Friday, January 30, 2009

Due next class (Tuesday) -- wireframe and flowchart

By next class, have:

1. A website wireframe prepared for one of the sites you picked that is in the same "genre" of the site you'd like to make, their first and second level pages. A wireframe example (click to enlarge):



2. Make a website flowchart as well (you can do a google image search for "website wrireframe" and "website flowchart" to see examples).

 A flowchart example (click to enlarge):



Be ready to talk about the sites you analyzed (via drawing up the wireframe and flowchart) with your fellow classmates next class. Draw up a list: what were the elements you liked about the site? What are the elements you disliked about the site? What elements would you like to incorporate into your own site?

As I said in class, I usually use illustrator for doing up wireframes and flowcharts -- if you have any familiarity with Illustrator, it's a good tool for dealing with text, lines, and boxes. There's a tutorial here that has some good time on wireframing in Illustrator.

Photoshop would be fine too -- though if you're unfamiliar with both Photoshop and Illustrator, I'd recommend just drawing these out by hand. Just make sure the names for all the navigation and content are legible. It might help to use graph paper.

As a recap (and for those who weren't in class): the wireframe is to give an idea of all the pieces of content you need on a particular page. There might be some layout information in it, but it's far more about content than design. And since most sites have homepages that function differently than their interior pages, it's necessary two have at least two wireframes (for first and second tier page functionality) to give an idea of what's going on.

A flowchart, on the other hand, doesn't give an idea of everything that's on a page, but rather gives an idea of how the site as a whole is organized -- how the menu breaks the site into various sections, that may or may not have subsections. You don't need to draw out every single page, but you do need to draw out each section or subsection of your site.

The reasoning behind this exercise is to get you to dig deeply into the site architecture of a site that is trying to solve the same sorts of problems you'll want to solve for your own website. It will hopefully give you some ideas on how to organize your own site (or how not to organize it, as the case may be).

Thursday, January 29, 2009

The website that I am planning on designing is a reference for tricks of various extreme sports. Basically I plan on having various sports with subcategories within each sport for different tricks. If a sports enthusiast is trying to find out what a trick is then they can go to my website and look it up to find out what it is. Also, if i reach this point then i hope to have people submitting videos of themselves doing these tricks.

Some websites that relate to my website are:

http://library.thinkquest.org/J002561F/Basic%20Trick%20Dictionary.htm
http://www.ugo.com/channels/sports/features/trickGuide/Category.aspx?cat=snowboarding
http://snowboard-city.com/snowboard-trick-tips
http://www.how2skate.com/

The main audience that I would be shooting for on my website would be any extreme sports enthusiasts looking to find out how to improve their game or just figure out a new trick. Da End.

Victoria le bucks website.

I am going to make a website of things that i enjoy, my daily life, my findings....i love finding random notes of importance or of none, children's drawings etc etc.
The site will be hopefully interesting!
sites i like:

marq spusta.com
free people.com
needles and pens.com

Ryland's Site Ambition

I want to make a website for the store I run. It is a skate and snowboard shop, some of you might know it. Out of Bounds in Carson City. I want to have flash integrated with in the site. For photos, and I think it would be really good to show our snowboards, possibly customers could set up a board. I also want to sell stuff and keep it up dated.
Here are some sites similar to mine.

sea creatures. =]

I want to make a website about sea creatures. Specifically: jellyfish, sea cucumbers, starfish, stingrays, sea snails, and deep sea fish. I took an interest in marine biology during high school and developed a love for sea animals. I want my website to have facts and details about the creatures I listed above, and also have pictures. The facts I want to include would be about; if the animal is poisonous, where they like to reside, what colors they come in, what they eat, the climate they thrive in, and so on. I also want to put in pictures that I have taken personally and pictures from the internet. I would make it possible for people who visit my site to add pictures and stories from their own experiences with sea animals. My goal is to create a simple, yet informative website. My audience will be anyone who likes sea creatures.

Four sites that I find to be simial to what I want to make and that I think are designed well are:

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/jellyfi.html
http://www.nwoca.org/~hol_www/OceanAnimals.html
http://www.fcps.edu/KingsParkES/technology/oceanani/sea_animals.htm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/

Corbmiester Ketelsen's Site

My site is going to be a spot where you can go and get local booze and beer prices as well as specials in order to figure out where to make that late night beer run and also how much money you are going to need to gather from your friends. It'll start with local prices at raley's, seven eleven, and incline spirits. Hopefully it'll catch on and prove useful to SNC and Incline Locals. people will be able to update the site themselves if they want or have any useful info on good deals or specials. It'll be like a booze wiki. heres a site that isn't very good. Its a gas price update deal where you can check prices of local gas, or even nation wide. Also Gasbuddy.com  is a sweet site. It even has this little temperature map deal here. Target audience will be incline locals, SNC students and Billy Euller. 

my five year goal is to be able to plan a cross country road trip and hit up the cheapest pit stops at the best booze sales across the nation. It's a pretty tough goal, but I strive for Excellence. 



