JWT

JWT
Communication Arts

I read a profile of one of the art directors of for JWT in Communication Arts and decided to visit the firm's site. I like the type, the colors, the Swiss layout, and even the scrolling navigation bar. Why? Oh, Why? the flashing buttons?! Make them stop! Otherwise, I quite approve.

As an aside, I looked at their JWT Now page and read about their "Lead India Campaign " for the Times of India. I still can't make up my mind about whether it was superbly inspiring or spine-chillingly sinister. The campaign won the Grand Prix at Cannes this year. It started with the Times of India running a full page ad inciting for social change. Celebrities got involved, mass demonstrations were started (the reel doesn't make clear whether they were incited by the campaign itself or if it was a result of grassroot activism). After a long chain of events they had a reality tv competition (American idol-style where the audience got to vote through IMS) in which eight social activists competed for a sum to fund their cause, a scholarship to the JFK School of Global Leadership, and money to fund their campaign as Prime Minister of India!!!!

Prime Minsiter of INDIA!!!! Doesn't India have nuclear capabilities? Doesn't it have like triple the population of the US?! I'm all for ad agencies using their persuasive powers for activism and social change, and I understand that a certain amount of media bias is acceptbale and inevitable, but when the largest English-speaking newspaper in the world is blatantly attempting to create a world leader, shouldn't we be very frightened? VERY FRIGHTENED? Maybe I'm being paranoid. What do you think?

Converse

Converse

Communication Arts 13

Cooler-than-thou site for a cooler-than-thou shoe. I made my own gold and chocolate sneaker. Jealous? Make your own! The sketchy type and edgy look is appropriate to the topic. Built in Flash.

Sid Lee

Sid Lee

Coupe 107 and just about every other design annual out there

I love the look and feel of this design studio portfolio site. The type has that clean, blocky look that is all the rage these days. The navigation hierarchy is clear and intuitive. The fact that the subnavigaiton heading is larger than the type on the navigaiton system is a small unexpected touch which I really enjoyed. Flash and html were biht used in the construciton of this site.

Paprika

Paprika

Coupe 107, AIGA Design Annual 2008

Very white, minimal layout the better to see this design firms amazing body of work. A scrolling typographic animation is the only decorative element in this portfolio site. The site seems to have been made entirely in Flash.

Tharapy Films

Therapy Films

Coupe 107

This is a portfolio site for a commercial film studio. Navigate away from the barking monkey in the Napoleon hat and you will enter into a unique navigation experience. Very literal.

UrbanSilo

Urban Silo

Communication Arts Interactive 13

This site has improved a lot since I first came accross it during the summer. The download time is still somewhat long, but I love the bright colors and innovative navigation system. Great flash portfolio site. Bonus: it begins with a rooster sound.

Wax Partnership

Wax partnership
Coupe 017, The 2007 Coupe International Design and Image Awards Annual

This site has a fun, sketchy environment. I like the interface, its ease of use, and my son really loved the panda xeroxing his bum (go to see what we're doing). Tip: the video takes a little while to load. Warning: features people in underwear.

Wildcard Inc.

Wildcard Inc.

Communicaiton Arts Webpick

I don't really know what this website is about because it's in Japanese. I was checking out one of Comm Arts webpicks of the day and got mysteriously rerouted to this other site, which features 4 interfaces in which the viewer's mouse creates the a tral and illustrates the site. Very cool. Enjoy!

Marck Ecko

Marc Ecko
Computer Arts magazine

This site has so many good ideas, I wish it had kept a couple of them to itself. The site has a consistent look and navigation system, but the flash is sometimes overwheming.

Dwight McKnight: Unregistered Trademark

Dwight McKnight
AIGA website

I thought it would be interesting to see what other recent graduates are doing in the area of web design, so I checked out this featured designer in the AIGA website. I think this is a simple, unique take on the portfolio page, both simple in concept and technology. He tiles a background images to create a visually arresting wallpaper of his work. The effect fills the screen regardless of size, and is quite unexpected. The text inside the navigaiton bar could maybe use a little rethinking, but otherwise I give this a thumbs up.

