I hope I get this right…
I was introduced to this website, CSS Zen Garden, years ago by a friend who dabbled in web design, and it’s what started my love of web design ever since. When I first came across it, I was contemplating finishing a site for my Boy Scout troop, a badly-hewn mess of broken HTML tags that I had learned from the back of a dog-eared “Internet Programming Third Edition” book I had fished out of the bargain bin of a Borders Sidewalk Sale. When I finished browsing all of the wonderfully designed, meticulous, detailed pages…I’d say I had a revelation, but that would be too dramatic.
The content of the page is exactly the same, word for word. What’s different is that the HTML file is exactly the same, and designers submit different stylesheets that drastically alter the page from one sheet to the next, using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). The constraint is that they cannot alter the HTML file at all – which leads to interesting and unique designs that all have a challenge to overcome.
I’ve never been too much of a YouTube-person, myself, and was only introduced to the site this past year, mostly for purposes of introducing me to music & music videos. One of the more stimulating music videos I have been subjected to was the video for the White Stripes’ “The Hardest Button to Button,” which I have attached here.
Most appealing about the video is how it reaches out to two senses by connecting the cuts of visuals with the bass beat (every beat, something is slightly different in the picture– usually the number of drums/equipment seen). My favorite scene from the video: subway seen starting around 1:35with the drumsets and amps intertwining through the train. Using red in the generally neutral-colored scenes also makes the beat visually pop.
Last year, I went to London and went to more art exhibits than I ever imagined. I went to one by an artist named David Hockney that stuck with me. He takes photos of different angles and creates an entire scene out of individual photographs that looks as if it all fit together in the first place. This example is a game of Scrabble. I love the different angles and the way multiple images of ranges of emotions create one precise image that tell a story.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/images/image/5205-large.jpg
I really like this picture because of the textures and color, the smooth red metallic of the can, on top of the matte, rough, gray pavement. It also finds beauty in what most would see as trash.
http://www.chromasia.com/iblog/archives/0806271912.php
I saw this video a long time ago and loved it immediately. I love the idea of the lines of cars, but also the simplicity of the traffic circle. I also think the contrast of the bright red/yellow sign against the background is striking.
Hey everyone,
I saw this story about street art on the news a while ago and fell in love. It caught my attention because I go to New York city often and I know, as many others do, that it is impossible to avoid the hot air that comes rushing up from the subway. The fact that this artist took something so recognizable and simple and made it into something so amazing is very inspiring.
YouTube – Street Art: Joshua Allen Harris’ Inflatable Bag Monsters
I chose this picture in part because I am partial to my home state of Colorado, but also because I feel that the shadows and variety of colors in it truly capture nature’s beauty. The contrasting range of feelings I get from seeing this picture (from apprehension to tranquility) adds to the stimulating qualities of the photograph.
http://www.rogets.net/Maroon_Bells_Aspen.jpg
It took me a while to find something that stuck out to me for a tangible reason. But I really like this one, though it’s a little long and slow … but to me it really shows the enormity of the space that we live in, in a way that is difficult to really feel through other means.
I was inspired by the Sony Bravia commercials for their TV’s, particularly their bouncy ball commercial. The combination of slow music with slow motion video matches, and there are very creative pans and cinematics. The whole idea is fresh and catches the viewers attention. I think it is also very effective in advertising the product: color TV.
i was at a museum while on vacation in san francisco this summer, and it was an exhibit on Dale Chihuly, a well known glass blower. The exhibit was basically several different rooms with his work and I found a picture of what I thought was the coolest looking part of the exhibit.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2666402385_3e4574a8f2.jpg?v=0
