The Way Back Machine

A Time Machine! (But for the Internet.)

The way back machine is a website that, well, goes back in time. The website lets you search a website and it will display the history of that website that has been recorded. For instance, I could search "http://www.amazon.com" and the history of that website will be shown. You just need to click one of the links for the website and you will be shown a past screenshot of that site at the time. This sounds like it wouldn't be all that cool on the surface; however it is much more interesting considering on certain sites you can go back up to 20 years or more.

What Did You Find?

I have looked up a couple of sites in and out of school and its honestly fascinating. I think that youtube was the most interesting to see. If you go back to the first screen shot ever you can see that videos will load but have no pictures or tags with them. All the UI of the website looks very messy and confusing. We also looked at amazon and that was also pretty intriguing. All the items had no pictures but had names and description but I saw no price on anything.

WayBack Machine or WayBAD Machine?

The WayBack Machine is most defiantly an interesting site but at the same time it is a frustrating one. Some of the links to websites don't work and the website can be difficult to maneuver but overall I enjoyed the experience but to a certain extent. 

2nd Semester Final Blog

A Fitting  End to a Wonderful School Year.

School has always been about getting up really early, working on homework, doing some projects here and there, and stressing about tests; however e9 has changed that perspective for me. This class was not about what grade your getting or turning in homework or acing a test. This was a class about new experiences and learning what I want to learn. I have never been glad to have a project in a class before this year and that really is why I think this course is the right one for me. I constantly am wanting to push myself and say "Just a little longer" or "Don't stop keep going.". The feeling of working hard on something and doing your best to improve and then seeing that you have improved is one of my favorite feelings, and this is where e-Comm delivers.

My Groups 4th Quarter Project.

The project that everyone enrolled in e9 was assigned was to come up with a product, develop a logo and graphics for that product, create an ad to demonstrate and show off your product, a 3d and 2d animation and a website that would guide your presentation by organizing all of your thoughts into one place. This was a enormous mountain that we would have to climb since it was the most daunting and large scale project any of us had ever done for school.  In the sections below I will describe in detail how each part of our product was made.

Graphics and Logo Design.

Our concept for the product was a pen that would replace all of your markers and pens because it adapts to any color around you using color scanning technology.  After that step we wanted to through our logo design that it was interesting, neat, and colorful. We decided to tackle the typography first. In the "WonderPen" Logo you can see the pen under the W. We mainly used this for animation purposes but it also fit well as a graphic. The "Pen" in the words "Wonder" and "Pen" has been integrated into the end of "Wonder" making it look intriguing and it makes a first eye look twice to see what is really going on in the graphic. The process we went through to get these designs was incredibly tedious since we had to think of a way to make the words "Wonder Pen" look interesting. This was made even more difficult since none of us had really done anything in terms of typography. However that just made the learning experience even greater since we would take more interest in it because of our lack of knowledge about it. For example you always want all of your lower case letters in typography to hit the same top and bottom point to make the design look as even as possible. Some of the feed back about our logo was that, at first, the logo just looked flat out confusing. It was to the point that our classmates had to ask what some things were and after we explained it they still didn't understand completely. This made us need to completely rethink the logo to make it simpler and easier for someone to look at and immediately identify what it meant. I believe that our graphic designs and logos are pretty strong but we could have been much better. One thing that I would like to fix is the lower case letters in the "WonderPen" logo to make them all even.

Animations.

Our animations, in my opinion, were probably our strongest aspect. The animations we created were very good, not alone, but in the context they were used in. The 2d animation is the pen going into the W and filling the words "Wonder Pen" with color. This showed the viewers of the project that our product was about color and pens. The 3d animation was also very strong since it demonstrated the environment the pen would be used in and how it looked. I am personally going to study animation in my e-Comm course next year so this was a very important part of the project for me. This natural interest made me want to see how I could make the 3d animation look better since I was one of the two people working on it. I learned that creating 3d models is about getting down to the nitty gritty details and making everything in the model of the 3d animation look like it fits. I was the person who developed the pen in the 3d animation and I think it could have been much better. My main problem with my portion was that I had to create the pen from scratch meaning I had no references to go back to. This made me have to experiment and it overall could have looked much better if I had an idea of what to do going into it. I didn't receive any feedback on the animations surprisingly but it was mostly because we were short of time.

