Last night I (finally) was able to attend an AWDG meetup down in the ATL. I’ve been wanting to attend one of their events forever but my schedule has never really worked out so well. Thankfully, due to some changes on my end, that tide has turned.
Last night’s talk was given by Jason Beaird, author of The Principles of Beautiful Web Design.
Jason had Keynote tied directly into his Twitter account which made note taking really easy. Overall it was an excellent presentation and really help light a fire in me. Recently my creative side has felt fairly non-existent. After last night’s presentation I feel like my cup runneth over. Here are some of the highlights from Jason’s Twitter stream:
-What is beautiful web design? I think of “fresh looking” websites that make use of layout, color, texture, type and imagery.
-Step 1. Gather Elements: Logo, Tagline, Main Nav, Content Elements, Footer, etc…
-Step 2. Establish Structure: Rule of thirds/Golden Ratio, typographic grid, or even the templates from http://960.gs
-Step 3. Choose imagery to support the content, colors based on proven color schemes, and appropriate typography.
-If you’ve followed design principles, color theory and made solid typography choices, you may end up with…a template.
-Sometimes you have to piss on the principles and add in individuality/creativity to generate a reaction
-“…I’ve always tried to get people to unlearn what they learned in school.” – Tibor Kalman
-Without knowing basic principles though, it possible for things to go very, very wrong…
-“Design depends largely on constraints.” – Charles Eames
-When you’re tasked to design a chair it HAS to work like a chair!
-Sometimes the constraint we’re after is a throwback to another era…
-“Creation is a patient search.” – Le Corbusier
-Inspiration from Art History ie. Bauhaus Design
-“Design is thinking made visual.” – Saul Bass
-Some say design is purely about artistic talent, that helps, but it’s also about thinking; Learning to distill ideas.
-Inspiration for websites doesn’t need to come from websites
-“You can have an art experience in front of a Rembrant…or in front of a piece of graphic design.” – Stefan Sagmeister
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2 Comments
sweet dude, I need to hop on board and go to the next one.. had no clue
They're having a "black screen" social (means no speaker or topic, just networking) at Twisted Taco on Feb. 10th. I usually have to work Wednesday nights, but I'm going to see if I can get someone to cover for me. Totally worthwhile.
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