Heather's site

I plan to create a website dedicated to showcasing my clothing and sewn goods. I will have my site link to my Etsy site in order for customers to purchase items. The target audience for my site will be women ages 20-38 who frequent local handmade clothing shops. Sites that I feel fit with the same genre would be:

stuartandbrown.com

I plan to have the site be both a comprehensive portfolio and an up to date stock list of available styles. I also would like to have a complete list of links of sites I frequent. I like the way this site displays the collections, but I find it hard to get a complete view of the company from their site. I absolutely love this site I feel they do an amazing job keeping it up to date and fresh. Can't wait to get started!





Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Lane's Portfolio Website

Hey guys,
My website will hopefully be a design based on showing a lot of my work. I plan to have plenty of pictures of previous and possibly upcoming works, with a brief discription, and contact information. These styles of work may include but are not limited to, ceramics, design, digital art, life drawing,knitting, and anything else I feel like posting. I am hoping to borrow a friends camera and upload pictures of things I made in my design class from the last semester, along with hats that knit, and pottery that I am working on or have already made.

This website will be designed for viewers that are interested in art. Although there are many sites already hosted for people to upload there works, I think it will be unique to have my own. If people see my work and like my site they will be able to contact me to arrange sales. Although, only certain pieces I will sell, because some of them I like too much ;o.
Here are some sites that might have similar styles.

Flickr.com
Deviantart.com
Ebay.com
etsy.com(courtesy to Heather)
Two of these sites are more sale based(ebayandetsy) and the other two are for viewing, but also involve sales. I would say i like them all equally, I probably can't get something of these crazy programmers calibur, but would like to do my best to get something going.

I am also interested in helping my mom make a website to sell her sheep products. sheepwool sheepskins, yarn, and things knit by me from her stuff :)

See all yee maties in class.
peace

Website Proposal

I propose to create a website that examines conspiracy theories. There will be discussion and comparison between various theories and pieces of news. A large number of links will be provided for site visitors, causing the website to be a nexus for their conspiracy theory needs. Videos and images pertaining to the subject matter will also be posted on the site. This site will cater to the conspiracy theory crowd, as well as anyone else who simply wants to look at the world in a different way.

Websites of similar content:
http://www.earthfiles.com/
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/
http://www.abovetopsecret.com
http://www.infowars.com/

Two I like particularly:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/
http://www.davidicke.com/index.php/

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

web page

http://flgoodman.110mb.com/
http://sarahwirtanen.110mb.com

me page

here is me page

http://haleirwin.110mb.com/

youtube pick #2

Resources, and Assignment for Thursday

Your assignment for Thursday's class:

Post a one or two paragraph description of the website you'd like to make for the first major "website project" for this class, and provide at least four links to websites that are in the same "genre" of the website you'd like to make -- make sure at least two of the links are sites you think are designed particularly well. In your paragraph, be sure to include who you think the audience for your website will be.

Some resource links:

The SPAN tag:

http://www.w3schools.com/TAGS/tag_span.asp

http://www.webheadstart.org/xhtml/span/

HTML linking syntax:

http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_links.asp

Link styles with css:

http://www.echoecho.com/csslinks.htm

Free web hosting:

http://www.www.110mb.com

Here's the Borges story formatted as a hypertext story:

http://www.geocities.com/papanagnou/cover.htm

And, for our in-class assignment today, here's a paragraph of Borges:

I said out loud: I must flee. I sat up noiselessly, in a useless perfection of silence, as if Madden were already lying in wait for me. Something--perhaps the mere vain ostentation of proving my resources were nil--made me look through my pockets. I found what I knew I would find. The American watch, the nickel chain and the square coin, the key ring with the incriminating useless keys to Runeberg's apartment, the notebook, a letter which I resolved to destroy immediately (and which I did not destroy), a crown, two shillings and a few pence, the red and blue pencil, the handkerchief, the revolver with one bullet. Absurdly, I took it in my hand and weighed it in order to inspire courage within myself. Vaguely I thought that a pistol report can be heard at a great distance. In ten minutes my plan was perfected. The telephone book listed the name of the only person capable of transmitting the message; he lived in a suburb of Fenton, less than a half hour's train ride away.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Due next class (Tuesday)

1. Bring in the html page of your poem, so we can look at them in class.

2. Read the Borges story I handed out, "The Garden of Forking Paths"

3. Read the below article, which uses that story as a jumping-off point:

http://www.nomadpete.com/files/fivestanding/hype/hyper-text.htm

4. Write a short paper answering these questions (in response to the story and the linked reading):

a. List three ways in which reading on the internet is different than reading from a book.

b. How is the web-reading experience "non-linear"? And how does linear thinking differ from non-linear thinking?

c. In what way does non-linear reading invite us to be the "author" of texts that we read, even if we didn't in fact write those texts?

