Local available web design jobs

It turns out that there are quite a few jobs for web designing available locally. If potential employees are willing to apply for a job that doesn’t have the title “web designer”, there are a number of positions up for grab in the web world.  There are many different roles that one can play in the process of designing a webpage. Not all of them carry that infamous title of “web designer” but they are just as important in the hard work they are expected to bring to the development of the website. Web design is not necessarily a “one man” job, it is something that can be divvied up amongst a team of multiple design professionals. That way each person can add something to the design because everyone has a different perspective on the same situations. So, if one is looking for a local job that is involved with web design…try to journey from that specific title.  There are many titles that don’t have the word “web” in them but they are just as involved in their work requirements. For example, here are some titles that lack “web design” in their official title, but not in their job description: producer; writer or copywriter; editor or copyeditor; information architect; product or program manager; graphic designer; layout artist; and digital developer.

SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization, increases a sites’ capability of being found by a larger amount of search engines. SEO helps bring the site up earlier, faster, and more often than other results that were created without it. SEO is a great tool to use for the profit business owners that want to make an impact before their competition does. 

design, usability, and accessibility on the web

More goes into web design that most people expect. I know I was blown away when I realized just how much is to be considered when attempting to design and create a functional web page. There are three major points that need to be present to have succeeded in delivering the viewer with a top notch website. First is design. Design is the visual aspect of a webpage…it is what intrigues the viewer’s eyes and creates curiosity to explore. As Jeffrey Zeldman explains in his article, “web design is the creation of digital environments that facilitate and encourage human activity; reflect or adapt to individual voices and content; and change gracefully over time while always retaining their identity”. The second is usability. Usability is the part a web page that makes that exploration possible and less confusing for the explorer. It serves as a map for the viewer and points them in the directions of present, past, and future. Dereck Powazek states in one of his articles over web design, “navigation also has three parts, which are used to communicate to the user about their past, present, and future. Any good global navigation scheme should, at a glance, answer the top three questions every user has at the back of their mind on any page: where am I (Present); where can I go (Future); and where have I been (Past)”. The third element of web design is accessibility. Accessibility is what aids the viewer and whatever needs they have for the website. All three things must be, but very seldom are, present to succeed in creating a well thought out webpage. 

Tutorial critques

I was pretty pleased with the tutorial “Design a Hand Drawn Style Website in Photoshop” because the designer was really detailed. They included exact pictures of each step so the person following their steps would feel like they were on the same page and wouldn’t get lost. However, there were a few times when they said “I will do...” or “I did…” without even telling you how they did it. The tutorial “Stylish WebStudio Web Layout” was, in my opinion, a dud. It was off to a good start at first but then it just…ended. I’m not really sure how it happened…but it got about halfway through the design and then ended. Overall, I wasn’t very impressed with it. The last tutorial I went through was the “Online Photo Portfolio”…and it definitely left something to be desired. For the most part, I already know how to do everything they included in their instructions. I was expecting them to tell me how to create the majority of the design, but they just left me hanging.  I got overly excited about learning how to create a fun, clean, and appealing portfolio such as the one that was provided, but I didn’t. I was disappointed. I think they were all helpful in that what they did explain and demonstrate they did so with great detail…but I still feel they could have included more to help the follower feel like they accomplished something more.

Site Development Process-My role in it

Just like solving any algebra problem, there is a process you have to go through. This is similar to the process of web development. Fist, you need to make sure you have all the means for creating what the client is expecting of you, whether you obtain it from them or create it yourself. Then, you need to develop a rough design that summarizes what you are planning to create. Next comes a few varying sketches of different ideas you may have which will be presented to the client and taken onto further editing. From there you will produce a working prototype which will be tested for basic quality check and environment and user testing. Once that is all completed the site will be launched and maintained. If I was a part of a web design team I believe I would want to be a Photographer or Art Director because I feel those positions would enable my stronger skills. I have a dream of owning my own studio someday and I love taking and creating good photographs. That would be the best position for me as far as web design is concerned because I have a lot more experience with a camera than I do a computer or the internet. However, if I had to choose something else, I would say I could be an Art Director. They are in charge of, more or less, editing what is already designed…or, in some cases, combining multiple designs.  

History of the Internet

Internet has come a long way since the 1950’s. It’s evolved from a four computer connection (here in the U.S.A.), formerly known as ARPANET, to the instant global communication amongst billions upon billions of computers. Now, the internet was not initially designed so we could chat with our friends on Facebook. Although that is a perk, the internet had a more vital purpose in America’s life. “The Internet was designed in part to provide a communications network that would work even if some of the sites were destroyed by nuclear attack” (http://www.walthowe.com/navnet/history.html). Not everyone had access to the internet like today. It was used by people in professions such as: engineers, scientists, and librarians. In the late 1960’s libraries started tapping into the many resources the internet had to offer by networking their catalogs. In 1972 Ray Tomlinson adapted a new method of communication, Electronic mail (aka E-mail) which opened up possibilities to many other people in the nation. “As the commands for e-mail, FTP, and telnet were standardized, it became a lot easier for non-technical people to learn to use the nets” (http://www.walthowe.com/navnet/history.html). Universities from all over the country started taking advantage of the internet by means of communication and the sharing of files. The Internet has come a long way in over 50 years, and will continue to grow year by year.

Web Design 1-Goals for this class

I was actually pretty excited about signing up for this class. I don’t know a lot about the internet and I am eager to claim my place on the World Wide Web and “get my name out there”. I would very much like to own and run my own studio someday, and I have learned that the best way to get business to come to you is for them to have easy access to your services. I hope to gain a well-rounded knowledge of how to design and create a website that best represents my talents and aspirations with photography. I am really looking forward to ending the semester with a web design background that I can later use to benefit me as a photographer. I am apprehensive about putting my work up on the internet mainly due to that none of your information is safe. I know that is a risk that comes with promoting a business, but I get a little nervy when considering the possible costs and spamming that could be involved. I have heard that space on the internet can be a bit pricey and it requires a lot of invested time and money to keep it “up to date”, but, overall, I am still looking forward to the possibilities this class can, and most likely will, open up to me.

Downtown Excursion

I took a trip downtown to take pictures of the beautiful old Victorian houses. I love the fine detail that went into each house. No two houses are alike. I feel the same way about photographs. Each picture has a certain personality and style that makes it unique. I edited these pictures to look old fashioned and aged.

Blvd

Black Balcony

Front Yard

Horse Head

Opened Window

Streets

Jack & Jill

This was the final project in my Fundamentals of Design class. In this project we were provided the only images we were allowed to use and from that we were to illustrate the well-known nursery rhyme "Jack & Jill" using those images and font. The goal was to incorporate the rhyme itself into the picture and make the words play important roles in the image. I loved playing with the font and I tried to create a flow of rhythm by using repetition in fonts and colors on specific rhyming words.

 

Cubes

This was the first project in my Fundamentals of Design class. The goal of the project, using the Adobe software Illustrator, was to define the words given to us in a design consisting of only cubes. We had to make a black and white, grayscale, and color schemed version of each word. I tried to keep my designs simple so as not to confuse any two compositions.