Web Design Student
Millikin University

Douglas Land

Learning Review

Welcome to the Learning Review section of my Web Design Portfolio! Below, you can read about my thoughts on what I have learned over the course of the past semester with my experiences in Dr. Brooks' Web Design course. I understand that this could be lengthy discussion, so please read at your leisure. Thanks!

User Knowledge

In terms of user knowledge, I do believe that this course has been very enlightening to such an aspect. The syllabus defines the goal of user knowledge as the "use of technology to access, create and present information." I believe that my user knowledge has expanded in a variety of different channels. To begin with the basics, I had to quickly become comfortable with the Macintosh system in terms of accessing both Dreamweaver, documents, files, and various web browsers. I was very intimidated by the Macintosh system before coming into this course, and I will admit that this was semester has been my first hands-on experience with the system. Since the begining of the course, however, I have grown quite accustomed to the Macintosh interface. I am not saying that I am partial to it, however, as I am a PC man through and through. In fact, I have Dreamweaver for my own PC which has in turn made doing web site work much more convient for myself since I am already very familiar with PCs. In having to work with both systems, however, I have learned much in terms of file compatitbility and software differences. Dreamweaver is a bit different in its layout on the Macintosh system then it appears on the PC. I must say that I am definitely partial to working with the PC version of Dreamweaver personally, though not everyone has had such a luxury in being able to use Dreamweaver on PCs. Some of the other students may simply have an upper hand in terms of Macintosh user knowledge due to having to work on such web projects in the Mac Lab, but I do believe that I have at least become comfortable enough to work at a pace that is not hindered by my inexperience with the Macintosh system.

The Dreamweaver software itself has been both difficult and rewarding. I struggled with getting used to the Dreamweaver interface, as I was only previously familiar with Microsoft Frontpage. The coding aspect of Dreamweaver was very scary to me at first, but I have since at least become used to looking at it and understanding just enough to make minor changes that I could not make in the Design mode. I am basically a design oriented person, and am still rather leary about dealing with any form of code. This may have also been why I found CSS to be so difficult to learn and adapt to. I have also learned how one's web work may not appear as it should in some web browsers as opposed to others. I have experienced several conflicts in viewing my work in both of the major browsers, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. It is almost a helpless feeling in knowing that one's work may appear fine in one browser and yet still look discombabulated in another despite one's best efforts to fix such an issue. In an attempt to correct one's work for one browser, this may just as well mess it up in the browser it had originally appeared correctly in. This has truly been an experience of trial and error, and I do not possess the knowledge of coding necessary to resolve such an issue. Overall, I believe that I have learned much in both becoming comfortable with the Macintosh system as well as the Dreamweaver software. I may not be an expert by any means, but I do feel as though I have learned enough over the course of the semester where I can work at a decent pace and produce an equally decent product.

Design Knowledge

Throughout this course, I have learned much in the ways of what site designs work and what ones do not. For example, I had great ambitions off the bat to make a really flashy homepage for my personal site. I quickly learned that my inexperience with Dreamweaver combined with my choice in color made for a site disaster. The page did not look at all like the one I pictured in my head. I learned that I needed to find a simply design that would work for my skill level and apply such design concepts to my other site projects as well. As time went on, I expanded on my simple design concepts. For example, my bookmarks page used a very simple layout to get the point across. I did not really know how to use tables or CSS at the time, and thus was forced to use a simple design. I think the haiku website was probably the first project to really challenge one's own idea of site design. We ended up with a very spacious and simplistic layout that presented its information in a fairly clean manner. This project also called for a design that was relevant of the haiku nature, and I believe that we achieved that. As the class progressed with more web projects throughout the semester, it was clear that everyone almost seemed to have a preference toward various layouts. For example, I grew quite fond of the layout of my individual site project. I love the vibrant colors, the navigation bars on both the top and bottom of the page for ease of use, the signoff, and other such features. I feel that I have learned much from observing the projects of other students, as well as the designs of professional sites. Through such observations, I made my own adaptions of various design elements and incorporated them throughout my various site projects. Overall, I believe that my design knowledge has grown to a great degree along with my growing experience with Dreamweaver over the course of the semester.

