"Internet & Network Art" Blog by Icarus

Final Piece and Project Development

2008-01-20T18:46:00.000Z

Here is the final product of my concept:

link - http://zappa.tvu.ac.uk/~05halli/

My Project Development (inc. Bibliography) PDF can be downloaded from here:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/3j5n5p

or

http://www.mediafire.com/?90ugrxmgxrm

Bibliography for Concept Proposal and Contextual Analysis

2007-11-14T18:45:00.000Z

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html
http://www.flashmagazine.com/413.htm
http://www.actapress.com/PaperInfo.aspx?PaperID=30039
http://www.saintsandsoldiers.com/Flash/
http://www.rss-specifications.com/history-rss.htm
http://www.blockstar.com/blog/blog_timeline.html
http://www.adobe.com/macromedia/events/john_gay/page04.html
http://www.w3.org/Style/LieBos2e/history/
http://virtuelvis.com/archives/2005/01/css-history
http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/
http://www.cssplay.co.uk/menu/streaker
http://www.w3.org/QA/2002/04/Web-Quality
http://icant.co.uk/webstandardsforbusiness/pmwiki.php/Main/Arguments
http://www.littledeviant.com/
http://2advanced.com/
http://www.webleeddesign.com/#toplist
http://www.flashsourcecode.com/sourcecode.html
http://sprawsm.com/
http://infosthetics.com/archives/infographic/
http://motionographer.com/2006/07/
http://zoomquilt2.madmindworx.com/
http://www.scifi.com/tinman/oz/

misc images

www/pcworld.idg.com.au
mactec.com
previsualsdesign.com

- Contextual Analysis -

2007-11-14T17:59:00.001Z

The internet is a medium that is fast finding itself being filtered into numerous forms. Interacting with the internet is constantly being streamlined with such developments as Flash over the past decade and PHP scripting. This has allowed surfers to browse and interact with the web in more refined ways. It’s become an organism of free flowing information with each site acting as a shelf upon which people unload/upload their content. With all this information, presenting it in an appealing form is a challenge. The overall relevance of making your information appear more important is essential in reaching the masses. The internet is a growing medium therefore people are becoming much more accustomed to it. What is then required is a standard level expected by users which has been continuously raised due to innovative web design and commercial web standards. The mainstream media is that which requires polish, as its centred around audience attraction and therefore generally the pioneer in creating slick and sophisticated websites. Other than within the mainstream circles websites are redesigned and developed to help produce fresh user experiences. Essentially these are efforts to help present information in a much more attractive form. The ways in which this has been achieved has changed over the years with Netscape playing a key role in its development. During the mid to late 90s JavaScript and the introduction of applets helped provide the user with more functions that can be utilised on the web thus making the web itself more versatile. This helped in increasing net security and helped expand the web into more mediums. But one of the greatest contributions to the web was Flash and its initial presence on the web was nought due to the fact that the original blueprint for Flash was a software called FutureSplash Animator an offline program designed for animation purposes. What is important that it was spawned from the desire of its creator, Jonathan Gay, to create a software that would ease human to computer interfacing with the introduction of SmartSketch, the previous name of the FutureSplash program. The mid 90’s saw the Internet's awareness increase, and with this knowledge the software was developed to be able to adapt this into exporting animations for playback on the web. After an affiliation with Disney Online and several pitches later the small company (FutureWave Software) was picked up and the software obtained by Disney’s affiliates Macromedia to produce Flash 1.0 in the December of ‘96. From this point Flash would become the dominant force in online animation, overshadowing the slower Java applications. Flash and Flash Player today stand as the primary tool for online media now as it now overtakes previous streaming media such as Quicktime and Windows media as a video media preference. Flash as a website construction tool has yet to be beaten in presenting slick visuals and interesting interfaces for easy to implement websites. Although it is still rivalled by its predecessor CSS which has progressed further than style tags into a presentation quality that rivals Flash.

