Its all over!!...

The relief of finally finishing our website is brilliant. We were getting pretty stressed out by the end of it. The finished product is deadly if i do say so myself! The links all work, the images all open up in thier own window and our monkeys are zoomifyable!! The design is basic enough but someday Id hope to design a website like this one http://www.loadedsmoothies.co.za/. Its a website for a south african based smoothie. I came across it the other day and i was blown away by its design. The background is a field with a moving sun in the top left hand corner. When you hover over the sun, its eyes wiggle about. To view the menu you must hover over a little bee who then drops the menu down for you. When you hover over the bee he smiles at you! There is lots of movement and bright colours on the page which make it very enjoyable to view. I clicked on all the menu buttons just to see what would come up next! I think the design of this website is something all web designers should aspire to. Its fun and easy to navigate and really gives us a good feel of the type of company they are.

Wana Get High Now?!?

While Ive been thinking about the design and effects of our website, I have been paying close attention to the design, layout, effects and applications on other websites. While surfing the net I came across this website http://www.gethighnow.com/. It is a page full of amazing visual and audio "highs" IE illusions.

The first thing about the home page that struck me was the design and layout. It consists of a yellow background with pink stripes down the middle. The name of the site is in large black letters at the top of the page in a simple font. The buttons are in a blue tab under the websites name and are very easy to use. The site has a very uncomplicated feel to it and is easy to navigate through.
I think the site design was simplified so as not to overshadow the numerous illusions that appear on the other pages. Seeing as in our website we will be showing lots of Banksys artwork I think we should follow suit and keep the background and buttons simple, clear and easy to use. We want the pictures and info about Banksy to stand out so we should keep everything else simple like Banksy does on his own web page.
The colour scheme we have decided to go with is black and neon blue. I feel that this is understated yet eye-catching at the same time.

Banksy - The best artist of our generation??

Julie and I have decided to create a website about the street artist "Banksy", as I am a huge fan of his. Banksy is a graffiti artist from Bristol, UK, whose artwork has appeared throughout London and other locations around the world. Despite this he manages to keep his real name from the media.

Some believe that his graffiti provides a voice for those living in urban environments that could not otherwise express themselves, and that his work is also something which improves the scenery of urban surroundings. Other people disagree arguing that his art is simply vandelism which should be stopped. His work has become recognised across the world as his pieces are often humerous yet controversial. He uses only spray cans and stencils to complete his work which is currently selling for record amounts of money at art auctions. He is also a ‘guerrilla artist’ because his activities are illegal and some local authorities have removed his work from buildings and walls.

On Bankys official website, http://www.banksy.co.uk/, the background visuals are kept to a minimum. There is a white background with his name spray painted in black over it. There are 3 buttons on the side - Outside, Inside and Shop.

When you click on the Outside button you are presented with a variety of Banksys artwork which he has created outside on public buildings and areas. this piece was painted onto the side of a sexual health clinic in Bristol.

When you click on the Inside button you are presented with a selection of his artwork whick he has created for inside viewings.

We have decided to follow his simple colour scheme by using just black and blue colours. We also want to give the viewer more information about Banksy so we plan to add extra buttons such as biography, career, quotes etc.