snap2objects » Trends

Male versus Female Designers

estefany — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:20:48 +0000

Some time ago, we wrote the polemic article “70 designers that shaped the world”. After suggestions, we made the “Another 30 designers that shaped the world”. One thing that called attention was the few women present on the lists. Looking at the 100 designers, only 8 were women – among them, Eileen Gray, Zaha Hadid, Jean Muir, Vivienne Westwood, Irma Boom, Matali Crasset, Ray Eames e “Coco” Chanel. Is there any prejudice with women? Are there more male or female designers on the market? Does the gender really make a difference?

We can obviously conclude that something is wrong. Either women can’t work as well as men (which we know it’s not correct) or women are treated different than men for work. Women have been treated as subordinates since prehistory, it’s understandable that it wouldn’t change suddenly. But it’s not suddenly anymore, it has passed about six thousand years since prehistory.

Today I can see in the market that some companies choose designers considering the gender, most times in these cases, they rather man. One of the reasons for that is that they claim woman to be more sensitive or unstable (like having difficult to deal with criticism). Also, this is a subjective matter. Both men and women can have this kind of problem. I’ve heard about women that was rejected for a job just for being a woman or even got the job, but with a lower salary then the men’s.

On the other hand, sometimes they say a female touch is required. I myself have gone through a job interview on which they preferred me because I’m a girl and there were only man at the agency. They said they needed a female sensitivity, softer layouts and fresh delicate ideas. Again, it’s too subjective. A good designer does any kind of work, delicate, grungy, dark, light.

I’m not being feminist, we know that men and women are different and it’s natural. But both have the same capacity to do the same job without interferences caused by the gender. We must think that each person is different – there are good male designers and good female designers. And it’s hard to believe that in the XXI century there is still discrimination for woman. I seriously hope it will be gone in a near future.

What about you? As a woman, have you ever gone by some problem (or advantage) at the job just for being a woman? As a man, have you ever seen any kind of female discrimination? I told you how I feel about this issue, now tell me your experiences and opinions.

Photography in colors: Pink

estefany — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:08:23 +0000

This week we’ll brighten up the Photography in Colors series with Pink. Check out the different tones and combinations for this sweet color.

Pink: Mainly associated with female genres, it’s delicate and sweet. Suggests calm and tranquility, but also can indicate energy and happiness if saturated.

6 Photoshop Extreme Makeovers On Video

mao — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:47:43 +0000

Beauty is a Photoshop product. Now days you can’t see a photograph, without wonder if it has been “photoshoped” or not. Some end results are really plausible other not that much.

Here are 6 before and after extreme makeover videos using Photoshop.

Watch the video on Youtube

11 Images you might want to avoid in your designs.

mao — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 22:35:01 +0000

We have been talking about avoiding clichés lately, instead trying to reflect the unique personality of every business. That way our design will stand out among millions.

Sometimes the hardest situations come when our clients ask us to implement some not-so-unique elements and it seems almost impossible to convince him that it would be better to take another direction in order to differentiate his business.

There’s nothing wrong with the use of a specific image (or design trend). The problems come when we use them gratuitously, without asking why it should be there and if it is really conveying an honest portrait.

I will show some images I consider overused, since the beginning of the web, that could make your website (or any design) look generic, unimaginative and dated – if you use them just for the sake of it.

The handshake

This is one of the most classic business images on the web. There are countless websites and brochures with similar photos. The irony resides in that clients still ask for it. We should show how this image is overused if the idea of the client is to show a “confident”, “trustworthy” or “friendly” values. Then you should show other ways to convey that emotion with the use of other images, color palettes, and patterns.

The Call Center

This is another classic. I can’t remember how many clients have asked for this kind of picture, when the vast majority don’t even have a call center, or a single free line. And you can see all around the web these many unavailable live help services – giving nothing more than frustration to the clients.

The Globe

Does the company have any branches? Do the attendants speaks several languages? Does it have international clients? If the answers to the last questions were “no”, “no” and “no”, then you should reconsider why you want to give the international feeling to it.

The world in your hand

Same three questions from the last image. No, no and no?

The enter Key

Is it a design for a hardware related company? Maybe not. Maybe there is no need to sell keyboards–or use this image in the design. You may agree with me that you should think twice before using it.

The Clouds

I love to use “organic” elements in design. Clouds are always refreshing, but try not use the image on its own – try to give it a twist, to add some extra elements, maybe a kite or red balloon.

