Week One
Prompt: What do you hope to achieve in this class by the end of the term? Are there special projects or technologies you’d like to see covered by the end of the term? Is there a site (or two) that gives you butterflies in your stomach? What is it?
Response: Something that I hope to achieve by the end of this term is to have a basic understanding of coding—I think that it is a skill that can definitely help my portfolio, and one that is heavily needed in the virtual design world. One of the things that I would like to see covered in this course is how to automate items on a webpage, such as a rotating photo gallery or text in-between the header and the main pages. A website that I enjoy would probably be Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Website, as a huge fan of watching HGTV; I also enjoy the way their website is mapped out.
Inspiring site of the week: Magnolia.com
Week Two
Prompt: What are you planning to do for project 1? What content do you plan to show? How will you make each page unique while maintaining a cohesive design across the project? How will your color palette, imagery, and typography choice complement your subject matter?
Response: I am planning on creating a website inspired by the French Impressionist Oscar-Claude Monet. Showcasing his life, philosophy, impressionist movement, as well as his painted works. For the most part how I’m planning on making each page unique in using various layouts of text to images—marked within certain widths in the content boxes at the center of the page to look cohesive. Using overlapping photos to add depth and utilizing a serif type family as the headers and a san-serif as the body text to create an easy hierarchy. Palleted in teals and light blues, this will accomplish making the subject matter seem calm and tranquil and easy to peruse instead of something harsh against Monet’s landscape pieces.
Inspiring site of the week: The1975.com
Week Three
Prompt: This weeks journal prompt, I want you to clearly imagine one user who'll love to use your Project 1 website. This user could be you, it could be someone similar to you, it could be someone completely opposite from you, it could even be a non-human animal or an alien or an amoeba. You get to choose. Really imagine what they are like in their mind. What do they spend their time on? what are their hobbies, clothes, music, favorite foods, books, tv. what's their personality like. Once you've imagined this person. write about them. just a paragraph, three to five sentences. try to have fun with it.
Response: Someone who I think would love my Project 1 website would be someone who is clearly interested in the Impressionist movement and Impressionism art style; someone who enjoys painting, crafting, and being delicate with their works yet still fast paced to get it done quickly to capture their essences. They spend their time outside a lot and when they’re not you can find this person huddled up at home researching artistic possibilities that they could make. Their hobbies would include painting, playing video games, going out for hikes, and cloud watching. They keep quiet to themselves for the most part but once you get to know this person you really can’t get them to stop talking about how beautiful the things around them are, as well as their need to explore.
Inspiring site of the week: Hohner.de
Week Four
Prompt: Read this short article here and this one on resistance here. Considering these articles, make a list of 5 things to keep you going when you feel resistance or discomfort.
Response:
- Realize and acknowledge that I do feel uncomfortable when learning about a new skill trait or topic.
- Understand that while I may be emotional, I have to remember in time I will feel a little more comfortable with said skill with practice.
- Know that there will always be a starting point to learning anything and everything.
- Try and try again.
- Breathe.
Inspiring site of the week: Jessicahische.is
Week Five
Prompt: Compare the site you are redesigning to 2 similar sites. Consider their content hierarchy, attention to customer needs, ease of use. Write about your findings. You may use a SWOT analysis template(link). Response to Umoju Miller talk.
Response: /on basecamp/
Inspiring site of the week: Datalands.co
Week Six
Prompt: What did you choose the business/cause that you chose? Why do you think your redesign will be better? What area/content will you focus on in your redesign? Look at two other similar websites. What stands out about those sites? what bothers you abut them? How will you improve things in your own design.
Response: The business that I chose was the Eastburn Public House in Portland. Their website has all the needed information for their clientele, yet they currently lack the use of padding in-between sections, there is no one grid style that they commit to. And overall don't exactly have a fitted theme showing on their website for their establishment.
Two websites that are similar to the way I want to construct my design would be Kate's Ice Cream and Black Rock Coffee, for Kate's, what stands out to me is how easily the site manuevers as you scroll. Every section is bordered off with a simplistic yet nice design. Though what bothers me about the site is the typography, it doesn't look like there is enough heirarchy to my eye. As for Black Rock Coffee, I really enjoy their sticky top bar that follows as you scroll on the desktop. And being that their logo design is somewhat similar to Eastburn's I enjoy the way that the logo drops down a bit from the navigation div; giving it a little more "oomph" so-to-speak. Though what bothers me about their web design is that they don't supply a whole lot of information about their products, specials, etc. Since they are so much more customer oriented when you see them in person compared to their online persona.
Inspiring site of the week: Society6.com
Week Seven
Prompt: None: Focus on Project 2
Week Eight
Prompt: Read this article on mobile-first design and share your thoughts on mobile-first vs desktop first.
Response: While I enjoy creating a thorough desktop website with all the goodies and gadgets for the client. I appreciate this article since as a designer my goal is to make things look pleasing and aesthetic to the viewers yet still functional. But having to design mobile first really adjusts the prospective of what content a seller’s/client’s website needs. Functionality really is the go-to for mobile, and I believe that going from mobile design to desktop design is the way to go than going backwards and taking aspects of the website away. Which sometimes is really crushing if you love the design and content aspect. It’s cleaner, more organized, and most of all I think it’s a way for a project to overall be less stressful while in the process of creating it.
Inspiring site of the week: Carboncoco.com
Week Nine
Prompt: This one's about "why." Read this article (try to pretend it's not a cheezy article about business success). Spend some time thinking about why you are pursuing a career in design. Really dig down, do the 7 "whys" tool in the article. OR If that's too challenging right now, consider people in your life or people who've inspired you. Think about what drives them, what their "why" is. Why did they work so hard to do XYZ, was it from past experiences they had, was it because they saw a need they were called to fill? What's their deeper "why?" Ask them if you know them, or look up some biographical information and try to figure it out. Write about either you or your inspiration.
Response:
1. Why am I pursuing a career in Design?
Because it’s something that I enjoy doing.
2. Why does that matter to you?
If I enjoy doing something for work I won’t be unhappy and I will be able to live a manageable life.
3. Why do you think it would make you happy?
Because I will work with multiple types of people and have great experiences with them and create a variety of things for my work as well as support me and my family.
4. Why do the experiences matter?
Because life is only experiences, so why not try to make the most out of all of them.
5. Why are you trying to make the most of ALL of them?
So I can appreciate the little things through the big things.
6. Why do you believe pursuing Design will do these things for you?
To be completely honest, I’m not sure. I’ve always wanted to be able to create something to make an impact in the world.
7. Why do you want to make an impact?
Who doesn’t?
Inspiring site of the week: Zoella.co.uk
Week Ten
Prompt:*Fill out Project One and Project Two Self-Evaluations