Video here (only 6 minutes because phone died), full presentation here (auto-plays in your browser).
Website = https://cloudfootstudio.com
Podcast = https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkly/id1223786056
Artist storefront = https://society6.com/cloudfootstudios/prints?show=new
18 Comments. Leave new
Wow! You have put so much work into this project!! You should be really proud of your website. I like the overall layout of your website, but I think you need to add more red into the background… I know you like the white/grey/red color combination, but maybe a blue would work better with the current images and designs on your website. This is just my opinion though. Specifically, I really like your layering/vector art. I have always wondered how those types of prints were made. I think the fact that you went above and beyond by including your own artwork is super cool. Additionally, its really good. Lastly, the addition of a podcast is really interesting. I like how you focused the theme and how you brought in your brother to do it with you. It would be cool if you brought in guests though: maybe professors, local science enthusiasts, etc.
Good job!!
My technical critique for the website (contrast issues)
– The header has some contrast issues due to the white font on a picture
– The podcast section: the paragraph text may be difficult to read as its color is too similar to the background
– I would suggest removing the doodle background from the Doodles section or placing the h1 text on top of a black rectangle. Same with the subtitle text here
– Consider using a pure white font for the ‘need a laugh?’ section
Thanks Cyron. Could you send me a screenshot of the header and podcast text readability you’re seeing? Or give a little more detail? I don’t think I’m seeing what you are referring to. As far as Need A Laugh, yes, I can see that, I need to redo it to match the Spacey Thing in format.
Making your own website for the final project was a very creative idea. I enjoyed seeing your ideation for the basic elements of your site such as the logo and avatar. Your website looks really nice and is a great place to bring your artwork, podcast, and Instagram all together in one place. I’m interested in hearing more of your podcasts so I’ll definitely check those out on my commute.
Cloudfootstudio is a great name. Way more creative than anything I could have come up with (“Alex Rivas’ Website?) I like red accents as well. Red is an eye grabbing fun color but the darker red color you’ve chosen makes me take the website more seriously. The details you’ve put into this website are really impressive. The logo and avatar creation will really make your website stand out among other student made websites. Your photoshop skills are impressive. Is photoshops a program you have had a lot of previous experience with before/how much? You’re very talented in your sketches and society6 designs. A website is really great to showcase your work- I’m surprised you’ve never made one for yourself before. I see your art work as the main element of the website and the podcasts just being an added bonus! You can definitely tell that you put a lot of work into this!
One thing that feels a little strange to me is your “about” page. It seems like everything is centered on all the other pages and then the left alignment and big white open space on the right seems out of place.
I haven’t even had the Photoshop subscription for 6 months yet, but it’s incredibly fun. I can get lost for hours learning how to style an element or blend a layer just the way I want. And the ability to use brushes to add paint effects or erase with style is fantastic. I’ll work on adjusting the layout of the About page so it’s a more efficient and comfortable use of space.
I am very interested in making my own website as well. This information was great fit a starting point. I like your attention to the little details. It shows that you have thought a lot about every detail on the website.
I love the avatar and the logo steps. Your sketches are incredible. Is Autodesk sketch the only app you use?
Your website is really professional with the right amount of creativity to intrigue but not distract. What would you do differently in the whole process?
Hey Sidd, Sketchbook is the main thing, but since it’s all pixel art sometimes it doesn’t scale well. If I need something really big (like a 10,000px image for a Society6 canvas print) I have to use Photoshop. But both programs can open several of the same file types (.tif, .psd, for instance) so sometimes I transfer back and forth—Photoshop is a RAM hog so it doesn’t fair too well on my Surface 3.
As far as what I would do differently, I would tackle the code itself early in the project, perhaps even before I did anything else. It would have been good to know the structure of the web layout from the beginning rather than digging into it looking for customization to tack on at the end.
The clean, minimalistic aesthetic of the website is great, the color scheme you went with is great but not gaudy. The font is welcoming and the content is really fascinating. I will definitely listen to your podcast tonight! How would you describe the aesthetic of the website?
