Chapter 7: The Surface Plane
Pros:
Of course, this is my favorite topic! So much that I have to be careful not to get carried away. I want an interesting site, but my heart of hearts tells me that too much is not good for the learning...for example, this past week, I tried out different "headers"; quilt backgrounds, natural "cottons", color patterns etc. None seemed to work as well as what I am using now. Why! I want a PRETTY site! I really know of course that it does not make the page more functional if the header is a quilt background, it must be read and understood. So, back to the topic, the surface plane is a toughy for those of us without commercial art background. As I will mention in the next "blog" about my orginational principals etc., I planned and am using color to create contrasts that draw my viewer into certain areas of the site. HOWEVER, one of my evaluators last class suggested other "personalities" to profile for my site...it wasn't intended for them...but in all fairness, that is what I was thinking of doing much later down the line...when the other users are included in my profile, I'm not sure how this design will change...a new "tab", a transparent of the others, an entirely new "folder"? These are problems for another day.
One of the nice things I'm trying to "remember" and incorporate as I produce this site are ideas of balance, (not symetry) and palette, in which I stick to only a few choicen colors and little variations of these main colors. Like I mentioned earlier, I wasted a lot of time by fiddling around with different palettes, only to find it was not getting me anywhere! When it comes to typography...I learned a long time ago that the fonts you have may not be the fonts your user has so don't go crazy.
I love the idea of a creating a written out style guide...
Cons:
We really should have read all of this in the first two weeks...THEN really got our sites started! I know more now and have little time to change the whole thing!
