Thursday, May 31, 2018

7 Tutorials and Tools to Get You Started With CSS Grid

CSS Grid is here, people are starting to use it, and it’s even referenced by our industry’s latest official buzzword. I could go on about how it’s the future of web design and layout. I could wax lyrical about how anyone not using Grid will be left behind when the Rapture happens, and everybody on Wikipedia’s list of Internet pioneers will come back to take us to the great LAN party in the sky.

Comcast (yes, all of them) won’t be invited.

My point is that if you’ve been paying attention — if you’re reading this, you probably do — then you know that stuff already. But let’s just say that you’ve heard a lot of good things about CSS Grid, but haven’t had a chance to play with it, yet. Where do you start?

You start here, and you click the links listed below.

Tutorials

Your first step will be to get acquainted with the basic principles of CSS Grid. Well, we’ve got blog posts and video tutorials aplenty for you. I’d say to give everything here a look when you have the time, as they all offer different perspectives that might help you to understand CSS Grid better.

Grid by Example

Grid by Example is a whole website dedicated to CSS Grid, and it’s one of the more complete resources out there. They have tutorials. They have examples. They have grab-and-go HTML templates, video tutorials, and far more resource links than we have here.

The site happens to have been created by Rachel Andrew, who consults with the CSS Working Group, and has been promoting CSS Grid for quite some time, now. So she knows her stuff.

Layout Land

Layout Land is a YouTube channel that focuses on — and you may have guessed this already — layout. The videos are created and hosted by Jen Simmons, the woman who coined the term “Intrinsic Web Design” (see the first thing I linked in this article), and largely focus on CSS Grid, along with some other very useful info.

CSS Grid.

CSS Grid. is a free 25-video course on its titular subject. The videos are created by the legendary Wes Bos, who has made quite a few other video courses for web developers. This course comes with starter files, completed solutions for each problem, the works.

CSS-Tricks

Now for those of us who don’t have time for video courses, we have some good old-fashioned blog posts. And they’re from our good friends at CSS-Tricks, no less! (Well, they’re my friends, but they don’t know that yet.)

For the quick and dirty introduction, you’ll want to hit up Getting Started with CSS Grid by Robin Rendle.

For a more complete guide with examples, all of the code options you could ever need, an introduction to the terminology, and more, you should check out A Complete Guide to Grid.

Tools

Okay, so you know the basics. Well now we have a few tools designed to make your life just a little bit easier whenever you put together a CSS Grid:

Browser Tools

Whether you design websites in the browser like me, or just need to implement a design someone else put together in Sketch or something, it helps to see what you’re doing, exactly. When it comes to CSS Grid, that’s not the easiest thing. Oh sure, you could drum up a bunch of example content and start laying it out, or you could use a browser-based grid inspector.

Firefox Quantum: Developer Edition has one, and a whole host of extra goodies, besides. Indeed, if you design in the browser, this is probably one of the best browsers to do it in.

Chrome, so far, has the Gridman – CSS Grid Inspector extension. Now, it’s an extension from a third party, with all of the risks that this entails. It also only really “shows” the grid when you hover over it with the mouse. Here’s hoping that gets fixed soon.

CSS Grid Builder

Now all of that is well and good for when you’re already working in the browser, but what if you want to just build a custom Grid in CSS, paste it into your files, and go? Enter the CoffeeCup CSS Grid Builder. This is a free app for Windows and Mac desktops that lets you design a CSS layout quickly and easily, then import it to other projects.

You can set up Grids, Flexbox layouts, and more, all in a visual interface that’s designed to help you get a lot of the basic layout work out of the way. Now, you do have to provide some personal data (name/email) to download the app, but otherwise it’s free.

Gridish by IBM

Now, CSS Grid has fantastic modern browser support, but not terribly great legacy browser support. What do you do if you want to support older browser, too? You might try out Gridish, which is a Node.js project created by IBM.

Basically, you input the specs for your grid, and you get two things:

  • An automatically generated Sketch file with artboards and layout files for your design team.
  • SASS/CSS code for your grid, with a fallback grid built in Flexbox, which has much better browser support for the moment.

They also provide a Chrome extension specifically for inspecting CSS grids built with this tool. You can read all about the project at the official link above, or go straight to the GitHub repo.

And that’s about it, really. CSS Grid is still a fairly “newish” technology, so while there are lots of resources, they mostly cover the same ground, for now. But with time, I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot more.

Add Realistic Chalk and Sketch Lettering Effects with Sketch’it – only $5!

Source

p img {display:inline-block; margin-right:10px;}
.alignleft {float:left;}
p.showcase {clear:both;}
body#browserfriendly p, body#podcast p, div#emailbody p{margin:0;}

from Webdesigner Depot https://ift.tt/2snYTPC



from WordPress https://ift.tt/2LLwYBa

The Best UK Animation or VFX Courses

The animation and VFX scene is growing everyday with almost all feature films now containing some clever CGI.  Even the movies with no monsters or other worlds have cleverly swapped out landscapes and beautiful scenery usually changed or added after filming that you would never notice was not real.

The United Kingdom has a booming scene with studios such as MPC , Framestore, Dneg, Passion Pictures and many more, even Industrial Light & Magic have set up shop in London while working on Star Wars. With artists from around the globe coming to the UK to work in an historic city, full of different cultures, London is an attractive experience for any budding artist.

With that in mind it’s no wonder international students also love to study here amongst the best, and here in England we have some of the best full time degree courses to study animation and VFX. One renowned training school Escape Studios even offers online training.

To help with the huge task of choosing not only the right course, but city to start your journey we have created a list of the top Universities and colleges in the UK to launch your career in animation or VFX.

We interviewed the best to ask interesting facts like what their students went on to create and a showreel, and put them all together on one page to get you going.

Escape Studios

Escape Studios are a specialist VFX training facility in London. They are an industry standard in the world of VFX’s I attended myself many years ago, but since then they were acquired by Pearson College London and offer undergraduate, postgraduate degrees, and short-courses.

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

Students from Escape go onto work at all the large post houses:

  • ILM
  • Bluebolt
  • Unit
  • Framestore
  • Climax
  • Pixar
  • The Mill
  • Double Negative
  • MPC
  • Cinestite

Read about success stories here.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

It can safely be said that any block buster you see at the cinema has had an “Escapee” work on it, spanning back years to today’s feature films and Many TV shows, Commercials. Recent features are:

  • Paddington
  • Thor Ragnarok
  • Fantastic Beasts
  • Coco

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

We have over 100 alumni that have worked on films that were nominated for at least one BAFTA, Oscar, VES, or Golden Globe award in 2018.

