Enjoyed this class very much!!

Since tonight is the last and optional class, I think I should put down a few thoughts expressing my experience with Northlake and Web Design.

I thought the instructor was excellent. Hands on, presenting the material effectively, and you can tell she actually likes the subject. If I had to find a negative, it would only be the syllabus inaccuracy; but that is understandable since this was a summer session and we crammed a lot into these few weeks. Plus, if you attended class you didn't need it. I'm just a little OCD and like to know what is coming :-)

Am I really learning this stuff?

I think so, then I look at a slickly designed page and think, "I'll never understand"

My new motto is a quote I read in an ole Lynda Weinman book...
Web Design isn't hard, but good Web Design is. Of course that sentence ends in a preposition so my 8th grade english teacher is probably rolling over in her grave....

Anyway you know what I'm trying to say.

Now that I'm getting the basics, I guess what is next for me is applying it practically in my everyday design work.

Frames are better for artwork

I missed class Monday night, and to tell the truth, that dead battery couldn't have come at a better time if I had scheduled it. Car is running fine now and I got to hear the abbreviated version of the "frames" lecture on Wednesday.

I'm thinking that whoever at Netscape thought this was a good idea back in the early 90's was a little cracked.

I found the chapter 10 exercises frameset, left, right, top, parent, etc. straightforward enough. It just seems like someone was trying to apply print layout to a medium that just wasn't a good fit (for most devices) as well as my all time favorite thing, bookmarks.

I would, for curiousity sake, like to know of a few sites using frames on a regular basis; or rather see an example where using them (frames) is a good idea.

I'm sure in the current web design vernacular "Frames are soooo five minutes ago." Therefore, from a psychological standpoint, sites still using them will apprear dated making surfers wonder when/if the page was last updated and why the designer has stagnated.

I end by saying "Bring on the CSS."

Getting lost in the details

One thing I'm sure of...this class is not going to be just a refresher of my early HTML knowledge.

Way back when, I worked for a company of testing engineers. They wanted to have a website but didn't have time to content. Enter me. I learned the basics and started designing away. Customer updates, image maps, even tables -- all these things I mastered. But, because of the engineers, I never had to "worry my pretty little head", about putting my masterpieces of design on the server. Already spoiled, did I mention we had a dedicated T3 connection, this was back in the days of slow dial-up, and we had a server in the building. Basically, then I associated FTP with magic.

Dreamweaver 30-day Trial

Well I finally made up my mind and decided to go with the free download until I see if I'm going to like web publishing with it or not. In class, everything seems straight forward and easy to understand. I'm kind of afraid of that mentality due to the fact that things never work the same for me alone at 2 AM when its gotta be done first thing tomorrow.

I hope we get to touch on flash and fireworks just a bit in the class; a brief info alone would help me. Everyone I talk to seems to have varying opinions on whether sites are improved by using flash or not.

Class Questions

What is the Internet?
the information superhighway *G*; showing my age here. I had to write a paper with this very same theme for entrance to a summer program in high school.

What is the Web?
the address system that lets you search/find information on the internet.

What is design?
The functional and graphical representation of data, images, etc. to make it more interesting and hopefully more memorable.

What makes web design different from other types of design?
You have to use a technical product (ie. software) which has some concepts predefined, therefore you're using a left brain tool to accomplish what is usually considered a right brain activity.

What qualities must a web designer possess?
Knowledge of subject you're trying to convey
Creativity to combine visual interest with the information
Know-how to use the software to get both things across

What personality traits do you feel web designers must have?
Not quite sane to try and combine the afore mentioned right/left brain activities.
Or, an artist who can keep a regular day job and interact with people who aren't artists.

What makes a good website?
informative, interesting to look at, functional, regularly updated

What makes a bad website?
Features that don't work; broken image links; plain jane text

First Class

Brrrrr... is this room cold. Nothing like looking forward to a summer of sweltering days and Monday and Wednesday nites in this freezer. People are gonna think I'm nuts carrying around a sweater all summer.

But anyway, I think this is going to help me alot. Already talking about FTPing which up to now has been like Greek to me.