The nuance of making a great podcast is investing in a good microphone and you got it spot-on. With time, I can see you expand your content and gather more traffic for the website. This is just a suggestion, but I would love to see a section where users could submit artwork and contribute to other content that is curated by you to maintain your signature style throughout the website.
The icons are carefully designed with a flat, clean aesthetic. As I am a fan of Google’s material design, this style speaks to me. I wish you the best!
Thanks Ridhvik, that’s really encouraging. I’m always looking for feedback on the podcast so please do give a rating and reach out either via the Contact page or my CU email to let me know how you think I can improve. Regarding the aesthetic, it’s a little unfair to stick with “modern” (what website *isn’t* moder, after all?), but I was definitely aiming for a “light-hearted sketches” type of aesthetic, if that makes sense. I’m having a tough time finding an established definition for it, but it involved lightness, cheer, grid organization (but not dense), brightness, adventure, and a sort of… professional spontaneity? Intentional frivolity? It’s difficulty to get that feeling across in words… having fun but being cognisant and purposeful in the decisions made, the direction taken. If you can think of a principle or aesthetic that gets that across, let me know!
Cool presentation! You really thought of the aesthetics of everything for your project, down to the website font. The logo design is amazing, especially because the balanced vector sketch. I like how your website reflects your artwork.
I like the choice you made to use something you know about to host your website — we’ve all had some interaction with WordPress and it is pretty user friendly while still being dynamic. The minimalist template is an interesting and, I believe, wise choice since you want to emphasize your work on the site and not the additions by the template. I really like the layout tree that you made for your presentation, it aids in understanding your design process. It looks like you used Photoshop and tablet software to create a lot of the aesthetic designs for this project. Would you say these tools were invaluable to you in creating this project? It’s really easy to appreciate your artwork particularly the pieces that you have included on your website. However, I think that your presentation may have focused a little to heavily on your artwork rather than directing the focus to the creation of your website and your design choices for it. I love the Thinkly podcast — the concept and the execution are pretty incredible. It’s great that you were able to include your brother on this project.
Yeah, Photoshop and Sketchbook were definitely must-haves, and their functions overlap so little that using them both gives me a really wide range of capability… drawings and quick ideas in Sketchbook, poster design and intense graphic art projects in Photoshop.
It shows that you have really thought through every detail in the design of the website. The block diagram/flowchart of page navigation was a great way to display your thought process. I like the use of red in the website, but I still think the background color should be adjusted to be easier on the eyes.
The logo is great! what if you put the ‘wifi’ curved bars under the cloud as if the signal is being sent down to earth?
I think condensing the the podcasts down to 25 minutes is a really good idea, but if you need it to be longer, I think that is fine. My roommate listens to an hour long podcast everyday and sometimes listens to two of them in one day.
The intro music could be a lot simpler, think about the ESPN jingle, its like a few bars and very rememberable. Or it could change with the topic of the podcast.
How would you adjust the background? A lot of the site designs that I respect across the web use simple black text on a near-white (usually bright grey) background. Can you show me a site using more what you’re thinking about? I’m not sure I like white text on a dark background, but perhaps I could be persuaded…
I’ll work on the music. I definitely want to have something my own, something I’ve created, but there’s definitely room for improvement. I’ll research ways to make it more professional-sounding while retaining the light-hearted aesthetic I’m going for. If you have more things that come to mind, please do share them. Inspiration is great!
The website looks nice and I like your minimalist approach to the website. Though the red portion stands out, its not really offensive. The sketches look awesome. I love your light saber posters. The logos and avatar turned out really good. Great work.
The website looks good! I really like the color scheme. The logo came out really well also, looks like the logo of some hot new startup! Definitely, like the 4 toes and just the black in the logo. The avatar was one of the first things I noticed when I looked at the website. Your sketches are really good! 17 minutes is a good length for a podcast.
Excellent design process: I could see how you built up your brand from the ground-up. I especially enjoyed how you pulled in some of your life story as an influence for your design choices, it gives your brand a distinctly personal feel.
Your design choices complement the artwork you showed off! For example, The “Mountain and the Moon” feels similar to the vector representation of Red Rocks.
Your site shows a remarkable attention to detail: from the color palette to its navigability. Great work!