We had many alumni working on the following winners:

  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Drama, BAFTA Best film, BAFTA
  • Outstanding British Film
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 – VES awards
  • Star Wars the Last Jedi – VES awards, BAFTA Special Visual Effects
  • Paddington 2 – BAFTA Outstanding British Film

How would you describe your courses?

We’ve been developing VFX talent since 2002 and we’ve helped thousands of students break into the industry.

Do you dream of working in the Visual Effects (VFX) industry on the latest commercial or next blockbuster? Our course is perfect for those looking to gain knowledge of 3D VFX and Compositing, the degree will provide you with the professional skills that the industry is looking for or even to start your own studio.

Learn to be a creative artist from day one – working in industry-style studio’s using the latest tools and techniques and working as part of a team on high quality creative projects. You’ll have intensive, hands-on tutorials with industry-trained tutors, who alongside practising professionals will provide regular feedback on your work.

You’ll graduate studio ready with a professional portfolio of work to show employers and a degree validated by the University of Kent – known as the UK’s European University, it is ranked 23rd in The Guardian University Guide 2017.

Bournemouth University

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

Our graduates work all over the world, and many are employed by the industry’s leading animation and production houses, software houses, computer game, and digital media companies.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Our NCCA graduates have gone on to work on some of the most successful films of the past decade, including Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Interstellar, Gravity and Alice in Wonderland

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

  • BAFTA’s
  • Oscars

How would you describe your courses?

Our computer animation courses are exceptionally well regarded within the industry and as a result, our graduates rarely struggle to find work once they finish their course. In fact, 70% of our students are working or studying within six months of finishing their course.

During your degree you will have the opportunity to work with some of the UK’s leading computer animation organisations, through the National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA), and can make valuable contacts before you graduate.

Student Testimonial

It’s almost impossible to go to any large computer animation company and not find a Bournemouth 3D graduate. Currently there are six working at Animal logic, but I’ve worked some shorter stints at 3D companies where the graduate number has been close to 100.

Miles Green, BA (Hons) Computer Visualisation & Animation graduate and FX Supervisor at Animal Logic

UCA Farnham

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

  • Studio AKA (Hey Duggie!) – Grant Orchard and Emma Wakeley
  • Cloth Cat Cardiff – Head of Animation, Adam Bailey
  • Aardman – Commercial Director, Rebecca Manley
  • The Line – Storyboard Artist, Francesca AdamsAnimade, Slurpy Studios, Moth Collective
  • FrameStore (Fantastic Beasts 2) – Rob Shears

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

  • Wes Anderson’s new feature film (Isle of Dogs) – Shelley Nichols
  • Scott Dawkins – Star Wars Rogue One and Avengers: Infinity War
  • Anthony Faulkner – Avengers: Infinity War and Pacific Rim: Uprising
  • Rob Shears – Fantastic Beasts 2

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Three of our students were commissioned by Random Acts to make 2 short films whilst they were still undergraduates – the films then toured the country as part of the ICA’s Playback festival and the directors of those films Elmaz Ekrem, Dominika Ozynska and Gabbriella Ditton recently featured in an article by It’s Nice That about the best new female talent in British Animation.

How would you describe your courses?

BA (Hons) Animation:

With a focus on art and design, this course will allow you to bring characters and worlds to life and explore your imagination through 3D animation.

BA (Hons) Computer Animation Arts:

With an emphasis on production design, you’ll graduate from Computer Animation Arts as a skilled artist in both 2D and 3D production.

BA (Hons) Games Art:

You’ll develop a deep grounding in 2D and 3D development through to production, current tools and technologies, games design disciplines, critical thinking practice and the widening context of gameplay.

You’ll also learn observational drawing and explore art styles, whilst concepting interactive and digital environments.

BA (Hons) Games Design:

Our Games Design course will give you the opportunity to explore the growing indie games industry and how you can apply your creativity to develop a career in the field.

Using top-of-the-range software, you’ll be able to focus on your own individual approach to game design as you develop a broad range of skills and techniques that will enable you to launch into a career after you graduate.

BSc (Hons) Games Technology:

You can be at the forefront of new gaming technology through this course, founded on the principle of User-Centred Design (UCD). You’ll learn how to consider users throughout each stage of the game design and development process.

Extended Diploma in Games and Animation:

On this course, you’ll develop skills and knowledge in a variety of areas including drawing development, 2D animation, digital and motion graphics, 3D modelling, the games and animation industry and sound for game and animation.

Throughout the course, you’ll have the time to experiment with the different techniques and decide which area within the industry you’d like to specialise in when you come to choose your undergraduate degree.

MA Animation:

This course has a long history of nurturing creative, innovative and challenging alumni. You’ll be supported in developing practical skills while fostering a high standard of diverse critical approaches.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/128256812?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

UCA Rochester

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

  • FrameStore (Fantastic Beasts 2) – Rob Shears
  • TT Games (Lego) – Lewis Blythe
  • Supermassive Games (Until Dawn and Rush of Blood) – Charlie Scott
  • Two Point Studios – Prem Fatek
  • Splash Damage – Oskar Woinski
  • SEGA PlaySport
  • Playground Games – Razvan Pajanu
  • Lost Forest – James McAndrew

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

  • Scott Dawkins – Star Wars Rogue One and Avengers: Infinity War
  • Anthony Faulkner – Avengers: Infinity War and Pacific Rim: Uprising
  • Rob Shears – Fantastic Beasts 2

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Guns Goats & Glory has bane shortlisted for the new TRANZFUSER Surrey dev hub (set up by the UK Games Fund) for the national competition, which will run for 3 months in June, July, August 2018. Their game will be showcased at the national games conference EGX at the Birmingham NEC.

University of Falmouth

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

  • 3D Animator: Aardman Animation and Double Negative
  • 2D Animator: DHX Media
  • Character Designer: Spider Eye and Hello Games
  • VFX co-ordinator: Ubisoft, Framestore and Cinesite
  • 3D Modeller: TT Fusion
  • Production Assistants: MPC Vancouver, Illion studios, Arthur Cox and Spider Eye

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Productions featuring Falmouth graduates include Dalmation Street (Disney/Passion Pictures), Captain America: Civil War, Spectre, Star Trek Beyond, Assassin’s Creed, F1 2016, The Jungle Book and The Legend of Tarzan.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Graduate Erin Morris was awarded the Best Short Film Award at the Miami Jewish Film Festival for her short animation Strings.

Graduates Mads Ogaard and Katie Wyman won the Undergraduate Craft Skills – Production Design award for their film, I Am Dyslexic, at the Royal Television Society (RTS) Student Television Awards 2017.

How would you describe your courses?

Students learn and develop animation skills using industry-standard software, working creatively across a range of subjects, from traditional art practices to the complex work of visual effects. Supported by academic and industry experts from all forms of animation and visual effects, you’ll experience a professional studio environment. Discover all forms of animation, trying your hand at 2D and 3D computer, stop motion and experimental work. You’ll work in groups on projects that range from short assignments and live briefs through to films for festivals and competitions. You can also work on our in-house micro-budget feature film programme.

