PROJECT 4: Wireframes and style-tiles for Project 5
Preface: This section of commentary, for lack of a better term, is to ask for your two cents on a matter with this project. I tried to format this project in its entirety into a proper document that could be sent off as a PDF and even potentially printed if so chosen. I'm of the understanding that was by no means a requirement; it was more a matter of trying to prepare potential future assets for potential future endeavors. The risk that was trying to set this up for a time-based matter ended up being one that fell flat in my opinion. Aside from wrangling with InDesign, I couldn't come up with a sound solution to display wireframe mockups in a readable manner.
This whole experience that has been trying to set that up gave me some thoughts that can perhaps be summed to one question. Is a wireframe mockup really the sort of document I should be trying to accompany for a printed experience? Given the very nature of web design (ie. it's a primarily digital experience,) trying to make this sort of document work on a printout seems like an unnecessary hassle. Given the seemingly rough nature of wireframe mockups, I'm speculating that simply the sort of thing we're doing right now (ie. mockups all displayed web based with little regard to accompanying a printed version) is enough.
Here's the PDF in question I was trying to work on and deliver initially. If you have the time to offer your advice on what a client would expect in professional circumstances, I would appreciate your thoughts.
SITEMAP
WIREFRAMES
Mobile device menu
Homepage, Mobile device
Homepage, Minimal computer viewport
Homepage, Widescreen viewport
Exhibitions
Artists
Specific Artist
News
About
GENERAL GRAPHIC DESIGN AND STYLE TILES
The logo and rationale
Given that no logo or branding for Kale Gallery was provided, I decided to have a go at designing it myself. I have a take of Kale Gallery to be an establishment much like MoMA or The Met, especially in its branding and aesthetic. It is professional and sleek, at times leaning on the academic. While the modern, at times avant-garde nature of Kale Gallery's work pushes the group to be particularly progressive or otherwise on the edge, its nature as a gallery establishment grounds the group to a dignified fashion.
These guiding ideals were what influenced my design decisions both in the logo and in the style tiles. A few of my ideas were denied fairly quickly for being too progressive or experimental, such as the primarily shape based logo on the bottom right. In most of my ideas, I went with Bodoni as the typeface of choice. This Didone, modern typeface provided the logo with the transitional and forward moving aesthetic of modern art. But at the same time, it provided it with the formality and dignity of a proper gallery. Of the type based logos, the monogram ultimately won out as the showcase of the branding for the establishment.
Style tile 1: "Simplified"
The first style tile went closely in step with the sort of aesthetic expected in art galleries and museums: flat, modern, clean. The color scheme stuck closely with the KG logo, primarily relying on shades and tints to differentiate elements except for the particularly vital (eg. links.)
Style tile 2: "Detailed"
The colors were kept the same here to keep with the Kale Gallery appearance. However, elements are introduced to give the site a greater sense of detail and depth. The sidebars that appear in widescreen displays are replaced with a subdued artpiece as a background. Drop shadows are used to emphasize layering and break apart the flat aesthetic without departing too far from it. A subtle noise grain is added to boxes with a similar purpose.
Final style tile
Most of the elements from Style Tile 2 are kept for the pleasant departure they bring from the purely flat and blank slate look of many art galleries. The drop shadows, however, are removed. While the noise grain is kept, the blending mode is changed from "Overlay" to "Multiply" for lighter boxes. This makes the grain more apparent and the boxes less flashy.