To make my portfolio website I will be using a range of programs and technologies to make the site. I will be using the basics like a computer and an internet connection to create the website and make it live. The other important things I will need to create the site are the technologies and programs. I will be using programs from the Adobe Creative suit, such as Dreamweaver to build the site and Photoshop and maybe Flash to create elements for the site.
The technologies I will be using is XHTML (version 1.0) this will be the code that is been used to arrange the content of the portfolio before sorting out the presentation. I will be using CSS (version 2.1) to do the presentation of the website. It makes it easier to keep the web pages looking more consistent thought out the website and easier to make any changes. CMS (content management system) will be used within the website, with it been a portfolio it will be updated regularly therefore it would be easier to have a CMS. IMAP will be used as I would like some way that people could contact me via e-mail.
Also I have my webhosting already set up which means I can upload my site as soon as it is completed and I have my e-mail address sent up so e-mails can be sent to viki@victorialouisefisher.co.uk and my URL is www.victorialouisefisher.co.uk.
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Target audience
Primary audience
Educator and potential employer/client
The main purpose of the portfolio now is to pass my assignment and to do this I must meet the targets my tutor has set for that assignment. Also the point of the course is to get us ready for employment so you could say that the other type of person it is aimed at is potential employers/clients.
Example-John-Paul is a 29 year old senior designer and is looking for a new junior designer. He works for a small design company in Huddersfield; they have been advertising and have recieved quite a lot of CV's and John-Paul has the job of going though the CVs and online portfolios to choose people to interview.
Age: 30+
Gender: Male
Occupation: Teacher
Online Experience: Very experienced with the internet
Online Frequency and activities: 8+ hours a day, websites for work for research, informational websites and design websites
Online Location: Work and home
Connectivity: High speed broadband connection
Age: 26+
Gender: Mainly male but female as well
Occupation: Senior Designer / Manager
Online Experience: Very experienced with the internet
Online Frequency and activities: 8+ hours a day, websites for work for research, informational websites, design websites and portfolios
Online Location: Work and home
Connectivity: High speed broadband connection at work and broadband at home
Secondary audience
Students
Other students will be looking at my portfolio to get an idea of my ways of working and what I am like. Also to get inspiration and to look at the kind of thing they could do.
Example- Edward is a 20 year old student who is studying web design, he regularly looks at students and professional portfolios to get ideas on how to make his portfolio look. He also wants an idea of what kind of work he might be doing.
Age: 18+
Gender: Mainly male but female as well
Occupation: Student
Online Experience and activities: Very experienced with the internet
Online Frequency: 8+ hours a day, informational websites for research for assignment work and design websites
Online Location: Work and home
Connectivity: High speed broadband connection at work and broadband at home
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Portfolio goals
1. Validate to XHTML 1.0 strict and CSS 2.1 standards
Validating to W3 standards will make the website work well in different browsers and different browser versions, also to improve search engine visibility and gives a sense of professionalism.
To measure this goal I will validate the web site using w3c XHTML and CSS valuators.
2. Validate to WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) Guidelines 1.0
Making the website more accessible will allow the web site to be viewed by a larger audience.
To measure this goal I will use the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).
3. Easily updatable
With the website been a portfolio it needs to be easy to update so new work can be added regularly. Also my portfolio might need to be edited for job interview to suit the job I am going for.
To measure this goal I will set task to complete that will involve edit parts of the portfolio to test how easy it is.
4. A high search engine rank
The most viewed websites on a search engine is the first three pages, so I want to aim to get my portfolio on one of though pages. The lower the pages number the better.
To measure this goal I will search for my web site in search engines to see were my web site comes up and using Search Engine Results Pages to measure the position.
Validating to W3 standards will make the website work well in different browsers and different browser versions, also to improve search engine visibility and gives a sense of professionalism.
To measure this goal I will validate the web site using w3c XHTML and CSS valuators.
2. Validate to WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) Guidelines 1.0
Making the website more accessible will allow the web site to be viewed by a larger audience.
To measure this goal I will use the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).
3. Easily updatable
With the website been a portfolio it needs to be easy to update so new work can be added regularly. Also my portfolio might need to be edited for job interview to suit the job I am going for.
To measure this goal I will set task to complete that will involve edit parts of the portfolio to test how easy it is.
4. A high search engine rank
The most viewed websites on a search engine is the first three pages, so I want to aim to get my portfolio on one of though pages. The lower the pages number the better.
To measure this goal I will search for my web site in search engines to see were my web site comes up and using Search Engine Results Pages to measure the position.