You can also find out more about what the students and graduates get up to on their blog.

Student Testimonial

I came to Falmouth as a mature student. Three years later I had my first television credit, an agent, determination to succeed and the direction to get me there. Falmouth gave me that, no question.

Pete Jordi Wood, BA(Hons) Digital Animation graduate who’s worked with BBC2, Channel 4 and E4

https://player.vimeo.com/video/231539718?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

University of Middlesex

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

  • Natalia Biegaj (Charles Howarth – Art Director and Animator, The School of Life – Freelance Animator and Art Director, NB Animation – CEO)
  • Kuba Ba Lu (Treatment Visual Productions Ltd – Junior Animator, Sherbet – Flash Animator)
  • Luke Curtis (Brewery – 3D Visual Effects and Animation, Treat Studios – Animator)
  • Lana Simanenkova (Animade – Senior Creative)
  • Rebecca Balint (King Rollo Films – 2D Animator, Kavaleer Productions – Animator, Cloth Cat Animation – Animator)
  • Harriet Titlow (Sherbet – Assistant animator, Cartoon Network – Design Assistant)
  • Alex Crowley (Sweet Take Studio – Motion Graphics Animator, Aardman Animations)
  • Eleonora Quario (Lupus Films – Assistant animator, Passion Pictures – Assistant animator, Blinkink – Assistant Animator, Studio Aka – Assistant Animator, IOD productions – 2D Assistant Animator on ‘Isle of dogs’)
  • Greg Haworth (Hibbert Ralph Animation Ltd – Storyboard Artist, RM2 – Animator/ Creative Editor)
  • Antonia Diakomopoulou (Brilliant PR – Creative and Motion Designer, Vivliokid – Project Manager, Animator and Illustrator)
  • Adara Todd (Ladybird Films Ltd – Production Assistant, Tiger Aspect – Animation and Kids Department Assistant)

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

  • Rebecca Balint: 2D Animator on ‘Poppy Cat’ children’s television series
  • Izabela Barszcz:  Sherbet – Animator on ‘The Banana Massacre’; Freelance animator on music videos including ‘Hiatus – Night Jar’
  • Harriet Titlow:  Assistant Animator on ‘The Hunger Strikes’; Design Assistant working on ‘The Amazing World of Gumball’ children’s television series
  • Alex Crowley: Aardman Animations – Assistant Animator on feature film ‘Early Man’
  • Tom Jarrett: Worked on music videos for ‘Showtek & Moby – Natural Blues’ and ‘Age of L.U.N.A – Sweetness’
  • Eleonora Quario: Assistant animator on titles including ‘Ethel & Earnest’ and ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’; Assistant animator on ‘Gorillaz – Saturnz Barz’; Assistant Animator on ‘Elton John – Rocket man’; 2D Assistant Animator on ‘Isle of dogs’

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

  • Adara Todd’s graduation film ‘Twiddly Things’ was awarded the prestigious Best of the Fest award at TriForce short film festival.
  • Graduates Mads Ogaard and Katie Wyman won the Undergraduate Craft Skills – Production Design award for their film, I Am Dyslexic, at the Royal Television Society (RTS) Student Television Awards 2017.
  • Antonio Busto’s graduation film ‘The Day I Killed My Best Friend’ short listed for international animation festivals.
  • Lana Simanenkova’s graduation film ‘Heads and Tails’ shortlisted in animation festivals internationally.
  • Giulia Riva’s 2nd year film ‘Do you Remember’ – Short listed in international animation festivals.

How would you describe your courses?

You will hone your skills through demonstrations and practical work in our studios and workshops, as well as lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, visits and your own personal research. You will also have the opportunity to attend presentations by professional animators and interview them to learn more about their work. You will give presentations, take part in class discussions and work on group projects, essays and practical assignments.

We take pride in our approach to teaching on our BA Animation degree. In a 2016-17 external examination, we were praised for the use of clear language in our briefs, assessment criteria and learning outcomes, and for the way we support our students’ learning.

Student Testimonial

Being part of the course helped me to realise my potential and gave me some great work experience opportunities. I worked on the visuals for The Who’s US Tour 2011 and also went to Milan for the Design week in May 2012 to work on the live visuals for Bombay Sapphire Gin. After graduating, Kuba joined Treatment Studios, a collaborative association of designers, directors and content producers who create visuals for live music tours, concerts, events, award ceremonies, large-scale theatre productions and operas.

University of Hertfordshire

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

2D, 3D and VFX: employed in over 300 companies worldwide; Industrial Light and Magic, Laika, Disney Production, Cinesite, Double Negative, Framestore, The Mill, Moving Picture Company, Third Floor Inc, Animated Storyboards, Blue Zoo, Glassworks, Jellyfish Pictures, Illumination Mac Guff, Lucasfilm, BBC, Method Studios, Nexus Productions, CNBC, Pixomondo, Prime Focus, Realtime UK, Rewind, Saddington & Baynes, Sherbert, Smoke and Mirrors, Studio AKA and many more…

Games Art: graduates employed in over 200 companies worldwide including: Epic Games (US), Square Enix, Electronic Arts, Activision, Frontier, Sony (London and Cambridge), Blitz Games, Creative Assembly, Space Ape Games, Rare-Microsoft Games ,Splash Damage, Eutechnyx Ltd, FreestyleGames, Jagex, Kuju, Nintendo, Outso, Real Time Worlds, Rebellion Games, Traveller’s Tales, Ubisoft (Singapore), Zoe Mode, Rockstar and many more…

Visualisation: Bentley Motors, McLaren F1, Taylor James, Foster and Partners, Uber, Burrows CGI, River Film Communication, Random 42.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Grads have been working on all the recent set of Star Wars films, Ready Player One, Fantastic Beasts, the sequel to that film. The Lion king, Pacific Rim 2, Netflix’s Altered Carbon, the TV show Thunderbirds, the film Annihilation, Disney commercials for products and toys. The list is pretty long but those are some of the highlights.

Students have worked on films such as Gravity, Inception, Avatar, Box Trolls, Dark Knight, Hellboy, Thor 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, Harry Potter films, Prometheus, Narnia films, John Carter, Total Recall, Hunger Games, Godzilla etc

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

In terms of awards our students have won Oscars at framestore, mpc, and double negative for Blade Runner, Gravity, and the Jungle Book.

