The course readings are complete! I really, really, really liked the MacDonald book and would definitely recommend it to a friend. I will also absolutely keep it for future reference in web design. Great text.
This week's web reviews:
Website 1: http://www.flashvista.com/
This site offers several flash web sites. Not the fanciest or prettiest site. Crowded and complicated. I like the way the topics are organized. Makes searching easy.
Website 2: http://flashexplained.com/design/creating-a-cool-hi-tech-draggable-floating-menu/
Flash tutorials. Very useful. Explains how to make a floating menu.
Website 3: http://www.sitepal.com/
Flash avatars? This is a really cool idea, especially in web design for libraries. This makes websites usable for patrons with disabilities because the voice guidelines from the avatar can help make navigating the page useful. Great idea.
Website 4: http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/
Adobe's Flash site. It shows what Flash is meant to do, and advertises the product. Gotta love Adobe.
Website 5: http://www.erain.com/Products/swift3d/
Another animation software. I would probably still use Flash, because I trust Adobe.
Website 6: http://www.swishzone.com/index.php
This site has some really cool templates.
Website 7: http://www.hotscripts.com/
This site also has templates and a great discussion forum which offers answers to questions web designers may face.
Website 8: http://www.soundstageav.com/mastersonaudio/20050201.htm
MP3 information.
Website 9: http://musicovery.com/
This is a cool site. It organizes music based on mood. Interesting substitute for Pandora.
Website 10: http://www.pandora.com/
Ahhh...Pandora! I love Pandora! I listen to it at work all the time. What a brilliant idea! It takes the info you give about music you like and suggests other music for FREE! Love it!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Week 8: Imagery
This week we are reading chapters 15 and 16 in MacDonald's text.
Chapter 15: "Fancy Buttons and Menus." Menus are very important elements of web design--they help with navigation and make connecting sites possible. Last week's chapter on JavaScript was great, too. In my web design project, I use a menu that uses Java. This chapter offers more information about that. Particularly useful in this chapter's discussion starts on page 458 and presents how to make rollover buttons in Dreamweaver. There's also a great discussion of "Do it Yourself Collapsible Menus" (p. 460). Also great is the discussion of third party menus (p. 464). This is what I used for my menu.
Chapter 16: Audio and Video
Audio and video seem complex, but MacDonald makes them approachable in this chapter. Embedding!!! I embedded a youtube video in my site (it was a video I participated in as an undergraduate as a part of a preservation course).
MacDonald presents sound options for websites, like continuous playing background music. I think this might be tacky on many sites, but effective on music related or promotional sites. It all depends on what the site's purpose is!
As discussed in the last post, it is really important that web designers consider copyright and ownership when using images. There are several sites that offer free images as long as they are used within the intended guidelines and credit is given. On my web design project, I used images from http://sxc.hu. This site has istockphoto (pay for images) on the top of the search, but then there are free images below that; as long as you use them within the guidelines and give recognition, it's OK. On my site, I give the web address and recognition on the "reflections" page.
I used Photoshop to edit the images to make them smaller so that page load time would be shorter. This is a tool that is essential for web design! Adobe products (Dreamweaver, Photoshop) are basically awesome. Sometimes they can be hard to use, but once you get the hang of it it's great. I will admit that I referred to Dreamweaver as "Nightmareweaver" several times throughout the course of this class and web project because sometimes it got really frustrating, but overall it is a great tool that I will definitely consider and continue to utilize in the future.
Weekly website reviews:
Website 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Public_domain_image_resources
This site took a really long time to load on my computer, and then actually didn't load. Maybe the image sizes are too big? :)
Website 2: http://www.libraryspot.com/images.htm
This is a great, great site!!! Not only for web design. I think this site would be great for librarians to know about when helping kids with school projects. For example, if a kid needs a picture of Benjamin Franklin, this site has links to the Library of Congress image sites! Absolutely a great resource. Not overly complicated.
Website 3: http://www.readwriteweb.com/
This is an interesting site that shows the connections between popular websites and social networks. Great articles and utilizes tagging really well, so if someone is searching for something specific, it's a great site.
Website 4: http://www.footnote.com/
As a soon-to-be librarian who works in digital collections, I obviously think this site is awesome! It has historical documents!! I looked through the WWII Collection. Also I like the site's name. Clever.
Chapter 15: "Fancy Buttons and Menus." Menus are very important elements of web design--they help with navigation and make connecting sites possible. Last week's chapter on JavaScript was great, too. In my web design project, I use a menu that uses Java. This chapter offers more information about that. Particularly useful in this chapter's discussion starts on page 458 and presents how to make rollover buttons in Dreamweaver. There's also a great discussion of "Do it Yourself Collapsible Menus" (p. 460). Also great is the discussion of third party menus (p. 464). This is what I used for my menu.
