Tuesday, 4 May 2010

Cleaning Up

  • Spellchecking and ensuring that there is font continuity
  • Writing in the 3rd person: Not always possible as i talked about my interests for the 'see it my way concept', athough i went through all my writing and edited out all 1st person text elsewhere
  • All i have left to do is the powerpoint presentation
  • I am considering doing an animated loading page where the layout grows and is eventually filled in, but users might find this irritating so i wi have to brainstorm and sketch this out.

Monday, 3 May 2010

Work in progress (2)


Inputting the zoom interaction for the embedded site was a litte tricky as i had to use frames for navigation rather than scenes between different instances to keep it clean, but it was finally completed yesterday afternoon. I didnt actually have a finished interactive section on my website when the brief was first submitted, and it is nice to provide an example of how users would interact with the 3D world.

I am actually going to add another section to this part of my portfolio, named 'the 3D world' in which i explain the program i used, reiterate why 3D was appropriate and explain how the symbols on a map which someone uses are translated into tower-buiding sized colour blocks in the 3d word so that they are instanty recognisable. This section woud be different to the 'concept' as it explain technical things in more detail, and would be accessible only if a user is interested in it, rather than lumping it all together on one page and having too much wording on each page.

I have also completed my research pages. Essentially it is a pinboard of the majority of my sketchbook work for each project, with 'hit' sections applying to various areas, so when you hover over various different pages, a litte note comes up saying things like 'participant observation' or 'museum visit'. I chose to display it this way to show off my detailed book work and to give a quick insight to my process work. I realise that a. you cannot see the work in detail and b. each page doesnt have its own tag', but i made these decisions as i realised that one of my two main target users (potential employers) probably isnt interested in combing through my sketchbooks within a portfolio, and would instead be interested in getting and overview and seeing that i do use multiple medium and methods to get where i'm going. My other target user (examiners) would have my sketchbooks with them and reading through them virtually is much more of a strain than having a real hard copy. My research virtual pinboard is just to show that i do have a process, and my blog is available (which sums up most of my process work) to view in the blog section.

I have shown the flash stage behind this screenshot to show how i constructed this page. Essentially i had to take lots of photos of my sketchbook manually, cut them to size, arrange them in photoshop, add hit areas with rectangles and the 'shear tool', and then add a title at the end.

I did have the idea of having thumbnails which enlarged when hovered over and had titles of their own, and perhaps if i am targeting different users i woud do so, but since it is very time consuming and inappropriate for my target users i am not doing so.

Sunday, 2 May 2010

A New Solution

I've come across a barrier in my work, one that i had anticipated and tried to get around. I don't like the previous .swf projects popping out, and neither do they fit correctly into the dimensions of my project so i can't cal them to a movie ater. I've decided to rebuid my projects into the portfolio so that they are all entirely sef-contained. This also allows me to revealuate the projects as i will be buiding them from scratch. Luckily none of my projects are more than 10-12 frames long, and i will take this as an opportunity to rework my ideas.

More process work



I've almost finished putting together the mapping section.

'Safe Way Home' Mapping brief title & description

It has gotten to the point now where i am adding brief titles and descriptions to my portfolio. I would like to make some changes to the originals (written about in the blog here). I am also making the conscious decision to show original brief solutions as well as my final work within my portfolio project to show how i have responded to criticism and developed my solutions.

Although not the first project, I am going to insert my solution to the mapping brief first as it is the one that i enjoyed the most and also the one that i feel could really work in the real world. I had considered possibly prioritising the favourite projects within my brief (by making them more noticeable, placing them higher in the page hierarchy) but i decided against it to give the user back the control and allow them to make decisions about where they want to go.

(i have had to mention the appropriate brief title i.e. 'mapping' in this description to make it easier for anyone marking the work to identify it quickly) without having to look up my notes that would be provided on the disc in notepad or. I have decided not to publish my website as I'd like it to be seen only by those looking for it or for people i seek out to share it with.

My working portfolio description is:

Ever wanted to find a safe route home? Whether it be for safety, speed or for the scenery, 'Safe Way Home' provides users with all the information they need to make informed decisions about their route choices.

