Mauve’s web design and typography lecture was super interesting, insightful, and overwhelming. She brought up a lot of different design principles and how to make them practical for your website, depending on your aesthetic. For instance, my site has a symmetrical balance where everything is the same, with black/white contrasting. I have rhythm through the formatting of prevalent rectangular images throughout each post. Mauve’s lecture made me think of the design of my website and what message I want to convey to readers. I feel torn between wanting to keep my site simple but I feel pressured to transform my site into something entirely different based to attract a wide array of people. I’m beginning to feel like I need to revamp my entire website, so it appeals to others more than valuing my own creative choices that are simple and not grand.
As Gertz (2015) states, “when we let the success and failure of others superficially guide design decisions, we skip over the context and uniqueness of what makes our products different. Design becomes a game of catch-up. Not an intelligent pursuit of finding unique formulas that help the organization stand out on its own”. Gertz’s reading makes me question whether I am making these creative choices because I want to or because I want to curate my website with a cohesive colour palette so it is more aesthetically pleasing for potential readers. My artistic designs and the lack thereof will always be dominated by my inner critic who thinkings about selling myself as a brand and what that would look like, and the things I must do to make myself “successful”. Aesthetics hold a significant weight in our society, and it can make or break us as it draws in an audience and captures their attention. Therefore, I am debating whether I want to stick to a colour palette through the images I use on my website to create cohesion. Additionally, I would like to revise my home page with a carousel that features all my favourite/latest pieces.
Process Post Assignment - Website Design Practices via Vox
I like Vox’s visual design because it is simple with the “Top Stories” heading and highlighted yellow outline. The boxy format is not overwhelming because the visuals draw attention to the stories they want you to focus on, such as the centrepiece, “After Munich meeting, the US-China relationship is still a mess” the bolded increased sizing on that piece draws your focus. The articles are strategically placed and organized through imagery and the lack thereof for others. The website has a rhythm using rectangular formatting consistent in each column. Vox uses three points of contrast through the colour yellow, the bolded font and size, and visual images.
References:
Gertz, T. (2015, July 10). How to survive the digital apocalypse. Louder Than Ten. https://louderthanten.com/coax/design-machines
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