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".

What makes a good website in my eyes?...

*When there is a good contrast in color, or size of text, it makes the site a lot easier for my eyes to move around the web page.

*Banner ads that have an option to turn sound on if I would like as opposed to the ones that blurt something out at you as soon as you open the page.

*A site that has a good balance of pictures and text as opposed to a site that has too much of one or the other.

*Informative sites that have good content and are not just rambling about random information or lose course and go off topic.

As I learn HTML and am being taught to create websites, I am learning how to arrange things to make all of the above listed things utilized in my site. Learning code is hard but with every new day of learning it, it becomes easier and comes more easily. Dreamweaver makes things a lot easier when you have more than one page at a time that you are trying to put together. I am excited about learning new things in the program and hopefully this will be something I can utilize in the future if I do go out on my own as a Freelance Graphic Designer. Web Design is a good field to be in if you know what you are doing because everyone thinks they need a website. :)

Starting to feel motivated instead of feeling like I am being dragged by my fingernails!

I am going to be learning more about Final Cut Pro this class (it started last night and tonight is the second night of the class). I am pretty excited about what is to come in this class seeing as this is going to be a film based class and my classmates are all pretty interesting and creative individuals. Our first homework assignment was to write a story about something so that it is described in detail... I used a story that was about myself and realized how much time I dont devote to myself and how much time I spend working solely on work and school. I am starting to feel more motivated to create things for myself and not just do them because I have to for my job or for homework. I am going to start designing anytime I can so I can have some artwork that expresses me and some things about myself... people ask me to see my work all the time and I just recently noticed that the only things I have to show them are my school work. I want to have work that I have done from the heart that I came up with the idea for.... Today is the beginning of a new me as a graphic designer. :) I am pretty excited. I am going to make my new goal to post at least one new piece a week so that I can keep an updated portfolio going at all times. I want to push myself... and I know I can do it.