POST DIGITAL

on: old navy's first + fabulous sitcom

The Super Modelquins are moving out of the old navy store and on to your street. Introducing Old Navy's new sitcom First + Fabulous.

on: kit kat's augmented reality

on: the nissan leaf polar bear

I simply love this ad!

[ via Rob Schwartz ]

on: designing data

on: september 11, 2010

nine years later and the images of that day still evoke tears, the stories make you pause and the names of the victims read out loud on this day remind you of how fragile life is. Bing has always commemorated this day with stirring images on their home page. (see last year)  Today is no different.

 

Here are a few other digital images and destinations to remember today.

 

Visit the Memorial site at http://www.national911memorial.org
 

 

on: internet design - art direction and elements

"The Web Is Dead." This month's Wired magazine proclaims "Long Live The Internet." So what does that mean for Web designers? We must evolve to Internet Design! From apps to content everything has changed. The rise of NUI [touch screen or natural user interface] and mobile based hardware is driving lighter, simpler services and apps. This evolution has tremendous impact for designers. In Part One I covered Layout, In Part Two: Typography, In Part Three: Color. Today we I will focus on art direction & elements.

Part Four: The Art of Design

The visual metaphor, typography, textures, information graphics, surreal, illustration... you name it I have done it. Art direction is where I love to play and dramatize the idea.  When it comes to apps this is where you can have some real fun!  Your creativity can go wild here with texture, icons, patterns, etc. Keep in mind that design elements also play a big role in setting the mood of the design. So keep things consistent with the goals of the website and it’s audience. Also keep the design elements consistent with the other three components (Layout, Typography and Color) already mentioned.

Consistency in action

The designer of Red Velvet Art did an excellent job of utilizing the same hand drawn style throughout the various design elements. Notice how the icons, background pattern and doodles all work together. The consistency also flows through to the typography and retro color scheme.

Attention to detail

The Squarespace blog has a typical blog layout and an overall clean design, but notice the pixel perfect tick marks that line the left and right borders of the content area. It’s such a minimal design element, but it serves it’s purpose in establishing focus on the content while staying consistent with the rest of the design.

Less really is more

This design could have worked well on a white background, but Elliot Jay Stocks loves using texture. To stay consistent with the open feel of the site, he went with a light and subtle grunge texture. It works because it doesn’t take away from the minimalism of the layout and still adds another layer of interest to the design.
 

[examples on art direction via WDL]

on: internet app design - color

"The Web Is Dead." This month's Wired magazine proclaims "Long Live The Internet." So what does that mean for Web designers? We must evolve to Internet Design! From apps to content everything has changed. The rise of NUI [touch screen or natural user interface] and mobile based hardware is driving lighter, simpler services and apps. This evolution has tremendous impact for designers. In Part one I covered Layout, In Part Two: Typography, Today we I will focus on color.

Part Three: Color Outside The Lines
Choosing the right color scheme is extremely important, because it will set the mood of your app design more so than any other component. Don’t let your own personal taste determine what colors you use. That should be based on what’s trying to be achieved with the app and what you know about it’s audience.

3.1 What's Your Brand's Color? 

It's usually found in the DNA of a brand.  Most brands have a color bible. Use it.  Enhance it. But never get rid of it or change it.  It's a part of the visual language that which captures the essence of a brand.  If your having trouble identifying a colors that work try Adobe’s Kuler, it's a community driven web app that lets your browse color palettes created by others. You can also create your own by using the color wheel, harmony rules, and color sliders. There are also other tools to help you choose the right colors.

3.2 I dare you to use orange! 
As fashion week kicks into high gear in NYCI challenge you to count the # of times you designers using orange as a primary color! It's coming back in a big way. If you can't use orange simply dare to be different!  I like the the Gap Medics site, which features a bold choice of colors that goes against everything we are used to seeing on medical related sites. It’s appropriate since the site is trying to attract young medical students. The colors help give the site a young hip feel that softens seriousness of the subject matter.

3.3 Black / Dark Colors in Web design

Sometimes a little color is the right color.  Carsonified basically only uses two colors. The dark brown and a creamy white compliment the vintage poster style and design elements. Sometimes a minimal color palette is all you need.  You can use dark colors in apps and on the internet witou breaking a usability best practice.  

[examples via the WDL]

Go for it!  Black is back according to Winehouse.

Next Up - Art Direction and GUI Elements

on: bianca chang

 

 

  
 
   

on: lg's "brilliant together"

This heart-warming film shows off the graphic capability of the new LG dLite phone.

LG 'dLite' from Paranoid US on Vimeo.

on: nokia's n8...it's what you do with it

Here's an inspiring celebration of human creativity. More on this at @w2optimism - http://wklondon.typepad.com/