Task 3- Description
Choose two illustrators websites and
complete the review questions for each website
1. Describe the overall aesthetic and
branding, including typography, layout, space etc.
2. Include pictures
3. What attracted you to this persons
website?
4. What immediately engages you with this
site?
5. Are the pages categorised?
6. Is the site easy to navigate?
7. Are the images clear?
8. How many images are there? Is this too
much, too few, right amount?
9. Is there any writing? What does this
tell you about the illustrator?
10. Client list? Links? Social media?
11. Does the site feel professional?
12. Does the imagery convey a consistent
language of work? Or a range of styles? How would this make you feel as a
client?
13. Does the website show a range of
projects on different themes?
14. Summarise the website in a few
bullet-points of handy tips that you can use for your own website.
15. Write your own bio/intro for your
website - 3-4 short sentences that introduces you, your work and inspirations.
Extension Task
Complete a review of Illustrators who use Instagram. Think about
what they
post, how often, the quality of the
pictures, special offers etc and you could refer back to some of the questions
above if they are relevant.
Website 1- BluBlu- http://www.blublu.org
‘Blublu’ is the name of an Italian artist
who conceals his real identity, and has been a street artist since 1999.
His website address is below.
This website is very unusual instead of it
taking a very formal strict portfolio set up, it takes the form of a
sketchbook. When you arrive at this bizarre website you see the front cover of
a journal, which when you click directs you to another page which opens.
This is the front page of the website. It
is a simple recycled brown paper sketch/notebook which has been branded with
the artist’s name ‘Blu’. Immediately you become interested in this website it
it usually and unlike so many the audience is encouraged to click of the book,
which is animated and moves which the cursor hovers over it, to see more of the
website as unlike most artist website you see the first thing you come across isn’t
an example of the artist work, which then leads you further into the website.
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| Screen Shot- Blublu.org. (2017). BLU. [online] Available at: http://www.blublu.org [Accessed 9 May 2017 18:07]. |
After the initial page this is the
introduction page. This totally contrasts the very clean first page, it is bold
with no images and lots of large text, in multiple colours. The text in hand
written which embodies the sketchbook style and provides a very personal touch
to the website. However, even though I like the font so of it especially the
small black font in the top right corner is a little bury for me, even though
it is eligible and large enough, I personally think it could be crisper, but
that may be an artistic taste.
 |
| Screen Shot- Blublu.org. (2017). UPDATES. [online] Available at: http://www.blublu.org/sito/updates/001.html [Accessed 9 May 2017]. |
The branding on this website is very mineable
it appears on the front page, but very subtly, apart of the whole effect, it
doesn’t detract you from the aesthetic look or style of the website but stays
in tune with it. There are a few mentions of the brand, and name of the artist
on the contact page but it is very minimal, as though the artist feels that
this website is more of a piece of work, which encompasses all of his work,
more than a site to promote his work, which is a lovely thought, but how
successful?
What attracted me to this website was the
interactive features to it, you are encouraged by its usually style to click
[click bait], which forces you to open the sketchbook. I simple liked the way
that this website was unique it didn’t follow the rules of most websites, it is
almost like it’s a piece of art work in itself.
 |
| Screen Shot- Blublu.org. (2017). WALLS. [online] Available at: http://www.blublu.org/sito/walls/001.html [Accessed 9 May 2017]. |
A page which caught my eye was the one
entitles the wall, which acts as a gallery to showcase the artist work, you are
then able to click on the individual picture which are small but then a larger
version appears, which are conveniently dated. I find this page exciting and
inviting, yes the images are a little small but it adds the colossal mass of work
that ‘Blu’ as creating, suiting the craziness of the website, in my opinion.
The colours of this website engage my
interest this artist is clearly confident with his colour choices he is not
afraid to use multiple colours. I my opinion every single colour on the same
page doesn’t always work, and can look childlike, but this website works. By
blending the vibrant colours with ivory backgrounds of the sketchbook paper and
the muted brown cover of the sketchbook which is visible on all the page, the
colours get all drawn together and unified somehow, so actually the crazy
colour work, and slot in perfectly with the sketchbook, doodle feel the the
sights.
The pages of this website are clearly
categorised, there aren’t many of them which makes it easier to see, looks more
appealing and makes it easier to navigate your way through the site. The tabs
are categorised into ‘Walls’, ‘Drawings’, ‘Updates’, ‘Blog’, ‘Video’, ‘Shop’,
and on the right ‘Contacts’ and a ‘Close’ tab which aren’t available on all the
pages.
