Setting E-book Standards

Over my lifetime, technology has been one of the biggest changes through the two decades. So many different forms of cameras, televisions, computers, phones, etc. have came about and newer, updated versions are constantly put out. The newest version of the iPhone, iPhone 5, came out back in September. One device that has been new in the past few years are e-book readers, such as a Kindle. And along with that invention came electronic books called e-books which are publications that can be viewed on these e-book readers as well as on computers, tablets, and phones.

In the article “Web Standards for E-books”, Joe Clark talks about this new trend of e-books. An e-book is not a website but is distributed electronically. HTML is the format that is used for these e-books – ePub is the international E-book standard that is HTML.  Clark says that there are two problems that need to be solved if we want publishers’ code in E-books to be as good as standardistas’ code on actual websites. These two problems are semantics, which is the underlying code, and production methods, which are the stages of coding. It would work well if authors wrote books in HTML which could be easily imported in Microsoft Word and then into InDesign. But Clark says this is so optimistic that it’s ridiculous as authors won’t likely write in nor know how to write in HTML. It’s also important that content and structure be separated. CSS is the best way to style the E-book how you like. There are some tasks that CSS handles and then other tasks that the Reader software handles. Overall, structure for E-books are very important so never make it up as you go along!

I’m not sure I like how fast technology changes as it can be hard to keep up with the newest gadget or trend. I prefer to save my money; I’m the type of person that once I buy something, I use it for a very long time. While this idea of reading books on a e-book reader is convenient, I guess you could call me old-fashioned because I love having my own tangible books. I love that I can easily carry it with me, not worry about dropping and breaking it, and just enjoy the feeling of flipping the pages all the way through to the end of the story.

-k

Clark, Joe. (2010). Web Standards for E-books. A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 302.  
          http://www.alistapart.com/articles/ebookstandards/ 

Raising Web Standards

The article “Where Our Standards Went Wrong” by Ethan Marcotte was a very interesting read and helped me understand the area of web standards better. This article first mentions the division that exists between web standards advocates today. The first position takes a hardline stance and states that if the conventions of a language aren’t followed then we are producing something that’s invalid. The second position takes a pragmatic view and states that the invalid code caused by broken tools and third-party code shouldn’t nullify our commitment to web standards.

It’s hard in this day and age to build a site that is standards-compliant because once third-party advertising codes, etc. have finished with the once-valid markup, things can turn ugly. Even though these sites end up having invalid code, they still look okay in the browser so it seems pointless to make the final code perfect. But this can lead to many problems in the future. That is why there are many benefits to building websites within web standards. These include shorter development cycles, lower maintenance costs, quicker page load times, an increase in site’s accessibility, device independence, a metric it can be measured against, and the knowledge that your site is compliant with future browsers. Validation is an ongoing process that will continue long after the site launches. It’s also important to figure out these errors in markup for a website before it goes live and causes lots of extra time and trouble for web developers to figure out. Even though sites with invalid code can look the same as valid, well-coded sites, they end up costing much more to maintain.

While I understood the gist of this article, I didn’t know all the meanings of certain words or programs that were mentioned throughout it. This is because I don’t quite know all the lingo involved with building websites yet. Considering that I have only worked in HTML and CSS in Dreamweaver, I have a hard time understanding how it could get so complicated. Although there might be more efficient or easier ways to code, Dreamweaver is very consistent in making sure markup is valid. Being able to preview my websites has made it easy to see if something has gone wrong in the markup. So based on what I read in the article and the experience I do have with coding, I agree with Marcotte that error-free markup is essential. It will save so much time in the future and make things easier to change if code is done right the first time!

-k

Marcotte, Ethan. (2007). Where Our Standards Went Wrong. A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 233.    
         http://www.alistapart.com/articles/whereourstandardswentwrong/

Read My Design

The article “Reading Design” by Dean Allen is a focus on the importance of good typography choices and the ability to read design. He uses an example by Warren Chappell who wrote the book A Short History of the Printed Word. Allen was blown away by the way the elements on the page—the body type and typesetting— gave the words on the page an “organic, breathing presence”. Everything on the page seemed to be visually perfect, from the margins to the text block to the illustration placements. Allen suggests that this method of designing like Chappell will benefit designers if they view their work as being written rather than assembled. 

Allen points out that as designers, we can’t just arrange words on the page. We have to carefully think about the meaning of the word(s) and make the best typographic decisions possible. As he states, “the primary goal of communication design [is] to make vital, engaging work intended above all to be read. To use design to communicate.” Text should no longer be considered a graphic element. Text is and should be meant to be read. As a designer, one way to get better at readability is to not be ignorant of what editors do and to study what they know and learn from them. Allen strongly suggests that “above all, read what you are designing, and imagine reading it for the first time, like someone who just found it.”

Through this article, I was a little confused about the meaning of the word “read” since there are various meanings. Read can refer to the ability to understand what is being said but it could also refer to the legibility, like whether the typographic appearance is able to be read. I think this article is probably stressing the idea of both, but it’s hard to know for sure what one they consider more important. Although, my guess is that each is equally important. 