The Skyscrapers

The skyscraper image is another resource to communicate the idea of “power” and “internationality.” I find it very useful, as well as the use of city skylines. But consider using something more human and warm if the company you are working for is not that big.

The random media

This kind of image, any close-up of hardware, is widely used. But their use may give the design a “technological aura” that transmits the wrong idea.

The @ simbol

The @ symbol is a true gem. At least the spinning @ is not in fashion anymore.

The Group of professionals

The “we” instead of the “I”. Why show d vast group of professionals when it is a one (or two) man show?

Conclusion

Trying to avoid clichés is always hard work, not only in the pressure we can face but also in the temptation to offer a cookie cutter design just to give the client “what he wants”. That’s why we should always question the use of any element in our projects – why we are using it? What do we want to communicate? Is there another way to do it? Is it faithful to the business personality?

What other images do you think are over- and/or misused?

16 Beautiful, Simple and Cliché-free Websites

mao — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 13:24:16 +0000

In my last post, “How To Destroy The Web 2.0 Look” based on Elliot Jay Stocks’ proposal, I showed some sites that illustrate an opposing trend to the current popular style. This new look has rich textures and an organic feel. The purpose behind these designs is to come up with different web design approaches that to try to build up and express the each site’s personality. Now, in contrast, I would like to show 16 Beautiful, Simple Websites that are clearly influenced by the “W2L” a.k.a. “Web 2.0 Look” (brilliant contrasting colors, central layouts and big text) but you won’t see any Diagonal Lines, reflections nor “Special offer” badges while maintaining that sleek feeling from W2L.

So, we see that you can embrace trends without falling into their specific clichés. Here we see that we can still incorporate beautiful, clean designs without being a Photoshop artist.

http://www.e-worldways.com/

http://thebignoob.com/

http://kindcompany.com/

http://sprawsm.com/

http://www.shylands.com/explore/

http://rainfall-daffinson.com/

http://www.rikcatindustries.com/

http://www.getfinch.com/

http://www.frieze.com/magazine/

http://dibusoft.com/contact

http://dfckr.com/

http://www.deform-group.com/

http://www.cravattificio.com/

http://artypapers.com/

http://www.themorningnews.org/

http://www.markboultondesign.com/

How To Destroy The Web 2.0 Look

mao — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 01:09:03 +0000

A trend always appears as opposition to another. Detailed Gothic art was replaced with the pure straight lines from Greek temples in the Renaissance. The tons of hair spray, glitter and multicolor spandex 80′s were demolished by the black & white minimalism from the 90′s.

The web is no exception. In the beginning, there was no light on the web. It was awfully crowded, with dancing marquees, tedious frames, unbearable midis and annoying spinning @’s. It was the dark ages of the web. Then came refreshing empty spaces, vibrant, high contrast colors, lovely gradients, big text, original gloss shine effect, diagonal lines and, of course, reflected logos, came t0 our rescue. Everything was shiny, with that great ‘breand new’ smell. The Web 2.0 look was born.

But guess what?

There are some people getting tired of that. Call them revolutionaries, or trend setters. I call them visionaries. Elliot Jay Stocks is my new hero. He took part in The Future of Web Design event, held in NY, with a talk called “Destroy The Web 2.0 Look.”

In his talk, he demonstrates how the current web style is overdone, making sites look like Dollies (cloned sheep). Mr. Stocks also notes that what makes a site part of the Web 2.0 wave is not the way it looks, but the way it works. He shows how the “Web 2.0″ is not about aesthetics. It has been misunderstood by the web design recruitment industry and marketers, among others, who think the look will translate into success. As a conclusion, the designer invites us to educate people on what Web 2.0 really means, and to learn from the best and try to adapt the trends to our own designs.

I agree with Elliot Jay when he recommends we adapt trends and to try and educate our clients in the matter. Also, we must agree that despite the obvious clichéd repetitions, there are some characteristics worth preserving, even in the trendiest designs: nice big text, loads of white space and centered alignment, for example.

Now, if the web 2.0 look is already dated and we have been told to destroy it, the remaining question is:

How To Destroy The Web 2.0 Look?

First let’s revisit what makes the Web 2.0 Look

Vibrant, high contrast colors
“Special offer” badges
Gloss/ Sheen
Beveled edges
Gradients
Diagonal Lines
Shinny Table Reflection Effect

Now, you may agree with me that the resulting combination is an attractive, clean, and neat design, but sometimes it can be almost aseptic, or lack of personality due to its popularity.

