Developing a web site

Here is the foundation of my web site design. With the colors, I went for warm greens, yellows and browns to get a desert-y feel, the wireframes are an update of the existing page setup to look more modern but be recognizable to repeat customers.
wireframes

design brief

color palette

Where am I? What day is it? Who are you? Who am I?

Blogging, I get. Writing is definitely in my wheelhouse and the Blogger site is design to be as intuitive as possible when it comes to formatting my blog.

Web design, however, is another story.

I feel like I've been thrown in the deep end, handed a cinder block, and told to swim. I don't understand the lingo of web design and I can't even ask a question because I don't have the words. Also, my vision outstrips my ability. It is frustrating to have an idea for a website and not be able to make it happen even slightly.

I know a little bit more than I did before class began but I feel as though a lot of the class goes over my head. Hopefully I'll be able to scrape through and learn some useful stuff.

Fingers crossed!

Good Website, Bad Website

In my opinion, the definition of a 'good' website is fluid. There are many good websites and they are not all identical.

For instance buyhandmade.org is a great website. The buy handmade pledge is simple and so is the site. By keeping the page clean and neatly organized the group makes it as easy to take their pledge and see others who have taken the pledge. Also the mostly black on white color scheme is easy to look at.

While the website is simple, it is also recognizable. The unique font and graphics look handmade and give the website a signature look.

By being simple without being boring, the Buy Handmade Pledge website gets my vote for 'good' site.

The definition of a bad website, is similarly difficult to pin down. Take the amendthecpsia.com site. While it talks about an important issue, the website looks dry and boring and is difficult to navigate. While the site works, I think it is 'bad' because I want to leave it as soon as I get there.

In addition to the bad color scheme, the home page is very text-heavy. This requires the visitor to read through a lot of article titles that all look the same to find information. This might be acceptable if the visitor is familiar with the CPSIA, but (in contrast with the Buy Handmade Pledge site) for people who are new to the issue there is no way of knowing where to start or which articles will introduce you to the topic.

For a website that advocates an issue that is important to the creative community, this website is as dry and hard to navigate as a Walmart parking lot in August.

Baby's First Blog

Yes, believe it or not, I have never blogged. I've opened an etsy store, I have a facebook profile, I was on myspace back when it was cool, but I never got on the bloggin' wagon.

Where have I been?

I graduated from UC Davis in 2008 with a B.A. in English which I did not find helpful in a job search. After a year and a half of selling shoes I decided to return to school at SCC to get my degree in Graphic Communication.

I am trying to finish this degree as quickly as I possibly can so right now I am taking 5 GCOM classes. Even though they have just begun I am already neck deep in work. It's crazy, but I love the creativity.

I work on a creative project every day of my life. Whether it's GCOM homework, knitting, spinning yarn, or drawing I always keep the creative juices flowing.

Oh, and I have a wiener dog named Ziggy.

He is brave...-ish.

That's all for now!