Aimed at encouraging a healthy lifestyle as well as improving safety and confidence in the vulnerable and less-able, this idea takes user information about their local area and inputs it into a 3D environment to allow users to easily identify trouble spots and avoid them. With three criteria: Lighting, Anti-Social Behaviour, and poor lighting, users will be able to spot these within the 3D environment. Why 3D? Because it allows the users to visualise the space more effectively and even avoid busy roads and seek out scenic routes.

Currently, Safe Way Home is in it's developmental stages and available only for people living in walthamstow, but with funding from the MET or Local Council, users might one day be able to draw directly into a 3D environment, safe routes virtually and contact other members for advice. At the moment, safe way home asks users to download a map, mark it up with symbols and submit it via email for submission to the 3D environment, but hopefully this idea will grow.

'Safe Way Home' is a working solution to my first year CID 'Mapping' brief.

Saturday, 1 May 2010

finally putting it all together


after coming to my final design, i am putting it together in flash. Unfortunately it did take me a long time with research and sketching out my ideas, so i'm a bit short on time but luckily i know exactly what i'm doing so putting it together will be quicker.

I found it useful in the past to document the literal design process of the final work as it helped me realise how long it takes to do certain things and to streamline the process and also see where i've made changes to the design whilst its being made.

Already, i am going to highlight the titles as they arent standing out enough, and i've changed the thumbnail masks to lighter instead of darker.

Friday, 30 April 2010

Thinking about displaying projects within the portfolio

Looking into flash, i've noticed some difficulties in displaying previous .swf projects within a swf porfolio. Flash is still my preferred program to create the portfolio as i find it a more malleable method of displaying my work without having to constrain it to tricky to control html table layouts and less animation and interaction possibilities. It is the preferred method for design web portfolios that i've seen and also my favourite web portfolios have all been flashed based. However, although it is technically possible to 'call' a previous project within a window of the portfolio, it is complicated, and there is also the problem of it looking strange. What i thought of doing is having it pop out, and instead having a screenshot. This would mean that the page loads faster (if published) and it would only call the popup data if clicked, but it would also mean that a user could keep the popup windows open to compare the final projects easily.

When using flash i did make considerations about web publishing and decided on my page dimensions this way. I decided on 800X400. The finished flash portfolio is meant to be one-page and not scrollable so essentially what you seee is what you get.

Monday, 26 April 2010

Continuing the design process

I am looking into instantly recognisable formats for navigation, and i realised that ringbindr folder navigation or tabbed navigation would be a useful means. It also creates a nice way of formatting and holding the images that is clean, easy to understand and navigate, and clear throughout.

The previous background format has now been anchored, and the tabbing navigation could actually be extended to having individual tabs for the projects on the top right hand side

Below is the second image ideation. It has a left navigation bar with headings for the project titles.

I much prefer this system as you can quickly access sections of the website by title without having to hover over the blocks, but whilst still leaving it as an option, you retain the aesthetic properties. I came to this decision whilst doing analysis of other websites; where navigation isnt easily signposted it is frustrating and sometimes difficult or impossible to 'direct' friends/associates to the right place

Wednesday, 21 April 2010

Design Development

After sketching up the first few frames in flash and trying to see how it would work, i realised that a. the portfolio was currently unsuitable for web publishing b. there are huge difficulties getting .swf files to work in flash and c. using liquid layouts in dreamweaver combined with a table structure would be useful. Having such a simple layout does make it look a little too basic, and although i like the general effect, i am making a few changes.

I am still in the process of designing the website, and i fid paint shop pro a useful tool in sketching it out. I have used my centre image in a more tabular layout.

I want pinstripes on the header and footer so i am ging to create a tile from this sourcefile: http://product.grahambrown.com/assets/tile/447x550/447x/grahambrown/prod/18169-pattern.jpg

it needs resizing and rotating though

I dont really think it goes very well with the background, and the pink headers make it look even stranger. Need to go back to sketching.

I've had to go back to the drawing board as i've realised my original design isnt working

It is too dark and it's been difficult to implement my cutout header design style so i've had to rethink my layout. I'm now quite comfortable with using flash so i feel i can play around with design.