Chapter 16: Audio and Video
Audio and video seem complex, but MacDonald makes them approachable in this chapter. Embedding!!! I embedded a youtube video in my site (it was a video I participated in as an undergraduate as a part of a preservation course).
MacDonald presents sound options for websites, like continuous playing background music. I think this might be tacky on many sites, but effective on music related or promotional sites. It all depends on what the site's purpose is!
As discussed in the last post, it is really important that web designers consider copyright and ownership when using images. There are several sites that offer free images as long as they are used within the intended guidelines and credit is given. On my web design project, I used images from http://sxc.hu. This site has istockphoto (pay for images) on the top of the search, but then there are free images below that; as long as you use them within the guidelines and give recognition, it's OK. On my site, I give the web address and recognition on the "reflections" page.
I used Photoshop to edit the images to make them smaller so that page load time would be shorter. This is a tool that is essential for web design! Adobe products (Dreamweaver, Photoshop) are basically awesome. Sometimes they can be hard to use, but once you get the hang of it it's great. I will admit that I referred to Dreamweaver as "Nightmareweaver" several times throughout the course of this class and web project because sometimes it got really frustrating, but overall it is a great tool that I will definitely consider and continue to utilize in the future.
Weekly website reviews:
Website 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Public_domain_image_resources
This site took a really long time to load on my computer, and then actually didn't load. Maybe the image sizes are too big? :)
Website 2: http://www.libraryspot.com/images.htm
This is a great, great site!!! Not only for web design. I think this site would be great for librarians to know about when helping kids with school projects. For example, if a kid needs a picture of Benjamin Franklin, this site has links to the Library of Congress image sites! Absolutely a great resource. Not overly complicated.
Website 3: http://www.readwriteweb.com/
This is an interesting site that shows the connections between popular websites and social networks. Great articles and utilizes tagging really well, so if someone is searching for something specific, it's a great site.
Website 4: http://www.footnote.com/
As a soon-to-be librarian who works in digital collections, I obviously think this site is awesome! It has historical documents!! I looked through the WWII Collection. Also I like the site's name. Clever.
Week 7 websites
This week's websites are all about typography. Typography is really interesting and allows web designers to employ a lot of creativity and lets them play with something that otherwise could be boring or not noticeable.
Website 1: http://ilovetypography.com
This site has everything you'd want to know about typography, including discussions about popular fonts, articles about font trends, and instructions.
Website 2: http://ilovetypography.com/2007/09/19/15-excellent-examples-of-web-typography/
Same site, but focuses on examples of good typography. Particularly interesting on this site is that it shows great examples which illustrate not only great typography, but ways in which this is employed. For example, one of the sites is a professor's, another is a professional illustrators. Depending on the creativity of your field, your website topography should reflect it.
Website 3: http://typographica.org/
This site looks great! Initially, upon opening this site, I thought it looked cool. It has a great visualization of different fonts. Also has book reviews.
Website 4: http://www.microsoft.com/typography/default.mspx
This site has some very useful information about Microsoft. Since many people use Microsoft, this is relevant.
Website 5: http://abc.planet-typography.com/
This site is a "museum" of fonts. I really like the way it separates the collections. It is a really cool looking site.
Website 6: http://www.alistapart.com/topics/design/typography/
This tutorial presents tons of information regarding fonts. Great info about fonts and CSS.
Website 7: http://www.rsub.com/typographic/
This site is a lot like the museum of fonts (website 5) because it offers a lot of history of fonts and background information. Who would have thought there was such a font following? I like the gallery of fonts featured on this site.
Website 8: http://www.digital-web.com/articles/css_typography/
Ahh...the challenges of CSS! This presents CSS and typography, which is an issue that web designers face. This site shows how even when utilizing CSS, web designers can have some control over their sites. Typography is one of these ways.
Website 1: http://ilovetypography.com
This site has everything you'd want to know about typography, including discussions about popular fonts, articles about font trends, and instructions.
Website 2: http://ilovetypography.com/2007/09/19/15-excellent-examples-of-web-typography/
Same site, but focuses on examples of good typography. Particularly interesting on this site is that it shows great examples which illustrate not only great typography, but ways in which this is employed. For example, one of the sites is a professor's, another is a professional illustrators. Depending on the creativity of your field, your website topography should reflect it.
Website 3: http://typographica.org/
This site looks great! Initially, upon opening this site, I thought it looked cool. It has a great visualization of different fonts. Also has book reviews.
Website 4: http://www.microsoft.com/typography/default.mspx
This site has some very useful information about Microsoft. Since many people use Microsoft, this is relevant.