These efforts to push web media is all for the benefit of the user, and with presentation standards apparently improving in many mediums it is understandable that the web is as popular as it is. This ties into what my project is fundamentally centred around. User stimulus is now much more than it once was as the net is a multimedia platform therefore the user expects more than just a textual directory of contents when visiting a page. As expressed through the work of Edward Tufte, visualising information spans into numerous forms, from colours to movement, shapes and clarity. Information hasn’t only evolved but become clearer, better presented and understood much more thoroughly due to attention spent on how its communicated. Visualising information has become a style in itself, with modern media visual styles demonstrating this. Such ‘infographics’ and animation are gradually becoming an art form that help emphasise the fact that what is being presented is information. This is an underlying factor as today’s society is much more well informed, with a large part of this being due to the web. Free flowing information for the user to explore and discover is part of the web experience and this is made easier by a clear set of directions. Hence interfaces and navigation systems on websites are an essential element of the web and with users being apparently quick in their visits depending on interest, the issue of attraction and almost seduction of a user is vital. By dressing up the information a user can be seduced into interacting with a website even if the content is of very little interest. This is a marketing tool evident in mainstream media to help sell a product, but it is essential and thus deserves attention. With such issues as a user’s attention span on a page being limited my project finds relevance, as by creating an interface so enticing in a universal manner I hope to hit on that which is attempted to be achieved by numerous website designers and focus on the fundamentals of design that may not be as seriously considered as they should be. To each page a user visits they should be engrossed and/or captivated with practicality also at the forefront of importance. Design and content are meeting well in some circles but there are numerous examples where one overshadows the other and the user is overwhelmed. This project should be the start of a design standard that is already in place but should be evaluated to be as effective as possible taking into account certain design principles. The standards in place monitored by such groups as the W3C, are important however the abuse of such web standards help pioneer novelty that help produce fresh ideas for user interfaces.

My project is aimed to essentially help to highlight the issues around web presentation and how a user is motivated to access a sites content. A site doesn’t have to be heavily graphical, or full of flash animations but it should be more than just an online word document. The internet hasn’t got an overall image as it is an ever changing mechanism, but it deserves a set of standards that will help designers and make the internet a more enjoyable and fulfilling experience for the people by realising a greater understanding of how to attract a them and maintain their attention.

- Concept Propsal -

2007-11-12T01:53:00.000Z

The internet is an undeniably powerful multifaceted resource for information and media. The manner in which people interact with the internet has now become much more versatile as it has spread across platforms and mediums of access. During the course of my research I have delved into themes around internet interaction and site constructs that are being developed through such software as Flash.

My initial concept ideas prior to research were underdeveloped with a simple premise of creation as I am already aware of media platforms I can use on the web and was merely interested in creating a single media artefact with minimal purpose. However initial research caused me to begin forming developed concepts based upon areas of media that I was interested in and how it is related to the web medium.

My resulting concept is based on the areas of interest I had researched, which generally consists of motion graphics on the web, site authoring and layouts, and site navigation principles. Techniques explored during my research had led me to theorise several concept proposals. The main concept that had spawned from the research was based on site attraction, user engagement, and algorithmic navigation systems. The resulting concept is based on my theory of what and how a user is really engaged once they’re online, and what affects their attitude towards a site. This incorporates layout design, website aesthetics, and uniqueness, which all factor into how a user interacts and responds to a website. I had discovered that numerous websites have attempted to utilise multiple methods to appear novel, attractive yet relative to a theme, which are general design principles. This essentially is what I am going to attempt to achieve for my concept, which will essentially be an experiment in creating the most attractive and/or immersive site interface that I can, making it irresistible for a user to interact with. This will be a large feat to accomplish and will take into account the research into the various interfaces and styles I have explored.

Preproduction

Issues initially surrounding this concept include user preference and creation methods. In terms of user preference there are quite a few factors to incorporate that centre such design principles as clarity, theme, tone, and style. These are general terms that I must consider in depth and have to be evaluated when designing the interface.