I'd really like to use a photographic background and i've been looking up different flash portfolo sites such as:

http://www.warmforestflash.com/blog/2009/02/21-well-designed-flash-portfolios/

The only problem is that it's almost skewing my ideas and i'm quite worried about subconsciously copying them, so i am making sure that i am not looking at them when working on ideas in my sketchbook.

I've been working to my original 4 box ideal template, name header and footer and have come up with this rough image (i used PSP to very quickly and inaccurately model this):

I'm very happy with this layout as it is very crisp and clean.

The background image is another from my brothers photography work. I like the apple label as it makes the photograph seem less synthetic i.e. it has a flaw.

It is striking and modern and a nice setting for my work.

I will have insibble thumbnails until the mouse hovers over them. The contact button will pop up with contact information: There won't be a seperate page for it, and it will be in the bottom left right corner over all of the pages.

I added a right and left navigation. to the top, so that you can move left and right through the site without clicking on the thumbnail. It wil take you through left to right

On clicking on a thumbnail, the others will disappear, and the thumbnail will move to the left, eventually growing and moving to the project header page.

Tuesday, 20 April 2010

work in progress


I've put together the intro, homepage and contact pages so far but i'm still not 100% about the contrasting colourscheme. I'm considering having the headers in black unless you hover your mouse over them...


In the second screenshot, my mouse is hovering over the 'enter' icon. I created all of the icons in flash itself as opposed to creating them in painshop pro as .PNG files

In the third screenshot, my mouse is hovering over the 3rd icon.

Monday, 19 April 2010

Building the website


I used a stock image for the background website:

http://www.freestockimages.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/free-stock-images-metal-texture-03.jpg

I've decided to make it widescreen to make it fit a browser better and for the improved aesthetic properties.

I then changed the aspect ratio as it was a bit too square.

This allowed me to test my motion tweeing skills and see if i liked this modular layout. I didnt. I decided to go back to the drawing board and finally decided on using an urban photo from my brothers photography portfolio (credit: Marcel McKenzie) as it really encompassed and suggested the urban and social focuses of my project, and artistic features.

Wednesday, 14 April 2010

Designing My Layout

Aims:

Modular
Simple
Easy Access to Information
Easy navigation
Clean, Modern
Loads Quickly
Short Pages: Little need to scroll down. Speedier
Thematically reflects the content displayed

Designing the research section of the portfolio site

A question is posed: How to almagamate research which is composed of many different types?

My solution: A virtual pinboard.

What do i want?
  • To illsutrate my process
  • To show it chronologically: so you know what came where
  • Possibly date stamped
  • To hide/show different media types on my pinboard and to be able to 'zoom in' to sections.
Where did this idea come from?

Looking at different ways that creative websites display their 'previous work'

http://fashionproductphotography.com/fashion.html

In this example the items are placed into a sub menu scroller. Sometimes the photographs had smaller 'titles' at the bottom describing who the work was for.

http://lookbooks.com/
scrolling header at the top of the page. i like how you this shows variety without being intrusive
note: its little jerky and buggy

http://www.matthiasdittrich.com/
  • really interesting porfolio of an interaction designer
  • you cant use web browser navigation buttons: solely in-window navigation
  • you scroll through tiles by clicking and dragging
  • 'time' on an axis indication old>new
  • link to 'cv' on the left
http://www.dustinkirk.com/portfolio/

an example of a virtual pinboard (combines photographic and video media). roughly 60& of the way down the page.
attempts to make it like a cord pinboard were made, with textures applied to the background and the photos misaligned intentionally.

Friday, 12 March 2010

Portfolio Analysis Write-Up

The decisions on whether a portfolio was successful or not were made according to these criteria:

-Colourscheme
-Layout
-Navigation
-Signposting
-Description
-Detail level

The successful portfolios were designed in a way that reflected their content, and had a clean layout that was well signposted and easy to navigate. There were different levels of detail, but they were successful where all required information was easy to access and it was easy to access more information i.e. zoom into a photo or see a description if desired.

