Good and Bad website design

I was asked to research websites to find which ones were designed well.

I like the design of this one, I like the reflections and the way it's laid out so you can drag across the panes to make them rotate. The background is quite subtle, which draws the attention to the bright colours in the foreground.

This website has a straightforward design that is logically laid out and is easy to navigate. This site has a tan background and the panels are dark red and brown, which draws attention to the text and pictures within them.

Here on this site there are three columns of text. It feels like an old, cheap design. The font used for the title looks like a graffiti tag and is hard to read. I feel this is a mediocre design.

 The designer of this site tried to incorporate 3D effects, it's hard to say how the effect looks as I didn't have any 3d glasses with me when I found it. It looks like a floating land mass with various features upon it.

Even though this site looks fancy, it doesn't make it clear who's site it is or what they do. When the sections of the brain are moused over they flip to show the other side but then nothing happens.

This website is the worst site I found during my research; there aren't any links, the photos are poor and the tiled background is distracting. It's generally ugly, especially the way the red colouring bleeds into everything else. This is a site about ambulances.

Mock web page for ipad.

I made the background first, I used a few pictures from google images of a fictional band from a game called 'Left4Dead'. I re-sizes them to fit the template I had, and changed them from 300dpi to 72dpi. I used the slice tool to make the area, and then I used the slice select tool to make it into a button, I had to make an HTML link, which sends the user to a non-existent website.

Imagination

We were asked to take rubbings from around the college, and then scan them in. I chose the design I liked best that came from the perforations on the staircase. I put it in Photoshop, and adjusted the colour from graphite to purple. I duplicated the layer and then flipped one layer to make a symmetrical shape, and then joined them into one layer and then duplicated and mirrored it. Then I repeated the process, alternating the orientation, before using the perspective tool to stretch some areas and pinch to constrict others. Then I copied and pasted it three times, after shrinking it so all four images would fit the same page.

Photos 2

I like the bottom three pictures of the tunnel. The mugging that is part of my comic will be staged here. I have taken each of the shots in both landscape and portrait. This is so I can decide, depending on how the images look when edited with the characters in, which orientation will work best on the screen of the iphone. I like the angle of the picture of the bus stop; it has a nice vanishing point inferred, which suggests a frustrated commuter waiting for a bus that's late.

Photos

These photos will be used for my interactive iphone comic. I particularly like the ones of the entrance to the station, of the platform, the ticket gate/turnstile and of the bus stops. These tie in well with my story board. I was hoping to get some models to come down and pose for the shots but no-one was available. However, as it was an overcast day, the light was very diffuse, meaning no shadows. This will make it easier to take pictures of models later and photoshop them in. I've been thinking about creating characters using photoshop and adding them to the photos. This could tie in well with the comic feel that I want for my finished piece. 

Panoramic photography using photoshop.

In photoshop we had to quickly make a panorama. First we took some suitable photographs and then use photomerge, then automerge, then selected the pictures we wanted and clicked 'go'.

Snooker balls

In photoshop we had to make a snooker ball that had shadow and shine on it so it looked spherical. The first attempt was done without being shown how. First I drew a circle and coloured it red. Then I used the elipse tool to draw the white circle in the centre, and added a number using the text tool. Then I used lens-flare to make it look 3D. Lastly, I made a third circle and coloured it black and used the motion tool to blur it.

Then we were given a demo on another technique. Firstly, I made a background with the gradient tool, then a circle with the marquee tool. I held shift to form a perfect circle, and then shift and space bar, which allowed me to place the circle where I wanted it. Using the same technique I made a smaller red circle that fitted into the original white one. Next I used dodge to brighten up the highlights, and burn to darken the areas that were in shadow. Then I used add to selection to draw three ovals in an H shape, and laid this over the centre of the ball. Then I de-selected and loaded them separately so I could merge them.