Commercial.

The commercial was very good and fun to work on. I was one of the main people who wrote the story board and script for the commercial and I really was focused on what we wanted the "Wonder Pen" to do as a product, make your art better and more efficient. In the commercial Paige is struggling with her art and suddenly the "Wonder Pen" is introduced and makes the art much better. Its simple and effective. The only real problem I had with the commercial is the setting. The setting of the commercial was very cramped and didn't allow us to work to our full potential. After we created the story board and prepared everything the only real change to the commercial was the editing and that was a couple of video filter changes and music being added. Again we were unable to get feedback since we did not have enough time.

WebSite.

Ok. This was my time to shine. My group members in the past had asked me for help in some of the other web design projects so they basically automatically assigned me to do the website. I was really wanting to show how good I was and test myself in my ability to code and design a website. There was a guide. I didn't use it. I didn't use the guide since I was already confidant in my skills that I just saw what I needed to put on the website and then I was off doing it myself. One problem I had while doing the website was that I really did not enjoy our color scheme that my team had decided upon and how it looked with the website. I wanted to change it so bad because I thought it looked unnaturally but my team insisted that we keep the color scheme since everything else was in that theme. Some of the feed back that I had received was mostly me missing a couple of things and I did add them but besides that the only real challenge I faced with this part was the pictures. The pictures made me want to rip my hair out. The problem with the pictures is that They would NOT want to move no matter what I did. I tried moving them in live and design view, nothing, I tried cutting and pasting the code in a different location, didn't do what I wanted them to do. I eventually just googled how to move them and that was that. 

Strengths and Weaknesses as an e-Comm Student.

A lot of e-Comm is based off of working as a team to find out everyones strengths and weaknesses and using each group member to their fullest potential so in e9 I discovered a couple of strengths and weaknesses I had.

Strengths

A couple of my strengths while working with my group were, making sure everyone is on the same page, trying to get a clear group view, and overall making the group work as fluid as possible. I feel that these skills I demonstrated during e9 make me a valuable team member that is concerned mostly about the team as a whole. Whenever we would make a decision I would always make sure everyone in the group was ok with it and if not I would want to here their suggestion because it could possibly be better then our original idea.

Weaknesses

A couple of my weaknesses while working with my group include, getting ahead, not being focused, and needing to be more fluid. Im the kind of guy who always wants a plan. I always want a plan if I'm doing anything. This could be anything from chores to projects, and if anything diverges with that plan I get kind of upset. This is something I have been working on for a while now and I am trying to improve.

In Summary.

This year was a blast. This program has been interesting since the day I set foot in the school and I don't see any end of my interest in sight. This program really focuses on enabling a student to have freedom in the program and lets them do just about anything. My favorite part of this semester would probably be my friends that I have made. This class has really helped me open up to new people and I some of the friendships that I have made are going to be long lasting. If I would change something about the second semester it would probably have to be to give more time for the 4th quarter project to allow the students to really flourish in what they are interested in. 

Final Thoughts.

e-Comm. is not a class about sitting through lecture that you only care about for your grade. Its about taking interest in something you love and pursuing it. Its about letting the student discover what they can do not a class about what they can't do. e-Comm is about us and not the grade (Im not saying you can fail and you will be fine), and that's why I like it so much. 

4th Quarter Graphic Design

Graphic Design for the Wonder Pen

These graphics that we have created are for our 4th quarter "Shark Tank" Project where we must create a product and with that develop graphics, animations, ads, and a website for it. To do this we must rotate groups so each group can get an equal share of time to work on each individual aspect of the project. Our class, however, had a slight advantage. We were able to think in depth about what we wanted our product to be before we started developing everything for it. This was an advantage that was specific to our class but that always comes with a higher bar that you need to reach. The images are the final product of our graphic design course in the 4th quarter period. 

Company logo

Lets start with the basics. This is our logo for our team and our team is called CAPS Co.. We went with this logo because we were thinking of developing an art related product so we were thinking of something related to art. We were getting bored thinking of the logo and eventually someone in the group started drawing on the paper a little tornado. We all eventually started doing it and then we had the idea of this being our logo since it is an art related icon that anyone can draw.

