Week One
Prompt: What do you hope to achieve in this class by the end of the term? Are there special projects or technologies you’d like to see covered by the end of the term? Is there a site (or two) that gives you butterflies in your stomach? What is it?
Response: I hope I can make a pretty and practical website without wanting to tear my hair out.
Inspiring site of the week: ambient sound creator
Week Two
Prompt: What are you planning to do for project 1? What content do you plan to show? How will you make each page unique while maintaining a cohesive design across the project? How will your color palette, imagery, and typography choice complement your subject matter?
Response: I'm planning on doing the 4 different components of taking photos manually. I will be showing examples of how each element works separately through different imagery. Each page will have a simlilar grid structure but will use it in different ways to showcase each component. I will be using muted earth tones and modern san serifs to compliment the aesthetic of the images I will be using for examples of each component.
Inspiring site of the week: play with gravity
Week Three
Prompt: This weeks journal prompt, I want you to clearly imagine one user who'll love to use your Project 1 website. This user could be you, it could be someone similar to you, it could be someone completely opposite from you, it could even be a non-human animal or an alien or an amoeba. You get to choose. Really imagine what they are like in their mind. What do they spend their time on? what are their hobbies, clothes, music, favorite foods, books, tv. what's their personality like. Once you've imagined this person. write about them. just a paragraph, three to five sentences. try to have fun with it.
Response: I personally love my website. Not only is it informative but it has nice design elements and easy navigation to better understand the interworkings of photography and how each setting comes into play with each other. I believe someone who is just starting photography would love this site. They spend a lot of time researching different techniques. Their top google searches would be "how to edit photos like a pro" "best photo locations in Portland, OR" or "how to take awesome street photography pictures". Obviously their hobbies would include photography, maybe fashion, probably technology and lots and lots of researching. Their personality is like me because I'm the person described.
Inspiring site of the week: a tour of the stars
Week Four
Prompt: List 5 things that keep you going when you feel resistance or discomfort
Response:
Inspiring site of the week: find a new favorite song
Week Five
Prompt: No prompt (Homework 5)
Inspiring site of the week: find recipes with ingredients you already have
Week Six
Prompt: Why did you choose the business/cause that you chose? Why do you think your redesign will be better? What area/content will you focus on in your redesign? Look at two other similar websites. What stands out about those sites? What bothers you about them? How will you improve things in your own design?
Response: I chose DB Dessert Company because their website is not the best and could use some TLC. The navigation is pretty bad and the branding of the company isn't connected to their site. I feel like bringing in their branding elements and improving the navigation will help emmensly with their site.
Inspiring site of the week: pretend like you know how to hack while you chill in starbucks
Week Seven
Prompt: Focus on Project 2
Inspiring site of the week: travel while social distancing (srsly tho stay home)
Week Eight
Prompt: Read this article on mobile-first design and share your thoughts on mobile-first vs desktop first.
Response: I think it makes sense to work on mobile layout and code before desktop. There is so much more room to work with on desktop and when you start there, most people just condense the desktop website and stack everything on top of each other. Mobile-first is a good way to create an elegant layout for both versions of the site without a major headache.
Inspiring site of the week: do some alchemy at home
Week Nine
Prompt: Spend some time thinking about why you are pursuing a career in design. Really dig down, do the 7 "whys" tool in the article. OR If that's too challenging right now, consider people in your life or people who've inspired you. Think about what drives them, what their "why" is. Why did they work so hard to do XYZ, was it from past experiences they had, was it because they saw a need they were called to fill? What's their deeper "why?" Ask them if you know them, or look up some biographical information and try to figure it out. Write about either you or your inspiration.
Response: This question scares me. My "why" is an everchanging reason as to why I design. I love art, I'm creative, I want to make a living with my art. Those are the three main "whys" for design. I used to be an architecture major before design because I had absolutely NO idea what I wanted to do. Then last year I shoved 2 years worth of the design program into one and somehow still passed review so that made me feel right at home in the program. This is why I love it. The way I feel like this whole program is a family really makes me genuinely happy with what I'm doing even though at times it can be incredibly frustrating. This term especially made me question things and wonder if it is worth it sometimes but I know it is and I'm excited for my future and my constant change of "why" I do design.
Inspiring site of the week: make a sick beat with minimal effort (flash required)
Week Ten
Prompt: Self evaluation forms
thank you for an awesome term! (even tho it was super stressful for everyone haha)
Inspiring site of the week: and finally... a website that takes you to endless websites