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Flash and Final semester
For my self managed learning plan (SMLP) assignment I have chosen to study Flash and ActionScript. When I came to choosing the subject I wanted to study I didn’t find it hard to choose as the job adverts I preferred were more creative based. I am glad I picked Flash but it would have been good to know about PHP as well. I also chose Flash because I am not that interested in coding so I went for an option that could involve a bit of creativity.
Flash does include coding and I am not looking forward to learning that because it is like learning a new language to me and even though I want to learn it, it gets really frustrating. To learn Flash and ActionScript I have bought some books, usually I mainly use the internet for resources but this time I decided to choose a different approach to learning a new subject. The only thing with books is you can’t highlight them and scribble notes all over but I am sure I can find a way around that.
Employers looking for new web designers usually look for people who are familiar with HTML and CSS for a start, then Java script, PHP SQL and ActionScript3 as extras. So you should at least know HTML and CSS then know at least one of the other technologies but the more knowledge you have of different technologies the better. I think it would be better knowing a bit of all technologies rather than know a lot about just one.
At interview you would look better saying that you knew about a range of technologies rather than just a few. Web design is about learning new things all the time, so even though I am learning Flash for this new assignment it will change, as new versions of Flash will come and ActionScript will get updates, and therefore the new changes need to be learnt.
This college year has gone really fast, I am nervous about how soon it is that I will finish the course but I am also in a way looking forward to it. The first year was a bit different to the second, it seems to be more self-study based now. I have enjoyed doing this course but at some points I have felt really stressed, so will be glad to have a rest for a bit. I am looking forward to being able to design my own portfolio, the previous students have done some really good websites for theirs.
The final presentation isn’t too far off now but I am not that nervous about doing it. The presentation is on my work and my thoughts and feelings about my work, therefore I will find it easier to do the presentation about something I know and it won’t be the same as anyone else's because my thoughts and feelings are mine and no else could explain my work as well as me.
Word Count: 499 words
Thursday, 15 January 2009
List of resources
1. Flash CS3 Professional for Windows and Macintosh:Visual QuickStart Guide by Katherine Ulrich
2. Flash CS3: The Missing Manual by Chris Grover and E. Vander Veer
3. Learning ActionScript 3.0 (A Beginner's Guide) by Rich Shupe and Zevan Rosser
4. Essential ActionScript 3.0 by Colin Moock
5. Adobe Flash CS3 Professional How-Tos:100 Essential Techniques by Mark Schaeffer
6. http://www.w3schools.com/Flash/default.asp
7. http://www.good-tutorials.com/
8. http://www.tutorialized.com
9. http://www.flashkit.com/tutorials/
10. http://www.actionscript.org/
2. Flash CS3: The Missing Manual by Chris Grover and E. Vander Veer
3. Learning ActionScript 3.0 (A Beginner's Guide) by Rich Shupe and Zevan Rosser
4. Essential ActionScript 3.0 by Colin Moock
5. Adobe Flash CS3 Professional How-Tos:100 Essential Techniques by Mark Schaeffer
6. http://www.w3schools.com/Flash/default.asp
7. http://www.good-tutorials.com/
8. http://www.tutorialized.com
9. http://www.flashkit.com/tutorials/
10. http://www.actionscript.org/
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
New skill
The new skill I would like to learn is Flash with action script. The only experience I have had using Flash is on my previous course, I tried to use Flash to make a presentation for some images.
I didn’t get long on the project so I didn’t get much done with the presentation, as it wasn’t an important part of my project and I was learning it my self and in a rush so I did learn anything really. What I did learn I can’t remember and I doubt I was doing it right anyway.
I am not really into the coding part of web design, so I wanted to learn a skill that could include a bit of design work. I know the action script is coding but Flash isn’t all about writing coding.
The only other skill I was considering learning was PHP, but I thought if I didn’t find CSS interesting, so what is the point in doing something similar. It will be good to learn how to make an interactive document using flash. In previous years I think they did games and clickable image. I’d like to know how to make an animation or a little simple game.
When I was looking at the job adverts for the I Me assignment I saw a lot of the job I choose asked for flash as a skill they were looking for. So today I have found some recent job adverts and again they all say flash is required for web designer. Most of the skills on the job adverts we have covered in detail with our assignments but there are a few that I don’t know and flash is one of them.
Flash is a skill I want to learn and with wanting to learning it, it will make it a more enjoyable assignment.
Advert 1, Advert 2, Advert 3
I didn’t get long on the project so I didn’t get much done with the presentation, as it wasn’t an important part of my project and I was learning it my self and in a rush so I did learn anything really. What I did learn I can’t remember and I doubt I was doing it right anyway.