  • 4th Place Best Game Design & Development School 2017
  • 5th Place Best Feature Animation School 2017
  • 10th Place Best Digital Illustration School 2017
  • Animation – Film of the Year – Runner Up 2017 (Lunette)
  • Console & PC – Game of the Year – Runner Up 2017 (Fringe)
  • Internships -Visual Effects – Double Negative Winner 2017 (Brad Healy)
  • 2 students were Animation Finalists (Phoebe Warries and Jake Goode)
  • 2 students were Next Gen Gaming Finalists (Callum Tweedie Walker and Jordan Moss)
  • Best Next Gen Gaming School 2016
  • Fourth Place Animation VFX School 2016
  • Fourth Place Motion Graphics School 2016
  • Fourth Place Illustration School 2016

Shortlisted over 140 times in international animation competitions, including Royal Television Society Awards, Virgin Media Shorts, Animex, Shanghai World Expo, Animamundi, KLIK!, British Animation Awards, BFI Future Film Festival, Anifest, Aniwow, Melbourne International Animation Festival, London International Animation Festival, Tricky Women, Brisbane International Animation Festival, Bradford Animation Festival, Anima Brusssels.

How would you describe your courses?

All four degrees share a common first year where everyone gets a taster of each pathway. From the second year onwards each degree strand starts to specialize into their chosen pathway. Then in the final third year they can collaborate with whoever they want to make their final film.

There is a change for a sandwich year if they want as well.

To sum us up, while lots of training companies train you on software to create the art. Our thinking is to reverse that around. We teach them how to be creative as the first priority and how to achieve their visions.

Lots more information here.

If you want to see what our current second year VFX are up to here is a link.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/102407330?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

Southampton Solent University

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

Pretty much everywhere. Graduates have ended up in all the main houses in Soho working on VFX, some have gone to Aardman, some worked with Sylvain Chomet, a couple ended up at Weta in New Zealand.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Basically everything you see in the cinema, you can be sure some of our grads have worked on it, but Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Various RTS awards, and screening a competition success round the world. Several films screened at Annecy etc.

How would you describe your courses?

BA Animation classically trains animators for the boutique industry, and or graduation as film making auteurs. BA Digital Animation is more targeted at producing people who want to work in the Big vfx houses on block buster projects. Both courses classically train them with sculpting, painting, and drawn animation on paper.

Student Testimonial

I am ever-grateful for the tuition and support received on the Southampton Solent animation degree. The course structure gave an insight into what is required as a professional and also focused on the fundamental principles needed to be an animator. Without this vital training I would have struggled to forward my career and pursue my ambition.

—Ryan Herbert, Graduate

UWE Bristol

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

Blue Zoo, Framestore, Aardman, BDH, Lupus, Cartoon Network, Brown Bag, Richard Purdum, Astley Baker Davies, Cloth Cat, A Productions, Hello Charlie.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Shaun the sheep, Pirates, Early Man (Aardman), Frankenweenie, Life of Pi, Isle of Dogs, Chuck Steel Night of the Trampires,

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Many regional RTS student animation awards over the last 10 years. Special awards for craft and audio.
Representation at international animation festivals.

How would you describe your courses?

This practice-based production course not only develops your creative flair but also provides you with highly sought-after technical skills.

Learn through making using industry standard equipment. Practical work is balanced by theoretical study, work experience and research activities, all deigned to prepare you for work within a commercial environment. Live briefs, work based placements and networking events assist the transition from education into professional practice.

Join a long-established, highly creative animation community in which students are known and valued for their individual creative flair. You’ll be taught by a team with extensive commercial animation experience, with regular contributions from commercial practitioners. This, coupled with our strong links with the UK’s major animation companies, will ensure you benefit from professional expertise throughout the programme.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/165027977?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

Kingston University London

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

  • Double Negative
  • MPC
  • Framestore
  • Prime Focus
  • BBC
  • Many smaller tv and video production companies

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Avatar, Gravity, Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy, Mowgli, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, John Carter, Dunkirk, Star Trek…lots more mostly in compositing.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Whilst at university – final year project and best academic achievement awards.

How would you describe your courses?

Due to restructuring we have merged several courses into new one, called Digital Media Technology starting Sept 2018 and so are able to offer more option modules through pathways. This course will teach specialist skills needed for this highly competitive media and VFX areas. These include fundamentals of media, 2D and 3D computer graphics, introduction to computer programming, motion graphics, UX design, visual effects and much more through the option modules such as digital games creation.

In addition to the formal teaching on the course, students will also have the opportunity to participate in industry visits in central London – the home of many digital media and creative companies.

Teeside University

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

We have a large number of graduates working the film and TV industries at companies which include
ILM, Double Negative, Framestore, MPC, the Mill, Passion Pictures, Glassworks, Jellyfish, Studio Soi, Prime Focus, Pixar, Disney, Cinesite, etc.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

You would be hard pressed to find any film or TV project in the last 10 years that did not have Teeside graduates working on it. We could give you a list but it would be massive and include every major motion picture utilising VFX, plus TV series and documentaries.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Our students have contributed to Oscar and Bafta winning projects.

How would you describe your courses?

Outstanding facilities, including animation studios, motion capture studio, green screen studio (including motion control cameras) and traditional animation facilities.

What we teach, the s/w and facilities we use reflects what we know the industry is doing. We host the Animex festival every year to bring together industry professionals from around the year along with our own students to exchange ideas, run workshops, present awards etc.

More info at animex.tees.ac.uk.

De Montfort University

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

  • Walt Disney Animation Studio
  • Brown Bag Films
  • Studio Soi
  • Double Negative
  • Munk Studios

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

  • Disney’s Frozen and Big Hero 6
  • The Amazing World of Gumball
  • Hercules
  • Avengers
  • Batman: The Dark Knight Rises

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Some have worked on features that have won Oscars.

How would you describe your courses?

BA Animation explores both 3D and 2D digital techniques fundamentally with character animation at its heart. Overall it aims for a holistic approach to its delivery. It covers a broad range of contextual studies, such as animation history, animation trends and the creative industries. It explores storytelling, character development and interpreting script into storyboards. We give the students the opportunity to improve key traditional art skills, both in the life room and out in the environment. They get to explore a range of stylistic approaches to improving their creative and design vocabulary.

We train our students in software such as TV Paint, Cell Action, and Maya and other supporting industry related software. We teach 3D digital model making, focusing on efficient topology and effective texturing techniques. We embed animation principles through short experimental animation and explore story telling with longer projects.

Year 1 is a foundation in animation that introduces both 2D and 3D tools and techniques. Students have the choice in year 2 to focus on either 3D or 2D. Year 3 is driven by two independent projects producing creative and industry focused animations. To kick start a career in animation.

Student Testimonial

I was very certain I wanted to work in the film industry and the skills I learned on my course, even the ones I don’t use nowadays, helped me get to where I am today.

