Web Design half way point....

So my finals for the first part of my Web Design class are this Thursday night and I am finishing up my last projects. I have to admit that when I came into this class I was excited for all of maybe two weeks. Unfortunately I started to lack motivation in the middle because I started feeling like "This isn't graphic design, this is just typing a bunch of words into a code that makes it show up on the web. I want to do 'Design'." Now that it is the end I am wishing I would not have given up on web design and tried to incorporate both of them together rather than not giving web a chance. Now that I am nearing the final days of the first web class I am starting to get my motivation back and I am hoping that I develop a love for it before the second portion is over.

Web truly is where the money is with developing sites for all aspects of life. People want personal sites, business sites, and some just want to be part of a organized social networking site and want there page on that site to be pretty and you add a "cool" css style sheet to it. I had a project on accessibility this class and until I looked into the research of it I didn't even think about how many people have to find some other method to use for browsing the web. It was amazing to me that there are things we "as web designers" can do to better assist people with disabilities in web browsing. I am glad that I am getting my motivation back and I am looking forward to learning more about web in the second portion of this class.

What you need to know about behavioral CSS

This web page (listed below) talks about different CSS behaviors that people should know the use of. It explains about transformations, transitions, and animation. Some of the topics include CSS transformations such as transform() - Rotate, scale, and translate and how to chain the transformations together. It proceeds into the Transition and Animation, all being very informative and educational for people who have some experience in HTML and CSS and want to follow along and try it out themselves. If you are someone who would like to view the site and learn more about the ways to use these behavioral CSS steps just put the following link in your browser.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/12/19/what-you-need-to-know-about-behavioral-css/

How to create a cool anaglyphic text effect with css...

This site shows how you can use offsetting of the red, green, and blue channels, you can create a 3D image known as a anaglyph. The site has a demo to show you an example of how to do this effect when writing your css and html. This is a neat effect and can add something little yet creative to your site. (if it is some kind of a topic that allows the use of it of course) If this is a business related site for lawyers this site probably would be a waste of your time but if you are designing a retro style site or maybe something cute or cartoonish then this is something quick you could look over as a touch of extra style. : )

http://line25.com/tutorials/how-to-create-a-cool-anaglyphic-text-effect-with-css

Soma FontFriend

"FontFriend is a bookmarklet for typographically obsessed web designers." (see website)

This website has a video to help you see how it is used and what it does. It also has a paragraph about how to use it and has a note about compatibility. If you would like to be able to see what a font is in a site right in the browser without editing codes... check out this site and watch the video attached. It is pretty interesting and is another cool way of making a designers life a little easier.

http://somadesign.ca/projects/fontfriend/

Font face browser and tutorial...

"Increasing support of the CSS3 @font-face allows us to load a font onto our servers, link to and name that font in our CSS, and then use that font we’ve imported as if it were a native font in the client’s environment."(see website)

This makes it possible for us to install a font and not be limited to what fonts a user has installed on their computer. Now if you have the legal right to post the font, you can post whatever unique font you would like into your website and not worry about the users defaults. You can check out the website below to see the browser support for @font-face and see comments people have left on the post. This is actually a really great article because this is something that makes designers lives just another little step easier. Even if it is just using a different font choice in a website.

http://www.evotech.net/blog/2010/01/font-face-browser-support-tutorial/

CSS Beauty

Now that I am in web design I have been trying to look up sites that have more information about html, css, or web design in general. CSS Beauty is a site that I came across and there are daily updates of the newest articles on everything to do with web. The tabs at the top have the "gallery" which shows pictures of the latest entries, "skill/share" which shows all the discussions and such that people have given their opinion and input on. The "shuffle" tab has possible themes you could use for your layouts. There is a place to submit a site as well if you have designed some of your own. It says new, jobs, community under the title so i looked a little further into it and there is even a CSSmonster link for job stuff as well. This is a pretty neat site and I am glad I came across it. Just wanted to share with fellow classmates/followers of my blog so they can look into it if they would like to learn more about web design.

Another Day Another Thought...the importance of a thorough portfolio

Sometimes I wonder if Graphic Design is really the field I want to be in because I see so many "freelance graphic designers" out there that are not making any money. Right when I feel like second guessing myself I turn around and see how much people are making to design logos for companies, or tee shirts for professional sports teams and their advertisements. I realize that it truly depends on how serious you are and how hard you push yourself. The more you do do better your knowledge in this field the more you can put in your portfolio. You can put every piece that you feel is "neat", or "has emotion in it", or you just "like the colors in", in your portfolio. Then you can use it to show your future employer your skills and thought processes involved in your work.

I see some of the portfolios that fellow classmates have had and I see how important it is to maintain an up to date portfolio and show a little bit of everything so they know what all you are capable of. When I first started my associates degree I kept everything and was so excited about the stuff I had done. I have let that excitement factor slip away though throughout my degree, and now as I near my graduation date I am realizing that I really need to get more heart in my portfolio instead of just class assignments. That way a future employer can see "my style".