#JeffFitzgeraldDesign

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Design Resources on the Web: Blog post 5

Whether you’re an established designer or new to the field, it’s always a challenge to stay up to date on the newest innovations of web design or a new font and colour scheme in graphic design. The industry and trends that move with it are constantly evolving. Having a few websites in your back pocket that regularly post design stories, trend insights, and tools to give your design a new perspective is always a good idea.

http://www.type-finder.com/

Type Finder allows you to find reputable and applicable type fonts for web and print based on a questionnaire that helps you find a font that best applies to your needs.

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/

Hong Kiat provides tech news and interesting articles on new tools and apps coming to market to make designs work across multiple platforms.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/

Smashing Magazine is an incredible resource for web development and interface design usability. Videos, articles, and e-books.

http://www.howdesign.com/

“How Design” has articles relevant to design studios as well as tips to make it as a freelance designer. There is also a How Design U that offers workshops on topics ranging from Adobe programs to interface design.

http://www.fastcompany.com/

Fast Company posts an abundance of interesting design articles and industry news.

http://frankchimero.com/intros/quilt/

Although this is more of a portfolio site for a designer, Frank Chimero posts interesting talks and articles related to design and theories behind the concept of design itself.

http://tridiv.com/

Tri Div allows you to create and test 3D shapes using CSS. I’m really excited about trying this out and making some interesting logos and site animations.

//Hope this helps anyone looking for design resources and thanks for reading.

Jeff FitzGerald

[jeff-fitzgerald-design-blog]

Inspiring Through Video: Blog Post 6

Creating and editing video content is a skill that I've been working on this semester in my Audio and Visual class. Prior to this class my experience with video had been making rough edits of basketball plays and french projects in high school with comedically terrible transitions (or awesome if you really like star spangled variations). Now that I have an avenue to learn powerful programs like Adobe Premier coupled with After Effects, the video projects my group and I are putting together are improving with every take.  

Recently I made a vimeo account so I could archive favourites as a reference for shooting techniques and something to aim for. Some of them have no spoken word but are shot so creatively that the message still shines through (“Kilian Martin: Altered Route” for example). Others have a poignant script that is paired with gripping imagery as seen in the music video for “Om Unit - The Road”. In other examples, the blending of the 3D rendering program Maya is put into astonishing effect when mixed with the high energy beat making abilities of Sinjin Hawke and MikeQ in “ThunderScan”. One of my favourite videos is the animation that Joan Gausch put together for Barcelona based music producer Sau Poler. The visuals are fully immersive as you glide backwards through the illustrated setting.

The Gap - Ira Glass

http://vimeo.com/85040589

Om Unit - The Road (feat Charlie Dark) (Civil Music)

http://vimeo.com/77694380

Kilian Martin: Altered Route

http://vimeo.com/brettnovak/alteredroute

Sau Poler - Isolated

http://vimeo.com/90747156

Sinjin Hawke & MikeQ - ThunderScan

https://vimeo.com/83390368

Jeff FitzGerald

[jeff-fitzgerald-design-blog]

Brainstorming for Design: Blog Post 4

What is design exactly? And what are ways we can overcome creative blocks to achieve our design goals? This post will attempt to cover some basics. Wikipedia lists one of the possible definitions of design as, “a roadmap or strategic approach for someone to achieve a unique expectation. It defines the specifications, plans, parameters, costs, activities, processes and how and what to do within legal, political, social, environmental, safety and economic constraints in achieving that objective.” A long winded but comprehensive definition nonetheless. I would say design is having a vision or idea and laying out the necessary steps to make it a reality where you are and with what you have.

It sounds relatively straightforward right? But blocks in the creative process can turn the execution phase of a design into a slow trudge. It’s key to find ways to keep the process going. I often find myself stuck because I’m trying to put an idea down onto the screen or paper in some ideal form and get fixated on minor details. One way to combat this is to have a sketch book. Scribble down slogans, make random shapes, stray away from your preconceived idea and you could end up with something even better than the original design you were trying to execute from scratch.

Other times I can just feel tired or like I’ve been staring at a screen for too long. I would recommend going for a walk outside or getting out for a coffee. Inspiration can come from random conversation or something you see along the way. Working smarter and realizing a creative idea will probably come when you least expect it is a good way to stay away from being a slave to your screen. I hope this helps anybody who’s been experiencing creative blocks.

Jeff FitzGerald