Tag: Website

As I had refined the website with a new composition and colour palette, I got to play around with the juxtaposition of colours and the layout which has a dramatic effect on the target audience. I have stayed in line with the grid method, although using a variation of squares and rectangles with different sizes to continue to keep it interesting. The major adjustment was the monochrome colour palette. I think that this was what made the website successful this time around, and is extremely good at appealing to the audience because of the aesthetic, while being recognisable for the tattoo industry.

The above design solely stays to a full monochrome colour palette. I really like this because even though the colours are similar, and could be perceived as ‘boring’, the design is bold and eye-catching enough to grab the audience’s attention. In retrospect, the lack of colour or variation of colour may make it less recognisable as a brand; therefore, I think a subtle hint of colour could work extremely well for the identity.

This led me onto incorporating a subtle hint of blue within the page of the website to see how it would affect the overall aesthetic. The colour was influenced from the nautical theme, which links to the octopus as well as the brand name; plus I think that the hints of blue worked in the previous designs. I am happy with this final variation of the website because it looks professional, and by developing it further with a consistent colour palette that is appropriate for the identity of the brand, while still incorporating a little hint of colour, is perfect for this brand which is looking to expand nationwide. This also sets a strong foundation for further products and branding that I will create for the brand because of the identifiable logo and bold colour scheme.

This design developed really fast as I had a few ideas for it and I wanted to try them out. The first idea that I wanted to try out was the background. Because I thought it looked quite plain, I wanted to add a slight pattern/texture in there to contrast against the header which was going to stay white. When I did this, using my old logo’s tentacles, I lowered the opacity to 20% so that it wouldn’t be overpowering. Despite doing this, I don’t think that it worked for the brand because of the uniformity of the rest of the website. Therefore, I decided against this pattern while continuing to develop it.

One major change that I think alters the website dramatically is the navigation buttons. I have only put the outlines on two of the buttons to show how it looked before and after. I love how this looks because of the boldness of the buttons, as well as it linking to the squares in the website composition when displaying information. Instead of having squares which are all the same size, I changed these into rectangles of different sizes so that it would look more exciting, sticking to the monochrome palette in order to keep it consistent.

A major change that I then went onto, as you can see, is changing the background colour of the website. I thought that the light grey background worked well, but I knew it could be better. I could have chosen a black to match with the logo, but when I tried this it was too dark and overpowering; although I did like the darkness of it. It developed with a dark grey, almost black but not quite, so that it wasn’t as dark and it was still in-keeping with the aesthetic of the website. Because of this new background, I decided to change the composition of the information on the website. I decided on smaller squares and rectangles for this because they worked better, with the juxtaposition of some singularly being outlines and some using the colour palette. There is also one box with a rough texture on, in which I have changed the opacity because I like how this looks with the other boxes and it matches with the aesthetic of the rest of the design.

After playing around with a few ideas on the website I have almost completed it with a continuous design. I am happy with the colour palette now because it is bold and recognisable, plus it encompasses the style of the brand that I wanted to achieve for it’s identity. I have added additional ship wheels onto the navigation bar as i think that it finishes it off nicely; whereas beforehand it looked uniform but I felt like something was missing. With the composition of the website I have placed some of my own artwork in there which I think is in-keeping with the style of the brand. I like how the designs are displayed, and with the different sizes of boxes they work well together as well as juxtaposing to make an eye-catching design. In the text boxes I have used another sans-serif as this is suitable for the aesthetic, and it makes the logo stand out further as it is the only curvy object on that page. Overall, I am happy with how I have progressed this design, and I think that I have created a strong platform to build the identity of the brand upon.

I decided to start the website again from scratch as I wasn’t happy with the previous design. I wanted to use the same elements for the navigation bar because I thought these worked well alongside the logo, as well as it being bold and readable. However, on the previous designs the buttons were underneath the logo in order to make room for the tentacles of the octopus at the side of the header.

By scrapping this idea it creates more room for the actual content of the website, as well as it being more uniform and organised in a composition that fits well for the brand. This simplistic layout was inspired by some other websites that I have researched; for example ‘hipster’ websites as these are the target audience and it will more likely appeal to them if I follow a similar approach with my own website for the brand.

