Final Project

My final projects differed a lot from my original story board. I landed up changing the names of one of my pages from events to rules and some of the content i had on them.I had to cut some of the content out due to me writing so much about the topic. I changed the way photos had been placed and or the layout of the images. I changed my website from Demolition Derby's to Demolition Derby's in Eastern Pennsylvania. I had changed the original image i wanted to my backround to a rust backround to match the theme of the website in 2.0. I had a lot of fun creating the website in 2.0! The layout between the two websites was completley different so of course this was a big difference between the two!

Compare and Contrast

Creating each of the websites was challenging for me. They were both so different! The biggest difference between the two way the layout with the templates. When i created the 2.0 website it was a lot easier than using the web expressions. The 2.0 website in a way walked me through each step and it was easy to navigate my way around for never using the Wix program. Using the web expressions was a lot more in detail and it was more difficult to find something that went wrong, If i ever make a website again i would chose to do it on a free web creater. Figuring out the HTML was a lot more challenging for me. When i used wix it gave me a lot of different backrounds to use and a lot of templates for my layout comapared to web expressions. They are in some degree the same due to the fact that they are both programs to create web sites and they both offer templates to help you create what you want. I had to make a lot of adjustments between the two of them when using wix like i said it was quite simple to place my photos and content, when using web expressions i had to resize my images and content compared to wix.

Reflecting on what i have learned

When i first walked into Mislevy's web design class i had not a clue on how to make a website. Being involved in this class taught me so much. I learned all the cool tricks in photoshop and never have i once tried photoshop! I can not crop, resize, add and change filters, duplicate images, change hue and saturations, make new layers and so on. I have also learned how to create a website (using a free website of course) and i can understand the HTML to a small degree (thank god for the free websites like Wix, webnode, weebly and webs)! I truley did learn a lot and to be honest i probably will not make another website in the near future but if i decide to i know now how to get started. I will honestly look at websites and ads, flyers, and posters a lot differently using the CRAP method!

Reflecting

I thought the reading this week was very helpful for when creating a website. It gave me tips on a lot of different areas that can be utilized when creating a website. I liked the quick tips for photoshop it came in handy when i was adjustiing and making changes to my pictures for my website.It did not take as long to find what i was looking for in photoshop as i used  the smaller and the larger brush and i also used the layers palette. The storyboarding was extremly helpful, doing this ahead of time deffinetly gave me a visual of what to expect, i still landed up making a few changes afterward when actually working on my webpage but it gave me a sense of direction and confidence in knowing that i would like my page when completed even though as i mentioned i still landed up making a few small changes when actually working on the Wix itself.

Wix

I chose to use Wix to create my website. I found this website to be easy, it had very interesting templates, and i liked how i could navigate through it easily. I started working on my web page through Wix and so far i like it a lot. I like how it almost does all the work for me all i have to do is place my pics where i would like them to be and being that i previsously wrote up all my content i was able to copy and paste my content into the webpage. All i had to do was place the items where i wanted them to be located. I also liked the different backrounds Wix offered me, i was able to find one that went perfect with the topic of my website!

Usability and Accessibility in web design!

When creating a website that is both usable and accessable you are making a website usable for all people of all types considering there abilities and disabilities. It is very important to keep this in mind when creating a website so you can accomidate all your viewers! Making your website accessable is haveing larger print for those that can not see, having color for those that need it, having your website be able to commuicate to those that can not see or read the text ext. Making it usable is making the website so that it accomidates all the above mentioned features!

Should anyone be able to create a website?

I think not! Just because you have a laptop and internet connection does not mean just anyone should or could create a website. Creating a website takes time, if your not doing it yourself it involves money for an editor, and it can be challenging if you do not have the proper knowlege on how to make one. Before i began taking web design i had no idea all that went into websites, even now i do not know all that goes into one just the basics! If you have the proper knowlege and time im sure you could make a great website but for someone who just wants to make one and post it publicly i do not feel that this is a great idea leave it to the professionals!

Advantages and drawbacks of creating your own website!

There are many advantages to creating your own website! I can make a list go on and on when explaining the advantages to creating your own website, some of the advantages include being able to better your knowledge and skills when designing it, saving the money you would spend on a professional editor, designing it the way you would like the viewers to see it and being creative are just a few! Some of the disadvantages include making a mistake and over looking it as to where an editor may catch it, making sure you create a website that is the same on most peoples monitor, and all the time consuming projects and research that goes into making a web site!