Fundamentally the sites theme must be considered as a basis for the creation of the visual appearance and layout of the interface and therefore this must also consider user attraction. From my research I had found that the scfi.com’s Tin man site was a prime example upon which to base a large part of my design upon. As an example it demonstrates an initial immersive layout interface, even without movement. This triggered thoughts of the imagery used in the site that I have also seen in several other sites such as 2advanced.com and Ladio.ru. This imagery includes landscapes and in essence plays to the nature in which people surf the net, which are actions fuelled by exploration and discovery. An open landscape encourages thoughts of exploration and is accompanied with intrigue, an important factor to push when attempting to entice the user to interact with the interface. Depth perception is also tied into this theme causing the user to believe that there is more to the site that a flat interface. This is a general design method that I have seen utilised through my research, with sites using animation to aid this.

Mood and tone are encompassed into the theme but are to be considered with detail for this project and shall incorporate theories of ‘colour psychology’. In a similar manner into which an interior designer would consider the palette of colours for a house or particular room, I must consider the relation between colours, mood and affiliation. In addition depending upon style and theme decided upon, shapes and forms must also be considered with softer shapes and curves being much more ideal and how they can be combined with colours to help guide the user’s attention thus influencing their actions. This can be as simple as having the user’s attention divert towards a button, which can also be aided by animation. The overall mood and tone will help assist in creating a convincing and immersive theme for the interface.

Thus far focus on the aesthetics has been dominant, but isn’t fundamental as a website can be layered in highly detailed visuals or quirky animations but ultimately appearing cluttered and unrestrained. A heavy graphically laden site can be off putting and disproportionately divide the user’s attention around the page. Focal points are important on a site and this is generally achieved with clarity as my research has shown. In addition sites such as Tokyoplastic.com demonstrates this with its overall simplistic style incorporated into all their work the site is another example of capturing the user’s attention. A type of ergonomic like structure is also important in producing a comfortable interface with intuitive like controls being a preference. These are all factors I have been incorporating and will further evaluate into my interfaces design.

Methods

The ways in which I can create this interface are slightly limited in terms of creating an immersive and attractive layout for the user. CSS is an ideal form to author the interface but I feel as if it cant be as in depth and immersive in comparison to a Flash interface. However from my research such sites as Webleeddesign.com and CSSplay.co.uk have effectively demonstrated that CSS can hold up a novelty and visual flair flag up with Flash. Yet despite this, Flash is the ideal platform for my interface due to its flexibility and capabilities to achieve visual polish.

Therefore my initial research has been into techniques around Flash interface mechanics I believe are the most appealing and include the afore mentioned attributes I am attempting to achieve. The prime example of the Tin man site was developed using the Zoomquilt source code and was a major project therefore I feel it is impractical even though it is an open source code, this would take a large amount of deciphering and reverse engineering to re-design. However I can create a similarly immersive interface in Flash by utilising the technique known as parallax scrolling, which is a script action occasionally seen in some Flash sites. A prime example of which is the Saints and Soldiers site which shows this scripting in action. It provides the illusion of depth and comes close to the beauty and simplicity seen on the Tin man site.

The navigational system finds relevance within all of these areas of interest and is to be carefully designed. Another reason for the Tin man site to take precedent is its intuitive and simple navigation system that responds to the user’s awareness of its location, its neat and uncluttered incorporation into the design and its intuitive response to the user’s gestures with the mouse. For this project it’s essential that the full user experience with the interface is engrossing and overwhelmingly appealing.

The resulting artefact should be a prime example of a template upon which website interfaces can be based upon with simple but essential principles implemented in its design. This demonstrate a number of factors that should allow designers to consider much more when designing an interface for online use and thus help improve the internet experience.

Initial Research - "Areas of Interest"

2007-11-11T00:53:00.000Z

For this project assignment there are several conceptual developments that I have derived from my research. As my project is not yet realised I can only provide examples of idea influencing material I have located on the web.

