The importance of planning, not just doing

I received this in an email from a friend.

These workmen are installing bollards to stop nurses from parking on the pavement outside the Royal Hospital in Belfast. They are cleaning up at the end of the day. How long do you think it will be before they realise that they can't go?

As I chuckled to myself I thought about how the problem these workmen have made for themselves is not unlike those created by some of my students.

I frequently emphasise the importance of the development phase within any design project. This is where the designer really solves the problem, then plans the solution before carrying out the solution.

Regardless I still have some students trying to bypass the development and going straight for production without sufficient (or in some cases any) planning. They run their favourite graphics applications and begin making the finished product right then and there. The problem with this strategy is 2 fold:

1. A student can rarely pass a unit without proper development and planning (so they end up re-doing it anyway).
2. Nearly always they run into problems that could have been avoided, by being sorted out when they were planning how they would produce their design solution.

Not unlike our friendly builders above, who have inadvertently blocked themselves onto the pavement.

So, as a gentle reminder to certain students of mine. You can keep skipping the development phase if you like, but like the builders, you will always end up taking your work apart and re-doing it before you are complete.

Do your development and planning, and do it right the first time - it means better grades and better work.

Yes! Modern graphics can be inspired by old oil paintings...

Too often I hear students moaning that historical sources are boring, uninspiring, and in some cases irrelevant to the world of contemporary graphics. More often than I am comfortable with students would rather study their peers on Deviant Art than their superiors in an art gallery.

While I do understand what my students are saying, from their point of view, I suggest that the problem is not with the historical art, but in our misconceptions about how we think other people's artwork should influence or inspire us.

Take the video for Coldplay's Viva La Vida for example. A fantastic piece of contemporary art & design, packed with modern digital effects, almost totally inspired visually by 19th Century oil paintings.

See if you agree...

Take a close look. You will see animated painterly effects, cracks in the image like the crazing in an old painting, the dress of the performers, the props, the colours and yes, even the lighting, all influenced by oil paintings nearly 200 years old.

Compare the colours and lighting from the video with this portrait of Nelson. The similarities are striking.

Other examples of paintings from the same era follow. Do you see similarities with these too?




As you watch the video you will have seen many visual elements borrowed from paintings like those above. They have taken the visual language of these paintings and used it in the video.

One painting in particular that appears to inspire the video is the one on the cover of the "Death and All His Friends" album. It features a painting entitled "Liberty Leading the People". It was painted in 1830 by Eugène Delacroix in oil on canvas and currently resides in the Louvre museum in Paris. But if you look closely as the video plays, you will notice a lot of the background imagery appears to be either taken from or inspired by this painting (watch out for the red flag imagery, and towards the end, "Liberty" herself).

What is my point? Just because you are asked to find examples of historical art for research does not mean you will have to produce an oil painting. For inspiration you might take colours, texture, lighting, composition, style, story telling, imagery, semiotics, mood, effects... anything you like.

You don't have to feel like you need to be inspired to use the media or technique - though you might be.

Inspiration comes in many ways from many sources. Do you have the eye to look beyond the surface? If you have, you may yet produce great things, original things, that go beyond the graphical fashion of the now.

The Coldplay video proves my point. So look deeper.

It's not just the technology, it's the ideas behind it

Those of you who are old enough may remember back in 1993 a revolutionary new computer game was released - MYST. Back then it used the Mac's Hypercard and Quicktime, with 3D modelling and rendering software Stratavision. Simple yet effective (more background info here).

As far as today's interactive media is concerned, the original MYST was pretty low tech. When I consider this it becomes clear that pretty much anyone with an intermediate knowledge of Flash and Actionscript could produce a comparable game today.

What set MYST apart then wasn't the technology, but the creativity with which the technology was used.

And this is what I keep trying to get my students to understand. It isn't all about being able to use the software, loads of people can do that. It is about the thinking, the ideas and the creativity.

That is why we emphasise the design process over the final outcome.

Of course later versions of MYST are a lot more complex than the original in 1993, but the ideas, the thinking and the creativity is still what drives the process, even if the technology has changed.

As demonstrated in this making of video...



The Making Of Myst Iii Exile via Noolmusic.com

Talking about web design...

I stumbled across this during a conversation about whether Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds had been made into a film. Naturally I googled for the answer, and found this site.

http://www.thewaroftheworlds.com/default.aspx

It is a good example of how sensible use of HTML, CSS and graphics can be combined in an effective and creative way.

Flash based audio player

The site also includes a Flash based online Music Player... (HINT: click the "Launch Music Player" link at the top right of the page).

Flash based video player

They also have an online video player: http://www.thewaroftheworlds.com/features/video-2.aspx

Nat Dip - Holiday Catch-up

As I said on Friday, some of you will be sent catch-up work by email yesterday and today.

Until that catch-up work arrives in your inbox (and if you are one of the people not sent any this half term) you need to focus on your web design assignment.

Remember:

• The timing is crucial - the indicated times for each task show you if you are on-track, ahead, or behind. IF YOU ARE BEHIND you MUST do EXTRA to CATCH UP.
• The details are vital - each task is described in detail, you MUST cover EVERY DETAIL, or you will not have met the criteria.
• Ask for help - if you GET STUCK (like you are not sure what the task requires you to do) you MUST ASK FOR HELP. Not knowing what to do is NO EXCUSE, when you can ask for help, SO ASK.

Finally:

• Put your Xboxes, Playstations, PSPs, DSs and other distractions away. Time to make the move to full adulthood - your grades and therefore your futures depend on it.

Web Design Assignment - Oh Yeah!

OK folks, the web design assignment will be issued on Monday. I have take the decision not to give it out before the weekend because there is a lot to it, and I want to go through it with you. It would be a pity to give it out now, and then have half the class go in the wrong direction over the weekend and waste their time.

However - you don't have to sit around. Instead I want you to read this article:

http://www.digital-web.com/articles/redesigning_the_expressionengine_site/

Here a web designer explains some of his methods for going about designing a website.

We will go into more detail on the design and planning tools you will use on Monday. Then I will issue the assignment brief.

Intro, First, Nat Dip - Headphones and Microphones

Last year we had 24 pairs of headphones with built in mics, because these were slowly but surely "borrowed", lost or broken, we now have 2 pairs left. We have other professional mics and headphones as well, but they exceed the requirements of general use, and, there are limited quantities. Certainly we are not loaning those out for any old purpose after what happened to the 24 pairs. Professional gear is now reserved for when it is really required.

Some of you are now approaching coursework in which headphones, and in some cases a microphone would be helpful. If you can do it, getting a pair of headphones of your own, with a built in mic, would be an advantage.

To show how cheaply it can be done, I bought the pair shown above from Poundland just to see what they were like. They work. The recorded sound quality is acceptable for most student purposes. Only £1.

It is up to you of course, but if I were you I would rather have my own pair, than be waiting for one to become available.