 The Product Logo

Ok next in the natural stage of progression we have the Product logo. This is actual an animation of that logo so I decided to go with the animation to add a bit of flare to it. Getting back on topic we were talking about how much we hated markers and how they are so annoying to carry around. We then started talking about a pen that had all the colors in it so you only had to carry one pen around and that is when the "WonderPen" was born. With the logo we really wanted to do something fun with it. Me and another  group member were looking at the words "Wonder" and "Pen". I then took notice that the "der" in "Wonder" looked very similar to "Pen" so we merged the two but we had to find a way to distinguish the "Pen" from "Wonder" and thats when my partner came up with making the N split so it looked like an N and an R.

Web Banner

This is our web banner. We just added our product logo, company logo, and product slogan. Its quite simple but it works effectively.

Coupon and Ad.

With the coupon and ad we went with a more eye catching design to really draw the consumer in. With the color scheme we went with a dark red and a bright green. This was to add visual interest in the ad and make it stand out.

CSS and CARP Design

CSS and CARP Project

For our final project in graphic design we created a website to demonstrate our knowledge with HTML files and CARP design. In the project we learned how to manipulate CSS and HTML files to create a website with a better design to it. Last time we created a website it was the bare minimum of what we could do with a website but with the CSS files there is a lot more you can do.

With CSS                                                          Without CSS

C

C in CARP stands for Contrast. Contrast in a work is the difference between 2 or more things in the piece. An Example of this is the dog compared to the text in the CSS. Your eye is immediately drawn towards the dog in the picture. However in the HTML without the CSS has the dog in an odd place and just looks out of place.

A

A in CARP stands for Alignment. In most works Alignment is used to make the piece look neat and organized. This can be shown in the CSS file where all of the text looks in place and organized compared to the one without the CSS file. 

R

R means Repetition in CARP. Repetition is mostly used to have a modern more futuristic design but can be used in other ways as well. In the CSS piece its repetitious in the test format. The stanzas have a distinct way that they are formed compared to the one that lacks the CSS file.

P

Last but certainly not least comes Proximity. Proximity is a weird one. It can make a work dynamic or interesting but if used in correctly it can just make it confusing. In this project the form of proximity wasn't so obvious. The grouping of the stanzas could be considered proximity because of how close they are to each other.

What did I Learn about CSS?

When creating this project I actually wanted to stay away from the videos while creating the website. Being able to learn through discovery rather then a guide is better in my opinion. It allowed me to learn a lot more then I would if I had stuck to the videos. For example by my logic I thought of the HTML file as the frame work of the website. It maybe boring and bland but its absolutely essential in the creation of the website. Then the CSS files is what all you can do with the website. It makes the website have a lot more personality. Overall this project was a good learning oppurtunity and gave me insight as to what web design is going to be like. 

Color Theory

What Is Color Theory? (Without The U in Color)

Color theory is a very interesting topic to me. I find it interesting that certain people will react to certain colors differently for different reasons. The basis of color theory is centered around this very idea and can be a game changer when it comes to both graphic design and logo design. An example of color theory being put into practice would be the "Red Bull" Logo. The "Red Bull" logo is possibly one of the best examples to explain color theory. You will notice that in the "Red Bull" logo there are only 2 colors, red and dark yellow. This is because the logo designers wanted the logo to be in your face and feel alive while also keeping a simplistic design.

My Favorite Color

A creators personal preference can impact a design immensely making it there own piece of work and making it appeal to a certain group. The most noticeable is the color choice in a work. In most works of a personal piece the artist will add in a bit of there favorite color to everything. In my example my favorite color is white (Yes it is a color, and yes I know it's a stupid favorite color). The reason I like white so much is because it reminds me of playing in the snow with my brother and its also just relaxing to look at. So my pieces of work will have a lot of white added in and make the design more relaxing to look at.

My Least Favorite Color

I hate dark green. I hate it so much. In my opinion the most ugly color is a dark green. It is unpleasant to look at and just looks nasty. It also makes me remember when I was a little kid I was very prone to get sick so that makes my perspective on the color change drastically. This, obviously, will lead me to stay away from using the color in anything I create because of my natural bias towards it.

So Why do Colors Matter in Graphic design?