Website 5: http://abc.planet-typography.com/
This site is a "museum" of fonts. I really like the way it separates the collections. It is a really cool looking site.
Website 6: http://www.alistapart.com/topics/design/typography/
This tutorial presents tons of information regarding fonts. Great info about fonts and CSS.
Website 7: http://www.rsub.com/typographic/
This site is a lot like the museum of fonts (website 5) because it offers a lot of history of fonts and background information. Who would have thought there was such a font following? I like the gallery of fonts featured on this site.
Website 8: http://www.digital-web.com/articles/css_typography/
Ahh...the challenges of CSS! This presents CSS and typography, which is an issue that web designers face. This site shows how even when utilizing CSS, web designers can have some control over their sites. Typography is one of these ways.
Week 7: Typography
This week's reading: MacDonald, Chapters 13 and 14 and Beaird Chapter 5.
Chapter 13:
MacDonald presents "Making money with your site." While I am designing a professional website for the Web Design project, and I am thus not looking to make money, I do plan on utilizing the skills learned in this course in future professional endeavors which may include fundraising, organizing events, or even possibly selling something. This chapter offers really easy to follow guidelines about Google searches, Amazon, and PayPal. These are things that could be challenging to new web designers, but MacDonald presents them clearly.
Chapter 14:
Javascript! I utilized JavaScript on my web design project for the menu bar (pop-up) and the calendar because I thought it made the site look cool. This chapter offers guidelines about JavaScript and usability. Page 431 discusses collapsible text. I utilized this on my website. Page 440 shows how to use scripts from other websites, and discusses credit for the creators. Overall a good chapter with easy-to-use information.
Beaird Chapter 5:
Beaird presents imagery in this chapter. One important discussion is on page 132 about stock photography. I utilized stock images on my site, images of books, libraries, people reading, etc. I used free images. Beaird makes the important note of considering image usage guidelines even for free photos (p. 133), which I made sure to do. It is important that you are using the images in the ways that are allowed.
Beaird also presents important elements of copyright and ownership of images. This is really important, especially for librarians! We are very careful about copyright. So, it is appropriate to make sure the images are free, and that you are using them appropriately according to their usage guidelines.
Also interesting is the discussion of cropping (p. 141). This is a great chapter.
Chapter 13:
MacDonald presents "Making money with your site." While I am designing a professional website for the Web Design project, and I am thus not looking to make money, I do plan on utilizing the skills learned in this course in future professional endeavors which may include fundraising, organizing events, or even possibly selling something. This chapter offers really easy to follow guidelines about Google searches, Amazon, and PayPal. These are things that could be challenging to new web designers, but MacDonald presents them clearly.
Chapter 14:
Javascript! I utilized JavaScript on my web design project for the menu bar (pop-up) and the calendar because I thought it made the site look cool. This chapter offers guidelines about JavaScript and usability. Page 431 discusses collapsible text. I utilized this on my website. Page 440 shows how to use scripts from other websites, and discusses credit for the creators. Overall a good chapter with easy-to-use information.
Beaird Chapter 5:
Beaird presents imagery in this chapter. One important discussion is on page 132 about stock photography. I utilized stock images on my site, images of books, libraries, people reading, etc. I used free images. Beaird makes the important note of considering image usage guidelines even for free photos (p. 133), which I made sure to do. It is important that you are using the images in the ways that are allowed.
Beaird also presents important elements of copyright and ownership of images. This is really important, especially for librarians! We are very careful about copyright. So, it is appropriate to make sure the images are free, and that you are using them appropriately according to their usage guidelines.
Also interesting is the discussion of cropping (p. 141). This is a great chapter.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Week 6 tutorials
This week's tutorials focus on implementing web design techniques including texture. The Photoshop tutorial on creating textures was extremely interesting:
http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/design/photoshop-tutorials-textures/
I like Photoshop's usability. I've had to utilize Photoshop in my web site project to reduce photo sizes because the photos were making the page loading time take too long. Photoshop tutorials are essential, though, because otherwise it can be challenging to navigate. This tutorial has excellent methods for designing different texture backgrounds. While I don't think texture is appropriate as a background on a professional website (usually), I do think that texture elements help enhance the design of websites and help add to the technical appeal of the site.
Web 2.0 tutorial: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/03/10/web-20-tutorials-round-up/
This tutorial has some interesting input on design and texture, but again, they aren't necessarily that great for professional sites because they are mostly decorative or patterned. I think on a professional site, texture should be utilized in the navigation menu and maybe the banner but not directly on the background. Maybe I'm old fashioned?
http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/design/photoshop-tutorials-textures/
I like Photoshop's usability. I've had to utilize Photoshop in my web site project to reduce photo sizes because the photos were making the page loading time take too long. Photoshop tutorials are essential, though, because otherwise it can be challenging to navigate. This tutorial has excellent methods for designing different texture backgrounds. While I don't think texture is appropriate as a background on a professional website (usually), I do think that texture elements help enhance the design of websites and help add to the technical appeal of the site.