One thing I thought was interesting that Allen brought up in the article was how a designer’s work is like an extension of himself. I have noticed quite often how when a designer, and this includes myself, is critiqued for their work, it is taken more as a attack on them personally. As a designer, I am realizing that I need to be more open to critiques and to separate myself from my designs. It’s important to hear a solid unbiased critique as design isn’t and shouldn’t be subjective and I shouldn’t design based only on what I like. These critiques are the best way for me to learn and grow as a designer. But I also need to try new things or I won’t learn, and this article has challenged me to think more outside the box and to explore different typographic elements.

-k

Allen, Dean. (2001). Reading Design. A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 128. 

          http://www.alistapart.com/articles/readingdesign/

It's All About Community

One aspect that many websites implement is community, where users can engage with the site itself but also with each other. This is most commonly seen in social media websites, but is also seen in many other sites as well as they try to get user interaction and feedback. In the article “Community: From Little Things, Big Things Grow” by George Oates, it talks about the strategies she has learned from starting up the photo-sharing site called Flickr. She’s been excited and challenged from the users, not just from their beautiful photography, but also in how to use Flickr’s infrastructure in ways she wouldn’t have envisioned. Throughout the process, she’s come to embrace that “people will warp and stretch your site in ways you can’t predict–they’ll surprise you with their creativity and make something wonderful with what you provide.” 

One strategy she’s learned from this is to give people fewer rules to follow and people will be more creative. She saw Flickr as a playing field without any rules so that users had to figure out their own “way to play”. Many Flickr groups have sprung out based on specific areas of conversation like photography techniques or “Guess Where” groups where people try to identify where mysterious photos were taken in their town. There are no specific rules to engagement which leaves the members to interact how they like. Another plan of action for Oates in order to grow the site was communicating with members by chatting or providing public forums which allowed members to asked questions. Oates suggests hiring a community manager in order to help welcome and support a growing community. A third strategy of Oates was making Flickr feel personal. She was really focused on copy in order to make it sound human. The site design is also plain and simple so that it’s straightforward and easy to use. This also won’t take away from the main subject of the site, which are the photographs. A few other strategies Oates mentions: let users creates their own path which allows for a unique experience, allow users to chose whether to share their identity or remain anonymous, implement user “commandments” or guidelines once the site grows, allow variation for all sorts of users, and lastly be open as a designer by sharing your own content and making contacts. Social media sites are meant to be an exciting way to share about yourself so why not join in on the fun you’ve created!

I really enjoy social media sites, but I’ve always been a little apprehensive of them as well. It’s a great way to communicate quickly, to share photos and ideas, and to keep in contact with people. I just fear that social media is taking over real world, face-to-face interactions which I think are so key in communicating. I also find it can be highly distracting as I find myself drifting onto social media sites while doing my homework. I enjoy Facebook to a degree as I like staying in contact with friends from high school and family and friends that live far away. But so many people post about every little thing they do, what they’re feeling, and other things that seem to personal and probably should be shared privately. As a designer, though, I personally love design and craft sites. I’m really addicted to Pinterest, as is obvious from my 1,753 pins and 974 likes! Other sites that I’ve recently discovered and am excited to check out more are Designspiration, Image Spark, and Wookmark where there are lots of great designs to be inspired by!

-k

Oates, George. (2008). Community: From Little Things, Big Things Grow. A List Apart: For People Who Make 

          Websites, 258. http://www.alistapart.com/articles/fromlittlethings/

Take Up the Content Strategy Torch

Content is a very important element in designing web pages. Content is the reason most people get on websites since most of the time they are going to a webpage to gain information. In the article “The Discipline of Content Strategy” by Kristina Halvorson, she says that nobody seems to be asking the questions about the content such as “What’s the point?” and “Who cares?” and that’s why most content out there is “crap”. As messy and difficult as it is as web designers to worry about content for the web, Halvorson says, “And yet, the web is content. Content is the web. It deserves our time and attention.” As designers, we need to quit pretending that content is somebody else’s problem and take up the torch for content strategy.

It’s important to have a strategy when it comes to content, according to Halvorson. Not only does a content strategist need to explain what content will be published, but also why it’s being published. Some of the things that a content strategy defines is key themes and messages, recommended topics, purpose, content gap analysis, search engine optimization, and implications of strategic recommendations. Overall, content strategy’s main goal is to use words and data that create content that is a meaningful and interactive experience. This can be done by being knowledgeable in all areas of communication. Some of these areas include editorial strategy, web writing, and content management strategy. A big area in content design is being able to keep it up to date as information is constantly being added or changed. The importance of content needs to be clearly defined and defended to companies and clients so they will realize this need to do content right.

I agree with this article completely as I think content is very important in web design, even possibly more important than the design itself. Whether or not a web page is visually engaging, people will most likely still get on a web page to read about the information that they are wanting to find out. It’s good content that makes the person continue reading and then come back again to the site another time. Good writing is memorable, and I think content that is well written, precise, and easy to read is the best type of content. In this busy day and age, people want their information like they want their fast food; they don’t like to sit there and read words that seem to have no end. So as a web designer, the best way to give people what they need is to have efficient and to-the-point content.