Link: The Helvetica Hegemony

http://www.slate.com/id/2166887/slideshow/2166963/

youtube pick #1

yay for snow!




hows it goin yall, my name is Hale Irwin i am originally from the great state of New Hampshire.... live free or die! although i am from the east coast i tend to like the bigger mountains, and deeper snow of the west coast. here is the link to the web site i shared in class. pray for snow!


-over and out

APB: Corbmiester haxzorz interwebs





yo im corben, i have very unprofessional typing skillz. prolly cuz i facebook all day. watevs. my last post didnt include the pic so i guess i gotta redo. i just had some grog and grist pizza. soooo goood. i love putting pitchers on the  interwebz. im gonna put two.

this is my website




LANE IS HERE

Hey my name is Lane. I am originally from New Hampshire. I love the outdoors, art, and computers. I am trying to find a way to link all of these together in a major. Right now I am focused on Digital art and Ceramics. My friend Cody is majoring in Digital art also here is his blog site.
Make sure you try to snowboard while you are in Tahoe ;o.

Some resources for current assignments

A basic HTML intro, from a great web design resource site, W3schools:



http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_intro.asp



A guide on how to write html in TextEdit:



http://webdesign.about.com/od/textedit/a/aa122006.htm

Here is a battery of links that may be useful to you in the formatted poem:

Links to CSS text and font info:



http://www.w3schools.com/css/css_text.asp


http://www.w3schools.com/css/css_font.asp




Web colors:



http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_colors.asp





Link to CSS examples:

http://www.w3schools.com/CSS/css_examples.asp

An online resource for getting the text of a public domain poem:

http://bartleby.com/

Emily Dickinson, defaced via CSS:



http://sncweb.110mb.com/class/EMILY_PLAIN.html

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Insert Something Creative Here


My name is Dan.  I grew up in Davis, Ca.  I like fun.  This class should be cool cuz ill be able to learn how to build that website that ive been thinking about.

Its raining right now, which really sucks.  

I primarily like to bike and snowboard and pretty much anything thats fun.  I have a risk taking personality, which has its ups and downs.  Because of it I find plenty of thrills and the occasional trouble.  You can see one of my favorite websites here.

Free falling is one of the most liberating feelings out there...



if its raining at my house way up on the mountain...then that is bad. so, it needs to snow.


Hey, my name is Kat, I am 19, and this is technically my 3rd semester at SNC. I moved here for the snowboarding, so i obviously love snow and cold weather. I am originally from the bay area, specifically, Benicia, CA., but, now i live way the eff up on Tyner and couldn't be happier. I love getting new tattoos and piercings. I am excited to take this class because I have a nerdy side and I like computers. =]

I am very much obsessed with the weather, so this is one of my favorite websites.


Hi!

This is how I feel about starting the web design class! Just kidding...

I'm from Placerville, Ca and like photography, cats, and thrift stores. This is my website, and this is the website of The Manipulator. She makes kids cry for a living.
I like le' bike


I am from sonoma county. I was there before the grapes, I ate lots of apples in my youth. I rode horses when I was young, now I ride bikes. I really like this site and this is my shop if you want to see a picture of me, HERE it is He He He

forget about the last one, get yourself another.


I am from New Zealand.
It is green there, and the ocean is close.
I miss the ocean.
Open space feeds my soul, as does good laughs, music, and food.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Greetings

My name is Forest Goodman. I speak to you now through the infinitesimal void of time and space via your computer box.


This is my fifth semester at SNC. My girlfriend, Jeannie, is the center of my universe, even though we are separated by an entire country most of the time. I am a writer who enjoys Metal, horror movies and electronic games, among other things. I may appear to be serious most of the time, but really I'm not, especially since I get kicks out of stuff like adult swim.

Yo Watup Classmateys


^^^Thats my little cuz makin out with my girlfriend Taryn. 

I’m Corbmiester Ketelsen. This is my second year at SNC. I'm learnin' me some webdesign so lets do this. 

I make these deals called SkiWineRacks


I did alotta of businasty over christmas. 






Hi Everybody,
My name is Ryland I grew up in Incline, my mom is Sheri, most of you might know her.  I'm pretty much down for anything.  As most of you I live for the winter, although it already caused me to hurt myself.  Last week I blew out my left shoulder, super lame.  And skateboarding is dope.

Welcome, & first assignment

Welcome to the blog for the web design class.

You have one assignment to bring in for next class, this Thursday.

Make a post on this blog. You should: a) write a short paragraph about yourself, b) include a picture of yourself, and c) provide one link -- it could be a link to your own website, or a link to a website you like.

Lastly, here's the book I highly recommend you purchase as reference for the class: