Less is More

No matter the aspect of my life, I've always loved the credo, "Less is more."

In reference to the layout(s) we may choose for our final project, I believe the simpler the better, using simple aesthetics, colors and intelligent backgrounds.

I've always been a sucker for backgrounds that act as a metaphor for the message being told or product being sold. A great example is INTUIT INC.com



INTIUT Mint is a money management company and the homepage gives off a this relaxed, easy-going vibe which is smart for a company whose job is to handle your finances.

Another layout style I feel may work better for our project may be what's called responsive web design. With mobile web becoming more and more prevalent, responsive web design can be cost-effective and is extremely functional. Sleepstreet.be (out of Belgium) is a great example.



Sleepstreet is a company that advertises apartments and houses for rent in Ghent, Belgium.
The design is pleasingly spaced with crisp photos,  a warm color scheme and a contrasting, yet workable blend of retro and contemporary aesthetics.

Despite the fact our work group is using Gatorade as our final project, the flat design Gatorade uses on its homepage is attractive and leaves you wanting to know more.


Now, I'm not a big fan of a websites that upon arriving to the homepage you have a product offer shoved in your face. However, I love the color scheme, the condensation/sweat-like background, and how cleanly placed the product category bar at the top of the page is.

When you're pondering how to create your own website, why wouldn't you check out websites of some of the worlds best web designers? There isn't a thing I don't love about colly.com



Simon Collison is a web designer, speaker, writer out of Nottingham, England. He's written books on CSS web development, hosted workshops, written articles and has been the subject of dozens of interviews about proper web design and development. His use of soft colors here, the grid-like pattern background and vintage, schematic animal drawings is genius in his effort to promote contemporary web designs.

Now, I wanted to provide examples of web designs I find appealing and that I'd consider using for our final project. But I have to come to grips with the fact I'm a beginner. Yet, I'm intrigued and fascinated by noizeoriginal.com out of Canada.



The screen shot doesn't allow readers of my blog entry to see that Noize uses a video of a lovely young woman taking off her sunglasses, then looking at the viewer directly. (see for yourself: noizeoriginal.com)  Next up, in pocket door fashion, viewers are taken to a menu of women's and men's outerwear. Noize's font is centered, clean and the use of a white background is smart with Montreal-based Noize in the business of winter wear.




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We Want You; to Feel Good

The very first font I thought of when Professor Leonard assigned this week's blog entry
was the U.S. Army.

It's intimidating, block style lettering gives off this impression of toughness. This "We mean business," like tone. Not that I want to open up Pandora's box, but with women's equality as a major social issue, the U.S. Army font has always carried a masculine tone to it. I am in no way saying that a font style is what keeps females from wanting to join the military, but it's just an example of how strong a psychological message font can play. Font conveys the visual personality of what you are selling or the story you want to tell.

Interestingly enough, each branch of the U.S. military has their own font. Take for example the Marines.

The Marines use Trade Gothic font. It's short and block in style, yet has a polished grittiness to it.

Can you imagine if a branch of our military used Origins font to try and recruit young soldiers? I believe it would send a confusing message.

The same can be said for something that it supposed to come across as elegant like high line magazine Vanity Fair.
In November of 2013, Vanity Fair underwent a font change. The new style was in fact custom made for them called VF Sans Condensed. It's tall, it's smooth, it's fashionable, it's chic, yet aristocratically simple.

A 2005 study by psychologist Ken Larson (Microsoft) and Rosalind Picard (MIT) called "The Aesthetics of Reading" states that readers felt badly when reading poorly designed layout and that good design made them feel better.
They also concluded that, "well-designed reading environments don’t necessarily help you understand what you’re reading better, but they do make you feel good, causing you to feel inspired and more likely to take action." 

The No-No's are a Big Yes

In searching for unique, interactive websites that enhance user experience, I came across several that were very intriguing. I decided to highlight a few since I was lucky enough to stumble upon so many.

First was cobay.es/ by LaPhase5 from France. Their directive is on the horrors of animal research testing. It entices visitors with the opening phrase "Let's get into it." Upon clicking the arrow at the bottom of the homepage, Cobayes informs readers of the [methodical] cruelties of animal testing by allowing visitors to go on an interactive journey as an animal tester. I'm for animal rights, however this seemed more like a PSA with Cobayes pushing their message with interaction, that of which  even the most staunch animal activists may not want to partake in.