Web 2.0 tutorial: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/03/10/web-20-tutorials-round-up/
This tutorial has some interesting input on design and texture, but again, they aren't necessarily that great for professional sites because they are mostly decorative or patterned. I think on a professional site, texture should be utilized in the navigation menu and maybe the banner but not directly on the background. Maybe I'm old fashioned?
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Week 6 website reviews
1. http://urbandirty.com
This site offers free texture images for sites! While I'm not necessarily texture's best friend, I do think this is a cool resource, especially since it also offers a tutorial on how to use the textures.
2. The Flikr best textures pages is pretty awesome. I don't know if they are free access though or if you have to get OK to use them?
3. www.textureking.com
These free textures are pretty cool. I am beginning to change my mind about textures just a little bit because I think when they are used in moderation they could provide an element of cooleness to the site. Plus, they're kind of trendy. I especially think that the fabric and glass textures could be used on a professional site.
4. www.grungetextures.com
I especially like the "mud" textures on this site. These could be used to enhance an otherwise kind of boring page.
The tutorials for this week will get their own post as well.
This site offers free texture images for sites! While I'm not necessarily texture's best friend, I do think this is a cool resource, especially since it also offers a tutorial on how to use the textures.
2. The Flikr best textures pages is pretty awesome. I don't know if they are free access though or if you have to get OK to use them?
3. www.textureking.com
These free textures are pretty cool. I am beginning to change my mind about textures just a little bit because I think when they are used in moderation they could provide an element of cooleness to the site. Plus, they're kind of trendy. I especially think that the fabric and glass textures could be used on a professional site.
4. www.grungetextures.com
I especially like the "mud" textures on this site. These could be used to enhance an otherwise kind of boring page.
The tutorials for this week will get their own post as well.
Week 6: Texture
I already said how I feel about texture for the most part (see last post). I don't think ALL texture is bad, and I hope that this week's readings and websites will show me that they are, in fact, awesome. We'll see.
MacDonald, Ch. 11 and 12
Ch. 11: Attracting visitors. I am designing a professional site that I plan to use on my resume, when applying for jobs, or one day on my "about me" section of a school library website where I work. Other than that, I'm not interested in marketing my website. However, if you are, MacDonald has a section on that in chapter 11.
Search engines (p. 316). Will my web project show up if someone googles me? I just googled myself (eeek!!!) and in fact it does not. I think this is because I am using a secure server sponsored by my school? MacDonald says that you can introduce your site to Google (p. 317), but I'm not going that route. In fact, there's a section about hiding from search engines! (p. 321).
Overall, I think Chapter 11 is useful if you're in the market to market your site or product.
Chapter 12: Mailto Links! (p. 337). Here we go. Professional sites need this in case someone stumbles upon the site and instantly wants to hire you!
This chapter also has info about making forums and groups, which isn't necessary on a professional site, but will one day be useful if I ever design a library site. This info is on pages 350-.
Beaird, Ch. 4
Chapter 4: Typography!!! This chapter is cool. Especially if you want to make your page unique and fun. This would be a great chapter for someone designing a blog or fun personal site. I like the info on spacing (p. 106). Again, I think this would be best utilized by a site trying to sell something.
I'm going to review this week's websites in their own post--there's a lot of them.
MacDonald, Ch. 11 and 12
Ch. 11: Attracting visitors. I am designing a professional site that I plan to use on my resume, when applying for jobs, or one day on my "about me" section of a school library website where I work. Other than that, I'm not interested in marketing my website. However, if you are, MacDonald has a section on that in chapter 11.
Search engines (p. 316). Will my web project show up if someone googles me? I just googled myself (eeek!!!) and in fact it does not. I think this is because I am using a secure server sponsored by my school? MacDonald says that you can introduce your site to Google (p. 317), but I'm not going that route. In fact, there's a section about hiding from search engines! (p. 321).
Overall, I think Chapter 11 is useful if you're in the market to market your site or product.
Chapter 12: Mailto Links! (p. 337). Here we go. Professional sites need this in case someone stumbles upon the site and instantly wants to hire you!
This chapter also has info about making forums and groups, which isn't necessary on a professional site, but will one day be useful if I ever design a library site. This info is on pages 350-.
Beaird, Ch. 4
Chapter 4: Typography!!! This chapter is cool. Especially if you want to make your page unique and fun. This would be a great chapter for someone designing a blog or fun personal site. I like the info on spacing (p. 106). Again, I think this would be best utilized by a site trying to sell something.