In my initial ideas I had thought of included storytelling on the web and via my research into motion graphics and Flash, I managed to find a site with a similar premise but which has also tied in a game mechanic into it. The little deviant website is promotional site for one of Toyota's car models well presented and visually engaging but lacks much purpose (most probably due to the story) and thus interactivity and further interest is lost. My concepts later developed with further research and analysis of websites and their constructs caused me to evaluate this for several ideas themed around interactivity. Websites that influenced this greatly were Tokyoplastic.com, Scifi.com's Tinman site, and Mathieu Badimon's site open source work. Each site is unique in their approach towards engaging the user with Mathieu Badimon's focus on technical studies of active/ real-time 3D visuals in particular.

Sites available at:

http://tokyoplastic.com/
http://www.scifi.com/tinman/oz/
http://lab.mathieu-badimon.com/
http://www.littledeviant.com/

Initial Research - Summary

2007-11-10T23:42:00.000Z

The internet is the surmounting volumes of information that are attempted to be visualised for user interaction. The principles upon which these are based have evolved and been developed in numerous creative ways. In addition methods and practices utilised to produce website visuals has been reinvented and incorporated elements aiding in the webs cross platform media aesthetics. The result is a much more vibrant and visually stimulating experience that accompanied with well authored sites also includes improved interactivity. A sites purpose is now more than just providing the user with information but also maintaining their attention and stimulating interaction.

Initial Research - "In Context"

2007-11-10T20:05:00.000Z

Website's have evolved quite rapidly with the aid of advancing technology and website authoring language that has developed over the past two decades. CSS in aiding its design has progressed since its introduction in the mid 90's and has continued in its development and implementation. Web standards are highlighted within a websites construct from forms of navigation and site structure to interest groups such as the W3C Quality Assurance Interest Group. To abide to such web standards highlighted by such interest groups are deemed as restrictive to some website developers at the design and scripting levels but are essentially important with such focus groups as the disabled, with the key words being 'accessibility' or 'compatibility'. However due to such abuse of standards, website interactivity alone has recently been pioneered into greater forms and the result is a plethora of sites boasting slick visuals or intuitive navigational systems or quirks.

Sites [online]:

http://www.w3.org/QA/
http://www.intensivstation.ch/en/css/history/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet

Available at:

http://www.w3.org/QA/

http://www.intensivstation.ch/en/css/history/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet

Initial Research - Non Flash "The Beauty of CSS"

2007-11-10T16:09:00.000Z

Before Flash there was CSS, and there still is which is evident in the abundant number of CSS sites still being created with Flash being seen as a small and neat gallery slide show tool. Along with flash there are sites that showcase well designed CSS sites, and is apparent why CSS is still utilised. CSS can bare the same design quality of Flash with less focus on animation but however appear just as polished with enough pre-production visual work. Cssreboot.com, CSSbeauty.com and CSSleak.com are several examples of sites that help showcase some of the best in CSS design. CSS is as important now as it has ever been and is still the primary tool in website design. With the inclusion of RSS feeds and other external site tools coming into play within websites, CSS is the most compatible and fluid to incorporate this into.

Sites:

CSSReboot,Copyright © 2002 Affero Inc. CSSLeak, © 2004-2007 CSS Leak
CSS Beauty, © 2004-2007 CSS Beauty

Available at:

http://www.cssreboot.com/
http://www.cssleak.com/
http://www.cssbeauty.com/

[accessed 10th November 2007]

Inital Research - Non Flash "Designer Dreams"

2007-11-09T15:48:00.000Z

In an ideal world scripting would be universally sound with compatibility barely being an issue. However as any html/css designer will know, that due to willingful abuse of web standards and non standard template designs that this is not achievable , at least not with ease. Flash is simple and runs as a program with the latest version simply being required for cross browser compatibility. Such is not the case in css and html as each browser abides to its own web standards and scripting interpretations. This creates difficulties in the scripting and design processes but is problem solved and in addition further interactive enhancing scripts are being created. On such site demonstrating this is designdetector.com which lists script experimented with that include graphical editing with css and php script thus involving more live server side alterations. Such experiments are evidence towards the fact that html and css designers are attempting to match the visual standards and interactivity set by Flash.

