The History Of The Android Logo

Are you team Apple or team Android? Regardless of which OS you prefer, you’ve undoubtedly seen Google’s popular Android logo floating around once or twice. We’ve gone over the history of the Apple logo, now it’s time to take a look at the origins of the cute little green dude behind Android.

Irina Blok

The logo that Android launched with and still uses today was created by Irina Blok, who was a big part of the original launch campaign. At the beginning, the logo was intended specifically for developers. After the reveal, individual customers fell in love with the little green robot so much that Google decided to use it as the logo.

 

“The idea was to create the open source logo (very much like open source Android platform), that was released to the developer community without regular brand guidelines.” – Irina Blok

The inspiration behind the Android logo

There are many critics out there that claim that the design of the android robot was stolen from an old Atari video game called “Gauntlet: The Third Encounter.”

If you take a look at the image above, the is no doubt that they look very similar. Ironically enough, the character in the game is also called ANDROID.

 

It would be hard to pin the inspiration of the Android logo on any one source. Some even believe that the logo was inspired by the original R2-D2 robot from Star Wars.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Irina has come out and disclosed that there are actually many early design drafts for the Android logo, and this just so happened to be the one they chose.

Given the fact that the design theme of the logo is apparent in multiple different popular games and movies, I highly doubt that it was stolen.

 

Other than the design, the color was also thought about deeply. The green color, fittingly being called “Android Green” is meant to depict growth, freshness, and prosperity.

Android has quickly taken over

Although Android hasn’t been around as long as some of the other tech giants, it’s safe to say that they definitely have earned their place among the rest. Since its creation in 2003, Android has risen in the ranks and only really has one competitor, Apple. Although there are many Apple fans out there, there are equally as many, if not more Android fans that will never be caught using anything else.

 

What do you think about the popular logo? Is it a good look for the company, or should google find something new? Personally, I believe that the logo is a big selling point for the devices sold using the Android OS. If Google continues to use this marketing formula, whatever it is, then I’m certain that we will soon be seeing Apple products becoming obsolete.

 

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from Web Design Ledger https://webdesignledger.com/history-android-logo/

Ugly Location Photoshoot Challenge

A few weeks ago, a model friend of mine, Rachelle Kathleen, and I were planning to meet for a fun little photo shoot. Instead of searching out the usual beautiful locations around where we live, I had the idea to do just the opposite. I wanted to go somewhere “ugly” by all conventional photography standards and then see what we could do with it. Lowe’s seemed like the perfect option.

The point was to challenge ourselves. I wanted somewhere with horrible lighting and limited backdrops. Somewhere that made absolutely no sense for a photo shoot. Our local Lowe’s home improvement retail store hits all those points. Before we went in we decided on a few rules:

1. We had to work with whatever was already there. I brought in just my camera without any artificial lighting or props. She simply brought a small bag with a couple outfit options.

2. We couldn’t rearrange the displays or make any big changes. In one instance (as you’ll see later) we moved a cart from the side of the aisle to the center, but then put it right back. We’ve both spent years in the service industry, we weren’t about to leave the workers with a trashed store an hour before closing time on a Sunday night.

3. We’d stop shooting if anyone was in the background. We didn’t want to give anyone any reason to complain, so we went to a place that was completely empty of customers, and if someone did show up, we lowered the camera until they were done browsing and left the area.

Of course, if none of this was allowed we would’ve left, but as soon as we walked in an employee asked if they could help us and I asked, “We were just going to take a few photos, is that okay?”

He replied, “Of course! I was just wondering why she was so overdressed for a trip to the hardware store!”

Since they were about an hour from closing the store was almost completely empty. Anyone we didcome in contact with was super friendly, if not slightly curious. We had a few people stop and watch, but that’s to be expected anytime Rachelle models anywhere. The girl just can’t help but stop traffic.

And this is what we got! I’ve included the cell-phone pic of the actual location along with each photoset, so you can see what we were working with.

Lowe’s Location 1: The Paint Samples

I have to admit, I have always wanted to shoot in front of these paint samples, so as soon as we walked in the door I made a bee-line right to them. I’m excited I finally got to shoot in front of them – these shots turned out to be some of my favorites ever!

Location Shot:

Straight Out Of Camera (SOOC):

Edited:

Lowe’s Location 2: The Lighting Section

I was also excited about the lighting section. I’ve always been a fan of shooting straight into the light (though I’ve heard it’s a bit of a no-no). The main problem was the lights were so much higher than we thought…or maybe we’re just a lot shorter than we realized (we’re both barely 5’4″).

I knew the light itself was going to be pretty horrendous, with all the different colors, brightness levels, and shadows, but I was excited to give it a shot. You can see in the second photo what it looked like straight out of camera.

Location Shot:

SOOC:

Edited:

Lowe’s Location 3: The Aisles

We knew we couldn’t avoid the aisles. Photographically speaking, they were awful. Horrible lighting, lots of plastic surfaces, really nothing that would be considered aesthetically pleasing, but that was the point. This was the essence of Lowe’s, and we wouldn’t have been doing the challenge justice to steer away from it.

Also, yes, we know you aren’t allowed to sit on the carts. An employee was there and gave us permission to keep shooting. Like I mentioned earlier, we were in a pretty big hurry, so she was sitting on that cart for a total of maybe 6 minutes, so calm the hell down, it’s not like we were dancing on them.

And yes, we know there has probably been something pretty disgusting spilled on them at some point, but we really couldn’t care less. Rachelle and I have shot nude in abandoned buildings full of spiders, bats and bird shit, a dry cart really isn’t much of an issue.