The layout would have been well balanced and even, and there wouldn't be any unnecessary 'clutter'

Corporate Portfolio: Bad




http://www.ripe.co.uk/

On opening the homepage, a video loaded and music started playing which was distracting. It would have been much less intrusive if the video was set to 'pause' with the option to play it if desired.

To get to the portfolio, there is a small 'our work' icon at the top left of the page. Once the page opens, there is a 3X2 grid which is slightly misaligned. The the top left spacing is a short description with the strapline 'Our ultimate goal is to produce work that works'.

The work is divided up into five headings: Branding&Print, Web Design, Exhibition&InStore, New Media&TV, Property. Next to each heading is a logo which seem pointless as they add nothing to the design, and de-balance the layout. Some of the category descriptions seem to be written by someone that is trying to sound impressive i.e. 'More and more, people are moved by moving image. That's why we've become specialists at...' but the grammar doesn't seem quite right and they seem to be more interested in creating some sort of pun by using the same word twice. The site uses the word 'move' quite a lot probably to suggest being progressive and influential.

The main problem with the layout is the lack of signposting: to navigate through each category, there is a number to click but there is no way to find out what each number represents until it has been clicked. If a potential client wants to find a specific piece of work they would have to hunt for it. The designer could have gotten around this by creating a rollover on the numbers i.e. where you hover over the number and it changes to a heading. This would keep the layout neat, and make it easy enough to access places quickly.

With most of the pages, a video and music track greets the viewer without prompting. The video isnt a problem, but the music is distracing. It just seems unnecessary as it is essentially a slideshow of words surrounded by vector animations and clips of helicopter shots of big cities and people. It is meant to look impressive with lines like 'life enriched' and 'a kaleidescope of firsts for a city aiming to be number one', but they don't really mean anything and don't make much sense.

In the 'client list' tab, there is a grid of company icons, but a potential viewer can't click through to view the work by clicking on an icon of a brand that they are interested in. There are far too many icons for one page so it fades through to different sets every 10 seconds. There is no way to get back to the previous list; you just have to wait until it cycles round.

Tuesday, 9 March 2010

Corporate Portfolio: Great



http://www.jkr.co.uk/

I chose this porfolio as i did some work experience there and i remember spending ages on the site looking at the work despite not having that much interest in packaging design. It has since been updated, but i still think it's fantastic. It seems to be effective in interesting all possible audiences

It shows how dark colours can be implemented well, and i love the off-centre navigation. The navigation headings are also fantastic. The juxtaposition of the peacock with the b&w pidgeons works very well. Something also crossed my mind: the tone of the black is probably about 90% and i remember a graphic design tutor telling me that you should never use 100% black in graphic design as it looks too stark and i'd agree.

The jkr logo has vivid colours running behind it which creates a nice effect, and the transitions between the different pages of navigation is smooths and animated. The list of works is animated and the rollover is a different colour. When you move your mouse off the navigation, it gradually blanks out.

When you click through to a project, the navigation bar moved, and it takes you to an animated backround with the product in the foreground.It just looks clean and professional. It isn't overly complicated and the flash work doesn't take long to load.

Alternate Portfolio: Raimo. Great


http://picasaweb.google.com/RaimoLK

This porfolio is well organised with standard picasa thumbnails. They are titled up, and clickable, arranged by recency (which you can change in the options).

What i found fascinating is how the images in this album http://picasaweb.google.com/RaimoLK/PhotoDiary2010OnePhotoEveryDayProject2010# are tagged by temperature AND date. I have never seen that information before on a portfolio, and it made me think that there is non-standard information that you can put in a portfolio to make it different. Not only the design of it, but the content.

Alternate Portfolio: Melvin. Bad


http://picasaweb.google.com/melrichardsonmbe/BridePhoto/#

I got to this porfolio via http://www.cicibridal.com/bridal-dresses.html

They do not host any of their images themselves, instead when you click the gallery link, it takes you to picasa. Then you select the dress you like and email the reference number. There is no information about the dress, and the filenames themselves are simple i.e. 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b... etc.