Project Development Knowledge

In having worked on two major client cases this past semester, I believe that such projects were both valuable experiences in coordinating the design process and communication among a team of fellow designers. The haiku client case was a great experience for me, as I was subject to a partnership rather than an entire team of designers. It was much easier to coordinate meeting times and the design process with just the two of us. I think we worked really well together to produce a decent product for the client. The political campaign project was much more complex due to the client's expectations and requests. The bigger team of designers also brought an entirely different dynamic to the table. Unlike a partnership, it became more difficult to get all team members to meet at one time and place as well as coordinate the overall design process. This particular project was a massive effort, however, that called for each member to take on a certain role within the group that include a content researcher, a task leader, site maintenance, and other such roles. The site project also required various group members to contact outside sources for information that they could not otherwise find online. This was not so difficult with the haiku client case, as the client readily available and willing to help in whatever way they could. Some clients may not be so readily available, and a team must then take it upon themselves to provide the missing content. The political client case really caused us to have to adapt on the fly, and this was a great learning experience that differed very much so from the haiku client case. All in all, I love working in teams and I think that both teams that I was a part of pulled through on each of the projects. These experiences asked me to step outside of my own expectations of design and content in order to acknowledge such factors as the expectations of other group members as well as the time restrictions that we faced in completing both of these projects.

Tutoring Knowledge

This is the one area of knowledge that I feel I am truly lacking in. I have not really had the ability to really tutor anyone beyond perhaps my interactions with team members during group projects. I have been a very slow learner with Dreamweaver, and honestly did not really become comfortable with it up until the political client case. I will say, however, that I feel that I have learned how to better navigate Dreamweaver thanks to Rob. I learned much from watching him work with Dreamweaver during the haiku client case project. When I often did not know how to fix a particular web issue, Rob usually knew how to resolve it pretty quickly. I do regret not being able to really be of much assistance in this area to my fellow classmates.

Hands On Training Tutorial Responses

Client Case Plans

User Interaction Analysis of Campaign 2008/Political Science Dept. Site

In approaching the various personality types of the Lion, the Beaver, the Otter, and the Golden Retriever; there is much to take into consideration. I believe that we are most definitely going to appeal to the Lions with our simplistic layout that is easily navigable for one to find their content almost instantly. For example, our candidates' pages will be designed in a way where one can simply click their name at the top and the page should jump to the anchor placed by the desired candidates' name and picture. This page should also appeal to the Lions in the fact that most of the bios will be short and concise, perhaps no bigger than the candidates' picture as a rule of thumb.

I believe our site will also appeal to the Beavers, as our simplistic layout will also be structured and organized by subject and party lines. If one is seeking information on a particular candidate from a particular party, one should easily be able to identify which place on the page that will associate with the candidate's desired party (i.e. a red column for the Republicans, a blue column for the Democrats, etc.). This sense of coloration as well as the incorporation of our site's banner should also appeal to the Otter, since it should be a change from the drab style elements of other political sites. We will also be incorporating the conveniences of a ballot form, information from voter registrars, and locations where votes can be cast when the time draws near for the elections. This should definitely appeal back to the Lion who should have easy access to this information at their finger tips.

Also, the localized election information can be tailored in such a way to express how users like the Golden Retriever will make a difference by actually stepping out into their local community and casting their vote. We are also looking at incorporating political blogs, or potentially outsourcing to other major political blog sites in which users such as the Otter can browse to in order to get a feel for what other users have to say about the elections or other relevant political issues. The ability to view other user's opinions and the ability for users like the Golden Retriever to put up their own opinions provides a very personable opportunity for such users. These are but a few ideas that we have come up with in the design process of tailoring to such different personality types.

Chapter 10

I am fascinated by the fact that one would use their refrigerator to surf the web during breakfast and such. I am also intrigued in the way Dreamweaver attempts to make an effort at adapting one's page to be viewed on several different forms of technology ranging from Palm Pilots to one's fridge. Though this chapter was quite short, it did open my eyes to the difficulty that goes into adapting one's site to a variety technological channels. This chapter also shows how CSS really shines in providing the basis of such adaptions. This element of adaptation may definitely be a good example of something that the layering process from Chapter 9 would be limited in providing. Overall, this chapter served its purpose as more of an informational resource in technological adaption as opposed to the book's usual purpose in providing hands-on experience with the issue.

Chapter 9

I actually enjoyed learning the layer process of developing a website via Dreamweaver. Where as you had mentioned that the browsers are not quite as adaptive to this development method, I think it is an excellent alternative for visual learners. This process was not devoid of CSS, but did focus largely on visual placement instead. I thought the tracing image was an interesting template in assisting the user in placing the site's content. I don't think that this method was quite as challenging as a site done primarily through CSS, but I can see where it might have its limitations as opposed to the CSS methodology. Overall, I did enjoy seeing this alternative that I was not otherwise aware of. This truly shows the effort that Dreamweaver puts into appealing all sorts of different learning methods and site development approaches.