Designdetector.com site by Christopher Hester

Available at http://www.designdetector.com/

[accessed 9th November 2007]

Initial Research - Non Flash "We bleed design"

2007-11-09T15:25:00.000Z

"Simple", would be a term to describe webleeddesign.com upon an initial glance, but a with this site its all in the presentation and the simple act of scrolling. With one of the most innovative pieces of simple design I've seen the portfolio site of Bryan Katzel is a prime example of a marraige of css and javascript that surmounts in a simple well presented website layout. The unique design of this site includes a continuous graphic element that appears to stream down through an obstacle like course when the user scrolls down. A clever piece of scripting gives the illusion of paint dripping down the site as you scroll leading the user through to areas of the site with the continuing intrigue of this graphical element keeping the users attention. This however does attract from the site's actual content but nevertheless enjoyable to use with the addition of links that auto scroll and slows to a stop at the relevant content. Beautiful simplicity can be achieved through clever scripting!

Webleeddesign.com [online] designed by Bryan Katzel

Available at: http://www.webleeddesign.com/#toplist

[accessed 9th November 2007]

Initial Research - Non Flash Introduction

2007-11-09T14:28:00.000Z

However beautiful a layout is or can be with the Flash engine powering it, a well designed site can still have the same attributes of intrigue and appeal with the foundational building materials of html, java, xml and css scripting. Now slowly becoming the less popular commercial medium for website building due to their generally static nature 'traditional scripting' is becoming a design form which is receiving less attention. Despite its gradual decline in use within mainstream media circles, CSS and such scripting has continued to evolve within web development design circles. In addition the growth of personalised web space i.e. myspace, blogs, online profiles etc traditional scripting in design is still regarded as essential for customisations and flexibility.

Initial Research - Flash Innovation "Innovative & Inventive"

2007-11-05T15:51:00.000Z

Innovation in design is always appraised but when an artist creates consistent work that deserves attention it's difficult to look upon the work of others with the same admiration. The work of Wagner Paula is a prime example of work that has a underlying tone of brilliance. When a web designer decides that their work can be more than just visuals and grasps the essence of website interaction then it becomes a much more fulfilling experience for the user interacting with the site as they have interacted with a piece of design that is more inventive and innovative than most other sites. Each of Wagner's pieces of work within the portfolio section deserves attention as each appears to have received a large amount of attention in terms of being inventive concepts with an obvious focus on maintaining user interest and pushing Flash capabilities.

Wagner Paula, Works designed by Wagner Paula

Available at: http://works.wagnerpaula.com/wagnerpaula.com/

[accessed 5th of November 2007]

Initial Research - Flash Innovation "Let It Speak For Itself"

2007-11-05T15:25:00.000Z

Portfolio websites in are generally a showcase in themselves to show off the artist's design prowess with rich graphic laden interfaces and/or a simple yet themed layout to help communicate the artist's individuality. However breaking the mould in this area of self promotion is the straight to the point site of Denis Mujakovic, whose site is as simple as it gets. A full screen presentation with a scroll menu with 3 small links beneath is all that ranks as content on this site. Simplicity at its core is obvious on this uncluttered site as the scroll menu's function is for simply selecting Mujakovic's artwork to display full screen in the background, along with a small flash animated logo, which is as far as this site stretches in its presentation. With a concept so simple there is no confusion as to the sites function or content and essentially fulfils a portfolio sites purpose, which is to display work, provide contact details and a CV.

Denis Mujakovic Illustration Portfolio [online]

Available at: http://www.mujakovic.com/menu43f.htm

[accessed 5th November 2007]

Initial Research - Flash Innovation "Show Me"

2007-11-05T14:55:00.000Z

Simple techniques mixed with beautiful visuals is a common and effective method of design. "The simplest ideas are generally the best" is a relatively common quote which is true for such websites as Ladio.ru. Using a simple website interface in accompaniment with a new technique trend in flash design of the screen following the mouse's movement in a large flash environment. In addition a simple mask technique gives the user an exploration type interface as they follow visuals to each button, link or small visual. Altogether this interface is an example of triggering the users initial intrigue as surfing the internet is very much an exploration and this site helps build upon this.

