Pizza Shuttle Redesign
12 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
The design of the current site is very outdated. They have contact numbers at the top of the home page and I couldn’t tell if they were names of people or streets. On the Menu page, a CALL NOW text follows the mouse movements. On the Location page, random logos blink on the page it is hard to read the content as well as bouncing logos on the Feedback page. Lastly, there is nothing on the gallery page except for logos that follow your mouse movements.
The goal of this website is to sell pizza. People will want to know what the specials are as well as where it is located. I will make sure that content is prominent on the home page. I will also make it easier to read and find information. I will get rid of the annoying animation. Making sure the navigation is clear and easy to understand is important so I will implement that as well.
Daniel Kline performed a usability test for me. He said that I should shorten the width of the content on the homepage and make the text bigger. He also said I should re-align the text on the menu page to the left so it would be easier to read. He never clicked on any of my links and I asked him why. He said it was probably because it blended too well with the design. I should make them blue and underline them.
I think I have improved on my presentation skills a little. I was able to communicate the message I wanted to get across better. I think I could have used more concepts covered in the course during it though.
Overall, I had a lot of fun with this project. It was a great learning experience and hopefully the skills I have learned will come in handy someday in the future when I am wanting to redesign a website for a client.
Creating a Web Form
24 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
I had a lot of fun creating this web form. First off, I looked through the paper form several times to figure out how I wanted the information to be displayed. Then I sketched down my ideas on a piece of paper. Doing so, I decided it would make things easier if I separated the information into groups and had three different pages.
I tried my best to implement “the path of completion” concept into my design. There is one main column so that the users will easily be able to understand what is needed. I also used the top label alignment concept because I find that that is the easiest to understand exactly where input is needed. When I checked how the form looked on my iPhone, the top alignment of the labels were very helpful and made navigating through the form much easier.
At the bottom of each page, I implements some navigation elements. I created a continue button and a submit button that went along with the design of the form. I also used a Go Back link that was suggested in the training so the users could go back to the previous page if they wanted to change something.
Creating this online web form was really great practice on how forms should be designed and what should and shouldn’t be included. When I went to validate the form, there were lots of elements that I had added that I thought I needed, but it actually created errors in the validation. I went back and changed those so my form would be valid.
Anger Management
31 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
It is important to good anger management skills as you go about your daily life. Especially in the workplace where you are supposed to have a attitude of professionalism. It is not always easy to be calm and collected when people or situations are hard to deal with.
A situation actually came up yesterday at work where I had to practice anger management. I had redesigned a website several times in the last month for one of my authors. No matter how hard I tried to make it look like she wanted it to look, it wasn’t the kind of site she wanted. When I was talking with my boss about the situation, it was hard not to give excuses about it and let him know how much it was frustrating me. Instead, I took his suggestions with patience and calmness. I knew that by getting angry and lashing out wouldn’t do me any good. It would only cause more problems.
If you don’t deal very well with anger, there are ways you can learn how to control your anger. You can take deep breaths before you do anything, you can completely walk away from the situation, ect. If you need more help, there should be counselors in your area that will be able to help you and give you exercises that you can practice to calm yourself down.
Compassion
01 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
Compassion is having empathy or sympathy for someone else. It’s taking the time to help someone in need. It’s going out of your way to help someone less fortunate than you.
One time that I showed compassion was going on a mission trip during spring break. Me and a small group of girls from ORU went to Nashville to minister at Mercy Ministries. We helped around the facility – making beds and organizing offices. The best times were when we got to spend time with the girls that were there. We had compassion for them.
You can also show compassion in the web design and development industry. If there is a new student in class and he or she is having trouble figuring out something, you should have compassion on them and help them find the solution. We must remember that we were once the new kid and really appreciated our classmates helping us out.
Another way to show compassion is to help those who help the needy. An example could be there is a non-profit organization that helps the homeless that needs a website. You can be compassionate to them and create a website for them for less than you usually charge or for no fee at all.
Diversity
31 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
Diversity is important inside the workplace. It brings variety and you can learn a lot from people who have different walks of life from you.
Discrimination is looked down upon. Everyone should have equal opportunities as everyone else. In some cases, it is against the law to discriminate among your peers. No matter if you are black or white, male or female, you are entitled to have the same opportunities as your other coworkers.
Having a wide variety of people helps you come up with fresh and new ideas about how to reach a bigger demographic. If you are trying to reach Latino women, it would be a good idea to have a Latino woman on board because she will probably know of good ways to get their attention.
When it comes to web design, it’s important to get feedback from your peers about your designs that you create. They may have ideas to incorporate that you may not have thought about previously. They also know the kind of work you can produce so they might challenge you to do something new and out of your comfort zone for you.
God made us all unique and we should take full advantage of that. Everyone has different views and ideas which makes this world an interesting place to live.