– Ben Carlson

University of Dundee

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

Students have gone onto work for studios such as Industrial Light & Magic, MPC, Double Negative, Cartoon Saloon, Animated Storyboards, Outplay Entertainment, One of Us, and more.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Recent graduates have worked on Star Wars The Force Awakens, Star Wars Rogue One, Ready Player One, Outlander, The Crown, and more.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Mitigating Circumstances by Kieran Duncan, Tom Paxton & Stephanie Flynn (a film completed on the course) was nominated for a Scottish BAFTA

Bouy by Olly Blake and Natasha Dudley (a film completed on the course) won Best Combined Animation at Dingle 2016.

How would you describe your courses?

The MSc in Animation & VFX is a blend of creative and technical visual storytelling. We focus on teaching the professional production pipelines that you will utilise in this industry. You will engage with high-end production techniques and values, and you will create a narrative based film, showreel/breakdown reel, as part of your final expo. We also regard research, development and intellectual rigour very highly. You will investigate your practice, and reflect on your own creative journey through the duration of the course.

We have great connections to the animation, film, television, video-games and comics industries, and many of our graduates have gone on to work around the world, for some of the top studios and franchises. Other students have pursued further academic advancement, by continuing on to a PhD or work in education.

Student Testimonial

The MSc Animation & VFX course allowed me to further broaden my knowledge within the discipline.
It taught me the right tools that I needed to know and how to utilise them in a professional manner. By using the connections it has with major VFX houses in the UK I was able to land a job and take my first steps into the industry. I honestly don’t think I would be where I am today without the help of the course and the tutors.

— Amit Dev, Junior Modeler, Industrial Light & Magic (Star Wars: Rogue One)

University of Edinburgh

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

Animation students from ECA have gone on to work for Laika, Tim Burton, Aardman, Ko-Lik Films, Cartoon Saloon, Mackinnon & Saunders, Rock Star North, Channel 4, BBC 4, CBBC and CBeebies.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Our students have previously won awards at Annecy, the Royal Television Society (RTS), the BAFTAs, and the Emmys.

How would you describe your courses?

Our multiple award-winning programme differs radically from most animation programmes in that we teach the full spectrum of production methods. You will learn about 2D and 3D techniques, using both cameras and CGI, as well as puppet based stop-frame. You will work individually or in a team to make films, documentaries and installations.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/67411379?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

Central St Martins

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

Nexus, d-neg, MPC, Cinisite, Rushes, Passion Pictures, Lupus, Illuminated, Moth Collective, Blink, Blue Zoo, Framestore, Disney, DreamWorks, Blue Sky, The Mill, Milk, Picasso Pictures, Weta digital, Peerless, Sony.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Jungle Book, Ethel And Earnest, The Snowman And Snowdog, The Illusionist, Lord of the rings, Harry Potter, John Carter, Exodus, Blade Runner, Iron Man. Sherlock Gnomes, Paddington 1 and 2, War Horse, Fantastic Beasts, Gladiator, Alien Covenant, Frozen, Zootopia, Wreck-it Ralph, Big Hero 6, Kung Fu Panda, etc.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Audience award: Zagreb. “Leave A Print”.

How would you describe your courses?

We are an animation course that puts the emphasis on story and performance. We provide training and guidance for complete beginners and the very experienced. If you want to act with animation, come to us.

Student Testimonial

It has helped me to learn more about my craft, to really immerse myself in it for a year, and make several contacts that have been invaluable to my professional career after the course.

— Carlos Fraiha, alum

https://player.vimeo.com/video/203422630?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

Ravensbourne

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

We have students at: Framestore, Dneg, ILM, The Mill, Smoke and Mirrors, MPC, Bluezoo and JellyFish.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Films: Star Wars The Last Jedi, Jungle Book, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-man into the Spider-Verse. TV: Dennis and Gnasher, Diggby Dragon, Floogals.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Most recent, Xanthe Sinclair, a level 3 student has come runner up in the “Search for a Star” competition hosted by the games industry.

How would you describe your courses?

Focusing on fundamental animation skills in both 2D and 3D software, students will also explore storytelling techniques through layout and cinematography, whilst exploring roles in modelling, rigging and basic code throughout the three levels. Primarily vocational, levels 4 and 5 will nurture students to integrate and collaborate with other disciplines both internally and externally, to help prepare students to advocate and apply their original thinking and ideas to a more personal approach in level 6.

Ravensbourne animation course has established strong ties and working relationships with some of the top animation companies, including Framestore, Double Negative, Blue Zoo and Jellyfish to name a few. With a growing alumnus in the animation industry, this has given the course further recognition and the opportunity to build new relationships. Students visit working studios, attend industry workshops, receive industry mentoring and feedback on their work, whilst working on live projects and briefs throughout their studies. The course aims to continue building on this success, by exploring new and upcoming sectors including, medicine, forensics, education and charity work, whilst building new internships and work placements within the industry. Alongside this, students are encouraged to enter competitions and attend industry events to gain recognition and build industry contacts early on in their education, to help prepare for life after Ravensbourne.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/188996129?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

UAL London College of Communication

What animation courses do you offer?

How would you describe your courses?

BA (Hons) Animation is a practice-led course, enabling you to choose one of four specialist pathways that reflect industry specialisms: Animation Arts, 3D Computer Animation, Visual Effects (VFX) and Games Arts.

Learn the fundamental skills and principles of animation in an intensive and collaborative setting where you’ll develop knowledge and understanding of the whole production process.

After your first year you’ll choose one of four specialist pathways:

  • BA (Hons) Animation: Animation Arts
  • BA (Hons) Animation: 3D Computer Animation
  • BA (Hons) Animation: Visual Effects (VFX)
  • BA (Hons) Animation: Game Arts

https://player.vimeo.com/video/135455329?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

Add Realistic Chalk and Sketch Lettering Effects with Sketch’it – only $5!

Source

p img {display:inline-block; margin-right:10px;}
.alignleft {float:left;}
p.showcase {clear:both;}
body#browserfriendly p, body#podcast p, div#emailbody p{margin:0;}

from Webdesigner Depot https://ift.tt/2stbtMZ



from WordPress https://ift.tt/2J4LLW0

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Why Good Site Architecture Is The Only CRO You Need

When you hear the words “site architecture,” the first thing that comes to mind is probably SEO.

It doesn’t take much digging into SEO best practice to learn that Google loves a site with clearly defined architecture that’s easy to crawl and index.

But if you stopped your site architecture planning with just your SEO, then you’ve missed out on the greater picture.

Site architecture isn’t just an effort to game search engines into ranking your site higher.

It does help with SEO, but it’s so much more than that.

Ultimately, your site architecture should be a strategic effort that allows your organic or paid visitors to navigate easily and use your site for its intended purpose.

That means that site architecture is the older brother of conversion rate optimization.