The second website I visited was 51Sprints.com by Random Studio (Netherlands). The moment you arrive to the homepage, you see various clips of past/vintage Olympic sprints while a soft narrative voice declares that the Olympics is about equality; and that the Olympic sprinters representing their countries should be recognized as part of the human race battling for equal opportunity and equal representation. Visitors can then launch the "equaliser" and form your own custom sprint by eliminating racers based on their nation, class, race and body; then you can launch the race. Once the race has finished, it allows you to "level the playing field by eliminating the influence of the factors." You can also watch a documentary where the message is that Olympic athletes have become labels with the human being aspect, in essence, being stripped from them.

I visited a few more: remembereverything.com highlights (in HD) the latest film in Matt Damon's Jason Bourne series; and femmefatale.paris/en, a "creative studio [website] focusing on culture, luxury, editorial & art. Somewhere between sophistication and simplicity."


I have to say it was extremely fun searching and surfing through so many quality (and diverse) websites. However, the one I found most pleasing was Panera Bread's paneralandofclean.com by Resn Anomoly (Netherlands).

The moment you click on the link you're taken to, "The Land of Clean, the wondrous world, where everything is food and food as it should be. A world untouched by artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors and colors from artificial sources." No-No's as Panera calls them.

You're then invited to play a simple, fun and educational game. Panera takes you where some unwelcome No-No's have made it into the Land of Clean. Upon clicking the "Play the Game" button, you're thrust into an almost 3D-like landscape of explosive colors and crystal clear graphics made exclusively of vegetables, fruits, cheeses and bread.  I began the first game stage called "Baguette Falls." The gentle music makes game play more pleasing. Your goal is to click on shifting, randomly placed items. Once you find each item and click, it flies into the air. The molecule-like item then poofs into colorful dust revealing (and describing) the harmful chemical Panera refuses to use in their foods and drinks. Once you complete each challenge per location, you earn rewards points towards Panera food.

Although "The Land of Clean" didn't present as compelling a message as the other websites I visited, Panera's effort is extremely pleasing to the eye and ear, keeps visitors engaged and teaches visitors about Panera's vision toward feeding customers good, guilt-free food.

108 Stitches and Two Eights

My passion for fantasy baseball is evident. The work at UTRMinors has been strewn with enthusiasm since 2009. However, it started long before that.

Life's metaphors, memories wrapped inside a 3-inch diameter ball.

My brother kept all of his gear on a pitted wooden shelf in the back of dad's organized, yet chaotic garage. A shelf that held a vast surplus of various motor oils, window cleaner and mountains of buffing rags for his prized 1968 Buick Electra 225. A car so long that the tail lights nearly touched the closed garage door. A car that barely allowed me enough room to reach over and grab my brother's baseball mitt, and the worn baseball tied up inside of it.

"It's an old trick," Tracy said.
"You plant the ball as deep inside the webbing, then tie it shut with string."

Molding. Shaping. Safety. Security.

This was supposed to help morph the glove's pocket into a perfect cove, making the ease, and the art, of catching a baseball feel more complete, natural.

Catching a baseball is like life and the goals we strive for. We go after our goals because it feels natural. Reaching them makes us feel complete.

A baseball's countless scuffs aren't wear-and-tear. They are growth. They are scars. Badges of honor. Healing. They're memories.

A baseball's shape. Round. A metaphor of a life coming full circle. Like mine.

My days as a child up until today, baseball has always served me like a series of bridges. Necessary connections. That fresh break taking me from one land that built a memory to another that began a new one.

A baseball isn't a solitary thing. Just like us. It's got guts.

A core, multiple layers of windings, 108 stitches linking together "two cowhide number eights," I'd say as a kid. Just like all of us. A core held together by multiple layers with an outer skin. Intricate. Gutsy.

At times we look at life and want perfection. But think how life would be if everything was perfect. I aim to find the imperfect amongst the perfect.

This poem inspires me.

Tracy and I always joked about how we were so protective of that ball as if it was the only one we owned. The irony is that it was.

Just like life. Our only one.

And in a world striving to be perfect, there's nothing more perfect than the imperfect.





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