Weekly Blog #7-Final Project vs. Storyboards

• Well the storyboard is definitely a good planning tool to use in the designing phase it helped me to keep information organized and know exactly what the ideas in my head would look like and how the website should flow. The good thing about the storyboard is that you can make changes and new ideas come to mind before you put things into place on the actual website. For the most part, my final project looks like my initial storyboard with a few minor tweaks and changes, but that is the beauty of doing a storyboard, you get a chance to tell your story with illustrations even in a very primitive pen and paper format. It doesn't have to be perfect as you will keep going back to the drawing board until you finally have it ready to design in the actual website template.

Weekly Blog #7 Compare/Contrast Websites

• The website I created in Web Expressions was a very different experience from the website I created in Webnode. I notice right away that working in a ready made template has its challenges as you are limited to the changes you can make to the actual template without totally changing the html code. But it was easier to make changes to the template in Web Expressions with the style sheets then it was in Webnode, I felt like my only option in Webnode was to choose another template, but that would then change my whole design layout. What I found was the same is that my masthead and tagline heading does appear on all pages which makes for a consistent design and flow. My navigation on the Web Expressions website are left aligned and in the Webnode site they are spread across the page. The color scheme is pretty much the same as my family color's are purple and gold. I was able to find a template with at least a shade of purple if not the exact color. I had some difficulty with tables in the Webnode site that I didn't encounter in the Web Expression site. The links that I set up in Web Expressions took several steps, but not so in the Webnode site so it made inserting links much simpler. All in all this experience has awakened a creative side I didn't know I could possess.

Weekly Blog #7

• I registered for this class with great trepidation because I know my strengths and I knew going into this class, that designing a website was definitely not a strength of mine. I must say that I am pleasantly surprised what I learned in just 7 short power packed weeks. Before this class I didn't know the many features in Google, the blog feature being one of them let alone how to set up a blog. I may not be a pro at this, but I definitely developed a new skill set and hope to continue to learn about now that the fear is gone. I plan to use this new skill to establish a consistent professional digital presence in  helping me with my change to a new career field in Human Resources.

Weekly Blog #6-Storyboards

Basically your storyboard is your roadmap to designing your website. It helps you visualize what your site will look like and help you present the purpose of your site in an organized layout before you actually begin the design phase. You can easily see, move, and edit content just using pen and paper, Word, or Power Point to create a site map or flow chart to keep your ideas organized. Using a storyboard will give you a picture of what your final project will look like from start to finish.

Weekly Blog #6

Overall your website should be well written for the web, not print. You want to engage your visitors from the home page and keep them interested enough to want to keep reading and navigating throughout your site. That being said, you should have good navigation that makes it easy for viewers to get around your site without confusion of where exactly they are, which means pages should have a consistent theme throughout. Use links to help your viewers get to important information in a way so that they don't leave your site; using "click here" is not a good idea or web design. Make sure your site has a personal touch and doesn't feel impersonal so that viewers have a sense of connection with you. If you have good well written content and are able to make that personal connection with your viewers you will have return visitors to your site.

Week 5 Blog Activities

• Anyone with a computer can create a website. Is this always a good thing?

There are many software programs that have made it easy for anyone to create a website, but unfortunately not all websites are created with the best interests of others in mind. Some are created for the sole purpose to spew hatred, venom and other negative views.

• What are some of the advantages to creating your own website rather than hiring a prof.? What are some of the drawbacks?

One of the main reasons for creating your own website rather than hire a prof. is that it can be rather expensive, but if you are willing to put in a little time and creativity you can create a very well designed site for free with the help of many website builder programs that are available.

• Usability vs. Accessibility

Usability is how you design your site and how you want users to be able to use your site. How you design your site will make or break how many people visit your site. How well  your site organized and easy to navigate is key to accessibility. Even if your site is designed well if everyone is not able to access it whether they are visually impaired, or disabled in any way your sites accessibility will limit your services, products you offer to the public.

Website Evaluation

1. http://www.belco.org
This is my credit union website and because I do most of my banking online, I need this site to be very easy for me to navigate. The graphics are minimal and the background is a simple white with contrasting green. The home page is easy to understand and clearly directs you to the other product pages and from each page the home page is also listed to easily navigate you back to the home page. Other important information is listed across the bottom of the page as hyperlinks. Visually, the page is easy on the eye and doesn't have too much going on so as to make interactivity and loading time is quick and easy. The two main contrasting icons direct you to online banking or an online loan application.

2. http://www.cwds.state.pa.us
You know instantly that the most important information on this site is for person's looking for employment which happens to be the first and prominent frame with a link to the job bank. The three different frames direct you exactly to the right purpose whether your seeking employment or training and education, or other services. The site is easy to read and navigate and each frame is in a different color, and other important informational hyperlinks are listed at the bottom of the site. What I found most helpful was the hyperlinks located at the top of the page for Spanish speaking link, a help link, and an accessibility link. The information is presented in a clear design, you don't have to search and search to find what you're looking for. Hyperlink load time is quick allowing you to navigate with ease.