So in this post, I want to show you exactly how site architecture simultaneously supersedes and enables traditional conversion rate optimization efforts.

And to start things off, I want to dig a little deeper into why so many conversion rate optimization efforts fail.

Why conversion rate optimization doesn’t always work

When dialing in your conversion rate optimization, it’s easy to want to focus on the more traditional efforts.

Typical conversion rate optimization efforts require brands to set up competing versions of the same page in order to see how they can improve them.

how a/b testing works

It’s like a battle royale for website pages.

After a week or two of waiting and measuring, the best performing page wins.

One of them stays up, while the others are discarded for all eternity.

From there, more experimentation occurs based on the winning page’s performance to see if anything else can be improved.

Sometimes, brands will even get brave and conduct some multivariate tests to see if changing multiple elements can yield improvement.

how multivariate testing works

Much like a traditional A/B test, the results hinge on a last-man-standing approach.

Brands can be the loser, and the winner stays up as the subject of more experimentation.

All of this is an ongoing effort to see how you can improve conversions over time.

Many frequently blog about this practice, which even has its own career field in the marketing industry.

But these types of tests aren’t always the most dependable for small brands that need to optimize as efficiently as possible.

And even some large businesses fall prey to common A/B testing mistakes.

For example, elements like sample size can drastically skew the results of conversion rate testing.

testing thresholds

Simply put, if you’re not getting enough traffic, then you’ll be making changes and concluding off of insufficient amounts of data.

That means you could be making the wrong moves and ultimately hurting your brand’s performance.

Or you could also be testing something silly, like colors on your website.

To put it in ConversionXL’s Ott Niggulis’ words:

“There is no universal best color. What works on one site, doesn’t necessarily work on another.”

And that’s part of the point as well.

Many conversion rate optimization trends rise on the backs of a brand or two saying they saw good results from a particular experiment.

Then everyone does it, and confusion results when improvement doesn’t follow.

And then to make matters worse, many brands often don’t allow a proper amount of time to see if their results end up sticking.

conversion rate over time

If your variable regresses back to your control’s average, then there’s a good chance that dropping your control could be a bad idea.

Many brands will prematurely make a decision on the first few days, which ultimately hurts them in the long run.

People call this the small win mentality. It ultimately leads to poor optimization and potentially undermines your results.

what changed results in 5% increase in conversion rates

So with all of the potential pitfalls of traditional conversion rate optimization, can site architecture create a more foolproof way to ensure that your website sees plenty of conversions?

To answer that, I want to break down some of the basics of site architecture and show you how it correlates to your conversion rate optimization.

How site architecture creates conversions

Your site’s architecture focuses on building a platform that is easier for your users to navigate.

When you look into what site architecture actually is, you’ll typically see a graph that offers a genealogy-like depiction of how pages on your site interact.

how pages interact

While there’s a good chance no two sites will be exactly alike, this hierarchy style is a pretty standard example.

You start from a homepage and then navigate through a series of categories and subcategories until you’ve found what you’re looking for.

If this process is fluid, as in the graph above, then your users will have no issues.

But if the architecture is muddled, and it’s hard to find a page that should fall under a natural category, then it’s increasingly more likely that your users will leave.

In other words, the idea is to create a fluid user experience that ultimately leads to trackable and accurate conversion testing.

what equals conversion optimization

If you implement this correctly, you’ll have a site that’s easier to improve on in the long run.

But does site architecture have a genuinely positive effect on your conversions?

A brand called Voicer reported a 75% increase in conversions by correcting some “small” user experience flaws in their site.

If they can see that kind of improvement from small changes, imagine what would happen on a site that has significant user experience problems.

And yet another brand reported a 112% increase in revenue by improving the usability of their site.

So, good site architecture that leads to good user experience can clearly act as a solid basis for conversion rate optimization.

But breaking down the user experience of your website isn’t a simple process.

It requires a great deal of data gathering and analyzing to get to a point where you can indeed create a site architecture that works well for conversions.

Thankfully, there’s a method called the honeycomb model that shows you how exactly user experience can be broken down to help optimize your conversion rates.

honeycomb model

This methodology provides a simple framework that helps brands create websites with the following characteristics:

  • Useful: Serve the purpose for they created it.
  • Usability: Simple and easy to use.
  • Accessible: Anyone can use it.
  • Desirable: Provides positive emotion and is pleasant to use.
  • Findable: Navigation is intuitive, and solutions are easy to find.
  • Credible: Conveys in a believable or trustworthy manner.
  • Valuable: Delivers on a promised value.

If you can fulfill all of the requirements in the honeycomb model, then you optimize your sales funnel paths naturally for conversions.

So for the rest of the article, I want to show you some ways that you draw a direct line between user experience, site architecture, and conversion rate optimization.

You’ll see without a doubt that site architecture is a viable path to increase your lead generation.

Reason #1: It gives your site utility

The first steps of the honeycomb model rely on creating a website that is useful and usable.

This addresses the utility and the function of your site in a few ideas that are easy to understand.

But just because they’re easy to understand doesn’t mean they’re easy to implement.

When building out your site’s architecture, you need to create an experience that helps your user find what they came for.

This natural flow is the first place to start when addressing the usability and usefulness of your website.

natural flow

This ultimately determines how people interact with your website.

And how they interact with your website will, in turn, determine how many conversions you get in the long run.

Think of it in terms of an example involving a site that sells power tools.

On a well-designed website, this would be a logical flow of thought:

logical flow of though in site architecture

Users can navigate based on the type of tool that they want to find. The site then presents individual products according to whether they are cordless, electric, or gas powered.

Now imagine if you were to switch some of the products around.

switching products in site structure

In this case, if you were trying to find a gas powered saw, you would naturally look under the gas powered tools.

If you misplace this in your site’s architecture, a user might navigate to the logical page but still be unable to find a product you actually have.

That means no matter how much you optimize the page, your organic traffic will struggle to navigate your site and may ultimately leave.

So when linking site architecture to conversion rates, the first place most brands start is with a mockup of what they want their users to achieve.

The purpose is to base the entire website design process on actual data and user behavior.

In the words of Paypal UX designer Larry Sawyer:

“They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but a mock-up is worth even more than that.”

So this design process typically follows a flow of testing, analysis, definition, ideating, prototyping, and then validating.

design process flow

If you follow this particular model, you’ll be able to create a website that is usable by anyone in your audience and thus inherently useful to all parties.

So your initial goal is to optimize your site according to what visitors are doing.

You then take that information and analyze their behavior to see what stands out.

How they use your site defines what is essential, which further provides you the ideas you need to test if you want to improve your conversions.

From this information, you create a prototype of your website, and then validate your findings with additional testing.

If the prototype is invalid, you rinse and repeat until your site is in complete working order.

Keep in mind that this style of UX design does typically involve more design than just site architecture.

