DES 570-01 - Research Blog Entry #1

For this week's blog entry, I wanted to share a really interesting website a designer at my internship shared with me.  https://www.origins1985.guide/index.html  This site is dedicated to the complete graphic brand identity of First Republic Bank. While on the surface, the idea of a bank as a client may seem somewhat bland, but this site a an excellent example of what's possible when a client with a large budget requests a rebrand. Everything from the UI/UX, web design, and breakdown of the iconography is meticulously crafted. The website as a whole just sucks you in completely.

 The website I chose to submit for my 3rd Research Blog Entry is the archive site of Japanese designer Igarashi Takenobu.  https://igarashiarchive.jp/collection/?lang=en  I found out about this designer from a woman whose design studio is next to the office of the company I am interning at. She interned for him in Japan. This is more of an archive than a portfolio site, but it serves a similar purpose of showcasing the truly staggering breadth of his works as a visual artist. from product design and brand identities to sculptures and models. His official website cane be found here:  https://takenobuigarashi.jp/home-en/

    This week's blog post is on the subject of designer James Provenza's website. Like Ellen Christensen's portfolio which I previously posted about. The website is very minimalist upon first loading up. However, upon hovering over different titles of projects, one discovers there is a higher level of complexity of UI at play. The website is still easy to navigate, but the way images and videos respond to user interaction is a lot more lively and animated. I found this to be an excellent example of a modern, yet minimalist portfolio website. I would be really interested in learning how to create a website with similar functions as this one. I also like the variety of work displayed. https://jamesprovenza.com/

     For my first example of design portfolio inspiration, I chose to start with SFSU Assistant Professor Ellen Christensen's website:  https://www.ellenjchristensen.com/index.html . Having taken her classes Graphic Design I and II, I deeply appreciated the underlying emphasis on how to present and speak about my work in relation to a professional setting.     The work displayed is inspiring, but what stands out to me is the minimalist format and organization of the website itself. It is easy to navigate and all the work is categorized into comprehensible sections. In an era of truly impressive and intricate web design, the elegant simplicity of Ellen's website resonates with me when thinking of how to design my own portfolio.