Ladio.ru designed by Ladio

Available at: http://ladio.ru/

[accessed 5th of November 2007]

Initial Research - Flash Innovation "Typo"

2007-10-26T19:16:00.000+01:00

With a tool such as Flash at a designers disposal, presentation is everything. A website that displays this is Typorganism, a site that is simply a 'showcase' of visual interactive displays. The site in its simplicity highlights methods of computer interactivity that can be expanded upon with interesting concepts and presentation that utilise well scripted algorithms. This site can aid in a stepping stone towards improved user to computer interaction with an interface that appears more intuitive and thus more fulfilling.

Typorganism.com designed by Gicheol Lee

Available at: http://www.typorganism.com/

[accessed 26th October]

Initial Research - Flash Innovation "Point and Click?"

2007-10-25T23:57:00.000+01:00

Generally used as frivolous term to describe computer interaction, "pointing and clicking" is the manner in which we also surf the web, confirm actions and navigate in general. However this convention is to be challenged as we are now accustomed to different types of actions to trigger events e.g. roll-overs, hovering, scrolling etc. A website experimenting with the conventions is Dontclick.it which is an interesting flash website that has built around the premise of the exclusion of the point and click interface replacing it with purely roll overs. The site includes a number of facts and exercises to help elaborate upon the subject of clicking to trigger an action. The result is an enlightening study of computer/internet interaction, challenging the traditional conventions of navigation.

Dontclick.it designed by Alex Frank

Available at: http://dontclick.it/

[accessed 25th October 2007]

Initial Research - Flash Innovation Introduction

2007-10-25T22:17:00.000+01:00

Interfaces in Flash are essentially straightforward point and click actions in navigation. This simple button interface is generally accompanied with a fancy transition. However this established convention is being challenged by web designers and coders. The result is multiple sites that are designed with user interaction in mind to increase a users enjoyment and fulfilment in their experience. This includes experimental developments in flash script actions as well as flash layout styles to help make the users experience more of an exploration with points of interest rather than a table of contents.

Initial Research - Flash Interfaces 5

2007-10-24T19:29:00.000+01:00

Portfolio sites are prime examples of an artist attempting to establish their individuality. Therefore efforts would have been put towards their site to reflect the same qualities. This is especially true on Jonathan Yuen's site , which is unique in design and has an interesting navigation structure. This site displays examples of the artists style and expertise in multimedia platforms and in addition to the navigation style and transitions, it sets a mellow tone to make the whole user experience fluid and engrossing.

Jonathan Yuen's site designed by Jonathan Yuen, 2006

Available at: http://www.jonathanyuen.com/

[accessed 24th October]

Initial Research - Flash Interfaces 4

2007-10-24T18:40:00.000+01:00

A multimedia platform would be another way to describe Flash and designers haven't wasted time in taking advantage of this. As flexible as Flash's interface generally is, it is also limited in its graphics tools. However it is flexible enough to allow designers to incorporate other forms of multimedia and formats to expand upon Flash's ability to create a richer online interface. Neostream is a good example of all of this, as it has been apparently built with multiple media programs to create a simple yet creative site. There's been obvious focus on user experience and interactivity with each mouse gesture and/or movement being able to trigger an event resulting in a unique user experience.

Neostream.com designed by Neostream

Available at:

http://www.neostream.com/

[accessed 24th October]

Intial Research - Flash Interfaces 3

2007-10-23T21:06:00.000+01:00

Creative simplicity is a style generally affiliated with modern design, which is now becoming a common template in Flash website design. In particular this apparent in portfolio websites by web designers, photographers and fashion affiliates. A prime example of this is viewable on George Glen Parker's site. This web design company has received acclaim for its site's style, simplicity and tone. A mixture of 'lounge' music and a a full screen screen presentation results in an simple yet stylish website, which is a style utilised in their client's website designs.

