Click here to view the finished product
I currently have a slider on my homepage the problem is that I have nothing to slide!
I want some nice looking images to cycle there that illustrate my skills and interests in becoming an eLearning instructor. For anyone who doesn’t know I am interested specifically in using technology to assist in language instruction. So for my third digital artifact I am going to attempt to design some slider images for my home page. I want them to communicate these concepts: learning, technology, engagement and simplicity of use. All four are things that I try to keep in mind when I am designing an eLearning object.
Let’s break it down:
Goals:
To create a home page/slider image.
Continue to develop a deeper understanding of Photoshops features and functions.
To choose appropriate colors and use appropriate design techniques to create a visually appealing image for my homepage.
Create it well so that the image complements my future marketing materials without looking messy or unprofessional.
To find images that I can use freely through the Creative Commons.
Barriers:
I have never created anything like this before!
I am a little concerned that I won’t be able to find anything in the creative commons.
I will need to familiarize myself with some of Photoshop’s more advanced features.
I will need to pick visually aesthetic colors an appropriate font if this is going to turn out properly.
I will need to design the images in such a way that they compliment my site and don’t look amateurish.
Tools:
Adobe Photoshop
Creative Commons Image Search
Tuts+ Photoshop Tutorial Site
Adobe TV
Design Elements: Contrast, texture, color, balance and personality.
Timeline:
2-4 Weeks.
Step 1: The Creative Commons search. So I just spent the last hour or 2 combing through the Creative Commons. I found a few images that I may be able to use. I used photoshop to crop them into the rectangular shape required for my slider.
Step 2: Draft the concept. I drew a quick concept of how I envision the slider looking on my site complete with the logo and one of the images I found in the creative commons.
Step 3: Adding my logo and applying color theory to create balance and harmony with the rest of my site. I want each image to have my logo on it. I also want the imagery to be consistent with the rest of my site. I use a dark blue and light grey for my first and secondary menu bars. My logo is also blue so I will have to figure out how to apply that color or a complimentary color to these images.
Step 4: I cropped the image and added my logo but it doesn’t really look good. The colors of the girls shirt and the room don’t compliment my logo.
Step 5: Using Photoshop I remove the background colors. I also added a bit of shadow to give the logo some dimension. It doesn’t look so flat anymore.
Step 6: It’s starting to look like my vision but now it’s a bit boring. I would like to have some complimentary colors in the background image. So I will use the Photoshop Color Select option to isolate the models shirt. Then I change the shirt color to BLUE to match my logo and then discard the remaining background colors.
Step 7: I also wanted to add some more contrast to the background so I added a slight checker board overlay of the wall on the left hand side of the image.
Step 8: I apply these same steps and principles to the other 2 images.
And the final product looks something like this:
Through this project I have learned to use several more features of Photoshop. Including the cloning stamp, the image adjust, hue/saturation, color replace, select color and many more. I feel I have also applied the concepts of balance, symmetry (Ngo, 2001), texture, color and personality. The blue color scheme is an effective choice as a marketing piece (Singh, 2006; Nijdam, 2009) and I hope that each image makes a statement without words which would be. My website is fun! My website is so easy a baby could use it and my website is engaging.
References:
Ngo, D. C. L., (2001). Screen design: composing with dynamic symmetry. Displays, 22(4), 115-124.
Nijdam, N. A. (2009). Mapping emotion to color.
Singh, S. (2006). Impact of color on marketing. Management Decision, 44(6), 783-789.
I would appreciate and value feedback. Here is my peer assessment.