SEPTA Logo re: Design

I have recently been taking the train into the city every Wednesday, for a weekly event and have noticed the ever present logo and type face of the transportation authority everywhere I look. The original logo has a two color palette of red and blue, with a single futuristic and geometric swab of negative space through the middle. This white space constitutes the letter S which alludes to SEPTA (South Eastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority).

Above: SEPTA Original Logo

This logo is very simple, clean, and designed well enough to communicate the language of movement and the feeling of being in transit. It takes on a very "Vignellion" feel when included with the typeface. This is a great way to design, however I felt like taking a crack at a re-design, to exercise my creative muscles. This is what I cam up with:

 

Above: SEPTA Logo re-design

Line, Weight & Color Study

Quick study to help expand my design horizons. Seems like it may not have been totally effective aside from the addition of an expanded palette. I probably will try again later this week.

Above: Study

Conceptual: Martian Chronicles Book Cover

My most recent project has taken me to a book cover re-design. The book in question is "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury. The content of this novel is quite good and provides metaphoric commentary on a variety of subjects using the setting of Mars and Earth to accomplish its narrative. I took a piece of the novel and decided to illustrate it on to the front of the book. This particular scene was a re-occurrence within the novel and held special meaning in the narrative; using it for the cover would have been appropriate enough to hint at the story yet still leave some mystery. If you have time I suggest giving it a read.

Above: Martian Chronicles Cover

Video Games & UI Design

UI design can appear in many places both in digital and analog mediums, and generally is used to improve the usability, effectiveness and/or experience of a product. So as a UI/UX designer wouldn't it be important to be exposed to as many different UI designs and experiences as possible? I believe it would be very beneficial to study and use the products and services of these outlets of UI design in order to gain a better understanding of audience, experience, usability and the like. So lets get to it...Video Games! This is a market of products that routinely focuses on many different facets of UI/UX design and relies on them for being successful. This is what makes studying game UI/UX important and how it can contribute to translating elements to a website interface or a smart phone app. The functions between all three of the aforementioned examples all share the need to navigate someone whether it be a player or user through a system with as positive an experience and with the least amount of confusion possible. It is precisely this point that designers should take to heart if they are to have a good internal library of UI/UX knowledge and how it interacts with the user. This way of studying feral UI/UX designs could also be translated to work with analog and print designs as well, and should not be exclusive to only the digital medium. Print and digital differences aside they both use visual imagery which tie the user into the experience itself, and the only difference would be the animation of the images vs. being static in implementation. There are many different influences and reasons for choosing a particular direction in designing a UI/UX and this is only one of the many, so I implore you to find and explore your own ways of conjuring great UI designs and implementing them into your products.

Above: Elder Scrolls 5, Skyrim Inventory UI

Above: Moog's Synthesizer App UI, iPhone

Psychology and Design

Designing a product or service takes a lot of thought and effort. In order to make a successful product or service we must understand how the customer will interact with what we make and their possible reactions to our product/service and/or interface. Using psychology to understand how and why people act in a given situation and then recreating that situation either in a product; such as "Facebook" or "LinkedIn" is one way to implement psychology in design. This approach uses a broader scope on design, which includes the product or service being offered. The other approach has a more limited scope involved and only includes the choices made by the designer that dictates functionality. These choices are based on things such as aesthetics, colors, button shapes/textures, layout and typography. Obviously these are not the only concerns or applications when using psychology and design together, but they are certainly things to be taken into consideration.

Examining psychology and how it effects the design process is very important to both the user and the designer. The user needs to have a successful and pleasant experience with the product/service and the design ensures that this happens. Incorporating psychologically motivated design decisions can be a successful way to persuade or direct users towards a specific or non-specific action. An example of this implicit influence would be the use of "Hick's Law". "Hick's Law" or the "Hick-Hyman Law" is a model of human-computer interaction that describes the time it takes for a user to make a decision as a function of the possible choices he or she has."(Wikipedia)

T = blog₂(n + 1)

Above: Hick's Law Equation

So overall the psychological influence in design is a very important factor to be taken into account when designing products, services and the aesthetics of a system. Neglecting the the implicit and explicit psychological influences can and will most likely hinder how you want the user to interact with what product/service you are providing. In all when designing, it is recommended to do the proper research on who your target user(s) is/are and how you want them to interact with the product/service being offered. Investing the time into these design decisions and research will pay off for anyone willing to implement them into their products/services and digital interfaces.