But for our purposes, we want to focus on the bigger picture.

So when finally creating your site’s architecture mockup, many brands start with a comprehensive markup of how the elements of every page contribute to the user experience.

how pages contribute to user experience

As this professional breakdown demonstrates, you can draw out and improve every aspect of your site.

From this exercise, you can create a basic outline of what your users should achieve on every page of your site.

overall view of site architecture

The purpose here is to take a vast amount of data from your original design and then strip it away until only a series of user actions remain.

This, in turn, dictates your site’s architecture as it is a direct representation of how you want your user to use your site.

From this simplified design, one then typically creates a more comprehensive wireframe mockup.

comprehensive wireframe mockup

Once you’ve completed the wireframe, you only need to finalize your imagery, copy, and calls to action.

You can then test your new prototype site to see if your user experience is positively affected.

If this simplifies the actions your users take, then you truly aligned your site’s architecture with the intent of your audience, thus fulfilling the usefulness and usability criteria.

This process can be tedious, but it’s a great illustration of how data-backed and conversion oriented your site architecture really is.

If you can successfully do this with your site, you’ll be one step closer to creating a better overall conversion funnel that will help your brand for years to come.

Reason #2: It creates positive momentum

As we move deeper into the user experience and site architecture connection, the next layer according to the honeycomb model hinges on creating positive momentum.

That means according to the honeycomb model it needs to be desirable, accessible, and findable.

So once you’ve established a flow and created a site that’s usable on any device, the next step is to move beyond and create a pleasant experience.

It may surprise you to learn that one in three users will leave a site because they can’t find a product.

That means your site architecture can hurt conversions in a very direct way.

So your goal at this point should be to create a site that’s both easy to navigate and that builds natural forward momentum.

If you strive to emphasize the architecture of your site with compelling storytelling, the natural result will be that more users complete actions on your site.

That means finding a way to create a site whose architecture naturally lends itself to being informative, interactive, and even at times entertaining.

Consider the example of the site My Grandmother’s Lingo.

my grandmothers lingo

This award-winning website helps users learn new words from one of the oldest language in the world.

The creators designed the website for use and utility but even took that effort a step further by making it compelling and engaging.

The tantalizing idea of learning something both old and new hooks the user, and then sends them on a 10-minute journey where they learn something.

In the end, the primary goal is to help spread awareness of these ancient languages and provide a platform for future preservation.

How do they achieve this? Through vivid storytelling and a clear site architecture that’s geared toward positive momentum.

But momentum isn’t just about storytelling.

It also relies on where you position yourself, like on mobile.

More than ever, users are browsing with a mobile device.

That means that the architecture of your site needs to be conducive to both a desktop user and a mobile user.

If you only focus on one or the other, you are missing a significant portion of your potential audience, and thus you are losing conversions.

And if someone comes to your mobile site only to find it isn’t optimized, then all positive momentum is gone.

But momentum has to start even further back with your SEO.

And site architecture plays a critical role in bringing organic traffic to your site and providing forward momentum.

In one study, a brand was able to increase their site’s organic traffic from 800 visits per month to over 3,600 per month by focusing on the user experience their website gave.

That’s a growth of 350%.

350 percent growth

They achieved this by focusing entirely on the information architecture of their site and its contents.

So it’s clear that site architecture can lead to more traffic.

If your traffic can access across any device, then your momentum continues.

Moreover, if your storytelling is engaging, you further the momentum again.

And all of this links back to your site’s architecture and how well both Google and your audience utilize it.

Reason #3: It ultimately clarifies value

The final reason that links your site’s architecture to your efforts concerning conversion rate optimization hinges on your site being credible and valuable.

Another way you could say that is, “How does your site’s architecture help you deliver on your promise?”

If you fail to deliver a promise by creating a muddled and confusing site, then you’re never going to be able to see any real improvement from an A/B test.

And according to the LIFT model of CRO, the clarity and relevance of your value proposition will ultimately take your brand to new heights.

value proposition plane

The key to remember here is that users don’t always come to your website via your homepage.

There’s a good chance they could enter at any given point, so long as they have the right URL.

For example, how do you potentially sell – via your site’s architecture – to a visitor who first visited your blog?

If you don’t have a way for them to get their bearings and navigate your site immediately, you could potentially lose a lead before the process even begins.

Your goal then, with your site’s architecture, is to provide value at every stage.

provide value in site architecture

That means that when someone comes to your site, they should immediately know where they are.

Elements such as your permalink structure even play a role in helping your visitor understand where they are and what value your site offers.

If you parse your site out into easily understandable silos, like the example above, users will see your site as much more credible and ultimately more useful.

Take for example the Merge and Purge case study that sought to boost organic traffic and improve user experience.

plateau of pain boost organic traffic

In this case, the focus was on taking disparate pieces of content created over many years and compiling them into understandable content silos.

When the site was simplified, they saw a 32% increase in organic traffic.

And as we’ve already seen, organic traffic is the part of the site architecture conversion machine.

So in this case, by clarifying the value of their site by creating a cleaner content architecture, the brand was able to achieve a big win.

Brands should always seek to clarify their value proposition, and in this case, the answer is simple:

Your site architecture is the best place to start.

Conclusion

Conversion rate optimization is a nuanced and technical field.

It takes a lot of time and effort to learn the ins and outs of what works and what doesn’t, and that often trips up brands that seek to experiment and grow their online presence.

A/B tests fail very often, and the resulting frustration often turns businesses away from conversion rate optimization as a whole.

But if you were to focus on creating a robust site architecture, the results can be very different in the best possible way.

Site architecture is the backbone of conversions, and following the honeycomb model to help improve your user experience is the best course of action.

If you do, your site will have much more utility, and your site’s users will be able to navigate with ease.

From there, you can use your architecture to build positive momentum and keep people engaged with your brand.

And finally, you’ll have a clearer and more appealing value proposition that users can find from any entry point.

You’ll be much better suited to grow and convert new leads by merely creating a solid site architecture.

How has your site’s architecture helped or hurt your brand?

About the Author: Neil Patel is the cofounder of Neil Patel Digital.

from The Kissmetrics Marketing Blog https://ift.tt/2sp0xQk



from WordPress https://ift.tt/2J5sWSr

Overflow – Turn Your Designs into Playable User Flow Diagrams That Tell a Story

Designing the best user flow for your product is definitely not an easy task. It requires several iterations before getting it right. Creating and updating user flow diagrams has largely been considered a painful process for designers, with many of them skipping it entirely because of this. Presenting user flows to stakeholders and actually getting them to understand and follow the user’s journey might actually be the most challenging part.

Overflow helps you do exactly that. It empowers you to effectively communicate your work, while fully engaging your audience with an interactive user flow presentation.

