Waterlife + Blur Magazine

Water Life:
http://waterlife.nfb.ca/

We have already discussed this website a little bit during class. I like the high amount of interactivity offered. At first when I began looking through it, I thought it was a bit disorganized and too overwhelming with all of the content given. However, there are three different ways to access the facts. There is a large mosaic-like symbol that the website opens with that allows you to select facts by random. Then there is a sidebar that divides the facts up by category and a bar along the bottom that serves the same purpose. As complex as this layout seems, I actually find it to be pretty simple. At first, I was expecting to get lost easily. But it did not take long for me to realize that the website is a lot smaller than it appears at first glance. The music that plays in sync with Water Life sets a nice mood. I feel as though I am plugged into something more than just a website.

Blur Magazine:
http://www.blur-magazine.com/

I have never been introduced to Blur Magazine until I looked at the list of links posted by the class. I enjoyed downloading the free magazine and scrolling through it with Acrobat. However, at that moment I wished I had owned an iPad. I enjoy the variation of subjects and photographs that the magazine offers. The interviews are much more powerful in this format because photographs can be looked at while you take in the text off to the side. The design is sleek and subtle, supporting the images well without distracting the eye. I found a link on one of the pages of the magazine that said “More about wet plate technology”. I was a bit disappointed and surprised to find that it led to a page on Wikipedia. I enjoyed looking through all of the photography on my computer screen rather than viewing it as a hard copy. I could control the brightness of my screen when I wanted to read the text and I did not have to worry about glare from surrounding lights. It was easy to scroll through the magazine with the arrow keys, horizontally and/or vertically. The magazine felt as though it had more than one voice with all of the interviews included in each issue. The links to blur’s Facebook and Twitter were included nicely on the last page with a note: “Let’s keep in touch!”. Overall, I enjoyed going through an issue of Blur. I made it through an entire one in about 25 minutes!