BASIC INFOR FOR DESIGNING A SITE

http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol23/rules.htm

This site has some basic information about designing a website. It just explains what we all should know already, but it is good to have some solid information that you can go back to while designing new sites. It also talks about how different sites need different visuals and information according to the companies main goal.

Something that I really agree with is the fact that the web is for surfing. People like to skim content on a page. They don't read everything and the content on the page must be so successful and staright to the point that the viewers can understand your point without reading everything. One thing I have realized this semester is that people do not like to read. I feel that the images should be so impactful that the viewer can know what you are trying to say without even saying it.

Overall, I think this site is helpful to have in your bookmarks. You never know when you're going to need this information and when it can be helpful.

Ashley Matejka

Portfolio Site

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/02/26/10-steps-to-the-perfect-portfolio-website/

I found this site while trying to update my portfolio site. This website helps designers go step by step in creating their site to promote their design skills. I know not everyone will want to be a freelance designer, but I think it is very important to have a site even for when you are looking for a job. By promoting yourself you show a sense of individualism and responsibility.

This site explains the importance of a few things that can make you or break you. A logo is one very important item to have on your site. It helps define you. I would recommend this site to someone that wants to build a simple site to help get some freelance work and promote themselves in the design world.

Ashley Matejka

Another i-phone

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bloom/id292792586?mt=8

While researching for the I-PHONE app project, I found some awesome apps on the apple website. I'm sure many students have visited the apple site, but I'm not sure if anyone has found this one.

It has tons of different apps in many different categories. It has a brief description below each app along with the actual icon next to the phone. I love this setup. You can click on the different apps and it shows you different pages that you may encounter while using the app. Some allow you to scroll and experience the whole app, and some only have a couple pages.

I found this site to be really helpful in designing my app. I couldn't believe the amount of information you can put onto a tiny phone and make it work at the same time! It's crazy.

Ashley

I-PHONE APPS

http://www.raywenderlich.com/1797/how-to-create-a-simple-iphone-app-tutorial-part-1

Since we are in the process of creating an i-phone app, I wanted to do some research and figure out what goes into creating an app. I found this site that goes through the basic information for beginners.

I found this really fascinating to learn some information about how to create something I use almost everyday. It shows you some code that is required as well as the design of the layout of these apps. I don't think I will be using any of this information in the near future, but I hope some other people will read this and find it helpful.

Ashley

Scrolling Effects

www.imageflow.finnrudolph.de/

This is a site I found that has different effects you can use for scrolling through images. The lightbox effect is very overused and I am interested in new ways of displaying my works.

This specific effect is pretty interesting, but not the best. I like that you can take the ball on the bar at the bottom and scroll through many photos. It goes a little too fast for me, even when I try to go extremely slow. I also do not like the way it enlarges the photos. I do not want to be taken to another window. I think if you hover over the image it should just get larger on the same screen(if that's possible).

With a little work to perfect this effect, I think I would use it to show some of my photos.

Ashley

E-COMMERCE/INTERACTIVE WEBSITE

www.ikea.com

This is a site i'm sure almost everyone has been to. They have so many products, but have it organized in such a neat way that doesn't confuse me and I am capable of finding what I am looking for.

I also love the way they have the large photos like the one to the right. There are little plus signs throughout the photograph that you can click on. It then zooms you in for a closer look at, for example kitchen cabinets. I think that is extremely neat and very important so the viewer can see what they are buying.

Overall, I think this site is successful because of the neat way it is organized and the little effects that help the viewer see what they are going to buy.

Ashley

http://jeannieweb.com/

I chose to write about this website because if the unique way the navigation is laid out. The design is kind of weird for a design agency, but I was intrigued by the way each section of the site was incorporated into the image. The "portfolio" link especially. It is on the suitcase, which could represent a portfolio case. Again, this is not your standard site. The site is just one main image with different pieces to it.

I like to see people creating different ways of laying a whole site out because it gets very repetitive after a while. There is no difference between many of the most popular sites out there right now. We as Americans get very bored with things and i think it is important to discover new ways of keeping their attention.

Ashley

Hard To Navigate Website

www.adhemas.com

I think this is the least successful navigation I has ever seen on a website. Maybe it's user error, but it took me way too long to figure out how to even get a different part of the site to pop up. Once I figured that out, the only way for me to see more was to click this "x" button (that was extremely hard to see) then it would make the different pages smaller and then you were able to see more than just one page. You would then be able to click on another page. After I figured that out, I then realized you could use your mouse to navigate up, but going down was impossible! I would recommend clicking on this link and try navigating through. Maybe you will have better luck with it!