I can see how flickr would be useful for small portfolios, but there are 328 images not arranged into albums or organised in any way, and after 2 seconds of scrolling everything looks the same. This wedding portfolio is much better http://www.foxglovegowns.com/portfolio/portfolio.htm although there are uneven spaces and image sizes.

I decided to look for good examples of portfolios on picasa and i will blog my findings soon...

Alternate Portfolio: Aris Roskam. Bad

http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/a/arisroskam/

This independent Artist Website is a sales platform, but the users can create porfolios which you can then buy via paypal. It's called a 'porfolio' but it looks like a standard shopping site layout but when you click through to the item description you get more information than you would get on a regular painting e-shop i.e. http://www.numasters.com/artists/view_artwork.asp?item_id=1076. The artist bio is on the left and you can get exhibition, member details and contact info.

I dislike this portfolio mainly because it looks like a shop. However, it is easy to navigate and images load up quickly. The site itself looks unprofessional with an outdated design, simplicity and colouscheme. This to me is counterproductive as i'sd never buy anything from there as i wouldn't want to put my card details into it. It just looks outdated.

Further personal portfolio links

http://marykuper.com/portfolio/

I like this because it has a thumbnail browser to the left and the full sized images are on the right (no popup portfolio links)

http://siobhanmcguire.com/index.html

I didn't mind the dark colourscheme as it seemed to go pretty well with the quirky animation on her site. However, if i created a portfolio for one piece of work, i'd title it with the name of the piece of work rather than calling it 'my porfolio' as it makes you look slightly limited. i'd say it was 'by me', and then create contact and about me links.

http://www.ndesign-studio.com/portfolio

I love this porfolio although the wordpress publishing tool has been it somewhat into a blog in certain places. The design of the site means that you'd guess it is for an illustrator even if the work itsef was blanked out and i like this. Since my work is interactive and in flash, i'd like to have the design of it reflect this. However, i am aware of it affecting page loading times and flash animations can be a bit laggy. See the image viewer on ASOS here: http://www.asos.com/Asos/Asos-Floral-Culottes/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=917199&cid=10256&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=20&sort=-1&clr=Print I'd love to use a flash based image viewer with smooth navigation, but it is laggy on my netbook (it is better on my desktop but it shudders a little and the transition isn't always smooth when i have other programs running!).

The designers work is tiled, with a description below the titles, but once you click through to the full size page, the work is allowed to speak for itself.

Mary Shindell: Personal Portfolio BAD


http://www.maryshindell.com/clients/shindellm/nav/frameset.shtml

This portfolio seemed under-designed for an illustrator/artist. Bleak, boring colours rather than simply 'neutral', and a dark colourscheme left me not really wanting to see more. I can understand now that there's a fine line between a 'blank canvas' and it being 'dull/boring'.

There was a popout image viewer that didn't allow in-window navigation, and it seemed very studenty. The work shown didn't seem to be arranged in any order, and although there was lots of decription in the pop up image viewer, there were no headings in the general view to leave you wanting more. Also, there should be some kind of page counter as you don't know which page of the portfolio you are on in each section, or how many are left so you give up after a few clicks. Also, it would be hard to describe where a particular piece of work is to anyone in one sentence say over the phone unless you had the page open in front of you to guide them through it.

I actually do love a lot of her work, but it doesn't look very good in the environment it is in especially since many of the colourchemes are in stark painful contrast to the background. The image viewer loads a little slowly. There are irregular image thumbnails and alignment problems as shown in both screenshots.



Perhaps dark colours aren't a good idea for online portfolios.

Hello Brute: Personal Portfolio GOOD


http://hellobrute.com/portfolio/

Layout:

Image Header
Whole Site Naviation > Newsletter Signup
Left orientated portfolio navigation > Right hand image
Search
Recent Work Feed
Copyright info

When you select a part of the portfolio, it goes to an 4 column image tile with descriptions.

When you select a body of work, it goes to a page with a header at the top and a full size image, and then a description below.

I suppose that this would be appropriate for when your work is composed of lots of easily presented one-page outcomes.

The layout and presentation seems to go very well with the type of work being presented, and it loads quickly with easy links back to important pages.

