Decisions-Decisions

So when you work full-time (mon -fri 8-5) then go to school Mon Tues and Thurs night (6p-10p) and play in a softball league wednesday nights and soccer league Fri and sat night... when do you find time to do work for your personal business. My classmate/coworker/business partner Zack and I have started getting work offers lately and it sucks because we cant find time to do them in the time frame people need them done in. I dont know if I should give up my sports and do this work and have absolutely no "FUN TIME" for myself.... or just wait till I graduate in May to accept any offers on work. At least then i will have time when i get out of my daytime job to work on it at night because i will no longer have school at night. I feel like if I give up my sports (which are my only relief during the week) right now I may just lose my mind working all the time. Its crunch time though and I need to make a decision, I really dont wanna let these customers go by but then again I dont think it is healthy to be all work no play either.

How an injury can affect your job? :)

So...To make a long story short I had to get a spot on my arm cut open last night at the hospital. As I was laying there waiting for the woman to come in with the tools and start carving into my arm I had time to think. What if I would've waited even longer to get this done? What if it got so bad that they had to amputate? How would I work as a graphic designer, after going to school for this long, with only one arm to use while manoeuvring around the computer. I stopped to think about the project I did last class on accessibility and realised how truly lucky I am. I give them props for being able to (despite their disabilities) still find a way of using computers, and getting around other difficult challenges in life that they have to face. I sat and thought about how much I would have to adjust if I did have to lose one arm one day. I just wanted to get this out there that sometimes those of us without disabilities take A LOT for granted.

So I am blogging about professionalism today

Sometimes younger graphic designers have the mind set that they can wear whatever they want because they are behind a computer screen. Truth is it all depends on what kind of clientele you are looking to do work for. The more professional you look the better chance you have of working with "BUSINESS" people. Someone that owns a lawfirm is a lot more likely to hire a designer that comes in a suit and tie that has a so so portfolio then a person in street clothes that has a good portfolio. Most people unfortunately do go by first impressions. Sometimes the chance to make a second impression doesn't come along. If you want to stick to working with family and freinds and tattoo shops etc. then sure where whatever you want, but if you look forward to making good money in the feild one day, you might want to think about your wardrobe when going into an interview.

Another thing that goes along with professionalism is language and attitude. People in the business world do not want someone with a bad attitude that swears like a sailor. They want someone who gets along with others in the workplace, doesnt bring or start drama, and knows what it means to speak to people in a "professional" manner.

Web Design PART 2

Today was the second day of our new class, for the projects we are to write up a Proposal, Contract, and Creative Brief. I have always known that I needed to do these things but never actually had to do them. I looked up the samples online and adjusted it to meet my project. As I read through them and made the changes that needed to be made, I realized how many things are involved in the creation of a website that need to be accounted for when charging someone for the work. Also the contract made me realize all the different angles that needed to be covered when dealing with someone on something regarding money for work. We discussed third parties being brought in and how it has to be agreed on between both parties before it is allowed. There are a lot of things that I have already learned in the two days of class that we have had already. I look forward to the upcoming projects and am excited/nervous because this is my last class before I graduate. Hope I can learn all this in 8 weeks. :)

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