I am not really into the coding part of web design, so I wanted to learn a skill that could include a bit of design work. I know the action script is coding but Flash isn’t all about writing coding.
The only other skill I was considering learning was PHP, but I thought if I didn’t find CSS interesting, so what is the point in doing something similar. It will be good to learn how to make an interactive document using flash. In previous years I think they did games and clickable image. I’d like to know how to make an animation or a little simple game.
When I was looking at the job adverts for the I Me assignment I saw a lot of the job I choose asked for flash as a skill they were looking for. So today I have found some recent job adverts and again they all say flash is required for web designer. Most of the skills on the job adverts we have covered in detail with our assignments but there are a few that I don’t know and flash is one of them.
Flash is a skill I want to learn and with wanting to learning it, it will make it a more enjoyable assignment.
Advert 1, Advert 2, Advert 3
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Reflection of the second year so far
Start of the year
I didn’t really start this year that good because I knew that I wasn’t going to pass the summer assignment. The week before the summer assignment hand in date I hoped to get all the assignment finished within good time, but loads of things seem to happen that week, which didn’t make it easy for me to do that. For example my friend’s house flooded so I had to help trying to stop more water getting in her house, so that lost me at least a days worth of work.
With us starting later this year it means we have assignment work to be done in the holidays. I did prefer it when we got a break from the coursework and a week off to get ready for the next new assignment. I feel like it’s just course work all the time and it would be great to have a break and not have to worry about it.
Summer assignment
I liked doing the summer assignment, but if I was ask again to choose whether to do a summer assignment, I wouldn’t want to. If I have things I need to do I like to get them done and out of the way or they are always on my mind. So the summer assignment seemed to be always in the back of my mind. I think it was because I had loads of time to get the assignment completed, so I didn’t make aims to get tasks done for certain amounts time, I just did bits when ever I had time. At least I know were I went wrong and I can do it differently if I ever have to do anything like this again.
CSS assignment
I had a few problems with the CSS assignment, mainly because I didn’t understand how to edit the HTML properly. The websites I have built before have all been done using the design view so I haven’t had a lot of experience with HTML coding and coding doesn’t really interest me. Once I had sorted out the problems I was having with HTML coding, CSS seemed easier to understand.
Team assignment
The team assignment as been a lot different to the other assignments, mainly because I am not working by self, I have to consider everyone else in the team. In a way that adds quiet a bit of pressure as I don’t want to let my team down. It’s been good to get the experience working as a team and working with clients. One of the main things that I have found useful about this assignment is learning how to handle clients, some are more difficult than others and how to act to forwards them can depend how fast the progress of the project can go.
Assignment 12
I like doing creative tasks so I am really enjoying doing this assignment. It’s good to have a change from sat at a computer all the time.
I didn’t really start this year that good because I knew that I wasn’t going to pass the summer assignment. The week before the summer assignment hand in date I hoped to get all the assignment finished within good time, but loads of things seem to happen that week, which didn’t make it easy for me to do that. For example my friend’s house flooded so I had to help trying to stop more water getting in her house, so that lost me at least a days worth of work.
With us starting later this year it means we have assignment work to be done in the holidays. I did prefer it when we got a break from the coursework and a week off to get ready for the next new assignment. I feel like it’s just course work all the time and it would be great to have a break and not have to worry about it.
Summer assignment
I liked doing the summer assignment, but if I was ask again to choose whether to do a summer assignment, I wouldn’t want to. If I have things I need to do I like to get them done and out of the way or they are always on my mind. So the summer assignment seemed to be always in the back of my mind. I think it was because I had loads of time to get the assignment completed, so I didn’t make aims to get tasks done for certain amounts time, I just did bits when ever I had time. At least I know were I went wrong and I can do it differently if I ever have to do anything like this again.
CSS assignment
I had a few problems with the CSS assignment, mainly because I didn’t understand how to edit the HTML properly. The websites I have built before have all been done using the design view so I haven’t had a lot of experience with HTML coding and coding doesn’t really interest me. Once I had sorted out the problems I was having with HTML coding, CSS seemed easier to understand.
Team assignment
The team assignment as been a lot different to the other assignments, mainly because I am not working by self, I have to consider everyone else in the team. In a way that adds quiet a bit of pressure as I don’t want to let my team down. It’s been good to get the experience working as a team and working with clients. One of the main things that I have found useful about this assignment is learning how to handle clients, some are more difficult than others and how to act to forwards them can depend how fast the progress of the project can go.
Assignment 12
I like doing creative tasks so I am really enjoying doing this assignment. It’s good to have a change from sat at a computer all the time.
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