The layout of this website is interesting,
there are tabs on either side of the page allowing you to navigate easily
around the page. Generally, each page is completely full of doodles, images and
crazy fonts but occasionally like the page below, there is a stark contrast and
for effect there is barely anything on the page, which is a pleasant change it
calms everything down before the real art is revealed, enhancing the impact it
has
 |
| Screen Shot- Blublu.org. (2017). DRAWINGS. [online] Available at: http://www.blublu.org/sito/drawings/001.html [Accessed 9 May 2017 18:12] |
The images are very clear and crisp, as you
continue to click on the links, larger, higher resolution images are available
which are of fantastic quality. On the walls tab the images are a little small
for me, but that may have been deliberate, encouraging you to click on the page
revealing even more images which are larger and more visible, another ‘click
bait’ technique, perhaps.
There are a lot of images on this website,
especially as the page is rather small, which suits the sketchbook style. That
said however I do feel that the large amount of images are nicely spaced out,
the website doesn’t feel clustered with images, because there are a lot of
links leading to these images, rather than them all being on one page, an
exception of this is the ‘Wall’ tab. Because of all these links the audience is
kept entertained wanting to search deeper into the website, so overall I think
there is a great balance between text and imagery.
 |
| Screen Shot - Blublu.org. (2017). SKETCHBOOK 1. [online] Available at: http://www.blublu.org/sito/drawings/001/001.html [Accessed 9 May 2017]. |
There is a little bit of writing but it is
more instructional and informative. The writing guides the audience around the websites,
direction the reader to other sites such as the artists YouTube account and his
blog. The artist doesn’t reveal his true name so there isn’t any information
about him, which is unusual of an artist’s website, actually them isn’t
anything about his at all. The only thing we know about the artist from the
website is the style of artwork he creates and possible a hint to his thoughts
and ideas, if you read deeper into his work.
This website doesn’t include a client list,
or companies which he has worked for as he is generally a street artist, and
clearly sells his own work rather than producing work of others. However, the
artist does have a separate page which contains links to other sites where you
can see his other work. This includes a blog site, where is enters diary
accounts about what he is up to and what work he is producing, and more
interestingly and rarely he has his own YouTube account, which is a little unusually
this showcases time-lapses of him creating the work, which is an inventive way
to expressing and promoting his work, and the audience are able to see the work
come to life.
The website does look professional, but has
a very creative vibe and style to it. I think this was a really risky format to
display a website as, it could have looked messy and uncontrollable but I think
because of the careful placement of images, and the ratio between space and
text/images the website strangely works, its made easy to navigate by the use
of tabs which have been subtly embedded in to the notebook design. To me this
bizarre website screams creative being able to create a piece of art which the
artists platform to display and promote his work, in a way which suits his
style.
I think the artwork does show consistency
there is a string style in ‘Blu’s’ work but not every piece is the same, each
contain different exciting, new elements which are unique to each piece. I feel
that as a client I would know exactly what to expect in his work from looking
at his website, but I feel that there is enough diversity in his work to know
that this artist is capable of more than one style, a cartoon, funky style and
a very strict creative but observational technique. Blu also shows his
creativity in the form of the website the unique design shows that he is not
afraid to think outside the box, to push out of the conventional style, a very appealable
trait. He also shows of his hand type skills, which is a hard and unusual skill
to master offering the clients more options over other artists.
The artist's website does depict many
different projects under different themes, once again on the ‘wall’ page the
artist has categorised his artwork by dates, and as the click further on each
project is revealed. What is revealed is very different varying in mediums,
areas and subject matters, from street art to sketchbook, observational work.
Blu has such a vase range of work that I think he has covered nearly every
option there is possible, because of this greater diversity, yet retaining a
consistent style, Blu sets himself up well, promoting his work, which will
appeal to vase a diverse audience.
Handy
tips I have learnt from studying this website I can use for my website?
·
Have an interesting format to
excite the audience at first glance.
·
Have a really simple navigation
path.
·
Make it a colloquial, and
welcoming webpage add snippets of your personality to it – handwritten text,
arrows etc.
·
Have large, high resolution
versions of the images, when you click on the images
·
Have a clean ratio between text
and font
·
Do not cram loads of images or
text onto one page, space it out appropriate so it looks effective and not
overwhelming.
Illustrator Jordy Farrell
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| Screen shot- jordylikesbirds - The Art of Jordy Farrell. (2017). jordylikesbirds - The Art of Jordy Farrell. [online] Available at: https://www.jordylikesbirds.com [Accessed 9 May 2017 17:49]. |
Illustrator Jordy Farrell’s website is very
clean cut and simple, there are many fantasy formats or complicated animations
it is delicate, easy to access and displays his work clearly and effortlessly.