New Website Launch
07 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
I was given the task to take my website I was given and redesign it however I would like. It’s purpose is to showcase my best works that I have created in class or outside of class.
Deciding how I wanted the site designed was a big challenge. I wanted to have to have some kind of a modern theme. I also wanted my visitors to feel welcome at my website. Therefore, I decided to include a picture of a large chair in the background to give the impression that visitors are welcome to come and sit down and look through the things I have on my website.
I decided to create a simple and clean logo. Since brackets are used a lot in web design and development, I wanted to incorporate it into my logo design. Therefore, I named my brand Left Bracket Design.
My intention was to the design the website mainly for potential employers. I want them to be impressed with it’s design and make it easy for them to navigate through my website. I want my best works displayed in a way that is interactive and looks good.
Some of the struggles I had was writing up my resume in microformats. I didn’t know a whole lot about them so I did some research and eventually found out how to do it.
I hope you will check out my website and let me know what you think. Comments and critiques are always welcome!
http://inetstudent1.francistuttle.com/kk0164918/about.html
Goal Setting
27 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
Setting goals is important in every aspect of your life. It gives us motivation to keep going when we feel like giving up.
As for school, my goal is finish strong and graduate soon. I want to complete the rest of my school work and receive good grades for them. I know this is important because future employers will see that I finish what I start. It will also show that I am dependable and that I have the skills to be an excellent employee.
Life goals are also important. They are different for everyone. Like the goals I have for school, I also have goals for my life. One goal of mine is to lose around 70 pounds. Another goal that goes along with that is to get in the habit of eating healthier. I want to live a long and healthy life and eating the right things can help me accomplish that goal.
Since I recently got engaged, I now have a goal of being the best wife I can be. I want to be someone who my husband can be proud of. When we decide to have children in the future, I want to make it a goal to be the best mother I can be. I know I will have a lot to learn, but it is a goal that is important to me.
What kind of goals are you setting for your life? Whatever they are, keep at them and you will be glad that you did what you set out to do and didn’t give up.
Choices
22 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
Your life is full of opportunities to make choices everyday. Whether it is what career you should pursue, who you should marry, or even what you want for lunch, the choices you make not only affect yourselves but they may also affect the people around you.
When I made the choice to pursue a career in the web design and development industry, I was unaware of all the wonderful opportunities that would come my way. One of those opportunities was becoming a part time web designer for Tate Publishing. It was rough being thrown into working with WordPress because it was something I hardly knew anything about at that time. However, I made the choice to stick with it and it has now been a year since I started working at Tate and it has become one of the most rewarding work I have done.
Working as a web designer with Tate has also helped me learn how to make the right choices when it comes to dealing with clients. Making a choice to take a phone call when a client is having trouble updating their website is the right thing to do. When you get an email from a client, you should respond to that email promptly so the client feels comfortable in knowing that you are taking care of things.
You are faced with a choice, you should try your best to make the right choice. Asking other people you trust for advice about making choices is also important as well.
Excellence
25 May 2011 Leave a Comment
Excellent is defined as very good of its kind or eminently good (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excellent). When we do something, we should give 100% to it. In a work environment, it is your responsibility to create excellent quality work for your employer because they are paying you for it. If you are creating a website for an individual or a business, you will never know who might see the website that also needs one. If you have made a good quality site, they might want you do a website for them.
Since working as a web designer for Tate Publishing, I have come to learn that our clients expect to have excellent websites, so excellent websites you must give them. It is better to go all out and create something that will be appealing to your client the first time instead of having to go back and make lots of corrections because the client didn’t think your work was good enough. It is also important to create good designs because my boss sees my websites and critiques them. I want him to know that I take pride in my work and that I want to create quality websites for my clients that I am assigned too.
All in all, don’t be just “wishy-washy” when you work at something. Make it excellent, giving it you 100%, and you will go far.
Workplace Ethics
31 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
Wikipedia defines work ethics as a set of values based on hard work and diligence. It is also a belief in the moral benefit of work and its ability to enhance character ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_ethic). Employees who display good work ethics tend to get the better promotions. Those who don’t tend to get laid off. Honesty, doing a job well, valuing what one does, having a sense of purpose and feeling/being part of a greater vision or plan is all part of good work ethics. These characteristics are important in any workplace if one wants to receive respect from their coworkers and superiors.
In the web industry, this might entail listening closely to what your client wants for their website and taking the time to go through the creative process so you will not have to do things over if your client does not like the site. Be honest with your client and produce a nice and properly working website for them.
Some of the things I have learned working at Tate is that it is important is that when a client emails you with a question or concern, you should respond to them promptly or else they might get antsy and upset. Customer service is very important to our company and I must make it my responsibility to represent Tate Publishing in a good way.
Sources:
http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/what-are-work-ethics-faq.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_ethic