Create User Flows in Minutes

Creating user flow diagrams with Overflow is a quick and enjoyable experience. You can connect and sync Overflow with your favorite design tool, maintaining all your layers and artboards. Easily drag magnets to create your connectors, add text, shapes and images to enrich your presentation. Customize the look using styles and themes to create a fully custom branded presentation that fits your designs and audience.

Present Your Designs

Presenting your designs with Overflow, will always make you look good. You can present your designs with an interactive flow presentation, navigating through your entire flow using arrow keys or clicking on the connectors. Show the big picture with a bird’s eye view of your flow, or zoom in to focus on specific details. If you want to present your flow screen by screen you can easily switch to the out of the box rapid prototype mode.

Share to Get Valuable Feedback

Share your user flow diagrams on Overflow Cloud and let your audience experience a magical journey on their web browser or mobile device. Export in PDF, PNG, or print your user flows and stick on walls.

So far more than 35,000 designers have tried Overflow, and they loved it. Overflow is currently in public beta and available to download, for free.

Add Realistic Chalk and Sketch Lettering Effects with Sketch’it – only $5!

Source

p img {display:inline-block; margin-right:10px;}
.alignleft {float:left;}
p.showcase {clear:both;}
body#browserfriendly p, body#podcast p, div#emailbody p{margin:0;}

from Webdesigner Depot https://ift.tt/2sjkKrn



from WordPress https://ift.tt/2IXWjdu

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

7 UX Principles for Creating a Great Website

We spend a lot of time online reading news, navigating websites and using web apps. In some cases, our experience online is not the best that we could have.

And all this is due to poor design that didn’t take user experience into consideration. It’s easy to look from afar and notice these errors, but it’s a bit trickier when you are the one handling a project.

As designers, it’s our duty to create design with great user experience. And it isn’t easy.

Here are some best practices for UX for web projects.

1. Design Should Concentrate on User Experience

Making the experience of the website memorable is more important than what the website says. Users often forget the data and salient points of content, but they will remember how it made them feel. It works in advertisements, why not use it on web content?

Graphics, layout, text, and interactive elements work in synergy to present the user with an experience, not just present them with information. UX design is a consequential piece of application and web work.

Making your page stand out from the sheer quantity of websites and information on the internet is essential. Modern websites contain more visual and interactive qualities to strike at more emotional responses to help them stand out in the highly competitive world.

2. Websites Are Scanned, Not Read

It is a must that your website is scannable because people do not read websites, they scan them. Infographics and visuals have become the way for anyone trying to convey instructions or data.

Making your page scannable will appeal to your audience. Most will scan the content for something that strikes them and then they switch to reading when they want to find out more.

3. Users Want Clarity and Simplicity

In a half of a second, users evaluate the design of a website, so you need to decide what you want users to do and make it apparent. Don’t make it difficult to find action buttons. Visually focus attention on the main button versus a bunch of buttons on the home page.

Constantly reconsider what your app or site can do to make it easier to use. Part of the design is making it highly usable for the majority of users and allowing for extra functionality to be hidden and made discoverable as it is needed, not shown all at once.

Also providing a clear, consistent design is simpler for users. They can then know what to expect when you are reusing colors, behaviors, and aesthetics which reduces the need for them to figure out the interface. When users are familiar with some of the aspects of the design it makes the process clearer and easier to use.

4. Common Design Elements Versus Creativity

When design elements are common elsewhere, don’t reinvent them by becoming creative with new UI patterns. Making users think too hard to figure out your UI interface is not what you want. You want to have a familiar looking interface where standard objects like links stand out as links, and login access is located in the upper right. There is no need to relocate such standardized components.

Creativity with standardized patterns can make your interface hard to work with and not promote usability. Although you may think non-traditional is cool, it may make it harder for users to navigate and thus it falls into a problem area. Creativity and usability need to have a balance.

URLs, button, and navigation placement need to focus on usability before design. Its best to focus on the layout of these first without the design in mind, then add the creative elements.

5. Know the Audience

You must have a good idea of who the audience is for the intended website or app before you create it. How to best design the interface will come from them.

Once you have a clear idea of the audience for your website or app, you can then find out their needs and wants, and design the perfect design that will meet their desires. The competition can show you some ideas of how this was done. Note the competition’s colors, layout, style, and features.

When you use styles and designs that your audience is already comfortable with, they can be eased into your site. You can then differentiate yourself with your ideas on their needs.

When you’ve identified your audience, remember to incorporate their feedback into your design. Considering end user’s actionable feedback is significantly valuable.

6. Visual Hierarchy

When putting the most important elements on the interface, highlight them so that users focus on them. In design, there are a lot of ways in which to highlight things, but the most effective is to make it larger than anything else on the screen.

Making something a focal point by making it larger than anything else, is how several websites achieve the impossible to ignore highlighting of sales or ‘click here’ buttons.

7. User Experience Qualities

Peter Moville represents the factors of UX in the User Experience Honeycomb on the usability.gov site. At the core is value in what you are providing to the client, surrounded by hexagonal shapes of the following:

  • Useful – Content should be original and fulfill a need
  • Usable – Site must be easy to find
  • Desirable – Design elements bring about emotion and appreciation
  • Findable – Content needs to be locatable and navigable offsite and onsite
  • Accessible – Content needs to be accessible to people with disabilities
  • Credible – Users must believe and trust what you tell them.

There are other schools of thought regarding UX qualities. Here are more things that are related to building UX as well:

  • Be contextual – Be sure to mark where users are in their path through the interface.
  • Be human – Be trustworthy, transparent, and approachable with human interaction preferred over machine interaction.
  • Be discoverable – Be sure users can accomplish their tasks the first time they visit.
  • Be learnable – Be sure that interaction is easy and moving through product is seamless. Be sure that on subsequent visits users can accomplish their goals.
  • Be efficient – On repeat visits can they accomplish repetitive tasks quickly and easily?
  • Be delightful- Be sure that product delights users so that they have an emotional connection to it and champion your product.
  • Be a performer – Be sure that the system performs well when users are interacting with it.

Conclusion

Users need to have an emotional connection to the experience of using your product. If you are merely creating an interface and not an experience, you have limited chance of gaining the following you need to make your product a success.

UIs need to be simple to navigate, easy to use, and created with the proper colors and fonts for your audience. Don’t forget to integrate end-user feedback while remaining consistent throughout the design.

Add Realistic Chalk and Sketch Lettering Effects with Sketch’it – only $5!

Source

p img {display:inline-block; margin-right:10px;}
.alignleft {float:left;}
p.showcase {clear:both;}
body#browserfriendly p, body#podcast p, div#emailbody p{margin:0;}

from Webdesigner Depot https://ift.tt/2scd2iX



from WordPress https://ift.tt/2GYKpKL