George Glen Parker site designed by GeorgeGlenParker.com INC
Available at: http://www.georgeglenparker.com/Flash_Design.html
[accessed 23rd October 2007]

Intial Research - Flash Interfaces 2

2007-10-23T20:45:00.000+01:00

Flash has many methods of application on the web, and CoolHomePages.com is one of a number of sites that highlight this at its most innovative. But to start off simply, an example of Flash's elegance in creating a simple & slick interface can be seen at http://www.dnmark.com/.

This site demonstrates a simple interface that is effective in presenting its content in the clarity of a magazine with a main point of focus and an easy to use navigation system. A good example of Flash in its bare essentials.

Dnmark.com site designed by "Department of Design"
Available at: http://www.dnmark.com/
[accessed 23rd October 2007]

Intial Research - Flash: Interfaces 1

2007-10-22T19:31:00.000+01:00

The flash template has become distorted in comparison to a few years ago. The usual motion graphics Flash intro to main site has changed in its generic format to a much more creative form. Flash site designers have become a lot more inventive in their creation of a web page with buttons that are now more than just buttons but a trigger for a greater action than a simple link to another part of the site. Transitions and scripted animations are now a major part of creative website creation. A great library for such examples can be found on the Cool HomePages website. Much like many other sites now highlighting and presenting accolades to well designed and unique websites, Cool HomePages features sites that have stood out as being well designed, creative or present interesting quirks.

Cool HomePages
Available at: http://coolhomepages.com/html/oldsotws.php

[accessed 22nd October 2007]

Initial Research - Flash: Interfaces Introduction

2007-10-21T23:15:00.000+01:00

This enthusiasm to create such interactive sites is spawned from the number of similar flash sites being based on the intro and simple site navigation template. Individuality in the media market is essential and is intertwined in a company's desire to appear pioneering. Thus they have branched out in their design awareness and the level of attention given to a company's image has been equally applied to their website business front. Ingenuity in flash web design, navigation as well as small advertisements has greatly improved over the years. The result is a growing collection of personal/portfolio as well as company websites that are distinctly different in a way in which CSS and regular HTML was only able to touch upon.

Image Available at: http://www.flashtemplatezone.com/images/px8.jpg
[accessed 21st October 2007]

Initial Research - Ye Olde Flash

2007-10-21T22:53:00.000+01:00

Flash is now over a decade old and has become the primary tool in online motion graphics design. In the interview by wired news Flash's various web advantages are discussed as well as its criticism. Due to flash, the web has evolved in to an animated playground of interfaces and presentations. Advertisements have been able to become more interactive and corporate businesses have been able to maintain or expand their image and identity on to the web. Initial flash sites helped create a slick presentation for websites, however recently the development of flash action script by web designers and coders has resulted in a growing numbers of sites attempting to become much more rich in its interactivity.

Calore, Michael 2006, Flash turns 10. [Internet]
Available at: http://www.wired.com/software/coolapps/news/2006/08/71558
[accessed 21st October 2007]

Initial Research - Interface Development: Non Flash

2007-10-20T16:35:00.000+01:00

Website interaction and navigation is an important factor of any website and has been continuously improved upon. This element of human to computer interaction is being constantly developed for the user to be able to access information and carry out computer based tasks with ease. Such research is being carried out by the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Maryland. Project developments that have been carried out are diverse and experimental and present interesting new methods or improvements upon such human-computer interactivity as menu and website navigation to simple digital painting programs

Visualization [Internet]
Available at: http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/research/visualization.shtml
[accessed 20th October 2007]

Image: Crossy 'IntroScreen'
Available at: http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/crossy/
[accessed 20th October 2007]

Initial Research - Information Visualisation

2007-10-20T16:10:00.001+01:00

The Internet's now insurmountable volumes of information are displayed in numerous forms and within the commercial market this generally involves selling and promotion within a new marketplace. However the Internet in the business market is an invaluable medium for information communication. Displaying information data is also an issue, with ease and clarity demanded on both the designer and coders side as well as the user interacting and accessing the data. As described in the article: "Flash and Information visualisation = Great User Experience", such tasks as presenting and accessing data are made easier by clearer visuals and easier to use and more flexible interfaces due in part to such programming tools as Flash and Java Script.