I recommend you read an excellent post Why should your site have “personality” made by Robert, a guest blogger. Robert describes how to be honest in design, and the importance of uniqueness and how it should reflect the business’ true personality.

Then I am going to show and describe the common characteristics of some sites I believe are the answer to the cloned, aseptic web styles.

http://www.biola.edu/undergrad/

http://www.bandpush.ca/

http://www.bittbox.com/

http://www.cameronmoll.com/portfolio/

http://darklightart.com/

http://elliotjaystocks.com/

http://eyecandyanimation.com/

http://fisticuffdesign.com/

http://www.jrvelasco.com/

http://www.kcrevolution.org/

http://www.knoxville.org/

http://student.opendoorsuk.org/

http://trojanrecords.com/

http://www.dirtyprettythingsband.com/

As you can see, these sites are the opposite of the current style. Despite this, you can still see some elements that survived, like the big text and the main layouts.

However, in their unique and trendy designs we can see common elements like the retro/vintage look, influence of grunge organic elements, and rich textures.

Let’s identify those elements again:

Retro-Vintage
Warm, Dark Color Palette
Rich and Organic Textures
Grunge-Retro Fonts
Rough Edges
Ornaments
Stains
Rich Full Layered Headers

Retro-Vintage

The retro elements is commonplace here, giving a cozy yet evocative feeling. Here we can see an old Polaroid photo (a very nice retro resource). Also notice the old radios in both of the samples, as well a representation of vintage printings.

Warm, Dark Color Palette

The use of dark colors, like dark brown, burgundy and mustard in lots of variations and shades is associated with that retro look. These are clearly different from the brilliant, high contrast colors of the current trend.

Rich Textures

Sometimes organic, simulating wood, stone, stained walls or vintages wallpapers.

Grunge-Retro Fonts

Say goodbye to the typical rounded-corners bold fonts we use today. Say hi to old school fonts and grunge typefaces, full of rough edges and detail.

Rough Edges

This is another grunge feature. It is the uneven finishing effect on boxes, frames or headings. Achieved by replicating the effects of ripped paper or paint splats.

Ornaments

Ornaments have been making a shy appearance on many current web 2.0 designs. But they are even more prominent in the retro designs. I particularly like the clean look of Web 2.0 with some ornaments, like floral patterns.

Stains

This is again a grunge feature, but also vintage. Adding stains like paint splatters gives the illusion of something worn by the passage of time. Something that has been used and abused, resulting in a sense of familiarity.

Rich Full Layered Headers

These headers are design masterpieces, not just big solid areas anymore. The many layers and objects tell a story, speaking with powerful voices about each author or the product sold.

The current web style is going to last for quite some time. But we can’t deny that there are some trend setters who are questing for their own identify, trying to avoid cliches. Of course, if this trend happens to replace the ongoing one, it will turn into a cliche as well, and then another trend will come. I think the secret is to be an early adopter and adapt each one to our needs and design angles.

Design Trend: Light Graffiti

mao — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 20:54:32 +0000

PS3 New interface for the firmware 2.0

Yesterday, PS3 got a new firmware update to 2.0. And also its interface, sporting a dark background with neon color shapes as if painted with light. So when I saw that nifty interface I joined the dots and identified a design trend I have been noticing since I saw the joost.com site and its interface.

Joost site as well features the “painted with light” aesthetics.

Then I came across with the LICHTFAKTOR portfolio, which is absolutely marvelous.

The LICHTFAKTOR Portfolio

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iWp3QQHuDI]

A Sprint Commertial

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW_9SYaWAQg]

Then I remembered how that concept – dark background with vibrant colors portraying cutting edge looks – have been with us since the early 80s, with the movie Tron - which was the result from the inspiration of Steven Spielberg watching a video game for the first time.

Tempest by Atari 1981

Probably the game Mr Spielberg saw at the time was Tempest, a vector based shoot-them-up, which was a huge success. Among other features, like selectable difficulty level and 3D looks, it was the first one using the Color-QuadraScan technology, allowing several colors on screen.

This has great looking design aesthetics that seems to appeal to some old school roots. If the result of the inspiration of Spielberg was such a groundbreaking movie like Tron, how do you think this could inspire us?