Week 4

Are there advantages and drawbacks?
I think that there are some great advantages to creating your own website. So long as you have the know how to do it yourself. The most important part is having the specific knowledge and capability of doing it entirely on your own. You are able to apply exactly what you want to share through your webpage. By doing it yourself you are able to personalize it more to fit what you want to convey. It will also be more cost effective as well.
The drawbacks to designing a website yourself would be if you knew aboslutely nothing pertaining to web design. If you had never taken a course on the matter or studied into the business of web design then the website could actually back fire and make your cause look bad. A professional would know exactly what would make or break your website and how to make it excel your business or etc. A professional web developer can take that task from you so your able to spend more time and effort in other area's. After all they do say time is money. A web designer may know more tricks at designing a website such as adding custom layouts. After all they did go to school for it and have much more experience with adding codes to create different types of templates. A non professional may only know how to start using pre-designed templates.

Accessibilty vs Usibility

These are both two different terms but are closely related and integral in forming a top quality website. Accessibility refers to having the capability to accomodate any user who visits your site. Just like accomodating a customer when he or she comes into your business. This would be being able to accomodate the visitor regardless of the type of computer they are using. Wether they have poor hardware capabilities or an old clogged network etc. Your website should be able to accomodate visitors with limitations on their end of the spectrum.

To me usibility is what gives the visitor the feeling of satisfaction. Compared to customer satisfaction at a restaurant. They feel that once they enter your website all their questions are answered and they dont feel confused when navigating the site. Its easy for them to navigate through the site and they dont get lost while they "browse". Without Accessibility, usibility wouldnt matter. Without usibility your site would useless.

Is this always a good thing?
Its a great thing because you can just do it yourself. Its a great benefit for people who run their own business's or just enjoy having that freedom of creativity. However the down side would be the ability for people to cloud the air with misleading information posted on the internet. Such as TMZ or Wikipedia. These websites dont have the correct information and therefore end up causing misinformation being conveyed to the
public.

Photo

This is my dream car

Evaluation: Website 2

The second website I chose was http://www.supercross.com/. I liked this page very much because of the color contrast they used with the black background and the variety color of fonts. The boldness of the headlines for the articles was a good idea. The graphics for the page where nicely chosen to stick with what the page covered which was the sport of Supercross. Everything was aligned which much precision and detail and the links were nicely organized together. Navigating the site was made easy. The web designer made it easy and conveinent for the viewer to find what they are looking for. Wether it was purchasing tickets, vieweing video, photo's or checking out the schedules the links for each were displayed in plain view so I didnt have to search very hard at all.

Evaluation: Website 1

The first website I viewed was caranddriver.com. The graphics on the page were good as far as catching your eyes and grabbing your attention. The colors on the page helped me as a viewer scan the entire site. The font was setting to primarily one size other than the title of the articles and the website itself. The page was easy to navigate and the links where all perfectly aligned to the left with nice attention to detail. Each link was within an outlined border and had font which was easy to read and all one size. The topics where interesting and visual appeal with respect to the pictures were great. Loading time was quick which was nice. I can understand how that would be a negative if someone visits your site and has to wait long periods of time after clicking on links and navigating the site. Everything fit nicely in its own place on the page. The multimedia was great because it had video's to watch. A Very Professional website! Nicely done.

Quiz: pg 154

The first site we were supposed to look did catch your eye. The colors were nicely chosen to compliment the black background. So the page did have a nice contrast in that respect. What I wasnt impressed by was the size of the font which made it messy in terms of the fact that in order to view everything you would have to scroll to see all the links. Everything seemed to be too large and did not fit the page. The links were centered but the font was too large. This goes back to Typography,readibility, and legibility.
The second site I observed was more organized and neat. Everything fit and was the appropriate size as well as the ability to catch the readers eye. The links were easy to use and you didnt have to keep scrolling to make sure you viewed everything and didnt miss anything.

Editing Niagara falls picture

Taking a picture of Niagara falls and what I would do to edit the picture.

1. first I would open the picture of Niagara falls and save one as the original copy and then one that I would use for the web use.
2.Crop them out of the picture.

3. Depending on the size of the picture. I would adjust the size to fit within my website. Smaller/bigger/wider/taller.

4. I would then save the photo within a file type that is best suited for use on the web. Examples being jpg,png, or gif. In this such case I would go with a jpg so if I wish to alter my design options and transperency I am free to do so.

5. Another step I can take would be to adjust the resolution which will also be a reduction in size. This however, will compromise the quality of the photo.

Polling Questions

I didnt find the polling activity hard to do. I found it to be an easy assignment. I found it interesting to see and read other peoples polling questions. I also thought that it was interesting to find out who all agreed or disagreed with the polling question I posted on my blog.

After looking at everyones polls I found one that I liked the most and posed a very good question. The question was wether DSP students should be given an option wether to purchase books through the school or on their own.

Should DSP students be allowed to purchase their own books for a class w/ a reduced cost in tuition?

Typography

Typography is important is having an interesting web page. Typography will help the reader to be interested in reading your page and find it easy rather than a chore to read. This helps to suck a person in and keeps their attention on the given topic.

As someone who reads myself I understand this concept very easily. If I come across a website or blog where the font is either small or in a font which uses alot of squigly lines and embellishments with their letters it tends to hurt my eyes and I dont want to read it. Reading should be not a struggle but something that is easy and flows without giving the reader a headache.

Readibility

Readibility involves the manipulation and handling of the print or "type" that is being viewed. Readibility is when the reader is able to end with a line of text and pick up with the correct line. Its about how easy it is for someone to read and the ability to get a person want to or be interested in reading it.

Legibility

Legibility involves the type of font a person chooses to use in their writing. The type of font may seem like a minor detail but its a big factor. Legibility refers to how easily one letter can be distinguished from another. Take for example Sans serif fonts. Font without serifs and the horizontal embellishments at the tops and bottoms of the letters are considered more legible and are commonly used for headlines and internet or computer use.

Quiz 1

1, The web would be my choice of avenue to get the annual report to each stockholder. Using the web makes it more cost effective for me as well as time efficient.

2, I would utilize the web. There is no telling how many ad agencies there are. I would save on postage and alot of printing of brochures if I were to just send out my web address.

3. Web. I am a software company so technology is at my fingertips. Im sure there are alot of customers so the web would be the fastest and easiest way.

4. Some of my clients may not have the internet. So I would go with print.

5. The web seems to be the best of option. My readers have responded to me that the print version is not longer something that is easy for them to read. There are more cons with the print version than there would be using the web.

6. Web would be the best option. Giving out a web address so people can come see my work for themselves if they want.

Web as to Print

Web publishing is significantly less expensive than print. So therefore the freedom for design is greater for web use than print. Color for print is far more complicated along with being less efficient than on the web. In addition the use of color is more expensive in the process of print design. On the web color is used at no extra charge along with there being a wider variety of colors which dont exist for printed pages. Making changes,revisions and updates are quicker and a lot easier using the web versus print. The distribution of printed material is very costly as far as money and time are concerned. With the web it is much simpler to distribute due to cross-marketing through other sites. Another obsticle with print media is the ability to reach customers. More and more these days accessing the web and web based media is far more accessable than print forms.

Things you need to know....

Graphic design is considered a key element within the world of media whether it is in print or on the web. The acronym for CRAP(Alignment,proximity,repetition,and contrast) is the basis for all design pieces. Graphic design is utilitzed in many businesses expecially among grocery stores and their advertising they use to help increase sales.