Colors convey a message. They tell the consumer what the product is and what target audience it will be aimed at. Going back to the "Red Bull" example, the logo is supposed to be in your face and exciting. This of course will make it relate to sports, parties, competition, anything intense essentially.  The reason color combinations matter so much is because it can make you uncomfortable while looking at it. Everyone knows that green and yellow rarely match right? Well the same could be said for green and red, or yellow and violet. This is because of the color wheel that describes all of the related colors and how to use them.  Notice how orange and red are close to each other, thats why the "Red Bull" Logo is so interesting. It includes all of the aspects of color theory into its design.   

20 Birds and Illustrator recreation

Creating my 20 Bird Sketch

So for this project we had to create 20 variations of either a bird, house, or flower. I, of course, chose the bird for my project. Most people might think that creating 20 completely different birds would be easy but to that I say NO! NO IT ISN'T! I found this part of the project to be extremely challenging for a lot of reasons. You can see that I have variations of realistic birds like my wood pecker and parrot and I have cartoony fun birds like my bald eagle and "Robin Hoot". This was challenging for me because of how many things we had to do. The first 10 are pretty easy but then you realize that "Crap, I need ten more! what am I gonna do!" so you start to lean more towards realistic birds and start to replicate that. It was a lot of fun, however, being able to challenge myself with something new.

Illustrator Recreation

In illustrator we had to recreate one of the sketches we created so I went with my wood pecker. I don't think it was my best sketch on the page (Either the parrot or the bald eagle is my favorite) but I chose it because I thought it would be a good challenge to test my knowledge of illustrator. It went as I wanted seeing as a learned some very neat tricks within illustrator such as the ability to bring a part of the image forward in front of another one and just over all tricks with the pencil tool to help me out. The wood pecker was a challenge at times, however, with multiple things on the bird having to be pixel perfect. It was a overall good learning experience for me and I really do think I benefitted from it.

Final Product

The piece of work came out great in my opinion with only a couple bad spots on it. It has good pencil and border management and its very clean. If I were to change one thing about my work it would most likely be the tail section at the bottom. It's pretty sloppy and doesn't fit with the rest of the piece. I would give it a 7/10 but I don't think the work is whats important in this lesson. I feel as if the work was a medium for me to learn rather then to test my skill. If I were to completely redo the entire illustrator image it would look much better then it is right now. This is because for one I would be able to look at the flaws of my piece but most importantly I would have the set of skills I gained when doing the project. Its not really about how good it looks right now in my opinion, its about what you learn is what is important right now. 

My Meyers Brigs Test

Who am I?

The "Myers Brigs" Test is a test that will tell you a very basic understanding of your personality through a series of questions. Some of these questions can very from "Go out with friends or stay inside and relax?" to "When doing something do you try new things?". After taking this test it will give you a 4 letter result that tells you who you are. After taking my test I had gotten ENTJ meaning, E for Extravert, N for iNtuitive, T for Thinking, and lastly J for Judging. 

This rating is a common theme among leaders and very influential people such as Bill Gates and Stalin. This is because the rating is commonly associated with leadership and people that can get work done.


This is a very accurate description as to who I am. I am a very directive person that likes to take control of situations and use myself to the fullest of my extent in those situations. The attribute shoes that is the most accurate is intuitive in my eyes. I am always looking for better ways to accomplish one goal and how to be more effective. Judging is not so much what I thought it would be since I'm on the border line. I tend to assess a person quickly to see what they are feeling or what type of mood they are in, this is referred to as "Emotional awareness". This skill lets me have a better sense of how I need to handle certain people when talking to them in a certain situation so I believe Judging is one of my strongest assets.

My personality type just screams leader, I mean, I have several presidents that had the same type as me. Let me present a situation, a group of hikers gets lost in a mountain range and I am apart of that group, what would I do? Well I believe I would assume the role as leader within the group. I wouldnt flat out say  "You all have to listen to me right now!", I would instead

Over the course of my life I have grown from a very spastic and energetic character to a very passive and outgoing one, however my meyers brigs is not telling anything false. If I do get into a situation were I WANT to be engaged, I'm gonna be all in. Wether it be sports, video games, scouts, you name it I just want to be engaged and have fun challenging myself. My meyers brigs test made me realize that even though I might change as a person my personality will stay mostly intact and thats a good thing in my opinion.