Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Edward Monkton

Edward Monkton is an artist producing ranges of cartoon-like drawings used on items such as greetings cards. His easily recognizable work, available in many stores is simple and playful.

The work itself is amusing and original yet, it is the website that interested me as it has successfully adapted the same feel/style as his work - its fun and allows for the user to explore the artist's work. It raised the question once again for me as to how far a designers/illustrators/artists site should be designed - should there be a theme, how can it entertain the user and make them want to return, how to display work most effectively.


www.edwardmonkton.com

2 comments:

Holly Mee said...

This guy is great, his illustrations and ideas are so simple that you cant not like them. Im a big fan and have various of his pieces and have bought alot of them for friends. Alot of the time it just puts things across in a good way.

Fabio Fragiacomo said...

The interesting aspect of Monkton work is the fact that he creates an original and well recognisable brand. Simple straight forward and adaptable to different outcomes. The simplicity of his website offers an effective medium by which information are delivered in a plyful and interesting way allowing the user to explore the artist's work with easy to use navigation. This website is a clear reflection of the brand and has been designed as an extention of the brand itself in order to maintain consistency and create a memorable image allowing the user to establish a powerful association/connection with the product. The brand then becomes recognisable and desirable.
To answer you question, this website is a good example of how a designer should interpret the values of a specific brand creating a sort of style that reflects its values and aspirations. In a more general context every website should be created for a specific purpouse and the design should target different issues related to a specific product or service. However, if the question you are posing is more about creating a personal site, you should then try to see yourself as a brand. Identify your strenghts and define your uniqueness and create a style that reflect your creativity and express the values that you want to portray to your enduser. The funcion of the site itself should then fit in within these objectives and the navigation should facilitate the user in discovering your work. Creativeness doesn't mean over complicated animations and unneccessary gimmicks but moreover simplicity and easy to use interface that offers entertainment and delivers the goods.