Reflecting and summarizing what i have just read!

To begin I spent a lot of time reading the assignments for this week, but i feel as though a lot of this was taught hands on in the class room and reading felt like it was an overcap of all that i learned, which was great due to the fact that i do forget a lot when a lot is thrown on my plate! Begining with chapters three and four i felt that chapter three was never the less explaining what web pages were in detail while chapter four explained how to organize your files and labeling them in your folders. Chapter three talks about different softwares you can install to create your web page (it even gave you a list of free to lost cost softwares you may download onto your computer to help you create your web page). chapter three explained how to go about doing your text, font, graphics, format, colors, links,making tables, frames and layers with code in your web page, it explained this more in detail and i think this is a great reference for beginners. Chapter three gave great detailed explanation  as to how to go about adding all of the above mentioned items into the web page. Chapter four explained everything you would need to know about organizing and labeling your files before you start your web page. Chapter four gives the reader great sense of direction and almost step by step strucure and tips as to what to watch for when it comes to your comptuer type and what type of file to make it. Chapter four also talks about how to go about creating your domain name, and web address. Always make sure you creat a check list when making a web page so you dont miss a step. The Diigo readings where also an over cap of what we have learned and a bit more useful information as well. The readings explain about how to make your own web page and ups and downs about creating your own web page and the inportance of making sure your web page can meet the needs of ALL your viewers including people with difficulties such as vision, hearing, ext.

Website information

I will be more critical of websites for now due to the fact i have learned so much as to what it takes to make a website. How the visual apperance of it is maintained, the navigation of the website, the loading time, how useful the website is to me, and also including the CRAP system as well. All of this will play a big part when i am reseaching different websites. This information will all be applied when i am creating my own website so i know i am giving my viewers a page they will enjoy and want to return too. I will have to keep in mind all of the differernt techniques and color themes and when creating the visual apperance as well as navigation, also with the navigation i want to keep it simple enough so the viewer dose not have to look all over the page and so they know what to expect when clicking on a link. There is so much that goes into making a website that i have learned so far in the course, and now knowing all that i do even if i tried not to look at a website or printed advertisment in a certian way i most likley would not be able to help it and begin to judge it.

My two website evaluations!

I evaluated both http://www.findagrave.com/ and http://childrensplace.com/ Starting with findagrave.com i thought the website had very poor visual appealdue to not alot of color in print or backround, but it did maintian great navigation, loading time, and interactions. The navigation was great because i could easily read and find anything i wanted to look up, all the links were located under different catagories associated with that topic. The loading time was very fast and i felt the whole website being that it is for entertainment purposes was very interacting. You can communicate with people around the world and find intresting facts about anyone you would like that has past away. When i evaluated childrensplace.com i felt this was a great website with easy to follow navigation and i knew what to expect when i clicked on a link. The loading time was fast which was great because i did not have the urge to change websites. The pupose of this website is to advertise childrens cloths, the interaction is maintained through selling the cloths and listing the weekly ads and sales, the website is useful to find all the weekley ads, whats on sale, what they have in stock, ext before physically driving to the location. The visual appeal was ok i had to scroll down in order to see the rest of the site which i did not like, as with my first website i did not have to scroll down to find more links.

Quiz on chapter 7

The second web page strikes me with a visual impression and better interface and navigation. This is becuase i can see the navigation and there are no scroll bars as comapred to the first one showing me there is nothing hiding. The graphic buttons have matching text buttons whih makes it easier to read and understand. As comapared to the first website i have a better visual as to what to expect when navigating through the website. The first web page needs better backround color, i have to scroll down to see the rest of the navigation, i dont nessesarly know what to expect when navigating through this website. The first web site also has very large print as compared to the second which also makes it harder to read, and you would have to be careful with large text as everyone's monitor is different so it may not turn up as you would like it to on other monitors.

