ROCKSOLID: collections website - formal exploration

The following are three explorations for formal direction for my collection website about crystals I started collecting when I was 8. The collection website has grown from the required 15 objects into 24 of my favorite specimens and 9 info graphics about the rocks. 

 LOGO/ BRAND  EXPLORATION:

The idea behind rocksolid is to meld scientific cleanliness with different aesthetic approaches. The shapes either inspired by Jar and specimen labels or geode formations.


DIRECTION 1:

Direction one has the tag I mentioned previously that is inspired by apothecary jar labels and scientific labeling of specimens. I added some abstracted geode-form line drawings around the edges to fill in the padding area. Not only is the simplicity deriving from science labels but I wanted to allow the Crystals to be front and center, allowing them to get the attention they demand. After all this is a website about the collection, so why distract the viewer from the thing i find most beautiful; the rocks.

 In this direction I thought it would be a nice contrast from the cleanliness of the stark white background to add woodgrain. Its a stretch but the wood is something form within nature just as the crystal specimens are. Although I like the direction, I am still working on finding a way to render the crystals in way that allows them to stay as vibrant as before (on the white background).

 

 DIRECTION 3:

 

 These are a little messy as far as clarity of direction and cohesion but bear with me. Here I wanted to try and show all the logotypes in similar applications and spacial relationships. So in that sense I categorized them as one direction instead of having 4 or 5 to talk you through.  

CRYSTAL RENDERING STYLES: COLLECTION WEBSITE

 

 Playing around with some rendering. Right now I am thinking well lit, scientific documentation photos of the specimens. Ive started to explore some vector overlays as well as abstracted reduced vector line drawings of the rocks. Next I want to get on the light table and do some hand drawn renderings of the minerals.   

IA project one: LA Times Redesign

Experiment 1

 

During this first experiment process Many things have come to mind to improve upon and strengthen the connections I aspire to make through out this semester. In the initial field survey I completed last week, I got results that were all over the place. Tightening down the amount of variables ( the amount of typefaces and odor samples) allowed me to move forward for the video presented in this blog post. The short documentary is the manifestation of my inquiry into type | smell association.
     For Those who are unaware of the experiment I suppose I should lay down some groundwork. Six smells are administered to an individual. Secondly, the participant describes the smell giving me anything from memories, literal interpretation, to visual & formal qualities. The latter (visual & formal qualities) is what I was concerned with for this experiment. After diving into the qualities of the odor, the participant chooses a typeface that best fits the description of the smell. The typefaces were, for this first experiment, limited to the basic categories of type; Traditional Serif, Modern Serif, Humanistic Serif, Egyptian Slab, Traditional Sans, Geometric Sans, and Humanistic Sans. For this I listed Sabon, Clarendon, Helvetica, Futura, Bodoni, Baskerville, Franklin Gothic, Serifa, and Univers.

EXPERIMENT 1: results and speculation

I've began by asking, what is the association, if any, between typefaces and the sense of smell. Just as we make visual and conceptual judgements based on the qualities of a typeface, can the qualities of smells be translated into typefaces? If so, what can it inform us about typography and the broader sense of communication. I surveyed six people for today's preliminary experiment. I gathered 5 odors in brown glass bottles labeled 1-5. The smells varied from pleasant to not so much. A better way to describe that is, some more organic and others more industrial.