Would You Like a Side Order of Heavy Drumming With That?

'Yes please!' was the answer from the Fox Sports GFX team!

For the creation of their Superbowl XLII pre-game opening advertisment, Fox Sports GFX team hired the help of Travis Barker, the drummer for Blink182, and DJ AM to create a brilliant remix of the Superbowl theme song which, with the help of some awesome video editing and special effects came up with this...

SuperBowl XLII pre-game open [HD] from FoxSportsGFX on Vimeo.

After watching this stunning video I then began to research into other videos and graphics that Fox Sport GFX had designed. There are a few other videos on their Vimeo page - http://vimeo.com/channels/foxsportsgfx and some videos and graphics on their website - http://foxsportsgraphics.com/FOX/NFL/index.html

In looking through their sites I also spotted the Fox Sport Design website with more videos and graphics which will leave your mouth watering...

Here is a link to their Reel for 2008 - http://foxsportsdesign.com/category/reel/ (Well worth checking out!!)

With only 251 days till the next Superbowl I'm looking forward to what the Fox Sports GFX team will come up with!

Work Never Stops...

...but neither does play.

I've just been browsing through a few websites and blogs and have come across a few interesting things. While plowing through these sites and blog articles I have found a 'Multimedia Creative Designer' that could be of interests to me, since I will be following the Online Environment pathway next year. His name is Aaron Russell and he is a freelance web and graphic designer based in Swindon. (Hopefully in the next few days I will post some more about Aaron and his work.)


Another blog article I came across was this one by the Freelance Switch blog. Since I'm looking to develop myself as a freelancer in graphic and web design, I need to start looking into self promotion and how to get freelance work. This article is just a collection of some 'stunning' business cards that might inspire you to look at creating your own.


And just to finish off, some recent completed work of mine -

Auto Street LTD. | Poster Design

Stop The Press!

As you may know, a few weeks ago I designed an annual report for SIFE. Well, after completing the design and emailing it away, I've managed to get my hands on a few copies of the final print.

After looking through the report, I was actually a little disappointed in the image quality of the backgrounds (which I had designed)

So, my tip for designing for print -

Always make sure that your images have a large DPI (dots per inch) so when your publication/document in printed none of the images are pixelated (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixelation). It's hard to notice on a computer screen when designing so make sure you print out a prototype before mas producing!

In conclusion, I should have printed the report out myself to check before handing it to SIFE for printing. Ah well, I've learnt from my mistakes which is always an important.

Tiger Energy Drinks and Boost bars later, I have finally finished everything.

After a long night drinking energy drinks and eating Boost bars, a run round the block could not put me to sleep, but thankfully I have finally finished everything for my Identities project. All I have to do now is submit it which I will be doing later on today.

So here is my final, complete Identities project for all to see...

http://www.danielryland.co.uk/flash.htm

(SORRY! LONG LOADING TIMES)

Now it's time for some self-promotion! Oh Yeah!

Do the D.A.N.C.E!

Just seen this brilliant music video for Justice - D.A.N.C.E.

A New Name - A New Website

Here is my final website design all up and running. (Click on the logo to view it)

Points of interest - use of .png transparency, layers used rather than tables and new type of light boxes.

Long time no...blog

Right, its been ages since I last publish an entry so here's the update.

Logo - Complete

Avatar - I have designed my avatar however, still need to animate and stylise -

Website - Complete (Just need to fix a few javascript problems with the lightboxes)

Interactive Box - Audio and design complete. Need to add the three final elements to complete -

Interactive Showcase - Take 3 by ~TheBigDiscoNinja on deviantART

Other Element - My Passport/ID, photo of me morph from my face to the faces of my friends/family.

A/V - New Idea - Words that describe me - translate into Welsh. Make into language learning video see example below -

Element Update

Website - Restyled my current website to link with City&Wool's image and colour scheme.

City&Wool | The Design Portfolio of Dan Ryland



http://www.danielryland.co.uk

Essay Research

Essay Term 2 - Creative Practitioner

• In this essay you should state your pathway choice and explain the personal challenges and opportunities afforded to you by choosing to enter that specific multimedia practice identified,
• Do that through discussion of your work produced this academic year,
• You also need to identify three diverse practitioners,
• Discuss why you have chosen these practitioners. Pay particular reference to particular concepts or ideas that form a conceptual focus, social conscience, visual dramatic work. Perhaps their work is thought-provoking, and innovative in its scope, delivery or execution,
• Finally through examining the work of these practitioners, reflect on your own work.

My pathway will be Online Environments.

Below are a list of website that I've found and gone through while trying to research for my essay. Some links are to sites that include examples of web practitioners -

• http://www.markevanstech.com/2008/01/28/how-important-is-web-design/
• http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/01/14/web-design-trends-for-2009/
• http://dc2009.drupalcon.org/
• http://carrotcreative.com/
• http://24ways.org/2008/recession-tips-for-web-designers
• http://www.webdesignerwall.com/
  
• http://www.spoongraphics.co.uk/

• http://viewcreative.co.uk/
• http://www.llandudnoattractions.com/
• http://mychoicewrexham.co.uk/
• http://www.theatr-nanog.co.uk/

Summary of the links above -

• View Creative Agency link is a graphic and web design company that I like. Three links to sites they've made have a certain style that I like and use,
• SpoonGraphics is another practitioner that I like and he has a good blog (Check it out - http://www.blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/)
• Web Trends - Proof that web design trends are always changing due to the developing of coding and what you make of the tools you already have,
• Interesting article within first web link about how important web design is and does it matter at all? - 'The other question is whether Web design matters at all. At the end of the day, a Web site is going to be successful if it offers a product/service that people want. Aidan Henry had a good post recently looking at Craigslist, which features one of the worst designs in the world - yet people love the service.'
• 24ways website - how the current economy situation can effect career choices we make.

That's it for now. More coming soon. To finish a humours image...

Identities Update

Here are my final ideas for my identities project -

Showcase - General idea completed, just need to add the elements in.

Logo - Completed.

Avatar - Still not fully sure on final idea, but I want to complete this in the next few weeks. Probably go for the super hero idea. The concept behind this would be a good leader and knows what is right from wrong.

AV - Unsure of what to do. One idea I had was to video people saying words that describe me and my personality. These words would not be my own. I would then make it into a film review/audience reactions trailer of myself. To do this I will film people saying certain words or sentences that describe me.

The idea was a development from an entry requirement project that I had to do for Graphic Design down in UWIC, Cardiff. You had to create 3 image for 3 titles of your choice. I choose 'Your Ideal Self,' 'Yourself as a letter,' and 'Your Nightmare Self.' Here are my 3 entries -

Website - Going to use my current website but need to restyles to link with City&Wool's image and colour scheme. This would highlight my professionalism and quality as a creative practionier.

Last Element - I want to play on the idea that people around you make you who you are. I was thinking of combining stop motion with some sort of morphing program. Passport or Driver's Licence would come out of my wallet then as you would look at the photo it would morph from my face to my friends and families faces and then back to my face. Not sure what kind of music/audio I would include yet.