I'm going to review this week's websites in their own post--there's a lot of them.
Week 5: Color
Color use on websites seems simple. It seems like the designer simply liked a color and then decided to use it. Or perhaps it is a school color or color-theme. I hadn't really considered color use until this week. I found that I tend to prefer a darker background with light text-- aesthetically I just prefer this.
This week's website, http://colorsontheweb.com, has some really helpful information regarding colors and web design. I found the tab on color contrast to be very helpful because I don't really have an eye for this (which is weird because my mom and sister are both artists--I guess I missed that gene?). I think contrast of value would be really cool to utilize in web design because it draws attention to the colors.
This weeks readings are chapter 9 and 10 in Creating a website and chapter 3 in Principles of Beautiful Web Design.
Chapter 9:
Chapter 9 focuses on page layout. This is probably one of the most important elements of web design in terms of usability. Have you ever been to a site that didn't seem formatted correctly to your screen? I sometimes find blogs like that, and it makes reading them very challenging. MacDonald offers important info about page layout and html info for making tables. Important!
Chapter 10:
Ahh...multipart pages. Here we go. This is important and something I've been challenged with on the web project. I found the discussion of frames (p. 266) really interesting because it seems really useful. By breaking the window this way, we can see multiple pages.
Really really useful in this chapter is the discussion beginning on page 289 about making a new page template in Dreamweaver.
Beautiful Web Design, Chapter 3: Textures!!
I'm going to be completely honest--I think texture use on entertainment websites is pretty cool, but if we use them on professional sites, I think they look a little unprofessional and distracting. Now, the elements of texture, like volume and depth (p. 75) should be applied to all types of website, but the obvious textured background gets on my nerves.
This week's website, http://colorsontheweb.com, has some really helpful information regarding colors and web design. I found the tab on color contrast to be very helpful because I don't really have an eye for this (which is weird because my mom and sister are both artists--I guess I missed that gene?). I think contrast of value would be really cool to utilize in web design because it draws attention to the colors.
This weeks readings are chapter 9 and 10 in Creating a website and chapter 3 in Principles of Beautiful Web Design.
Chapter 9:
Chapter 9 focuses on page layout. This is probably one of the most important elements of web design in terms of usability. Have you ever been to a site that didn't seem formatted correctly to your screen? I sometimes find blogs like that, and it makes reading them very challenging. MacDonald offers important info about page layout and html info for making tables. Important!
Chapter 10:
Ahh...multipart pages. Here we go. This is important and something I've been challenged with on the web project. I found the discussion of frames (p. 266) really interesting because it seems really useful. By breaking the window this way, we can see multiple pages.
Really really useful in this chapter is the discussion beginning on page 289 about making a new page template in Dreamweaver.
Beautiful Web Design, Chapter 3: Textures!!
I'm going to be completely honest--I think texture use on entertainment websites is pretty cool, but if we use them on professional sites, I think they look a little unprofessional and distracting. Now, the elements of texture, like volume and depth (p. 75) should be applied to all types of website, but the obvious textured background gets on my nerves.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Week 4
This week is Chapters 6 and 7 in Creating a Web Site and chapter 2 in The Principles of Beautiful Web Design.
Creating a Web Site:
Chapter 6 is all about graphics. MacDonald notes that graphics add a lot to web sites but also add a lot of complication. Working with images offers many decorative elements to the site and also supports the text and enhances the design features of the site. I was most interested in MacDonald's discussion of Background Images (p. 198). Background images are fun for entertainment sites but not so good for professional sites. I think this is probably a mistake people make when they are just starting out with web design. I am planning on making my website a professional/resume site because I feel that web design skills will best be displayed this way, so I won't use a background image.
Chapter 7 presents linking pages. This is essential for websites. One important part of the text is the instructional guide for changing the colors of links while using a stylesheet (page 209).
The Principles of Beautiful Web Design chapter 2 is all about color. It is important to consider color associations, as discussed on page 39. This is also worth noting if you want your website to be accessible internationally, as different cultures have different associations for colors. Color schemes are important in the design of websites because they subtly inform users of the tone of the website as well as enhance the overall organization and flow of the pages.
Websites:
1. http://webstyleguide.com/index.html
This book informs readers of style guides for web sites. The Universal Usability chapter of the online book is a good reference.
2. http://universalusability.com/access_by_design/index.html
This site has very valuable information about web design.
3. http://www.adaptivepath.com/ideas/essays/archives/000242.php
The designer of this site has great suggestions for teams or groups of people who are designing sites. The "Nine Pillars" are wonderful suggestions for organizing a new site.