Cloroflot: Portfolio Analysis: Template Hosted Portfolios b.


http://www.coroflot.com/

The designers can add educational, work experience and specialisation info, create projects/decriptions and add work to them as well as adding titles to the images (easy to browse and select as there are good navigation tools). You can browse images within the porfolio using the 'previous' and 'next' buttons.

The images are fantastic quality, and there is easily accessible information about the designers as well as quick contact links.

The layout stays constant throughout and it feels very professional. Neutral colours allow a blank canvas to present the work.





Portfolio Analysis: Template Hosted Portfolios A.


http://www.styleportfolios.com/

Web based portfolio solely for the fashion design sector. Links to industry, and recruitment opportunities available.

The designers can upload photos for their portfolios, write a short <500 word description for each portfolio, but there are no individual descriptions for each of the photographs. On the right is a short CV and bio, and there are contact and replication/printing options (but you have to log in to do this).

I looked at this designer in particular http://www.styleportfolios.com/portfolio.php?username=uricka#

The images are professional, and the description well thought out, but there is a slight downside in that you can't zoom into the screenshots (the same across the site). The format is well laid out except you can't arrange/browse by portfolio or season/collection, there is simply a list of images. There are no customisation options which i suppose makes the site look good in terms of continuity and professionalism, but it means that you cannot format the space to better present your work.


When you click on an image, a popup window appears, but to se another image, you have to close the window and click on the next one. It should provide a browsing function where you can click 'next' or 'previous' images within this zoomed view to prevent the tedious task of looking through the portfolio.

Mock Up brief titles

I did the first brief write up in the lesson, and it was purely descriptive which i think would be good for an academic audience but i still wasnt 100% happy with it. In my own time i did the others and tried to draw the reader in by posing a question. I also tried to make the titles thought provoking.

There are things that i want to do with the projects that haven't yet been completely finished that i have touched on in the descriptions. I tried not to do this, but i didn't want to say 'if i had more time...' as i want the projects to be at a well developed stage when they are submitted.


Brief 1

Design Mediating a user experience

TITLE: Did You Catch That?

This project is designed to illustrate the differences in human perception, and to show how a different viewpoint of the same stimuli (visual and audio) can be taken completely differently. It was intended not only to show my experience of

Two different videos are shown simultaneously, and the user has the ability to click on things that they are interested which will result in a list at the end of the clips. Then the list of what I picked out from the clips is shown at the end, for comparison. The flash program is designed to have multiple clickable areas so that you can focus on different things, and every user will have a slightly different list.

I was very interested in perception as a psychological concept, and my intended context of use was to create an environment for research purposes.

Brief 2. Mapping

TITLE: It’s Cold Outside

Ever wanted to find the best route home? Whether it be for speed, staying safe, or for the scenery, ‘safewayhome’ provides users with information about their local area to help them make informed decisions about their walking routes.

Currently, users can submit information by marking a map with icons which is then inputted into a 3D environment which they can interact with. Funding would come from the MET or the local council to encourage an active lifestyle, and make people feel safer by creating a community aimed to protect the vulnerable and less confident.

Brief 3: Design communicating presence

TITLE: 7 Deadly Sins

Ever needed a little help resisting that family sized chocolate bar? Well, you wouldn’t be alone. However, dieting is a lonely venture for many and my design for an iphone app connects you to other users, and provides valuable information on making better nutritional choices. Strongly geared towards women, this app is designed to motivate women using a three pronged attack: 1. Providing options, 2. discouragement, and 3. communal support.

The first method allows the user to type in what they’re being tempted by, and it generates three alternatives: 1. A lower calorie version of their snack i.e. a milky way chocolate rather than a lion bar. 2. Photographs of them at their heaviest, as well as photographs of women at their target weight (celebrities and other dieters) 4. It allows you to connect with other women nearby and contact them for support as well as viewing their progress and congratulating them.

