Week 16A

In class, we've finished reviewing and offering criticism to other students who had also created webpages for the class. Afterwards, we had viewed a short presentation on 3D animation, which I am extremely interested in and am thinking to pursue a career in, as it is the main reason why I had chose this major. I was able to talk with this student before the presentation and learn a little more about the programs she had used and what it was like to do animation, as she is definitely more experienced than I was. I've created work in the past, but it was only something that I had done on my free time. I've created simple things, such as a teddy bear and a pair of diamonds.

 After the presentation, we were once again given a brief run-down on what the final exam would be like. A portion of the exam will be based on the presentation that we were given, which i'm prepared for.

Week 15 Outside of Class

Outside of class, I've finished creating my webpage. Overall, i'm very satisfied with the outcome as it was my first successful html webpage that I've created. Not only this, but I was able to add certain elements that were more challenging to add into my page such as a gallery. I believe I've done some unique things with my webpage that not many others had done also, which includes a scrolling element that follows the user. The project itself was pretty interesting, as I was able to create a webpage for a product that I was interested in. Using my knowledge with comics, I was able to create a webpage that I believe had delivered and had a very comic-esque feel to it. With the criticism that I will receive from other students, I will learn how to improve my webpage and overall coding skills for future projects.

Week 15B

In class, I've received criticism from other students as well as my professor. Some of the criticism that I had received was

• Make the gallery more apparent
• Move character on the side into the body of the webpage
• Too much edge tension with the wrapper
• Complete rows in gallery
• Outline around certain elements is unnecessary
• Too many text characters in a line
• Layout of page would be unique if it were similar to a comic

I agree with many of these criticisms, as all of them were an oversight on my part. Taking these into account, I'll be more cautious and keep these in mind when creating future webpages and projects in general. 

We've also went over some of the things that will be on our final exam. We've discussed the format of the test, as well as some of the things we should study and be aware of. 

Week 15A

I've made plenty of progress on my webpage. I have created a gallery section, as well as a "Meet the Team" and "Contact" addition. I've also created thumbnails for each item in the gallery and created cropped images of the team's avatars on instagram. The most difficult part of the creating the webpage so far would be the gallery. Although it was challenging, it was a "must" have for my project. Not only was it aesthetically pleasing, but it would also be a good place to display many of the panels and illustrations that this comic has to offer without overwhelming the user with images and making the page appear to be messy. Meet the team was also very difficult, as it was a little more challenging to keep their avatar icons all in line with each other as well as the text. I have a lot more to do, but i'm very pleased with the progress so far.

Week 14 Outside of Class

Outside of class, I've created graphics that i'll use for my webpage. The first image will be placed on the side of the page and will scroll as the user scrolls. The second image will be placed at the top of my webpage and act as a banner for it. This graphic will pull the user in and make it more interesting overall. Since my subject matter already has plenty of graphics already done for them such as comic panels, issue covers and posters, these graphics allow me to add my own touch and creativity to the webpage. Next, I plan to add many more sections to my webpage such as "Meet the Team" and a "Contact" section, both of which are essential for a webpage.

Week 14B

In class I've decided on the overall look and format that I might use for my webpage. Although I should have decided it earlier, the layout didn't look how I wanted it to as I began to work on it. The color choices and fonts are also much different than my style tiles. Similarly, I began to choose the colors and themes from my tiles and they didn't appear to fit the comic book style. From this point onwards I have a lot of work to add, although I do have it planned out and I know what i'm going to do.

Week 14A

In class, I decided to redo the basic layout of my page. When discussing my webpage with someone, I was told that my webpage followed the layout of those that were created years ago. In other words, it was an old and outdated layout. With this new style, the elements in my webpage will be able to flow more freely and won't be as contained as before. The boxes are temporary until I add text and images. My next step will be to add text to all of my boxes, followed by creating/using the images that I will use for the webpage.

Week 12 Outside of Class

Over the weekend, I came up with two different style tiles for my webpage. Although I enjoy both of these themes, I'm unsure if they reflect the product that i'm supporting. I tried to incorporate a bit of the comic book style with the banner at the top which I think was very successful, but I do need more comic book style elements in it. I believe the biggest change I could make that would accomplish this would be maybe changing the background and giving it a different texture, as they're very smooth and not as stylized like comics and cartoons usually are. Overall, I plan on sticking with either of these color themes and fonts however, but I will do more tweaking to my final page.