4. http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/05/08/now-more-than-ever-50-more-excellent-blog-designs/
Excellent blog designs! All of these chosen designs are unique and creative. Not boring.
5. http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp
W3Schools Tutorials are great ways to stay informed and up-to-date on information such as CSS and html.
Creating a Web Site:
Chapter 6 is all about graphics. MacDonald notes that graphics add a lot to web sites but also add a lot of complication. Working with images offers many decorative elements to the site and also supports the text and enhances the design features of the site. I was most interested in MacDonald's discussion of Background Images (p. 198). Background images are fun for entertainment sites but not so good for professional sites. I think this is probably a mistake people make when they are just starting out with web design. I am planning on making my website a professional/resume site because I feel that web design skills will best be displayed this way, so I won't use a background image.
Chapter 7 presents linking pages. This is essential for websites. One important part of the text is the instructional guide for changing the colors of links while using a stylesheet (page 209).
The Principles of Beautiful Web Design chapter 2 is all about color. It is important to consider color associations, as discussed on page 39. This is also worth noting if you want your website to be accessible internationally, as different cultures have different associations for colors. Color schemes are important in the design of websites because they subtly inform users of the tone of the website as well as enhance the overall organization and flow of the pages.
Websites:
1. http://webstyleguide.com/index.html
This book informs readers of style guides for web sites. The Universal Usability chapter of the online book is a good reference.
2. http://universalusability.com/access_by_design/index.html
This site has very valuable information about web design.
3. http://www.adaptivepath.com/ideas/essays/archives/000242.php
The designer of this site has great suggestions for teams or groups of people who are designing sites. The "Nine Pillars" are wonderful suggestions for organizing a new site.
4. http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/05/08/now-more-than-ever-50-more-excellent-blog-designs/
Excellent blog designs! All of these chosen designs are unique and creative. Not boring.
5. http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp
W3Schools Tutorials are great ways to stay informed and up-to-date on information such as CSS and html.
Week 3
This is a busy week! There are a lot of readings and even more websites. This week, I am discussing chapters 5 and 6 in the MacDonald text, as well as chapter 1 in another text, The Principles of Beautiful Web Design by Jason Beaird.
MacDonald's Chapter 5 presents XHTML and the Web. This is incredibly important, and seems simple but isn't so much: The way you type something is not necessarily the way it will look on your page. You need to know the language! MacDonald's presentation of "structuring" and "formatting" (p. 110) is very helpful with this. To put physical elements (italics, bold, etc.) you need to use the language to communicate with the browser on how to format the page (p. 111).
Cascading Style Sheets (as presented in last week's post) CSSs are the documents that translate what everything looks like on the website: font, colors, and makes it so that the web designer can save time and effort. Also, they ensure consistency between pages in a web site. MacDonald presents paragraphs, line breaks, horizontal lines, quotes, and other important formatting tips in this chapter.
Remember last week when I talked about making websites accessible to an international audience? Well, MacDonald even addresses "Non-English Languages" (p. 134) in Chapter 5. This seems like it would be rather complicated, but MacDonald shows that it isn't so bad if you know how to use your tools, especially the web editor.
Chapter 6 is all about Style Sheets (starting on page 137). Style sheets are a very, very important element in the construction of a website because they set the tone and are a foundation for the design and creative elements of the site. Chapter 6 offers an instructional presentation of basic style elements of a site, from color to font size to spacing and borders.
Jason Beaird's text, The Principles of Beautiful Web Design, is a book I've been looking forward to reading for this class. As interested and amazed as I am about the technical elements of web design, I am mostly interested in the creative elements. Obviously, these two things are related and in order to have creativity in the site you need to know the language, but this text blends the two. As an added bonus, the book is designed like a website in the way it looks and the organization of the text is easy to follow and clear. I like Chapter 1's presentation of "Web Page Anatomy" (p. 7) because it makes the page simple and consistent. Also, the artistic "Rule of Thirds" (p. 10). This rule ensures that your page layout is consistent and visually interesting. Oh, and BALANCED! If the page isn't balanced, it will just look weird.
There are several websites this week. They are all about Internet usage statistics. This is relevant to web design because you want to know who cans see your site and who your audience is.
Website 1: Nielsen http://en-us.nielsen.com/tab/product_families/nielsen_netratings
The link for "free Internet data" offers information about searching and search engines.
Website 2: Pew Research http://pewresearch.org/
If you click on "Internet and Technology," there is a lot of information about social networking, blogs, and other social and technological data. A great reference tool because of all the information.
Website 3: CAIDA http://www.caida.org/home/
A lot of complicated information about the Internet. In my opinion, the organization of this site is complicated and a little overwhelming for users.
Website 4: Internet World Stats http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
Adding to the discussion of international accessibility of web sites, this page is useful for web designers looking to better understand an international audience with important statistics.