We shot in both the larger aisles and the skinnier ones. Here’s the larger aisle:

Location Shot: Aisle 1

 

SOOC:

Edited:

Location Shot: Aisle 2

Lowe’s Location 4: The Garden Section

I would’ve loved to spend more time in the garden section, but the store was closing and we were running out of time. We spotted a cluster of fake shrubs and I had her kneel down in front of them so I could fill the frame. It’s too bad we had to move on so quickly – this was actually the best lighting we got out of the entire store! If we had been there in the daytime, it probably would’ve been even better!

I knew I wanted to edit the finished photo with a kind of moody, wintery look. So even though the raw image really wasn’t too bad, it still needed some adjustments to get to what I wanted it to be.

Location Shot:

SOOC:

Edited:

Overall, this was a really fun challenge! Not that I’d invite an actual client to ever do a Lowe’s photo shoot (I mean, never say never), but I was pretty happy with the result! Horrible location for the win! Next time you see an awful spot, maybe give it a chance, you never know what you might end up with.

 

About the author: Jenna Martin is the founder of PhotoFern.com and a fine art and underwater photographer based out of Billings, Montana. After acquiring her Master’s in Psychiatric Rehabilitation, she made a drastic career change into the field of photography where she has been producing surreal images ever since. You can find more of her work and writing on her website and blog, or follow her via Instagram or Facebook. This article was also published here.

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from Web Design Ledger https://webdesignledger.com/ugly-location-photoshoot-challenge/

What Happens When 18 Countries One Photoshopped One Woman

A few years ago, Journalist Esther Honig published a viral series of images showing how different countries around the world would retouch a portrait of a woman according to their beauty standards.

This is the original portrait that was sent out to 18 freelance designers in 18 countries around the world:

Here are the simple instructions that were given by the market agency Fractl, which was commissioned for this project:

Photoshop her form. The idea is to Photoshop and retouch this woman to make her more attractive to the citizens of your country. We are looking to explore how perceptions of beauty change across the world. Multiple designers are involved. You can modify clothing, but her form must be visible. No nudity. All other changes, including those to her shape and form, are up to you.

“We focused on female designers, as we wanted a woman’s view of what her culture finds attractive and to understand more about the pressures they face,” the project says. Here are the Photoshopped images that were sent back:

“The goal of this project is to better understand potentially unrealistic standards of beauty and to see how such pressures vary around the world,” the project says.

The experiment found that…

Some of the designers kept the woman looking like herself, while others made her look like a completely new person.

Some countries gave her an exaggerated hourglass figure, while others gave her an apparent BMI of 17.5, or near anorexic.

China and Italy returned the thinnest Photoshopped figures (China’s had an estimated BMI of 17), while Spain returned the heaviest.

“Beauty cannot be judged objectively, for what one person finds beautiful or admirable may not appeal to another,” the experiment concludes. “And the range of depictions found in our study appears to confirm this notion.”

The team behind this project is planning to do future experiments to further explore perceptions of male and female beauty.

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from Web Design Ledger https://webdesignledger.com/happens-18-countries-one-photoshopped-one-woman/

Stunning Digital Museum of Fine Art In Paris

A new museum joins the world wide known touristic attractions from Paris. The new digital museum of fine art opened its gates for the public and the people simply can’t get enough of it. It’s called the Atelier des Lumiere.

What makes this museum so unique is that it’s located in a former foundry in the 11th arrondissement. The opening of this museum marks the French capital’s first ever digital arts museum.

Facts and opinions about the Digital Museum of Fine Art

Culturespaces, a private operator of museums and monuments, has overseen the project from the time of it’s creation until now. When you walk in the door, you’ll find yourself surrounded by digitally projected art. Spread beautifully across 10-meter high walls in the massive 3,300 square-meter space.

The whole idea behind the creation of this museum was to give people access to art that normally wouldn’t have such access. In addition, the way the art is displayed is meant to showcase the way technology has impacted the way people view art.

These immersive exhibitions can be an introductory way to discover pictorial art and such a digital center was lacking in Paris, explained Michael Couzigou, director of the Atelier des Lumiere.

The team that makes the magic happen in the digital museum believe that art culture is drawing closer and closer to digital representations. This means it takes us farther away from the standard paint and canvas.

“People do not learn about culture as they did in the past,” said Bruno Monnier, the president of Culturespaces. “Practices are evolving and the cultural offering must be in step with them. The marriage of art and digital technology is, in my opinion, the future of the dissemination of art among future generations.”

The building boasts three main exhibition rooms. Two of those three rooms are strictly dedicated to Austrian painter Gustav Klimt and an entire century of Viennese paintings, which include work by Egon Schiele and Hundertwasser.

“We decided to focus on Gustav Klimt, on the centenary of his death, for three reasons: the variety of his expressive forms, which range from classicism to early impressionism, and his quest to create a ‘total art’ during the secession (an art movement at the turn of the 19th century), his fame, and the poetic and romantic nature of his oeuvre, which we saw as an ideal starting point,” said Couzigou.

“We are also including a short programme devoted to the painter and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who was influenced by Klimt’s work.”

The third room is dedicated to up coming artists that wish to display their work. It features digital and AI installations.

Final thoughts

It’s no secret that digital art is on the rise. As technology advances, so will everything else, including art expression. I see it as just another way for creative minds to use their talents to unlock the secrets hidden in their mind. Without this technology, we may never get to experience what it’s like to see through the eyes of these individuals.

 

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from Web Design Ledger https://webdesignledger.com/stunning-digital-museum-fine-art-paris/