Chapter 8

This chapter was a much needed addition to my repertoire of learning for Dreamweaver 8. I never imagined just how useful tables are, and this chapter truly brings it home in showing the user how to apply both formatting and CSS to table layouts. One thing I am really begining to notice is just well each chapter builds upon what one has previously in the chapters immediately before it. I do believe that I will be reference this chapter a lot, especially in reformatting my site using tables to provide a mucher cleaner and organized look to each page. I particularly like the rounded corner exercise, as I thought that was pretty dynamic in terms of making a table have the rounded edges...it kind of goes to show one the begining elements of all of those really glitzy professional design sites with the sleek rounded table edges and such. Overall, an excellent chapter for learning a seemingly simple concept as a table and great reference tool at that.

Web Design
Links Page Critique

http://students.millikin.edu/~justinmiller

I know Justin was having some issues getting his site back up since it was somehow deleted from his mac. Needless to say, I could not access his page using this link. I thought it may have been fixed by now, but he may still be working on this issue. I do remember seeing his bookmarks page in class, and I will therefore be making my review based upon my memory of that. If he gets this issue fixed, I will reply to this email with more specific details about my thoughts on his bookmark case.

From what I saw, I was very impressed with Justin's bookmark case. He told me that his subject of interest here was to be random sites of art pertaining to outer space. I thought this was a very unique subject matter that is really definitive in understanding Justin's interests. I cannot specifically remember how he categorically broke down his links, but I do remember seeing a number of links with brief descriptions. Justin's background choice was representative of his interest in space art, and his font styles and sizes added a dynamic edge to the characteristic of the page. I will be checking his site later, as I cannot make any further recollections of specific details. In essence, this can be considered as "to be continued..."

resume critique

1. http://www.texasmusicforge.com/EdKlimanWebResume.htm
This is a good example of a not-so-good resume. The picture of this person is not exactly flattering in any sense of the word, nor is the layout anything really innovative. The page itself seems pretty ridiculous with the orange outline. The information, however, is categorized relevantly and is show with a legible font. This person does allow employers the option to email him, but he lacks a link to a print copy of his actual resume. Overall, this page is pretty sloppy and needs quite a bit of refinement.

2. http://www.emusements.com/randy/Resume/radio_res.html
While this resume is also not the best, it is clear and concise. It offers a basic design and layout that is quite appropriate for the purpose of this person's objective. The page uses anchor links to instantly browse to each section of the resume. The resume also has just enough detail about his work experience to be relevant to his objective profession. The page does lack some basic resume elements such as an objective statement and educational credentials, but the page accomplishes its basic purpose. The page offers employers the option to request a print copy of this person's resume and informs them how. Overall, this page is a much better web resume then the first in my opinion.

Chapter 7

2. Chapter 7: This chapter was nice in terms of learning to use text formatting in Dreamweaver 8. This chapter was not quite as difficult after one has worked with other various applications such as any MS Office applications such as Word, Frontpage, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. in which all use text formatting. Dreamweaver 8, however, has proven to have a significantly different text formatting system than any of the aforementioned programs. The addition of CSS makes this text formatting also quite unique. Overall, I believe I will pickup on more advanced formatting elements as we go down the line with projects and such. This will also go hand in hand with picking up on CSS. I was really intriguied by the Flash Text exercise, as I am actually trying to figure out how to properly configure Flash buttons/text for my own site. My site is in dire need of critical refinement and formatting, and such will be an excellent opportunity to apply this chapter's exercises. Overall, I believe this chapter is great for taking the user through the basic way of formatting text and then applying what they learned and doing it through CSS. I hope that the future chapters continue with this practice.

Chapter 6

This chapter was truly one that pushes one's limits in teaching a completely new concept. I think this chapter's way of presenting the material was pretty solid, as it did not seem rushed at all. This can be especially noted with the exceptional size and depth of this chapter as well. While I was introduced to the basics of CSS, this concept is still rather foreign to me and will remain so until I actually feel comfortable using it in my layouts. I am still having some difficulty discerning when to use class, type, ID, and pseudo selectors as CSS rules in different situations. The background coding is also pretty intimidating to me, and I can only take baby steps even now in terms of applying CSS to my own work. I feel that I am still limited and cannot fully take advantage of this concept without more exposure to it. Overall, this chapter does quite a superb job of introducing the concept. It is simply the complicated nature of CSS itself that still baffles me.