Website 5: ICANN http://www.icann.org/
The goal of ICANN as described on the "about" portion of the site is to keep the Internet safe.
MacDonald's Chapter 5 presents XHTML and the Web. This is incredibly important, and seems simple but isn't so much: The way you type something is not necessarily the way it will look on your page. You need to know the language! MacDonald's presentation of "structuring" and "formatting" (p. 110) is very helpful with this. To put physical elements (italics, bold, etc.) you need to use the language to communicate with the browser on how to format the page (p. 111).
Cascading Style Sheets (as presented in last week's post) CSSs are the documents that translate what everything looks like on the website: font, colors, and makes it so that the web designer can save time and effort. Also, they ensure consistency between pages in a web site. MacDonald presents paragraphs, line breaks, horizontal lines, quotes, and other important formatting tips in this chapter.
Remember last week when I talked about making websites accessible to an international audience? Well, MacDonald even addresses "Non-English Languages" (p. 134) in Chapter 5. This seems like it would be rather complicated, but MacDonald shows that it isn't so bad if you know how to use your tools, especially the web editor.
Chapter 6 is all about Style Sheets (starting on page 137). Style sheets are a very, very important element in the construction of a website because they set the tone and are a foundation for the design and creative elements of the site. Chapter 6 offers an instructional presentation of basic style elements of a site, from color to font size to spacing and borders.
Jason Beaird's text, The Principles of Beautiful Web Design, is a book I've been looking forward to reading for this class. As interested and amazed as I am about the technical elements of web design, I am mostly interested in the creative elements. Obviously, these two things are related and in order to have creativity in the site you need to know the language, but this text blends the two. As an added bonus, the book is designed like a website in the way it looks and the organization of the text is easy to follow and clear. I like Chapter 1's presentation of "Web Page Anatomy" (p. 7) because it makes the page simple and consistent. Also, the artistic "Rule of Thirds" (p. 10). This rule ensures that your page layout is consistent and visually interesting. Oh, and BALANCED! If the page isn't balanced, it will just look weird.
There are several websites this week. They are all about Internet usage statistics. This is relevant to web design because you want to know who cans see your site and who your audience is.
Website 1: Nielsen http://en-us.nielsen.com/tab/product_families/nielsen_netratings
The link for "free Internet data" offers information about searching and search engines.
Website 2: Pew Research http://pewresearch.org/
If you click on "Internet and Technology," there is a lot of information about social networking, blogs, and other social and technological data. A great reference tool because of all the information.
Website 3: CAIDA http://www.caida.org/home/
A lot of complicated information about the Internet. In my opinion, the organization of this site is complicated and a little overwhelming for users.
Website 4: Internet World Stats http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
Adding to the discussion of international accessibility of web sites, this page is useful for web designers looking to better understand an international audience with important statistics.
Website 5: ICANN http://www.icann.org/
The goal of ICANN as described on the "about" portion of the site is to keep the Internet safe.
Week 2
This week, the assigned reading in Creating a Web Site by MacDonald is chapters 3 and 4.
Chapter 3 covers such topics as choosing the correct domain name, registering the name, and getting web space (p. 57-66). This is extremely important and MacDonald makes it clear that choosing the correct name can make or break a business: "if you're starting a new business, try to choose your business name and your domain name at the same time so they match. If you already have a business name, settle on a URL that has an extra word or two...This name may not be as snappy...but it avoids the inevitable confusion of creating a whole new identity" (p. 59). My question about this is what to do if you are trying to use your name as the URL? What if your name is taken? You could always use initials or first initial and last name, but this requires some creativity.
Chapter 4 addresses different types of web page editors and offers a brief introduction about them. I appreciate MacDonald's presentation of free web page editors (p. 86-89) because these things can get really expensive. Ultimately, though, I think that it is worth the money to save the frustration and just get DreamWeaver. I think MacDonald would agree, because that is the program he recommends for its simplicity (p. 90). Here is where MacDonald's chapter 4 becomes really helpful: he offers a step by step presentation about how to begin designing a web page. For web novices like myself, this is very useful instruction.
This week's websites for review are: W3C and W3Schools Online Web Tutorials.
W3C: http://www.w3.org/
The website describes W3C as an "international community that develops standards to ensure the long-term growth of the web" (homepage). If you click on the "Web Design and application" link, there is a lot of information about web design. I am most interested in the two sections "graphics" and "internationalization" because I don't know much about graphics and I am just interested in all of the information architecture required for making a website usable for an international audience.
