A few websites I found that I thought were pretty rad awesome.

Alex Dukal-Illustrator
http://www.circografico.com.ar/
I enjoyed this website because I thought it was visually interesting without being too cluttered and also easily portrayed the personality and style of the illustrator. The hierarchy was also very well done and it was easy to get around.

Justyna Faucets
http://www.justynacollections.com/
This site was very clean, neat and simple. Still, it also got out the information that was needed and the style reflected the elegant product it was attempting to sell.

Monrovia-Plants
http://www.monrovia.com/
It was harder than I thought to find good websites that was relevant to my topic, but this page did a great job. It was easy and interesting to navigate and reflected the product that it wanted to sell. It was very organic and fun, yet still mature.

Organic, Inc.
www.organic.com
I really enjoyed the beautiful integration of illustrations, photography, type and motion on this site. It maybe moved a little to much for my personal tastes, but I was still impressed.

Artocracy
http://www.artocracy.org
The way the tabs/buckets worked were fantastic! So simple but so easy to use and visually user-friendly.

Oddwall: Gallery of the Streets
www.oddwall.com
The organization of the photographs were very well done and visually pleasing.

The Los Angeles Film School
http://www.lafilm.com/flash/index.html
The way that an entire environment builds up in front of your eyes, then also becomes an interesting navigation site is awesome! It also reflects L.A. well, minus the smog, traffic, dirtiness, and other not so pleasant aspects of the city.

Veer
www.veer.com
It wasn't necessarily my favorite site visually, but the way that it organized such a massive amount of links and information was impressive and definitely something to take a good look at.

Novalis: Plants that Work
www.plantsthatwork.com
This site also wasn't very interesting visually (though compared to most plant sites, it could be considered a masterpiece), but the way that it could search and look up the right kind of plant based on what the user was looking for is very similar to what would be helpful on my site.

Root for your City
http://rootforourcity.amexnetwork.com
The logo and heading used for this site is quite similar to what we were thinking of for our site as is the style and placement of the type.

Small Group Crit

Here are the comments made about my latest motion piece.

Message

is the message clear?
It is clear but it can be clearer. Some of the elements aren't on the screen long enough and several of the lines, especially the first ones seen, can be worded to make the message clearer. For example, instead of 'we do,' try something like 'we should' since I later make the point that so few youth vote and it could be seen as contradictory. Try and make it a slightly more empowering and unifying message.

is the message memorable?
Punch colors or more variation in some of the text could make it more memorable. More color could also help. Try to make the wording used in the message stronger.

how could it be more clear or dynamic or compelling?
Play with scale in terms of text and characters. Rearrange the text and emphasize certain words and lines. Also, as mentioned above, creating a message that makes it more inclusive and collective of all youth voters could help. For example, rather than have the young voters saying things like "My brother is going back to Iraq," phrase it as "Our family members and friends are going to Iraq."

Technical

visual language
More punch colors. Have the words "young Americans" stay on screen longer rather than "don't care." Makes more sense. Play with various weights with the text, especially during that first scene.

transitions
Part between "47% of young people" and "70% of older people" is slightly awkward. Try something like a size change of 47%, then having it fade into 70%, or something like that.

type and color
Color is nice, but try adding a very light color as a background instead of the white. Punch some of the type.

sound
Add something like a bass line throughout.

To Suggest

Here's what I want my animation to suggest:

*Easy to understand and interpret
*Simplicity
*Strong, loud visuals and type
*Informative
*Visually enjoyable but not necessarily 'fun' or 'cute'
*Little distraction from the point I'm trying to convey'
*End with feeling of optimism and gained knowledge
*Viewer knows how to try to solve problem, not just understand it

Album Covers

I thought I'd be kinda rad to post some of my favorite images from albums covers. Many have been past inspirations of works that I have done, some for the particular style, layouts or even just their fantastic color palettes.

Information Design Question

On the first page of our reading, a quote from Edward Tufte is written.

"Clutter is a failure of design, not an attribute of information."

Do you agree or disagree with this statement? It most senses it may be easier and more logical to create a clutter-free design, but in the right settings can it be possible to effectively communicate information though cluttered design?

Updated Story

The younger people of the country are often thought of as completely apathetic or unknowing of what is going on in our country. Though they may not always have a loud or active voice about current issues, from friends going to Iraq or gas prices, they know how our political system affects everyday life.

So why do so few head to the polls and why are they letting the older generation choose their future? Only 58% even register and at the 2004 elections, only 47% showed up to the polls.
Overall, 70% of all those over 45 years of age voted at the last presidential election. I want to visually show that because of youth stubbornness to vote, it’s the seniors and older people of the nation that are constantly choosing the futures of young people election after election. This trend will never change until youth voters can band together and work to make whatever change they wish to see the United States. I want to portray America’s youth as complaining about the current status of the country or just somehow being effected by current events, yet still choosing to stay home on Election Day. On the other side, I want to show older voters voting and actually making things happen.

Word List and Keywords

Informative, Inspirational, Interesting, Youth, Vote, Rebellious, Interested, Change, Choice, Future, Pride, Effect, Voice, Knowledge, Duty, Generational, Modern, Apathy, Indifference, Understanding, Country, Concern, Nation, Emotion, Passion, Issues, Stance, Care, Beliefs, Bias, Hopes, Dreams, Thoughts, Past, Opinion, Vocal, Trust, Thought, Ignorance, Failure, Upset, Accomplishment, Select, Riot, Option, Educate, Spirit, Vigor, Revolution, Learn, Teach, Groupthink, Peers, Decision, Punk, Trend, Fake, Technology, Individual, Freedom, Help, Political, Movement, Express, Direction, Focus, Sense, Personal, Upcoming, Posterity, Personality, Independent, Friends, World, Purpose, Impression, Siblings, Children, Self, Seniors, Older Generation, Peace, War, Military, Economy, College, Careers, Civility, Heard, Love, Hate, Protest, Responsibility, Society, Leadership, Example, Think, Importance



Inspire:

1.	to produce or arouse (a feeling, thought, etc.)

2. to fill or affect with a specified feeling, thought, etc.
3. to animate, as an influence, feeling, thought, or the like, does

Youth:
1. the time of being young; early life
2. the appearance, freshness, vigor, spirit, etc.
3. the first or early period of anything

Vigor:
1. active strength or force.
2. healthy physical or mental energy or power; vitality
3. energetic activity; energy; intensity
4. active or effective force