A Favorite Website:

Web Address: http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/

I chose this website since I was originally impressed with the truth.com website that has now become abovetheinfluence.com. The flash animation that is used is flawless in conjunction with the thumbnail pictures and videos. The text and background textures are very stylish. The sight is also very easy to navigate and offers much to its users including interactive games, commercials from the truth campaign, facts and information, podcasts, true stories about drug users, links to helpful resources, etc. The site as a whole is just fun to browse and is very user friendly in terms of interactivity. Almost everything that one clicks has an animation. The site is not overdone, nor is it too flashy. It conveys its point in a very "hip" manner that keeps the user's attention from page to page.

"Site Analysis"
http://www.homestarrrunner.com

Homestarrrunner.com has been a favorite of mine ever since I was a kid. This site uses humorous flash animation that brings the user into a completely animated world of color, interaction and sound. The site is basically about a group of goofy cartoonish misfits that amusingly interact with one another throughout their animated world. The site offers many features including an online store, email to both the sites' creators and Strong Bad (the site's primary antagonist), cartoons, games, character bios, downloads, etc. In terms of orienting new users to the site, I do not believe one should find much of a problem figuring out what leads to where.

The first thing that users will see is Homestarrrunner himself standing between two fairly distinctive links with one that welcomes the user to come in and explore the site whereas the other one allows the user to actually get a nice introduction into the site by introducing the characters and such.

Homestarrunner.com utilizes a simple, colorful layout that is pretty user-friendly. This site can really appeal to people of all ages as long as they basically have some sense of humor. One should grow accustomed to the site's crazy cast of characters pretty quickly, not to mention other site identifiers such as the Homestarrrunner logo, the site's zany noises, and the characters' voices. The color schemes, the wacky cast of characters, the sounds and voices, and the logo can be found all through out the site with a sense of witty consistency that provides some sense of familiarity to the user.

The site is pretty basic in terms of navigation, as big and brightly colored buttons that light up and tend to make some random noise when one runs the mouse over them or clicks them are all over the place leading to various pages through out the site. As I mentioned before, the site is practically entirely made with flash animation. I believe this is truly a distinctive feature about homestarrunner.com that puts it in a league of its own. In regards to interactivity, this site is truly unparalleled in its seemingly simple cartoonish presentation and seemingly child-like demeanor.

The site is notorious for having little "easter eggs" that the user can stumble upon and interact with, often turning out to be quite amusing. An example of this can be found on the homepage of the site itself if the user were to run their mouse over the background of the page. They would get all sorts of different interactions from the characters depending on the theme of the homepage at that point in time. The home page tends to change its theme every now and then to provide a new flavor that keeps users coming back for more. The change in theme, however, has never changed in terms of how links are presented. The background and animations might change, but the basic layout stay pretty much the same as not to confuse users. This site truly shines with the integration of flash, since flash provides users with an animated world that they can manipulate and interact with on so many levels.

Homestarrunner.com is certainly not one's run-of-the mill humor website. The site is literally a jewel of the flash website community and is truly dynamic in its simplistically fun design and eye-catching presentation to any user that should chance upon it.

Chapter 5

Ch. 5 was a nice and steady introduction into implementing links via Dreamweaver. I really enjoyed the point link method (pressing shift and dragging as well) to make links. I also like the anchor method, as I have always enjoyed pages that had that handy feature.

Chapter 4

I will honestly say that I truly learned a lot from Chapter 4. This chapter was very easy to follow and innovative in the way it introduces new users to the basic functions of the Dreamweaver application. It is almost a strange sensation to actually now be able to construct the most basic page of content that can at least look somewhat clean cut out on the world wide web even after just having been through a single chapter of exercises. I truly look forward to learning about Dreamweaver via this book, as both Ch 3 and 4 have gone at a very steady pace without making the mistake of alienating new users based on ludicrous assumptions that one should already know how to do even the most basic of steps via the Dreamweaver application.

Chapter 3

While a lot of this chapter was basically common sense, it was a nice review of such issues as navigating folder directories and defining the difference between different types of URLS and such. I also liked the emphasis on using the files panel since it automatically updates links when files/folders are moved whereas manually editing file directories can cause much unnecessary chaos.

Chpaters 1 & 2

I wasn't sure if we were just supposed to write down our questions from Chapters 1 & 2 or email them to you...but I figure it would not hurt to do it both ways:

1. Does Dreamweaver have any specific advantages or disadvantages when used on either OS X or Windows?

2. Are we going to be doing any extensive hands-on work with XHTML in terms of editing pages or troubleshooting them?

3. Will we be using other programs/plug-ins in conjunction with the Dreamweaver application?

4. What are some programs that collaborate really well with Dreamweaver in terms of adding more of an edge to one's page?

5. Do you know of any major incompatibilities between Dreamweaver and other web editing applications such as MS FrontPage?