Niagra Falls Photo

In order to make the Niagra falls photo "web ready" i would do the following,
1) First i would add the picture to photoshop
2) I would change the pixels to 72 to make the image smalle,r this will allow it to download on the website faster
3) I would than add a layer in photoshop, that way i would still have the original
4) After i add the layer i would crop  the picture to exclude the tourists
5) I would make sure i save the photo as a jpeg since jpeg is used more for images that have subtle color changes and depth
6) I would then go to file and scroll down to"save for web".  
Following these steps allows my image to be ready for my website!

Readability vs. Legibility

Readability and Legibilty are two seperate things, readability is how easy it is to read a lot of text, extended text, pages, and pages of text. Legibilty is how easy it is to recognize bursts of texts such as headlines, buttons, signs ext. When you are making your site you need to keep in mind when it comes to text that you do not want to make it to big or to small, you never want to set all your text in bold, italic, all caps, small caps ext. you want to avoid long lines of text, on screen smaller lines are are better. You will also have to make sure there is enough contrast between the text and the backround to make it easier on the reader. When it comes to legibilty you do not want to set your text in all caps, like i already mentioned above it is easier to read in smaller text and the same applies to legibilty. Make sure you remian consious about your  page, keep in mind if it looks hard to read than it is. You can use different fonts when creating your page but once again you need to remain consious about the font you chose because it may come up different on your viewers computer and thier computer will replace it with his browser's default font. In print underlining is not allowed as it means the underlined words should be italic, on the web underlining certain words allows the viewer to know it is a link. I learned in chapter 12 there are a total of 5 different ways to cascade each one refering to how style sheets are implemented.

Polls

I liked all the Polls, everyone had great ideas! I would have to say my favorite was Nancy's because I love the Big Mac burger! I only get to eat it once in awhile with it being fast food  and completly unhealthy! It was difficult at first trying to come up with a question and answers but i think everyone did such a great job!

designing for print vs web

My understanding for designing for print vs designing for the web is that when you design for print you are going to get exactly what you see on the computer as on paper besides a few color differences, when designing for the web you need to take into consideration that it may show up differently on other monitors. Either way people strive for it to look the best it can, and consider the audience that is viewing your print out or web page. When designing for print you are creating something that will make it feel more real for the audience and as close to the design spec as possible  when designing for the web you are making it the best you can for people to view the layout, navigate, interaction, content, scrolling, linking, and operating throughout the web site.

Link List

When creating my link list i signed on to my blogger website and signed in. From there i clicked on the design tab and clicked add gaget. I located the link list and titled it DIG 315. I went into moodle and clicked on the blog addresses, clicked on the persons name, than blog, i copied and pasted thier blog address into the new site box located in the link list i pasted the address than added the persons name in the new url box and clicked save. Penny has a very interesting site. I really like her layout with the pictures in the backround and how she created a a differnt text for when she blogs. She added lots of color to her page in both the backround and the colors of text.

graphic design in both print and web

Graphic design in both print and the web have very many differences. They may both be used in many fields in both the print and web careers. Both print and web design have the same outcome and that is to catch the audiences attention. With print the you are trying to keep your audience to stay on a page long enough to get the market message across where with the web you are trying to keep your audience on a specific web page for as long as possible. Another difference between the two are the measurements the web is measured in pixels and print is measured in inches. When it comes to the layout of the two print you know the final piece will be delivered  as is in the web you deliver your design to a programmer and you have to wait to see your final layout. Color is another difference within them, working with web colors can vary from monitor to monitor and with print you the color may vary from the computer to the paper. The web is more interactive than print but both can offer a whole lot. Graphic design plays a role in our daily lives everyday it is the way our advertisements/flyers/posters/websites ext are viewed. Graphic design is what holds our attention to specific details to different things. Reading about graphic design and print i learned the differences and similarities to both and how much it effects the way people view simple everyday items of both print and web.

Quiz on pg112

1) Print.This will allow you to know the stockholders recieved it and looked at it wether or not they have computers.
2) Web. perhaps with a creative postcard that both shows off your talent and provides your web address.
3)Web would allow you to notify your customers about the updates through e mail.
4)Web would allow you to notify your customers about any information changes in a faster more effective way through e  mailing.
5)The web would be an ideal way to publish the books yourself without having to deal with the publishers themselves since they feel the books are to small to publish.
6)Print. High quality perhaps with a web site to publicize the book.

First Post

This class is interesting!