Week 12A

In class, we had formed groups and brainstormed different layouts for our webpage together. There were many unique ideas that inspired me to try different things. I wanted to avoid having generic and boring layouts, so I arranged my boxes in a unique way that is still logical and easy to read. I'm leaning more towards the first layout, as it's a little more unique while not having content scattered everywhere. The third is also an option, although i'm unsure if having columns with information inside them would be easy to read. For images, I plan to add the illustrations that the author published. I've also had an interesting idea to add the comic's panels as the background too.
I've given and received different tips on how to improve our webpages, one of them being the possibility of a slideshow. I'll definitely consider adding a slideshow if it's possible, however i'm unsure how to do it and it does seem somewhat complicated. For a webpage based on a comic, i'm also unsure if it's necessary. It's also important to focus on the early stages of this project, as I've been thinking ahead and coming up with different ideas of how the webpage would look. It's crucial that I have the basics finished before working on the style itself.

Week 11 Outside of Class

Outside of class, I've read two PDFs that gave tips and tricks on how to be more proficient at coding in HTML and CSS. Although the final result isn't too aesthetically pleasing, I enjoyed messing around and using different commands that I never knew I could use, such as giving text background color and changing the default spacing between letters. Most of the things in the HTML PDF I've already known from class, but most things in CSS I didn't know how to do before.

I've also done more research on the "Kickstarter" project that I'd like to create a webpage for. The project that I had chosen and decided to research was "Tommy Gun Banshee". In addition to finding information such as the story and team working on the comic, I've also done more background research on the era that the story takes place in. I've found a lot of additional information, although i'm unsure if it needs to be included, such as the budget used to create the comic. Overall, this information sparked many new ideas that I could use for my webpage, and i'm pretty excited to get started on it.

Week 11B

Based on feedback from other students, the kickstarter that I had chosen to create a webpage for was "Tommy Gun Banshee". Although it was not my first choice, it offers more information than the other two projects which would greatly benefit me in creating a webpage. More than the other two comics, "Tommy Gun Banshee" has a strong theme that I could incorporate into my webpage since it was based during a certain time period. To create this webpage, i'll need to do a lot of background research on the 1920s noir aesthetic. It also seems to be the project that most people are interested in in general. My first choice would have been "SpaceCooler" most likely, but unfortunately it did not have as much information as the project other student's voted for, so it would be a little more difficult to create a webpage for it. SpaceCooler only speaks about the plot and provides a few illustrations, but does not provide a lot of additional information aside from that.

Week 11A

For our next project, we must create a basic webpage using HTML and CSS for a kickstarter project. We're allowed to choose any project we wanted to create a page out of, with the only rule being that a website does not already exist for it. Being a fan of comics and graphic novels, the three kickstarter projects that I've chosen were for creators starting their own series that do not currently have websites.
SpaceCooler
The first project that I had chose was "SpaceCooler". Overall, I enjoy the aesthetic and style of the pages that the author had shown in preview images. Following the space theme, I believe I could make a webpage that fits the theme of the comic. I've already came up with different ideas for the style of the page, and it is most likely the project that i'll choose to work with.
Alpha Red
The second project that I chose was "Alpha Red" which is another comic. Similar to "SpaceCooler", it also does not have its own webpage. The illustrations for this comic look amazing, and there are plenty of images shown that give me a good idea of the overall theme of the comic. Using this information, I could create a webpage that is consistent with the theme the artist chose to follow in his comic.
Tommy Gun Banshee
The last comic that I've chosen was "Tommy Gun Banshee". This project would possibly be the most fun to work on. Following the 1920's noir and Irish mob style in this comic, I believe I could create a very mysterious and gritty page. 1920's noir already has a certain style to it, which would make it fun to incorporate into my own project.

Week 10 Outside of Class

Using CSS, I've added color to the background of my page, text, and added shapes to make it a little more interesting. CSS and HTML are both much easier than I had anticipated. When starting out, seeing pages full of code was very overwhelming, when in reality it's somewhat basic. Watching the tutorials and using guides from websites helped immensely. Outside of class, I've also fixed some of my image problems that I've mentioned before in a previous entry. It was a silly mistake, as I didn't include the images in the same folder as my html page. Most of the problems that I had encountered while doing this was from silly mistakes such as these.