The "graphics" link notes that the Web is not just about information but also about creative expression. In terms of someone addressing web design from a library and information science perspective, I think this is noteworthy because graphics may be overlooked in this type of information-focused area. However, graphics offer a lot of potential for quick information and are attention grabbing. "Internationalization" focuses on making the web site accessible for multiple audiences worldwide. Interestingly, graphics can be used to increase the international accessibility of websites.
Overall, W3C is a very useful tool for anyone looking into creating a website. There are some great instructional opportunities and links.
The next site for review this week, W3Schools Tutorials:
http://www.w3schools.com/default.asp
This site is amazing because it offers free web design tutorials! This type of resource is truly important for the ever-growing web designer audience. As someone who is trying to become an information professional, I am glad to know that there are so many informative web design opportunities online. I clicked on the "CSS Tutorials" and found it great that they make style sheets so simple through the tutorial and even a quiz. There are also tutorials about changing CSS colors and other important design features. Check this site out if you are interested in learning more!
Chapter 3 covers such topics as choosing the correct domain name, registering the name, and getting web space (p. 57-66). This is extremely important and MacDonald makes it clear that choosing the correct name can make or break a business: "if you're starting a new business, try to choose your business name and your domain name at the same time so they match. If you already have a business name, settle on a URL that has an extra word or two...This name may not be as snappy...but it avoids the inevitable confusion of creating a whole new identity" (p. 59). My question about this is what to do if you are trying to use your name as the URL? What if your name is taken? You could always use initials or first initial and last name, but this requires some creativity.
Chapter 4 addresses different types of web page editors and offers a brief introduction about them. I appreciate MacDonald's presentation of free web page editors (p. 86-89) because these things can get really expensive. Ultimately, though, I think that it is worth the money to save the frustration and just get DreamWeaver. I think MacDonald would agree, because that is the program he recommends for its simplicity (p. 90). Here is where MacDonald's chapter 4 becomes really helpful: he offers a step by step presentation about how to begin designing a web page. For web novices like myself, this is very useful instruction.
This week's websites for review are: W3C and W3Schools Online Web Tutorials.
W3C: http://www.w3.org/
The website describes W3C as an "international community that develops standards to ensure the long-term growth of the web" (homepage). If you click on the "Web Design and application" link, there is a lot of information about web design. I am most interested in the two sections "graphics" and "internationalization" because I don't know much about graphics and I am just interested in all of the information architecture required for making a website usable for an international audience.
The "graphics" link notes that the Web is not just about information but also about creative expression. In terms of someone addressing web design from a library and information science perspective, I think this is noteworthy because graphics may be overlooked in this type of information-focused area. However, graphics offer a lot of potential for quick information and are attention grabbing. "Internationalization" focuses on making the web site accessible for multiple audiences worldwide. Interestingly, graphics can be used to increase the international accessibility of websites.
Overall, W3C is a very useful tool for anyone looking into creating a website. There are some great instructional opportunities and links.
The next site for review this week, W3Schools Tutorials:
http://www.w3schools.com/default.asp
This site is amazing because it offers free web design tutorials! This type of resource is truly important for the ever-growing web designer audience. As someone who is trying to become an information professional, I am glad to know that there are so many informative web design opportunities online. I clicked on the "CSS Tutorials" and found it great that they make style sheets so simple through the tutorial and even a quiz. There are also tutorials about changing CSS colors and other important design features. Check this site out if you are interested in learning more!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Week 1
This is the first week of the course. I am looking forward to learning about web design. I am a little intimidated by it, to be honest, but this week's reading in Creating a Web Site: The Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald helped me feel a little better. The book is written conversationally and explains the essential basics of web design in an easy-to-understand manner. As an undergrad, I designed one web page for a class, but that was a long time ago and I'm not sure I remembered. However, reading MacDonald's text showed me how much I still remember how to do from a class I took as a sophmore (in 2006).
One element I really like so far about Creating a Web Site is the section in each chapter, "Frequently Asked Questions." This section covers important and interesting elements. For example, I like Chapter 2's discussion of "What if I really do want the text "" to appear on my Web page?" (p. 35). I wouldn't have even thought of this question, but I suppose it is a problem someone may face.
Chapter 17 is about Blogging. I have never blogged before. I chose "Blogger" as my blog because MacDonald suggests it in his text! I must admit that blogging really is as easy as he said it would be, "Creating a blog with Blogger is ridiculously easy" (p. 512).
I think MacDonald's conversational tone will be really helpful for me, someone who is not used to Web design.
Hello! Web Design for Libraries Post 1
Hello! My name is Kaitlin and I am a graduate student at USF in Library and Information Science. I am creating this blog as an assignment for one of my courses, Web Design for Libraries. Each week I will review the course readings, assigned websites, and other materials. I am looking forward to this class because I think having web design skills will be very useful to me in my future career as a librarian.
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