Adobe's new baby: Muse(code name)

Having downloaded the beta version of Adobe's new program, Muse, I was looking forward to working with the new program. Muse is basically a program that lets you design a website in an interface similar to InDesign and codes everything for you once you're finished. Despite fact that I already know how to code, I thought it might be fun to try it out. The interface is definitely user friendly and is easy to navigate through.

What's the difference between Muse and Dreamweaver? Well, Muse is more focused on the design aspect of a website whereas Dreamweaver relies more heavily on the coding aspect. You can easily design a clean website in Muse because it's compatible with Adobe's other programs. For designers who know nothing about code then Muse would be a great way to go to create a simple website. Here's what I made with Muse:

Of course there are limitations. For something that doesn't stick perfectly into a neat grid I would much prefer to take full control over the web page and code it myself. I'd definitely recommend trying out the program while it's in beta to designers who are clueless about code. However, after beta is over, I would not recommend it for serious usage just yet.  Right now there are too many limitations set by letting the program code for you. Yes, it's easy to use and fast to learn for print designers who are used to the InDesign interface. However the fact that the interface is based off of a print design program is exactly what limits it. With print design there are set borders and sizes because the design is going onto a tangible thing, but with web design there shouldn't be any borders; there are very existant borders in Muse. If designers want to have a focus on front and back end web design, then Muse just isn't enough (for example it doesn't even have SEO and even though the code works it is excessive and could be done much better by a developer).

What I do think Muse is good for is making a website mock-up. Rather than sending over a flat image of what the site is going to look like it would be much better to make a mock-up of the site in Muse so that the client can actually interact with the site. It would be easier to communicate with the client what you have in mind and easier for them to see what everything will be like in action. And once you and the client are set you can code it yourself (without even looking at the excessive mess of code that Muse creates) or have a developer code it. It's like how when customers go mattress shopping they try out mattresses in the store, and when they decide on one they take home a new clean mattress instead of the one they tried out (because who knows what's been on the display mattress). It just saves time and money to let the customers try out the mystery mattress before they settle and give them a nice clean one when they know what they want.

Project Goodies

During my summer vacation this year I finally had the time to work on some projects that I've been itching to work on. I've been keeping up my sewing and knitting hobbies ever since my mom taught me when I was in elementary school. Though I used a pattern for the blazers and scarf, I am proud to say that the dress and shorts were made without any instruction! 

This was also my first time working with cable knits, so I'm really happy it turned out beautifully. I realize that it's not cold enough to wear such a big scarf in LA, but hopefully I'll get a chance to put it on a few times this winter.

This summer at JUVE Creative...

I had the wonderful opportunity to intern at JUVE Creative, based in Huntington Beach, this summer. At JUVE they don't only do graphic design but marketing and PR as well. Though I was only a graphic design intern I was given the change to learn about client relations management, project management, meetings with clients, and a lot of other things as well!

One of the biggest clients that I got to work on projects for was Mission San Juan Capistrano. I learned a lot about following the requirements from their style guide such as type and logo restrictions. The Mission also has an older target audience, which was something new and fun for me to work towards. The first project I got to work was actually a stage banner for the Mission Under the Stars concert series. Both the Mission and the concert series already had their own look and I had the job of merging both looks into the stage banner; and, after making about four or five concepts, this was the final concept that I ended up with that was used at the Mission above the stage:




Other goodies from my internship can be seen in my portfolio on my website.

My Favorite Summer Colors

These are a few of my favorite summer colors to use.  Of course people always think of the yellow sun beaming down on an average summers day, but I also love the darker, dirty shade of yellow. Even though it fades out and gets pushed to what I'd consider to be a "fall" color, it reminds me of just being able to relax and do absolutely nothing during summer vacation.

Bright blues are also nice and refreshing like the ocean, and what better time is there to go to the beach than during the summer? And last but not least we have the rest of the warm colors like red and orange. I can't get away from how nice the less saturated colors contrast with their bright counterparts.

Countless Weddings

This year has been one of those years where I have been fortunate enough to attend a rush of weddings of friends and family (of which a handful were planned/coordinated by the wonderful people at ME&Serendipity whose website was designed by yours truly). This means, of course, that I've been able to look at a lot of wedding invitations that have come in the mail. It's always interesting to see how the design of each invitation never fails to perfectly fit the couple's personality.

So, after having seen so many invitations come in I thought it'd be fun to design an invitation that relied on type for a cute, modern, slightly sophisticated couple--and here it is:

New Look

Amellu has undergone a makeover! To go along with the new clean look, I decided to start up a blog to spice things up a bit.  So get ready to read about me, my work, and lots lots more!