Throughout all of Farrell’s website the background is a very slightly textured
tinted mint green paper, which complements the images beautiful and because it
isn’t a white background the images slot in beautiful the with graphics and
typography, so the whole thing looks like one unit. Therefore, is a bold but
suitable banner at the top of every page, illustrating his brand and name
clearly with 3 birds which complement the coloured background beautifully.
Below the banner is a bar which contains the 5 pages which make up the website,
organised and simply composed so it’s easy for the audience to navigate their
way around the site. The first page is very simple but you are captivated by
the moving slideshow, showcases some of Jordy work, allowing the audience to
sit back and enjoy his illustrations without having to lift a finger.
 |
| Screen Shot- jordylikesbirds - The Art of Jordy Farrell. (2017). jordylikesbirds - The Art of Jordy Farrell. [online] Available at: https://www.jordylikesbirds.com/copy-of-paintings?lightbox=dataItem -j2ds81zo [Accessed 9 May 2017 17:51]. |
The layout of Farrell’s website is very
formulated. Each page using a grid to display his images, and when you click on
the images and second sub-window appears, revealing more images on a slideshow.
I think this is a great way to organise your work, especially if you have a lot
of it. I think having lots of images on a page can look a little confusing, and
so by concealing more images on another link attached to an image is a great
way to firstly arrange your work and to encourage the audience to further
discover your website, enticing them in with more artwork.
Farrell’s typography is very limited there
is little description about his work, letting the images speak for themselves.
When type is used it is very limited, neatly presented in a grid format, using
the same style font, creating a professional looking website.
The pages on Farrell’s website a full of
imagery but you wouldn’t say it looks messy or too busy, this I think is
because of the grid format he using the display his imagery, because of this
strict format the images are contained looking uniformed and professional.
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| Screen Shot- jordylikesbirds - The Art of Jordy Farrell. (2017). jordylikesbirds - The Art of Jordy Farrell. [online] Available at: https://www.jordylikesbirds.com/paintings [Accessed 9 May 2017]. |
was attracted to Farrell’s website
because of his logo, his branding I really liked the title of his website, and
how he had used to that the illustrate a logo/banner for his webpage. I feel
that it is visually attractive, and represents his work very well, encompassing
his style and his main target audience, children.
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| Screen Shot- jordylikesbirds - The Art of Jordy Farrell. (2017). jordylikesbirds - The Art of Jordy Farrell. [online] Available at: https://www.jordylikesbirds.com [Accessed 9 May 2017]. |
At first glance I was engaged by the
slideshow on the first page, the slight delicate transition between the images
is subtle and allowed the audience to see images quickly before entering the
sights, attracting their attention meaning that they are more likely to want to
search more of the page, so they are excited by the images. However, I would
say that it may be nice if this is possible to have the entire slideshow fit on
the computer screen without you having the scroll down to view to whole thing.
A very minor thing to comment on a realise, which may not be possible but an
opinion I have.
The pages on Farrell’s website are
categorised into 5 different sections, these include ‘Illustration’, ‘Books’,
‘Daily Drawings’, ‘Gouache-amole’, and ‘About and Contact’. By separating the
website into sections which are easily accessible from the tab bar just below
the banner it makes the website nice and easy to navigate through, meaning that
your experience of the website in better, allowing you to take in the artwork.
The images are of amazing high resolution
quality, which allows the audience to view the artwork at its best quality,
enhancing their experience of the site, and their expectation of your artwork,
meaning its more likely to impressive clients.
There a lot more images than text on this
website, which can be a little overwhelming, but once again because of
Farrell’s strict grid formal the images all well organised, they do not make
the page look disorientated, in fact the mass of images makes the page look
full, exciting, and especially appealing to the children’s market. So in my
opinion the mass of images does work well with this website and Farrell’s
style.
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| Screen Shot- jordylikesbirds - The Art of Jordy Farrell. (2017). jordylikesbirds - The Art of Jordy Farrell. [online] Available at: https://www.jordylikesbirds.com/narrative-illustration [Accessed 9 May 2017]. |
There is writing on the website but it is
very limited and using informative. The writing is only used in the branding
banner of the website, a caption under each picture, and a couple of paragraphs
about Farrell. This isn’t a lot of writing either, but I think it was
deliberate so the writing doesn’t take away from the power and skill of the
illustrations, too much and the whole website along with the vase of imagery
would be overpowering. The writing about Farrell’s life is very limited and
biographically containing very little personal information talking really only
about his career, where is studied and what he studied. This is short and brief
but does give the audience a little insight into his background, telling us
that he is possible a shy individual who doesn’t want to share too much
information with is fans or possible clients for professional reasons.