Klee, Matthew, 2001. Flash + Information Visualization=Great User Experiences (Originally published Aug 1, 2001). [Internet]
Available at: http://www.uie.com/articles/information_visualization/
[accessed 20th October 2007]

Initial Research - "Navigational conventions & the Internet"

2007-10-19T21:00:00.000+01:00

My initial research looks into the functions of visualisations and how it is generally implemented. I found a website creatively describing the issues of Internet navigation and highlighting the differences in how we navigate in real life. The page article entitled "Navigational conventions & the Internet", which touches on such relative subject matters as commercial use and media expansion in its use of the Internet.

In addition it highlights the importance of making a website appealing and stimulating for the user by maintaining their attention in the vast, ever-changing digital soup. An important function that generally corresponds to the quality of the website's visuals.

"Navigational conventions & the Internet”, 2002. [Online].
Available at: http://www.a-website.org/mnemosyne/no_signposts/03conventions.html [accessed 19th October 2007].

Initial Research - Motion Graphics

2007-10-19T20:56:00.000+01:00

The fundamentals of motion graphics and its expansion in uses through various media is evident in the mainstream advertisements by major marketing companies. Its use is now strongly affiliated with TV, Film, Gaming and Web Design. Its use in films has been evident for years in credit sequences and these techniques have been further expanded in to the other mainstream mediums. This is highlighted in Matt Frantz's Thesis Paper in which he covers motion graphics' fundamentals, principals, growth and viable future of its use. The paper also touches upon other forms of animation and how they are becoming an important factor in reflecting quality and thus show why they are now an industry standard.

Frantz, Matt. 2003, Changing Over Time: The Future of Motion Graphics. [Internet] http://www.mattfrantz.com/thesisandresearch/motiongraphics.html#requiredskills
[accessed 19th October]

Initial Research - Theory of Motion

2007-10-19T17:43:00.000+01:00

Motion graphics and animation in general is still one of the greatest tools to stimulate audience interest or user interactivity/participation. Flash is an ideal tool for 2D animation but is mainly for online implementation and thus the tools featured are somewhat restricted. However the animation fundamentals that can be carried out within Flash allow designers from outside the Flash designers circle to incorporate their more cinematic TV and Film techniques into a web platform. The result is a growing number of commercial sites being given a presentational flair similar to that seen in the main stream media. The development of Flash is a only small example of the development of motion graphics as a whole and how it has become more sophisticated and inventive through the use of more advanced programs. Flash reflects the way in which motion design standards have been raised thus its procedural leak into the web also provides evidence for the progression of the internet as a media tool.

Image: motiontheorysony1.jpg [Internet]

Available at: http://www.mattfrantz.com/thesisandresearch/motiontheorysony1.jpg

[accessed 19th October]

Initial Research - The Internet in Motion

2007-10-18T17:35:00.000+01:00

The invisible borders of the internet may be too expansive to map but it can be explained how a dead end may not just be the end of a search result. Through visualisations it may be easier to understand how it works and is navigated. Flash is used as a presentation tool as well as a motion graphics promotional polishing tool. This is illustrated on Joe Song's page which demonstrates some uses of flash in its ability to provide presentation clarity as well as the stimulating user interaction which is now a necessity in its promotional implementation.

Song, Joe. 2005, Interactive Motion Graphics [Internet],

Available at: http://www.joesong.com/classes/2005_Quarter_04/Interactive_Motion_Graphics/

[accessed 18th October 2007]

Research, Proposal and Contextual Analysis - Introduction

2007-10-18T00:12:00.000+01:00

Visualisations are the Internet's make-up, its lipstick and mascara and also one of its key foundations. The evolution of web presentation have been an essential development alongside that of the code by which it is implemented. It's use on the net has been and will always be key in the growth of the Internet. With exception for content, mass appeal in a contemporary context is generally greatly aided by its visuals by providing not only a pleasant presentation, but also an innovative and intriguing interface. CSS and Flash have been the main platforms upon which such innovative visuals and interfaces have been built.