Friday, 29 May 2009

  • How to improve your social networking site...Aesthetically

    First off, a disclaimer: I am in no means an expert in this sort of thing. I am, however, a connoisseur of Aesthetics as well as an artist and I know what I like.

    So I will break this down section by section on how to improve your Xanga (or any other social media you can customize) aesthetically.

    Let's begin with the number one thing:

    Your Profile Picture
    First off, a picture profile is a MUST HAVE. A lot of people out there will not accept you as a friend if you don't have a picture. Now before you put that picture of your favourite bong, Benny, having I good time as your default, let's stop and think. Whenever you post a comment on somebody's blog this image will appear. No matter what you post and no matter how earth-shattering it is, people will link it to a picture of somebody with a bong. They won't take you seriously and will most likely skim right past what you're saying. So, what picture should you pick?
    Well, let's eliminate what you shouldn't pick:

    • Pictures of your dog/cat/bird - I don't care how cute fluffy is, but I'm not going to look at a profile that has this sort of deal. It's really, really impersonal to hide behind Mr. Cuddlesworth.
    • Pictures of celebrities- You are not them and you probably won't ever meet them. Sorry to burst your fan-obsessed bubble. When I see this I tend to think that someone's hiding who they are behind another person's already built-up reputation. Show who you are, dangit!
    • Pictures of your children - Sure, I love Jill, but that's still not you. Now is it?
    • Pictures of things that aren't you at all- I think this is self-explanatory.
    • Pictures where you are hiding your face- I don't really want to look at another person's side view of there hair. Seriously, you can't be that ugly.

    Now, this doesn't mean your pictures can include you with these things. That's fine and dandy. So here's my basis for a good profile picture. You need a picture of your whole face. Why? I read someone (and I can't remember for the life of me where) that the human face is the most recognizable symbol. It's above a heart, above a dove, and above a peace sign. If some one sees a human face they will instantly feel a connection. If you at least do this, you can go as crazy as you want.

    The next thing you need to do to improve your profile is:

    Colour choice
    Colours attract our attention. It's proven time after time. When choosing colours for your profile you need to choose appropriate colours for everything. Apply colours to what you want to focus your attention on.
    So, let's go over some colour basics:
    There are four parts of colour:

    Saturation: The degree of purity of a hue.
    Intensity:     The brightness or dullness of a hue. One may lower the intensity by adding white or black.
    Luminance / Value:     A measure of the amount of light reflected from a hue. Those hues with a high content of white have a higher luminance or value.
    (Copied from http://www.worqx.com/color/color_basics.htm)

    Start with the easiest: hue. If you've ever been anywhere near an art teacher you've probably heard of "warm colours" and "cool" colours. The first colours we see when we first gaze upon something are the warm colours: yellows, oranges, reds (sometimes browns and tans are included) and any variation of. If you really want to draw attention to something, you would probably use one of these colours. (Although I wouldn't recommend using yellow on anything font-wise as it can be really, really hard to read) Focus on warm colours tends to be short-lived and quick. The "cool" colours are: greens, blues, and purples. They're colours that are relaxing and can be associated with a cloudy day. Besides warm and cool colours there are also colours that lack strong chromatic content and are called: unsaturated, achromatic, or near neutral. Pure achromatic colours include black, white and all grays; while near neutrals include browns, tans, pastels and darker colors.

    There's also something called complementary colours. They are colours that when next to each other seem to clash, and on the colour wheel they are opposites. Red and Green, Blue and     Orange, and Yellow and Purple.
    With being opposites, they are very hard to work with. My advice is to avoid using complementary colours next to each other. If they are used, they should be used scarcely. On a side note, when combined they usually will make brown.

    Achromatic and cool colours are easier and the eye and let the eye linger for a little bit longer. In essence achromatic and neutral colours are the "colour glue" that can allow for different colours to be near each other. They will go along with anything. They can act as a buffer between colours. They connect the colour dots. Something to note though, lighter achromatic colours tend to stand out more and darker colours tend to be passed over. Why do you think technicians working backstage where black?

    Furthermore, colours can have emotional, cultural, or natural attachments for example red can mean: danger, excitement, fire, passion, blood, fight or flight, or sexual connotation.

    In summary: use lighter and brighter colours and what you want to focus attention on, darker colours on the less important, avoid complementary colours, and use achromatic colour between colours. For more reading on the various aspects of colour try http://www.colormatters.com/ or http://www.worqx.com/color/

    Space and Size
    Space and size play a very important role in your profile. Like colours they also attract attention. The first thing you'll probably notice is something very large. Also, size can also create a sense of timing. If something is larger you will linger on it for longer than something that is smaller. If something is larger you can also create a sense of timelessness. (I’m sorry for those of you who have a short stature but you are SOL) So, when using space and size in your profile your main focus should be the largest thing on there. Be warned, you don't really want a profile that has everything giant or everything small. You want to create a natural flow and rhythm to your profile. With size and spacing you are essentially guiding your viewers’ eyes across your page. You're directing there attention.


    Balance
    With a profile you want to balance things out. You want to create equality and harmony among your lines, shapes, colours, etc. This doesn't mean things have to be symmetrical though. There are three types of balance:

    • Symmetrical
    • Near Symmetrical
    • Asymmetrical


    With symmetrical you can basically divide a line halfway through your profile and create a mirror image. It's the easiest to produce and use of the balance types.
    Near symmetrical is basically having very slight variation on symmetrical balance without affecting the over-all harmony. Near symmetrical gives off the illusion of being symmetrical.
    Then, there's asymmetrical. The hardest of the types of balances to work with, but it can be done. Think of it this way, all of the areas on your profile have weight. You want the objects on this side to equal the weight on the other side.
    Balance needs to be applied to everything; your fonts as well as your modules. If you balance things out, life is beautiful.
    For more information of balance visit  http://www.mmwindowtoart.com/foundations/balance.html.



    Spelling and Grammar
    This is a very important thing for anyone trying to get there ideas across. At least try and have proper spelling and grammar, because people will be turned off if you have horrible spelling. It will distract from all of your previous work and from the meaning of your writing and profile. People's opinion of you will also drop. Trust me; it's better to at least attempt proper spelling and grammar than to blitz it off completely.


    Harmony
    In the end, all of the previous elements will blend together and create a sense of harmony on your profile. This is the ultimate goal of everything I've talked about so far. You're also created harmony with your identity. Life is art, so why shouldn't a representation of you be viewed so?

    http://www.johnlovett.com/test.htm

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