Compose Your Frame: Holland - 3rd Floor

I took this picture on the 3rd floor of the Holland Building where they have several computers but the shelves of books is what mostly consumes this floor. I had to move the rows in order to have a clear shot through all the way to the other side. I enjoy moving the shelves because you just literally press the "Move" button and it is fun to play with.

The Rule of Thirds comes into play nicely because you can easily divide this picture into 3 sections with the left side of the books, the middle (open) section, and the right side of the books. I like how your eye is not only pulled to the end of the row but also each and every individual book and definitely gives you a feeling of closeness and stopping at each book to examine it (at least it does that for me).

The Diagonal Rule is what drives the picture because the shelves on which the books are on are horizontal but progressing into a forward direction which then leads your eye to the next rack and the next until finally you are met with the chairs at the very end which is complemented nicely by the light. The light plays with your eye giving you a sense of relief (e.g. like light at the end of a tunnel) and mystery in the way that you cannot see what is beyond the chairs. Also the lines on the ground and the sofas are horizontal so the lines cross each other or are considered perpendicular.

The vectors are heavily present in this photo, specifically graphic vectors which have a strong sense of direction. Your eye moves through looking past the books onto what lies ahead and that is somewhat unknown but by using my imagination, it's almost like when Jesus parted the sea and creates a pathway. The lines on the ground and the sofas in the middle of the aisle cause for a little discomfort for the eye because it is like the pattern of going straight is being interrupted (especially with the second sofa). It definitely blocks my path and bothers me because I feel like I have to change my direction to get to the end. Something else that I noticed is I took this picture at an angle but it was completely unintentional. I do think it heightens the suspense and causes the vectors to have motion in them as well!

Axioms of Web Design

I was searching around the Internet only to realize that the website for my Most Anticipated Game of 2016 (Uncharted 4) is really something special and astonishing, it's unchartedthegame.com. What I find to be incredible about this site is that it is related to a video game but by visiting the site, it feels more like a TV series. Visually, the thing that captures the viewer's eye is the fact that it is playing the trailer in the background but it feels like a movie trailer because the genre of the game is an action adventure. Uncharted is a gaming series that is exclusive to PlayStation and I think it fits PlayStation's motto perfectly: "Greatness Awaits". Looking at this game, it is truly stunning and I think the website attracts gamers as well as non-gamers.

The Business/Communication side of the site is a gaming company by the name of "Naughty Dog" who was founded in 1984 in Santa Monica, California and has been part of my childhood because they started out making games like "Crash Bandicoot" and "Jak and Daxter" which I'm sure many people have at least heard of those games. I have always been a gamer and those were some of my favorite games growing up and so I followed their company. I think the fact that they created a particular site for a huge game like "Uncharted" is something incredible. The first game came out in 2007 followed by 2009 and then 2011 was the third game. Fans of the game have been waiting for about five years for this next one to release which is why I find the website special and helping their business. They have always been known to make fun and free-flowing games but then they have transitioned to more serious and serial gaming experiences with "Uncharted" and "Last of Us" (another heavy adventure game, except much darker tone).

I think the website has a strong grid or what Andy Rutledge likes to call "quiet structure" which is achieved when you de-emphasize the structural elements and bring a rhythmical consistency to the layout. I believe this site does a great job at executing at that because the game is based on action and adventure and by looking at the landing page of the website emphasizes that pieces of the trailer casting behind the scenes just like if you rented a movie and watched the preview screening of the main screen of the movie before you press play. It doesn't give the viewer a warm and serene sense but that isn't what it is trying to pull off, it wants to have the viewer on the edge of their seat wondering what's going to happen next.

The continuity of the site flows really well too because it knows what it is and isn't trying to be something that it's not. I think the landing page grabs the viewer in because of the continuous action that is happening on the main page of playing snippets of the trailer to show how good graphically the game looks but also to set the tone for what kind of game it is and shapes the idea of what the site is going to contain.

The intuitiveness which refers to having the ability to understand something without any direct evidence is present in the site. The main reason being that the word "game" is in the link of the website so people can quickly associate that but also having tabs at the top of the page like "Games" and "Multiplayer" are good indicators too. You don't have to be a gamer to recognize what kind of site this is because I believe that it does a great job of visually captivating the viewer to not only enter the site but to explore a little bit to learn more.

The affordance is definitely present because it is very interesting and fun to navigate and it draws the average viewer into it even if they aren't sure of what it exactly is. The site is fun all the way around and it is also easy to navigate. You have 6 tabs on the top of the page which lay out specific subjects and it makes for an easy read and something interesting that I found about it is that you can create your own gifs according the game. It'll let the viewer pick from certain scenes from the previous games and choose different backgrounds and then let them create their own phrases or their are already-made phrases presented to them. I found it to be silly but also inviting and cool because I can't think of another gaming website that lets you create different kind of memes out of it, it's a really fascinating feature. So I found the site to be fun but also look good and be easy to navigate which helps the overall presentation.