Bad Gift Emporium

www.badgiftemporium.com

Do you have a horrible, horrible gift? Would you like to acquire someone's horrible, horrible gift? Maybe you just want to have a good laugh? Here's another site by Barclay (they designed the March of Dimes website) to help you out. The tackiness and uniqueness of the interface goes well with the quirkiness of the content. This site is mostly designed in Flash and navigation is slow, but it's a fun way to kill a half hour. You never know, someone's white elephant could be dream come true.

Re-Re-Re-Recycler

EnBw Spamrecycler
Communication Arts Interactive 13

Credits:
Paul Fleig/Stefan Walz, creative directors
Paul Fleig, writer
Joerg DiTerlizzi/Marko Ritter, programmers
Fabian Buergy, graphic designer
Fabian Roser, 3-D designer
Christine Seelig, project manager
Jung von Matt, project design and development/client


Don't know what to do with all the junk in your spam folder? Why, recycle it, of course! Send your spam to the EnBw Spamercycler. The site uses Flash 8 programming with PHP scripts (or binary voodoo, as i like to call it), and voila. Instant art. The design team has this to say about the process:

The algorithms of the Recycler are taken from collider experiments in modern physics and a new render engine which creates JPEGs out of Flash (this one ticked-us-off for weeks). The process breaks-down the spam mail into its very particles and accelerates them. Every particle leaves a characteristic trace depending on its individual kinetic energy.

Like I said, binary voodoo. In case you were wondering, here's how my turned out:

March of Dimes

MARCH OF DIMES: Wonder Site
Design Firm:Barkley
Source: Communication Arts 14

Aww...The baby sucks its toooooes! A flash animation video of different babies appears behind hundreds of searchable questions. You can click on the links or search for a specific question. The answers appear in a new window in a clean, much more conventionally designed layout. Overall, it is a creative concept and navigation system, but it takes way too long to load on my computer.

Jonathan Yuen

Jonathan Yuen Portfolio Website
Communication Arts 13

This lyrical portfolio site seems to be made entirely with Flash. The result is a fluid, lyrical digital interpretation of a zen scroll. When you hover your mouse over the minute red circle beside each Chinese character, the screen scrolls over to the next animation. This is a perfect example of how an unconventional navigation system can be simultaneously innovative, intuitive, and beautiful.

Visual Complexity

Visual Complexity

This is the only website I've found so far mentioned in a design publication that seems to make no use of Flash. It doesn't need it. The grid structures, easy to follow architecture, and clear navigation system are perfect for viewing these beautiful images.

JLern Design

http://www.jlern.com/
Communication Arts Interactive Annual 14

This portfolio site uses Flash in a way that is unique and fresh. Upon first entering the home page we see a sparse, black and white typographic grid placed on a diagonal. As you move the mouse, however, you change the direction of the grid and trigger brightly colored ornamental animation. Clicking on features zooms in and out of the image.

Design for Chunks

http://www.designforchunks.com/

Design for Chunks
Forcefeed Swede
Computer Arts 149

Originally an idea by graphic design studio Forcefeed Swede, I stumbled upon Design for Chunks by browsing through Forcefeed Swede's website, which was mentioned in Issue 149 of Communicaiton Arts. The site's striking color and retro illustrations are a perfect complement to the tongue-in-cheek copy and subject matter. It's purpose is to house an online gallery of custom-designed air-sickness bags designed by up-and-coming young designers. The site eventually came to the attention of Virgin Atlantic, who commissioned 20 designs and printed them on 500,000 sickbags over a period of 6 months.

The logo and illustrations look like they're right out of an '80s safety manual. Flash animation is used throughout the site minimally and to great effect. It has a simple, clear navigation system, but throws in some surprise links to keep us on our toes. The sick-bag themselves are also nothing to barf at. The ones in the archives tend to be funnier and edgier, so they are worth taking a peek at.