Jobs on the horizen?

So the last blog post I'm doing to for my web design class is.... JOBS! The all important money making thing you need to survive in this world. So from the AIGA 2010 post, wed designers for this mid-west area is around $40,000. Now that would be amazing starting out, but there's no guarantee that that is what you would get as an entry level web designer. You're probably looking at needing a decent amount of experience, plus some more experience in graphic design as well. The more you know, the better you look to companies in this area. Basically if you can be a graphic designer, web designer, art director, photographer, IT guy, marketing director, and you can make an amazing cup of coffee, you can get a job here. Some places we could look for jobs, but I won't guarantee they're hiring is Kitch and Schreiber, DBD, and...possible some others, but I'm not having much luck with google. Point to, I guess, remember is...this area is not optimal for a designers job market.

Double D, U, and A on the Web!

Yeah! That's a much better title. To explain it, it's defining design, usability, and accessibility on the web. So, taking a look at some of the title, how can we define design when it comes to the web. Web design is unlike most of the other designing areas we may be used to. Most of what we here is from people who don't really understand web design. Designing for the web is designing for simplicity, for specific users, for a purposes without confusing it as advertising or graphic design. When you design for the web, your website should serve it's purpose without becoming a TV add or purely a Flash animation. This also flows into usability. I said earlier web design should be simple, and a websites navigation is probably at it's core the more simple, yet most overlooked aspect of at website. The navigation links are how you move around the site, how a user who visits for the first time finds their way from your home page, to the information that they are really seeking. The navigation of a website should be in the front of your mind the entire time you're designing the website. The navigation should be usable, and it should change to let the user know where they are, where they can go, and should help them get back to there they came from. Finally we come to the accessibility of the web. There is now a program that allows blind people to use the internet. They type in a website, and mouse over the words or links, and a computerized voice will tell them what they are mousing over, and if it is a link or not. Even with this new technology, the website itself has to be set up for this. If it is not, the moused over links will be a jumble of code when the voice reads it off. So the web has gone from something only nerds use, to being something accessible for literally almost any person, regardless of a presumed disability. For those of you thinking of getting into web design, or are interested in learning more about it go to the website www.alistapart.com and read their articles. It'll not only help you become a better web designer, but it'll make for a better web for all of us.

To tutorial or not to tutorial...

So for today's blog assignment I was to view at least 3 out of 27 possible tutorials for creating a website moch-up  via Photoshop. If any reader would like to see those tutorials / do one you can by clicking on the link provided at the end of the blog post. Well I did three tutorials, I didn't actually physically do them, but I went through them. After having done the tutorials, there's one thing I can say for certain, and that is I must download some splatter brushes for Photoshop. Two of the tutorials I viewed used the splatter brushes they downloaded to make two of the graphics I thought where very cool. Beyond that, the tutorials where fairly standard with information. One that I did in particular was very detailed, showing screen shots from Photoshop as well as showing icons for the tools they're actually using in Photoshop. The other tutorials where not as detailed, you could probably stumble through them and make a moch-up website that looks sorta like what they had, but it would have your own touch whether or not you wanted it to or not. After having said there is a lack of detail in some, they're still worth checking out because you may pick up something you didn't know from them... like download-able splatter brushes for instance. Overall definitely worth checking out if this is something that interest you.

The site development process and what my role is in it.

Boring title I know, but it's not mine, it's the one I was given to use, so there ya go. So the web design process is an interesting and, it can be, varied one. It goes through several different channels, and in my opinion, should have at least a few different people involved in the process. From the art director, the information architect, and the content specialist there are many, many jobs available in the process of making a web site. For me however, I think I would like to be more involved in either the graphic part of it, designing / doing the layout of what people see, or doing the coding, and the background work that is what makes the site work. I have an interest in the designing aspect of it because, well, I'm in graphic design, so it falls along those lines for me. I like the coding because I think there's definitely more of a future in jobs for me if I have more skills in that area. Either or, I think I'll be involved in a web design process at some point in my career, regardless of what fancy title I'm given.

Aw the interwebs....yes...the interwebs.

So this second post for my Web design class is over the history of the interwebs...or internet as I'm told it's supposed to be called. The internet as we know it has had many many face lifts, but at its core it is the same as it was back in the 60s. The idea of the internet was first conceived by the government, and also probably several geeks in many different basements. The first internet incarnation was for the military to get communication back and forth quickly, and without using the phone...directly. The internet has since gone from a military communication service to a service provided my many different companies to many different people for many different reasons. For some, the internet is for work, for others it's for play. Through many transformations we as a people are able to share information faster than ever before. The internet browser is usually the means in which we do this. The internet browsers has undergone as many face lifts as some may think. The basic idea has been around since the 70s/80s, but now there are several different ones one can use. The most popular being Internet explorer (I don't like that one) and Mozilla Firefox (I like this one) along with other less popular ones like Safari, and Opera. AOL used to have one, but lets be honest, how many of us where happy to see that go...amirite? These browsers allow us to see the internet by doing a lot of asking around. The Wed address we type in, like Facebook.com or Twitter.com gets put into question form, and sent out as a request by the browser, after adding some fancy http:// stuff to it, and ask for the information from a remote server. This remote server then sends the requested information back to us, and we see the pretty pictures and text of the website on our desktops and laptops. So to conclude, the internet in it's current form really isn't such a new idea, nor was it actually made by Al Gore. The browser helps us see all that there is to be seen on the internet by asking special permission from those far away servers, and bringing it into our homes. Aw the interwebs..yes, the interwebs!

So, the offical "first post..."....thing, for the Web Design class!

So I'll need a few goals for the class, as many people do for most things in life. Goals seem to be one of those things you set when you wanna succeed... so there ya go. Seeing as I am currently a Graphic Design major, my first goal, and thus first focus, will be on the visual aspects of a web page. That being said, I do still have the desire to focus else where when it comes to Web Design. Cleaning up a page, putting in pretty pictures and the like are all fine, and I intend to do that, but I also want to be able to do the other parts that go into making a web page. Especially since the industry as a whole, and the world at large it seems, is taking a giant leap towards a web based world. Even e-mail, in some cases, is starting to go the way of snail main in that we have so many other mediums in which we can get information these days. But going back to goals here, I have always had a knack for doing a decent layout, so having the information flow, and the interface easy to use, should be another aspect I'll find enjoyable. As far as something to work on, I'll have to really focus in on the HTML and coding type stuff, as I have never done that before. So there are some goals and ideas I currently have about the class. Until the next assignment, or I just feel squirrely and wanna post...

First of many...

This will be a Thread in my blog for my Web Design class I am taking this semester. You will more than likely see ramblings...and ..stuff.. for you to enjoy...if you will. Also, to the current followers I have on here... I just re-used the blog I had open for another class....the reason I did not create a new one for the new class... I didn't want to give Google my phone number...sorry mates.