Week 10B

In class, we began learning the basics of CSS. After watching a few videos and other tutorials, we were then tasked to add CSS into our HTML vacation page. As of now, i'm very unfamiliar with CSS, and it is my very first time using it. Assuming that it is similar to HTML, it should be rather easy to do. In class, I've gathered a few ideas that would make my page more interesting and add style to it. However, being new to CSS, I don't know how difficult it will be.

Week 10A

In class, we started learning the basics of html. After getting the gist of it, we were tasked to create a basic vacation page using only html. For the assignment, we had to include pictures, along with a description of the place and why we would like to visit. The location that I had chose was "The Great Wall of China", since i'm somewhat fascinated by its history. I've tried two different text editors for the assignment. I've tried Komodo and Sublime, but had decided to use Sublime since I experienced a minor bug with Komodo. Part of my code did not work in Komodo, but when I had copied and put it into Sublime 

IID Conference

The IID Conference was yesterday. Some of the things I did were:

• Place posters and signs
• Greet those who were attending
• Helped setup tables, chairs etc.
• Cleaned up trash, signs/posters after the event

Overall the conference was very insightful and interesting. Although the speakers had followed different paths, their messages were very similar. 

Todd Miller had gave simple but amazing advice, stating that there is no clear path through life. He made it almost certain that we would try many things before understanding what we really wanted from our career. He had also mentioned that only you know what is best for you. Although it is important to listen to others, it is important to remember that you know what is best for you in the end. Similar to other speakers, Todd had mentioned that it is very important to be kind and humble. Others will continue to want to work with you, and many more opportunities will be available to you. 

Phil and Kristine Newswanger were co-presenters with very interesting advice. They had told us to "Forget passion" and to "Pursue curiosity" instead. The reason for this is that it allows us to branch out and gain new experiences. The second piece of advice was to "Keep working at it", as success does not come overnight. They had mentioned that they both had experienced many failures before getting to where they were at today. The third main point was to "Risk Delight". They explained that it's important to change your routine sometimes, as it offers a different perspective on certain things and can spark creativity within us. 

Doug Logan, who was the most interesting presenter in my opinion offered great advice. His presentation was very detailed and informative, offering different graphs and statistics for the points he was making. One very important point he had made was to conduct surveys, as they allow you to know what your customers would want. Doug had designed the new "Zippy Shell" logo. During his involvement with the company, he took many surveys ranging from how many people had heard of the company, to the colors the brand should be. Through these surveys, he had gathered enough information to essentially help build the brand around what customers would have wanted. 

Bri Piccardi had offered similar but great advice as well. The most important in my opinion being, you have to meet people where they're at. This is important to me, as it shows you have to be willing to understand your client and come to a compromise. Every client thinks and works differently, and you have to be willing to work with them to make the task successful. 

  

Week 2A

There is no class today due to labor day.

Week 1 Outside of Class

Earlier this week I've read an article titled "What is product design?" The article discussed the many different roles that certain occupations had, such as data analysts and prototypes. Although I've known about these jobs, there were many more that I wasn't aware of or had a minimal understanding of how crucial their role was in a project. After reading the article, i'm still a little overwhelmed and unsure with what i'd want to do in the future. There are so many positions I believe i'd enjoy doing.
The books that were required for the class have been shipped, although I've only received one yesterday. I'll skim through it this weekend and do more in-depth reading as the class progresses.
 

Week1B

Today in class we covered different types of mobile apps such as utility, lifestyle and gaming apps. We've also been assigned roles to work at the event IID Con. We were tasked to write short bios of ourselves to submit since they would be posted on the website. We were also asked to submit our shirt size, as it is what all of us students would be wearing at the event. Lastly, we were put into groups of two in preparation of a group project. Although we didn't start it immediately, we began with short and silly team activities and a brief team assignment.

Week1A

During our first class session, we had reviewed both the syllabus and completed a student info form. The purpose of the form was to inform our instructor of our strengths, weaknesses, and other information about ourselves. The syllabus covered course objectives, evaluation, guidelines and requirements for the course. Afterwards, we discussed different careers in design.