Tuesday, 2 March 2010

Neville Brody additional research sources

http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/adobe/arcadia/roman/

allows you to generate sample images of his fonts (and use your own text in them).this site was useful in making stylesheets.

http://www.identifont.com/show?P5

http://www.linotype.com/669/nevillebrody.html

confirmed his most recognised fonts: those to focus on

http://www.linotype.com/2449/fontsofnevillebrodyinthelinotype.html

http://www.w3schools.com/tags/ref_colorpicker.asp?colorhex=800000
web safe color list

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBC7e3Lrf1vpYQ0lP-o-U19jy9V4J6LhuIEfw-NM3-Ht59XErNFoq32bYzPduw8szw5vVnOU9Tn8r8Rms9vCAxJVbC2g6faKC47ymrlp4aCE7QIBhjlHPoI1dHVd7FCMErBncLY2YWWI4/s400/clock+dva
cd cover link

Neville Brody

Neville Brody

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

Neville Brody (born 23 April 1957 in London) is an English graphic designer, typographer and art director.

Neville Brody is an alumnus of the London College of Printing and Hornsey College of Art, and is known for his work on The Face magazine (1981–1986) and Arena magazine (1987–1990), as well as for designing record covers for artists such as Cabaret Voltaire and Depeche Mode. He created the company Research Studios in 1994 and is a founding member of Fontworks.

His tutors often condemned his work as "Uncommercial",[citation needed] often putting a heavy emphasis on safe and tested economic strategies, as opposed to experimentation.\(a rulebreaker-perhaps reflect this in the aesthetics of the portfolio)?

http://new.myfonts.com/person/Neville_Brody/

English graphic and type designer with a devoted following for his anti-traditional views. Studied at the London College of Printing. Art Director first of The Face, a London-based “style” magazine, from soon after its birth, then of the men’s magazine Arena. By the early 1990s he was able, with a straight face, to recommend abandoning typography’s requirement of legibility — gloating as a chill shot down the spines of his type-pro audiences...

http://www.creativematch.com/directory/fontworks-uk-ltd/

http://mrbou.com/2009/11/16/neville-brody-on-typography/


http://new.myfonts.com/person/Neville_Brody/




http://www.lovehelvetica.com/


http://www.graphic-design.com/Type/2008/neville_brody.html

Insignia® was designed as a headline face for Arena magazine in 1986, and released as a font by Linotype in 1989. Insignia has the basic forms of constructed grotesque fonts and was influenced by the New Typography of the Bauhaus during the 1930s.

Insignia's monoline, round-and-sharp forms reflect the Zeitgeist of that age, suggesting technology and progress. Yet, like other Brody fonts, Insignia is also immediately recognizable as one of the hip, cutting-edge classics of our own computer era. The alternate font has half-serifs on the E, F, and Z; squeezed bowls on the P and R; a wider J; and an S made from protractor-shaped parts. Four original Brody fonts are available from Linotype: Insignia, Insignia Industria Solid, Industria Inline and Arcadia. His designs have received international recognition for their innovative style, reaching almost cult status. (Linotype)

InsigniaƂ® Com Roman The really useful aspect of Insignia is that you can confidently use it for an illustration font. The unique characteristics of the upper-case letters lend themselves well to some dramatic logo configurations, and the uniform strokes allow you to continue, merge, add or subtract while retaining total readability! This is a designer's must have font! Besices, Brody's designs have received international recognition for their innovative style, reaching almost cult status.

Insignia was designed as a headline face for Arena magazine in 1986, and released as a font by Linotype in 1989. Yet, like other Brody fonts, Insignia is also immediately recognizable as one of the hip, cutting-edge classics of our own computer era.


Brieflet 1 - Identity

Reviewing various types of stylesheets and their contents was the first task.

A few different types of guidelines were found.

Firstly were the website Graphic Guidelines and Header Guidelines found on sstx.org/images/styleGuide.jpg

This was an outline for the font at different levels i.e. 'Header Text' vs. 'Plain Text', and also a web-safe list of the colourscheme used.

The layout was instructive, clear and easy to use. It is self-explanatory and does not require any additional verbal explanation.

The colourcheme given is very specific. It does not say 'maroon', 'light grey' etc. and instead notes the html colour coding for the specific colours as well as giving a swatch to prevent typos and illustrate it more clearly.