Mirror's Edge: Fan Illustration

Here is another fan illustration made by me for the video game Mirror's Edge published by EA and created by DICE. I was very much a fan of the game environment/mood and how it looked visually. It was a larger influence on how I saw mono/dual colored design, since most of the environments and rooms tend to adopt a dual or mono colored schema. Overall all I was happy with the illustration as a whole, however looking at it again I see some mistakes I could possibly correct in the future.

 Above: Faith Illustration

All rights reserved EA Games/DICE Studios

Conceptual: Nanotechnology

I have recently finished designing a personal project for nanotechnology. The premise was to create an information brochure to raise interest and awareness about the applications and possibilities of nanotechnology. The main image that reoccurs between both the brochure and the poster was actually influenced by an architectural installation piece. The information was taken form the National nanotechnology Initiative website and designed to fit into these three pieces below. Overall I consider this project a success and am satisfied with the final result:

Above: Nanotechnology Poster

 Above: Brochure, Outside

Above: Brochure, Inside

Bioshock Infinite: Fan Poster

The new Irrational Studios game, Bioshock Infinite is coming out soon, and so I have been working on a fan piece for it. I like the game series mostly for its use and focus on real world ideology of philosophy, political discourse and its examination of how it applies to society and how society evolves or reacts to these pressures. The story built within these games is also quite good, given its platform of a first-person shooter.

For this piece specifically I wanted to focus on the theme of American exceptionalism that occurs through the game, hence the red, white and blue color palettes. I also wanted to bring out more of the flat and symbolic quality as well because I wanted to go in the direction of a pseudo propaganda-esque style, which I thought was very appropriate not only for the city but for the two factions living within the city as well. Overall I think it was successful and I'm happy with the result.

Above: Bioshock Infinite Poster
All rights reserved Irrational Games

Skeuomorphic vs. Flat Design

A lot of designers have been talking about skeuomorphic and flat design this past year mainly because its one of two popular techniques that designers have taken to using. Skeuomorphic design is characterized by using elements that were classified as functional in their physical/analog form, whereas the same element is used completely for aesthetics in its digital form. This type of design is characterized as being familiar by the user and can be effective in using "comfort level" to generate a successful design. The company who pioneered skeuomorphic use was Apple. It can be seen in their apps and UI designs that they push the skeuomorphic technique more than anyone else. A direct example of this would be Apple's iCal app. This particular app has leather texturing, stitching and ripped pages, and directly illustrates the skeuomorphic design.

Apple: iCal

Flat design has been gaining popularity within the design community and with the new release of windows 8 it has been given a large push by Microsoft. Flat design is characterized by having clear symbolism with very simple colors, which gives it a very 2-dimensional look and feel. Unlike the skeuomorphic way this technique seeks to discard excess design baggage and just leaves that bare minimum. Meaning it translates often into a very modern looking design that compliments technology such as smartphones and tablets. I believe that this sparse and modern design philosophy may be a reaction to the skeuomorphic designs as of late, and will most likely grow in popularity. I'm eager to see what other designers can do with this design philosophy and hope to see more of this in the future.

Microsoft: Windows 8

I believe that when looking at these two different design philosophies, you cannot say one is better or worse than the other, rather only which one is better implemented or which fits the user experience the best. Making this into a beauty contest of which constitutes better design shouldn't be an issue, because it is possible to have both designs work for the same purpose. They may not make the best user experience but design wise it could work. Personal bias also can get in the way and I myself and not immune and find myself leaning towards the flat design, however it should never limit how you think about a design or its execution. So keep an open mind about both types of design and don't limit yourself by writing off one or the other.