I'm not sure if this was created in Flash or another program, but it was way too confusing and not user friendly. I would never suggest anyone do their website like this person. The designs were nice though!

Ashley

Colloquium Show

www.colloquiumshow.com

So this is a site I worked on with Garrett Haas. It is for a student exhibition that is taking place at The University of Akron. I chose to write about this site because of the unique way the images are laid out. Many sites have just one main image with a little bit of information on it. This site has numerous images that show a little bit about each section of the entire site. It really takes my eyes throughout the entire site instead of just focusing on one particular image. Each image is a link and will take you to the appropriate page.

I also really enjoy the rotating photographs of each artist. This part I did not create, but It is another part of the site that captures the viewers attention.

Overall this site is is successful because of the unique layout with numerous images throughout the entire page.

Ashley

http://www.noeldesign.net/index.php

This a a random designers portfolio website. I chose to write about this because of the way he incorporated the graphics. They look similar to some handcrafted pieces of art. So it gives me a sense of actual handmade art that is also digital.

Another reason I chose this site is because of the way he set up his portfolio. It is neatly set up on the page. They are large thumbnails and to the side he listed a brief description of the project. I think descriptions are very important for a project. Sometimes you have no idea what the project is about. Then he has a link that you can click on and view the entire project.

This site has a unique way of incorporating old art with new art. I also really enjoyed the nice simple way to show off your best works as a designer.

Ashley

Roll Over Effects

http://www.threeolives.com/index.php

When you click on this link you have to click on flavors at the top to get to this screen.

This website has very interesting roll over effects. When you roll over the different types of vodka, they move up and a flavor pops up next to it. If you click on one of the bottles another page pops up. At the bottom there are the bottle caps color coded. You can roll over each of them and they pop up with the flavor it is.

I think this is so cool. It is a very simple effect that allows the user to be more interactive with their products than a lot of other sites that are out there today. The colors also pop and I think overall, this site is one of the best sites I have seen!

Ashley

Trendy Website for the future

This is a site that designs units for small businesses. I would have never guessed that this site makes units for small businesses. When I opened the site, it really caught my eye. The colors are so bright and the image of the building in the background was very interesting to me.

I have seen a few of these sites with similar styles. I'm thinking that this is becoming more and more popular now. Many sites have some kind of video that allows the photos to scroll across the page. The large photo in the background really allows the viewers to see the "whole" picture, not just a tiny pixelated photo that you can't make out. It is a very interesting design element and I believe that this will become a new trend for years to come.

Breast Cancer Research

www.NationalBreastCancer.org

This is just one of the many websites dedicated to Breast Cancer support. I found this website while doing research for project 3. After thinking of ideas and things I wanted to have on my website for breast cancer support, I found this site very heplful. They had many different links to register and share your own story about how breast cancer has affected you. This site has anything from basic information, to chats, to sharing your story, to donations. They had almost everything you can think of to raise awareness, get help, and be supportive to people affected by the disease. It was very easy to navigate for me and I found the many things I was searching for.

This site was well organized and very effective for its users.

Ashley

How To Website

www.thesitewizard.com

I found this site while trying out how to figure out how to make drop down menus. I began to read through all of the links and found this site really helpful. There are some situations where the site wizard takes you through step by step on how to create things for your website. Other situations he just gives you some code to use, and it really does work properly. I will always go to this site to find some help when I am stuck with creating a webpage.

It is not the best designed website that's for sure but I hope this will help anyone who looks at it.

Ashley

E-commerce Website

www.meiji.co.jp/sweets/choco-cafe/

I found this really interesting website. When I first clicked on it, I went to click off of it because I saw a bunch of Chinese writing all over. But the imagery really caught my eye. I began to look around a little bit more and saw some English writting. I began to navigate through the links on the pages and realized that even though there is a lot of text I cannot read, I still understood what I was looking at. It is a great idea to have two different languages on the site so more people can undertsand what is being sold.

As I went through the website I found that it was very visually appealling. The way that the images came in and out of the website were very professional looking and did not distarct me in any way, like some that pop out at you. There were some very nice transitions happening.

I thought it was a very unique website that sold chocolate for all 365 days a year.

Ashley