-k

References

Halvorson, Kristina. (2008). The Discipline of Content Strategy. A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 

               274. http://www.alistapart.com/articles/thedisciplineofcontentstrategy/

Choosing the Right Type

The article “On Web Typography” by Jason Santa Maria focuses on choosing the right typeface for website designs. It has become more important for designers to have a good understanding of typography and on what typefaces and typeface pairings to use that best represents the overall message of the site. The importance of this issue has increased in the past couple years once typefaces were made available for free on websites and with CSS allowing designers to link to any font-face file. Jason says that it’s important to practice the art of typography by really understanding what each typeface means. 

One of the most important things when choosing a typefaces is readability. Reading is a learned behavior, and since simple serif and sans serif are mostly what we read today, it becomes easiest to read. Besides readability, typography is about the details, like personality and contrast when choosing pairs of typefaces. Pairing serif and sans serif fonts or bold and italic fonts help to add variety and contrast. It’s also important to figure out the qualities of the message that we want communicated and then choose typefaces based on those qualities. They might also have a connection to a certain time period or culture so it’s important to make sure a typeface does’t evoke the wrong connotation. Typography is a powerful tool so use it to your advantage. 

I agree with Jason that it is very important to think carefully about your choice in selecting a typeface. As he stated, “...with great power comes great responsibility. Just because you can use the font that looks like it’s wearing bellbottoms, doesn’t mean you should.” It’s true that having a more wide and available variety of typefaces can help you create an aesthetic for your website. Sometimes, though, less is more. I think that for a lot of websites, it’s better to pick a simple and clean typeface that will not distract from the message of the website but rather draw attention to the website’s content. I think audiences now-a-days really gravitate towards simple and straightforward design. They want a website that is easy to navigate and by choosing a simple typeface, this is the best and quickest way to make that possible.


-k

References

Maria, Jason Santa. (2009). On Web Typography. A List Apart: For People Who Make 

          Websites, 296. http://www.alistapart.com/articles/on-web-typography/

Getting Stuck in a Bad Habit

In the article “Habit Fields”, written by Jack Cheng on May 4, 2010, it talks about the things around us that store not only many memories but our behaviors as well. These stored behaviors are referred to as an object’s habit field which means that being around a certain object causes us to act in a certain way. More specifically, we create established behaviors when we use an object in a continued practice. This type of learning is called procedural memory, or memory on how to do things. According to Cheng, this type of behavior has become common with our desks and technological devices that we use everyday, but not always in the most productive way, as it’s easy to get distracted by social media websites every time we sit down to work. But we can change our habit fields, and one way Cheng says we can do that is to switch locations depending on the activity. Sit at a desk for work and a comfy chair for leisure activities so that every time you do one or the other, you have to move. This becomes a nuisance, and over time you will learn to stay in place at your desk. This simple change in habit field builds work habits that are prolonged, which will result in being more productive as well as let you expand your creativity and remember what it feels like to be completely absorbed in your work again.

This article was just what I needed to read as it opened my eyes to changes I need to make. I am probably one of the most distracted people I know when it comes to using computers and trying to get work done. Pretty much every time I get on my computer, the first thing I check is Facebook, then my school email, and then my Hotmail account. It has become such a conditioned behavior that I do it without even thinking. Once I’ve checked all three then I will start on whatever assignment I had originally gotten on my computer to do. Also, so many times throughout the assignment if I’m confused or get tired of working on it, I find myself checking one of those websites yet again. It’s become a pretty bad habit that I need to break.

Cheng’s articles made me realize how much better I could be utilizing my time. I would be able to get so much more work done just by having a set spot where I did my work. As a college student, it’s sort of hard to employ this concept in my dorm room as my desk is right by my bed. But just getting up and moving from my desk to my bed every time I want to check my Facebook would get to be very annoying, and I think this might just be the thing that gets me to stay in place at my desk longer. 

-k

References

Cheng, Jack. (2010). Habit Fields. A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 305. 

          http://www.alistapart.com/articles/habit-fields/

Here It Goes Again

Hi. I'm Keely Geringer! Here are a few things about me:

I'm a senior graphic design major at Cedarville University.
I enjoy the simple things in life like a good book and a rainy day.
I'm from the country but would love to live and work in the city.

I remember different terms and techniques about layout design and about building a website from my Web Design class last semester. I also remember some html coding. I haven't worked on any since last semester so I might be a little rusty, but I'm sure I'll pick it back up really quickly! I enjoyed learning something that was challenging but rewarding once I was able to get a browser to look and work how I wanted. I also got to help work on some web design projects for my internship this past summer. It was neat seeing them work on redesigning their website and getting to be a small part of that.

I hope to perfect my coding skills in this Advanced Web Design class. I want it to become natural and easy for me to write code so that it will no longer take an endless number of hours! I would like to learn more techniques on how to create engaging, creative web layouts and designs. I'm looking forward to this upcoming semester and what I will learn!

-k