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| Screen Shot- jordylikesbirds - The Art of Jordy Farrell. (2017). jordylikesbirds - The Art of Jordy Farrell. [online] Available at: https://www.jordylikesbirds.com/about-me [Accessed 9 May 2017 17:57]. |
Farrell doesn’t show a client list on his
website but does have some page linking you to other social media accounts and
ways of contacting him. Under the tab ‘daily drawings’ you are taken to his
Instagram page which is a totally contrasts to his very finished refined
drawings on his main webpage. Under the tab ‘about and contact’, underneath the
mini autobiography, Farrell has inserted an interactive comment box, which
allows fan or potential clients to send him a direct message through his
website. This is a great, and easy way for clients and fans to contact Farrell
easily without any hassle, which breaks down the barrier between the artist and
the audience, which will in turn help Farrell network and make further
contacts.
The website does look extremely
professional the order and structure of the whole website is strictly
structured and designed meaning it’s easy to navigate around, and aesthetically
pleasing, whilst showcasing Farrell’s creative design skills, in the making of
the website.
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| Screen Shot Instagram.com. (2017). Jordy Farrell (@jordylikesbirds) • Instagram photos and videos. [online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/jordylikesbirds/ [Accessed 9 May 2017]. |
The imagery featured on Farrell’s website
does convey a consistent language of work, showcasing very similar styles
pieces of work, and a similar use of medium. This consistence will allow clients
to see the extent of what style Farrell works in. His website features mainly
very finished and refined pieces of work showing clients the high standard of
work he creates, but it also includes a few sketchy pieces which help
illustrate what his roughs look like, and the process he takes to get to the
final product. Farrell’s website also links to his Instagram account which
showcases a completely different side to Farrell’s work, on his Instagram page
Farrell displays a wide variety of unfinished unrefined imagery such as life
drawings, works in progress and simple sketches, this demonstrates the work
behind all of the finished pieces, the effort and personal drawing which
Farrell undertakes, another aspect to his practise which may interest clients. As
a client because Farrell has almost documented all of the stages which he goes
through to create a final image you gain a greater understanding of what kind
of thing you would be getting if you were to hire him and what the thumbnails
and roughs will look like, right through to the final research, a very helpful
resource when hiring illustrators.
The main target audience of Farrell’s work
is the children’s market, so most of his work is catered around that, but on
his Instagram account Farrell does seem to produce work for other audiences.
But his actually website seems to follow and attract a particular audience, children
and those interested in fantasy and the imagination, young adults perhaps. The
individual projects are the organised into the different projects using the
grid formula, making it easy to distinguish one project from another.
Handy
tips I have learnt from studying this website I can use for my website?
- · As little text as possible to that the images are the main focus
- · Bold branding which embodies your work, is distinctive and recognisably yours
- · Simple layout-easy to navigate
- · Links to social media platforms- shows a different side of your practise
- · Large high quality images
- · Something to capture your audience’s attention on the first page- a slide show- enables you to conceal lots of images, without flooding the page, whilst looking inviting
I have created this table to I can easily compare my result, and the it comes to creating my own website will be easy to refer back to.
Evaluation
This task has been very informative, forming a relevant research resource for my project project. As I enter my third year I will need to produce a website to help promote my illustration work, so by looking at highly professional website, from successful illustrators has really helped to define what makes a good website. This was a really positive and insightful task to complete, I know have a list and a table to tips that’s I have learnt from analysing professional website, which I can then adapt to my own. One thing I have learnt is to be minimal, something I find difficult to do, I tend to overcomplicate task, and try and pack as much into it as possible, but from conducting this research I have found that with a website most of the time simplicity is much more effective and masses of content or controlling this will be something I need to improve upon. So from never having any experience in creating a website, from conducting this research I feel that I now have some valuable tips and focus points to begin planning and creating my own webpage. I think next time I conduct research into webpage I will look a new illustrators and see how they are creating website, as I am not experienced at all and both of these illustrators are well informed, so there pages were very technical, so I think by looking at resent graduates perhaps I will have a greater understanding of what I could be capable of creating. I will also conduct research into the website creating companies, reading reviews and looking at pricing, as another step forward in creating my website.
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