way of a game - instead got a boring powerpoint display.

Daviv Tartakover - grear work, but way way too much stuff presented - also difficult to tune in to his politial passion when not familiar with his world. Liked his 'hands on' approach - photocopying of coloured paper (maybe work a bit repetetive).

John Thompson - brilliant, no glibness here - a true craftsman and good stuff about career ups and downs.

Wooden Toy - not my cup of tea - but like their graphic style

Imaginary Forces - polished presentation, ummmm I thought again too much emphasis on video clips and not enough on how the end result was achieved - would have liked to seen one/two projects , more behind rthe scenes stuff and and rejected stuff.

Massey Uni - a bit of cultural cringe here?

Design for Web Week 06

Project Seven
Style Gala
CSS Beauty
CSS Zen Garden
Position is Everything
The Layout Reservoir
CSS Two
Stylesheets
Max Design
CSS Layout Techniques
CSS Drive
CSS from the Group Up
Project Seven Tutorials

Promotional Design Project 03 - Stage 01

Follow-up email to Melbourne Water

Hi, below is copy of an email I sent about two weeks ago. I appreciate your feedback as I'm to present my proposal shortly. If Melbourne Water is not able to assist me, can you make suggestions of any other organisations that may be able to help.

Kind regards,


Additional Reference Sites:
Apple for the Teacher
City West Water

Drawing Techniques - Cubism

The very name Cubism came from this Braque painting 'House at L'Estaque'. When the critic Vauxcelles saw the painting he said the houses "look like a bunch of little cubes." He meant the comment to be insulting but the name Cubism stuck.

Georges Braque - House at L'Estaque 1908

But in reality cubism was born of two parents: primitive art and Cezanne.

Paul Cezanne - Rocky Landscape 1903

The movement went from 1907 to 1920's and began in Paris, France. It soon became one of the most influentional arts of all time. Famous cubist painters included Pablo Picasso and Juan Gris of Spain and Georges Braque, Paul Cezanne, Robert Delaunay, Fernand Leger, Albert Gleizes, Francis Picabia, Marcel Duchamp and Roger de la Fresnage of France.
There were three basic types of cubism; primitive cubism, analytical cubism and synthetic cubism.

PRIMITIVE CUBISM

Primitive cubism began in 1907 and went until 1908.
The painting D'Avignon Young Ladies by Pablo Picasso painted in 1907, really kicked off the cubist movement.

Pablo Picasso - Les Demoiselles d'Avignon 1907

Paul Cezanne's doctrine of cubism during this time defined what cubism was made of. "Every thing in nature takes it's form from the sphere, cone or cylinder." This quote was the basis of painting for seven years. Paul Cezanne's influence was most noted in Georges Braque's work Road near L'Estaque.

The Vase, Bowl, Lemon by Picasso in 1907 is another example.

Pablo Picasso - The Vase, Bowl, Lemon 1907

ANALYTICAL CUBISM

Analytical cubism went from approximately 1908 to 1912.
In this period, cubists explored the pure form of subjects. To do this, the artists mentally broke the subject into flat planes and arranged them in complex, overlapping relationships. Artists used only grays, browns, dark greens, ochre, dark yellows and monochrome in the works to maintain an emotionless scene. Picasso's Ma Jolie from 1912 is a classic example of this technique.

Pablo Picasso - Ma jolie 1912


SYNTHETIC CUBISM

Synthetic cubism began in 1912 through the 1920's.

During this time, artists felt freer to use more colors.The pictures were more realistic looking but still were based on geometric shapes. Artists instead, showed many view that would not be possible in real life. Yellows, reds, greens and other bright colors were being used. Artsits like Fernand Leger really came out.

Fernand Leger - Life with a beer mug 1921


Fernand Leger - Three women 1921

Geometric objects were being mixed with regular forms in bright colors. The Guitar by Juan Gris painted in 1913 is a good example of this mix.

Juan Gris - The Guitar 1913

Other examples of synthetic cubism


Robert Delaunay - The Red Tower 1911


Pablo Picasso - Harlequin with Violin 1918

A simpe example of cubist drawing technique.


Reference sites and images:
http://www.angelfire.com/co/artgeometry/
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/B/braque/housesle.jpg.html
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.geometry/unit16/unit16.html#Cubism

Promotional Design Project - Stage 01

8 March 2007

THE CONCEPT:

To quantify use or mis-use of water in an average household, and looking at practical solutions to save water.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

Not yet defined - Primary School level, possible between years 3-5.

GAME OUTLINE:
The aim of game would be that by quantifying personal water use the children take ownership of the water shortage problem, and rather than thinking that they are powerless to do anything they can actively contribute to save water.

For instance.... how much water do you waste if you leave the tap running when you brush your teeth.... and, how much would that be if the whole family did the same, and what if every family in the school did the same.... and so on. No doubt there are many other examples that can be used!


ACTION:

Email to Melbourne Water - 8 March 2007

Hi Melbourne Water,

I got this email address from your website, and I was hoping you may be able to assist me with my project.

I'm a student at Box Hill TAFE currently studying for an Advanced Diploma in Multimedia. One of our projects over the course of this year will be to develop a computer based educational interactive game, and it's target audience will be primary school students.

We have been asked to develop an idea for a game, and I thought that as water usage, and/or misuse, is a much debated topic at the moment, it would be a great idea to create a game to help students to quantify their use of water.

For instance.... how much water do you waste if you leave the tap running when you brush your teeth.... and, how much would that be if the whole family did the same, and what if every family in the school did the same.... and so on. No doubt there are many other examples that can be used.

The aim of game would be that by quantifying personal water use the children may take ownership of the water shortage problem, and rather than thinking that they are powerless to do anything they can actively contribute to save water, and who knows, maybe they could even educate their parents!

I need help with my research, and I was wondering that if the project got underway Melbourne Water would be able to supply facts and figures on water usage, and assist with other materials that may be incorporated in the project. Of course any materials that you would supply will be appropriately acknowledged, and will be used with the understanding that it is a for student project only.

I'm very keen to develop this idea, and I look forward to hearing from you.


Kind regards,



Hans Eijdenberg


NEXT STEPS

Contact additional local water utilities to provide quantitative
information on water usage, and perhaps get them involved in the project

Conduct research into the perceived target audience's education level in relation to understanding of maths and language.

Research Reference Sites

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority
Human Computer Interaction Lab
Kindergarten Educational Software
Squigly Playhouse
Fun School Kaboose
SuperKids
South East Water


These reference site were collected as part of a group brainstorming session on how and where to find relevant reference material!

Photo reference: http://www.pulsephotonics.com/gallery/originals/Water%20-%20transparent.jpeg