I am developing more of a critical eye when searching websites and evaluating if it's easy to navigate, is it appealing to the eye, and am I able to find the information easily or do I have to go on a scavenger hunt just to find contact information. For my website project, It will be important to design and plan for interface and navigation because I know how it feels to search aimlessly on a site for the most basic information.

Ch. 7 Quiz

Of the two examples shown on page 154 the bottom (B.) immediately got my attention because I could see the whole page at one time. All of the navigation icons were neatly placed in a frame on the left-side of the web page, and the same hyperlinks were listed at the bottom of the page directing you to other pages on the site. The graphics  do not distract your attention from important information about the site, and the font style is not overpowering as far as its size. The top example right away the background color is very distracting and dark, the important information about the site is not clear. The navigation buttons are too big and take up way too much space on the screen. They are advertising products that are not even ready or available to the public. These are just a few of the problems with (A.) it is overall just an ugly website and poorly designed and is not easy to navigate.

Readability vs. Legibility

Readability is how easy it is to read a lot of text or pages with extensive text. Legibility is how easy it is for the reader to recognize short burst of text. To make something legible  you don't want all the text to be the same size, i.e. all CAPS. When designing for web, it will be important to use a font that is easy to read and allows the eye to flow naturally over the text. The eyes recognize shapes of different words and when text is in all caps the eye takes longer to recognize and longer to read the text on screen and the more difficult to understand what is being seen. Designing for print is much different than designing for web, you want people to keep returning to your site and if it is not easy to navigate and easy to read and flow naturally with the eyes people will lose patience and leave your site.

Web Ready-Blog Week #3

The first thing I would do is save the image for Photoshop and for the Web so that I have my original image should I need to start the process over again if I'm not pleased with the outcome.  Second I would check the size and resolution is set at 72. Thirdly, I would use the crop tool and drag it over the  image cropping out the tourist on the right side of the picture. I would reduce the size as much as possible so that it has good resolution and that the constrain proportions was checked. Fourth, I would add another layer by clicking on Background Layer, Layer, and New Fill Layer and change the background to a solid color and feather it. Lastly, I would add the text layer and label it "Niagara Falls".

The Poll's

Adding the poll to my blog was very easy, so easy I thought this can't be all there is to this. My favorite poll was the one about your favorite part of Oreo Cookies, and of course my favorite is the cookie because you can use it in other recipes such as crushing them to make a Oreo Cookie pie crust, toppings for ice cream, and mixing them into cake and brownie mixes.

Interesting Blog Background

I viewed everyone's blogs and have come to the conclusion that my blog is very basic and  boring, this is of course no surprise to me not having a creative bone in my body. I do know what I like, and I really like Scott's background; for some reason it just captures your eye.

Weekly Blog Activities -Week 2

• I learned that graphic design is more than just putting images on paper. It requires following the basic rules of CRAP; Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, & Proximity. If something is designed well and communicates what it is supposed to be it some sort of advertisement or information the reader will connect more easily. For me personally; I prefer print over web design. I like the feel of the paper in my hands, it's easier to read print for me than something on a computer screen. It's important to know your audience and what it is they prefer and design accordingly.

•  Designing for web vs. designing for print you have to again take into consideration your clients, cost, the ease of making updates and changes, how interactive, user friendly. Print is more expensive, but portable, web is more interactive, you can reach a greater number of people in less time. You can make more information available, there's only so much you can fit on printed paper.

• Web design is both a technical and a creative process of communicating information in a clear, concise way that when the readers is browsing your site they are able to find the information they are looking for in an organized ,uncluttered design that has good flow and easy navigation. You do not have to be a professional to design a website and know all the technical aspects if you just want to do it as a hobby or for fun. Blogs are a way for people to be introduced to web design, they are easy to set up with many free templates available, easy to update and interact with Facebook, twitter and ecommerce. Even if you are just a hobbyist, you still want to have a professional looking site and that requires planning, designing, know who your audience is and what information they are looking for. You want your site to look good, but also to work and have an organized easy flow.

• Quiz answers page 112.
•  #1 Print-The annual report is only needed once a year, it's portable, familiar and would not require stockholders to have a computer, even though I'm sure most would.
•  #2 Web-Using the web would be more convenient, interactive, less expensive or you could
•  #3 Web-Send out an email with the software updates with a link to automatically download.
• #4 Web-Print is more costly, web is easier to make changes and updates
• #5 Print-Booklets are more portable, it's in response to your clients wanting them in print,  changes and updates are not frequent enough for web design.
• #6-Web-You can get the collection to more people in less time and it would be less expensive.

First Post

I came into this Web Design class terrified because I am really not a creative soul. That being said, Michele eased my fears and I actually feel like I can do this. I am a Pinterest junkie and love to read the recipe blogs, now I  created my very own blog, Kim's Kitchen Kreations!