SUMMARY
Ever run into a 404 page? They’re the pages a website will lead a user to if the initial page they’re looking for doesn’t exist anymore. I designed a 404-page using scale, hierarchy, and a unique color palette to create a visually appealing animation.
GOALS
Before building this 404 page, I wished to learn more about website building and how a user interacts with one especially a page they unintentionally came upon. As a designer, I also wish to expand on my skillset from physical printed design and be flexible with creating works beneficial for a client in this age of technology. There is so much to learn about how websites are viewed differently across devices and how different users interact with humor.
DESIGN PROCESSES
IDEATION EXERCISES: Ideation for this page included ‘crazy 8s’ and sticky notes, these exercises were timed and required to pull out ideas quickly and move on. Here, I was able to write out the ideas that were stuck with me first and then be able to move on to even greater ideas. Though many seem far out and silly, those still help me lead to my final design.
FINAL DESIGN: From the start and after my research, I wanted to involve a cat for that aspect of humor since it seems it can be universal. From there, I researched previously made 404 pages and wished to incorporate a witty pun from those with an animation. With cats, I wanted to add in magical elements for visual appeal and engagement.
ADOBE EXPRESS BUILD
Building out the page in Adobe Express included many trials and errors with the animation, how it was set, controls, and many other things. I had to first work around to use Adobe Express without using a template, I found many elements, media, and videos I could incorporate into my page and here I found the background video I wanted of a portal. Then outside of Express, I used Adobe Illustrator to create the cat from my sketches and I played around with the colors and how to best illuminate it on the dark background. From there, it was a matter of adding the drawing to my page and timing the animation and frames. Lastly, I embellished the page with a website title and
search bar.
FINAL WORK
https://new.express.adobe.com/susi/published/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:8ab19604-0b37-4aee-b594-a9ef42e9789f?promoid=Y69SGM5H&mv=other
KNOWLEDGE GAINED
I learned much about Adobe Express and its capabilities as a design program, I can see how much it can do if used extensively like social media content and web design. There are many ways to create user engagement and realize there are many tools at your disposal and easy to learn even if your design experience is limited. From critique and engagement in the classroom, I played around with puns and received one that suited this page perfectly. My knowledge of design and its parameters has expanded from this experience and from here I wish to continue using Adobe Express further into my
design career.