Continually, I changed the colour palette of the website altogether. The blue and oranges weren’t working, whether it was too bright or distracting, so I decided upon having a monochrome colour scheme. I think this will work better with all of the different parts of the website, as well as it being distinctive in creating a recognisable identity for the brand.

The next stage of development that I took was to have a distinctive composition to base the content around. To do this I began by slightly altering the background colours to contrast and juxtapose against each other. This led me onto changing the header white, which I think works extremely well. It jumps out from the main bulk of the page, while still being bold and eye-catching; plus easily readable and recognisable for the logo.

The grey on the main page, then, was already juxtaposed against this white in order for me to create the box within it. I used a light grey for this as with a darker shade it overpowered the design and I don’t think that it worked. I’m really happy with how this version of my website for the brand is turning out because the colour palette is aesthetically pleasing for the audience as well as it looking more professional in it’s approach.

Because this was the home page, I wanted to create a simplistic layout using the grid method that a lot of modern websites take. This displays information more concisely, as well as it having a bold design. What I liked about it was the lines within the composition, as these contrast against the curvy lines within the logo, yet because of the sharpness of both they complement each other. I stayed with the square theme within the website to allow the design to be uniform and smart, while retaining the ‘edginess’ of the tattoo brand. Looking at this now, I think that the design is too light and it doesn’t remind me of a tattoo brand; therefore, I will continue to develop it with existing websites in mind to make it appealable.

Continuing my website for the identity of the brand I have tried to experiment with the layout of all the components to see if I could come up with something that represents the creativity and inventiveness which tattoos represent.

To see which direction I could go in, I stayed with the ship wheel theme to define the design. I liked how this looked when it was solely in the corner because of the boldness and how it links to the octopus tentacles in the top corners. But once I did this all over the page I thought that it looked too busy and was far too overpowering.

I then had a go at putting text into one of the wheels to see if this would break it up a bit, or to see whether or not it wasn’t working. I liked how this looked because of the text within, however, it was still far too overpowering with all of the black. To divide this up slightly I could have changed the colour palette of them with greys and maybe the odd hint of blue (the same tone which is on the business cards) but I don’t feel like this would have worked because of the nature of the repetition. Therefore, I decided against it and tried to change the design so that it wasn’t as ‘in-your-face’.

This led me to changing the centre wheels positioning to the side, so that there was still room for other elements within the gaps. I preferred this style because it was less vibrant and the design seemed to flow more. Nonetheless, I think because of the juxtaposition of the colour palette for all of the elements I think that the design was too much- even though it could represent the creativity of the brand in an interesting composition.

After experimenting with all of that, I decided to go back to my original three wheels in the corner. On the right, as displayed, I followed a more traditional approach with the text that almost looks like a scroll. I used the oars for the top and bottom of this to make it more eye-catching and to keep it in keeping with the rest of the aesthetic of the page. I really love how this turned out because it follows the gird method of the website, but when I glance at the page I instantly think that it is for a tattoo company. Therefore, because of this and the emphasis on the design,  I think that the identity and style of this format is successful for the brand. I could develop it slightly to include a hint of blue, but as it is I think it still works.

To develop the brand I continued working on the website. I liked how I started with this because it had a strong layout (yet simple, but that is suitable for the audience) and it caught your eye. I have worked on this by incorporating more of a design that could be transferable to other platforms. I wanted there to be a strong and apparent tattoo influence and link, so with this in mind, this is what I came up with.

As High Seas Ink is a tattoo brand that targets a contemporary, “hipster” audience I focused the visuals to capture the creativity and nature of the brand. Firstly, I didn’t like how the top corners were empty and plain- which are two things that tattoos do not represent. So I used the logo graphic for this and placed it in the corner, focusing on the tentacles to portray the ‘hand-drawn- nature of tattoos because it feels natural with the curves. I like how this jumps out from the page to create a bold design for the header, and I think that it sets it up nicely for the rest of the website.

As it was the home page and I had already stayed to the grid method with the navigation bar, I wanted the page to be a little bit more adventurous and creative. This led me to using solely visuals, and I arranged the ship wheels (still linking to the sea) in a clock/cog formation as I think that this looks interesting and is very engaging. For the other side of the page I am going to use other visuals, possibly some using text so that it is more informational, but continuing the theme and aesthetic. Moreover, less text will appeal to the target market as well as making it visually interesting.