Thursday: 15/03/2012

Today in class we created our very own HTML page that contained league tables and logos. The logos did not show up in my final draft because the images are not live and are saved onto my memory stick which does not enable them to be seen in the blog. The images are meant to be the logos for each team, in order,the Manchester United logo,Manchester City logo and Tottenham Hotspur logo. If you click on where the logo image is meant to be it links you to the websites of that team, for example if you click on the first image it will link you to the Manchester United website. I found that creating a HTML file is fun and exciting but hard. In order to create it, it involves a lot of concentration and listening but it is worth it when you see your final result. The tools and codes used are hard to get used to at the start but once you get the hang of it you become quicker and more familiar with them.

Position	Team	Points	Logo
1	Man United	28
2	Man City	28
3	Tottenham	28

Thursday: 08/03/2012

I was working on an animation video today and this link will show you it:
GoAnimate.com: Drink and burger by paddycregan24



The overall evaluation of the go animate video was a success. This video was fun to make and I really enjoyed it. The videos were simple and easy to make as GoAnimate give you a tutorial when you sign up of how to create videos. You catch on to the methods of making a video and you learn to create more and more videos with all different types of dialogues and characters. You can only get so far with using the basic in go animate but if you pay for the advanced one you can explore more and more aspects of the animation world. You are limited on how many lines of dialogue you can have so you have to base your video around 10 lines.

Thursday: 01/03/2012

Today in class I done the final touches to our "Green Hands" assignment. Here is my finished design report:
 

Design Report

Name:

My name is Patrick Cregan I am the Director of Cregan Designs Ltd.

Why my Design is for you:

My design incorporates all the key aspects outlined in your design brief. It represents your company with great detail from the logo. It is plain and simple and is well under budget. Since the recent economic downturn saving money is a key part in anybody’s line of business and my design does just that for you. You had a budget of €3000 which allowed me to create a logo that I could mess about with comfortably and not have to worry about going over budget. The total cost of the designing of the logo came to €2000. That’s a massive saving and a hugely under budget. As this logo is a JPEG it can be easily transferred onto a webpage and used for your online presence. The name of the font is “New Brilliant” and the colour is black. I chose this because it adds effect to the image and the colour helps it stand out. The “lime green” open hands with the butterfly flying out of them represents the name of your company “Green Hands” and the butterfly represents the gardening aspect which is a nature filled occupation. The colour of the hands are lime green and the colour of the butterfly is a mix of black, blue, baby blue and white because it gives a nice effect and makes the butterfly stand out. The faded blue clouds in the backround portray the subject of nature and it adds to the look of the logo. It looks great and captures the attention of every online user and entices them to look further into your company. As I said it is well under budget but yet still evokes the emotion and the company’s reputation with this simple idea.

Research carried out:

With the design brief I researched the competitors, Gardenworks, Dunboyne, Co. Meath and Ratoath Garden Centre, Ratoath, Co. Meath. Both companies have different design aspects but neither have great logos which required a lot of hard work. Although, they are simple and do what they’re aim was. I also searched Google Images to find hands and a butterfly for my design so I could visually see how to draw it and give me a better understanding of it. To get the font I wanted I searched fonts into Google where I found a site http://www.1001freefonts.com/ that gave me a list of all fonts I wanted. I searched “Gardening” into Google also which gave me a list of ideas for the design which also helped create the final image. 

Evaluation of design ideas:

I drew up sketches of ideas I had for my design but the final decision I came to was a butterfly flying out of green hands. The reason for my final choice was the green hands because the companies name is “Green Hands”. This symbolises the company as a whole in one bit of the drawing. The butterfly flying out of the hands represents gardening to me. Butterflies are a part of nature and gardening is all about growing the nature of a particular area. The clouds in the background again represent nature on a sunny day and all in all it perfectly reflects on gardening. The writing I chose is a trendy font which incorporates the design as a whole. I think my design fits perfectly for this design because it evokes the images that gardening is associated with and enhances them in one image.

Also our collection of work had to be finished for today which I had all done so I didnt need to finish it.After we done that we practiced making animation videos on http://goanimate.com/ so we can master a video when it has to be done for our collection of work on a later date. I made some silly videos so that I could become familiar with the settings.

Thursday: 19/01/2012

Today in class everybody presented their videos of a series of J Peg's and turned them into an MP4 to their own individual song they chose.  We all sat around and watched everyones videos on the projector and the best one won a prize of a chocolate selection box.

After we finished watching the videos, we started to design a new logo from a brief we were given. The brief was to design a logo for a new cafe opening, owned by a husband and wife called "Scungilli". I started off by brainstorming ideas on paper which the base of my idea came from. I also searched websites like google images and www.fuelyourcreativity/so-kick-ass-logos-for-inspiration/ , http://www.patricialindberg.com/ , http://www.crabshackmarina.com/ . I then proceeded to draw up some draft sketches. My final image was a snail with scungilli italian cuisine written above it.

Thursday: 09/02/2012

Today in class we got an assignment brief. This brief was to design a logo for a garden centre called "Green Hands". We had a budget of €3000. They gave us websites and logos for ideas of what to do and what not to do. 

Thursday: 12/01/2012

Today in class we started off by handing in our first assignment of the year. It was to give a detailed evaluation of a photo kiosk from a HCI approach. After we handed that assignment up we began making a series of J Peg's and turned them into an MP4 to the song Drake Ft. Rihanna - Take Care. My video is below;

After this video was finished we were giving the task to design a brief for a product of our choice. Together we chose to design this brief as a group and selected this photo as a item to portray our business idea. Working in a team is different from working on my own. You have to listen to what everyone has to say and their ideas and come up with the best one and negotiate which is the best to use. Everyone's opinion matters and their is no solo effort in teamwork. The brief we created is below; 

Client Business Name	Sharts Car Motors
Industry	Car Dealership
Project Title/Type	Advertising via Website for a Car Dealership Company

Project background Thomas and Ivor Shartington are the owners of Sharts Car Motors situated in Blanchardstown Industrial Estate Co. Dublin. This is a cars dealership but at the moment their business is not doing so wee due to the recession. What they plan on is creating a website for their company which they will then advertise to try make a bit more money. On their website there will be pictures of pre owned cars, t heir deals, information to the company and price ranges and so on.

Project Objectives To get more customers and to make their business more known throughout the county.

Target Audience The main target audience would be people from the age of 18 and over that are capable to drive a car. We would be striking people with full time jobs that need cars to travel, usually fathers or mothers of a family.

Competitors Local car businesses in the Dublin area example Bradys car sales, castleknock.

Work Required/Specific Instructions What is needed is a website advertising or promoting this business. Information has to be shared such as prices, pictures of the cars for sale, deals, contacting info, opening & closing hours and job careers.

Logo and text

Thursday: 15/12/2011

At the beginning of today's in class we went through Jakob Nielsen's 10 Hueristics of a User Centred Design. They were explained in great detail which gave us a better understanding about. We were given an assignment due in for 12/01/2012. The title of this assignment is; From a HCI approach evaluate a photo kiosk of your choice and provide a detailed analysis including recommendations and research. We have to also evaluate, conclude and recommend also for this product.

After this, we gained proficiency on Microsoft Paint. We drew out each letter of our full name which is PADDY CREGAN and made a film on Windows Live Movie Maker with a song. Each letter was an individual representation of our creativity and how we created them.