The Next 5,000 Days

This presentation on the next 5,000 days of the web was very thought provoking.  I can't say that I totally agree or disagree with the presenter. One thing that I definitely agree with:

The web will not become "the web, except it's better"

I do believe this is one of the most interesting things to think about. Looking back to when I was in elementary school til now even, I can see that back in 1st grade if you told me about some of the stuff that goes on now in the web such as google maps, google earth, web cams, social networking sites, e-commerce, etc etc I would have been completely blown away. And not just because I would be 7. I mean the way that computer technology has advanced, even in the past two years with Car GPS systems is crazy. I think last year around this time they were selling them for like 300 dollars. Now you can pick one up for 70-80 dollars easily.  So, just thinking about what can happen to the web in 10 years is insane indeed.

One transformation to the web that I believe is going to happen very soon is the proliferation of fiber-optic (or a similar technology) based Internet service. I don't think the 5,000 day video mentioned anything about this, but I think an advance like this will further evolve the web just like broadband speed did. I am not sure what will happen as a result of ultra-fast, ultra-ubiquitous web speed, but it will probably be really neat.  The widespread speed will impact web design in a similar way moving from 56k to DSL impacted it. More data and media will be able to be presented on web pages and web designers will have more tools to use in order to utilize all the possiblilities.

The presenter in the video talked about increased personalization with the cost of increased transparency and I can't help but wonder, Is that what we really want?  Especially from a security standpoint this increased transparency idea is very scary.

One last thing I really like about the video was his bit on our reliance of Google's search engine to "remember" things for us.  This concept really intrigued me. I don't know if I think that is a good thing or not. I have to wonder: is it okay for us to dump so much of our human-ness into one non-human entity that we all lose the ability or desire to know things and remember them? Does that reflect poorly on us? Should we embrace this concept of a global brain that remembers everything for us so we don't have to?

I don't know. What I do know is that technology grows rapidly and maybe the things this guy talks about will seem ridiculously outdated and simple in 5-10 years.

Tutorial I Tried

I tried out the following css tutorial:

http://www.webdesignerwall.com/tutorials/css-gradient-text-effect/

This tutorial shows a technique for making cool headers with gradient effects. I think that it interests me because I really like artistic looking things. I am hoping that we can use this technique somewhere for our Habitat site because I think it looks really nice. It is a really easy css technique, but making the gradient images can be challenging because you have to use a program that can do transparency ( I used GIMP ), but other than that it is easy.

Check out my attempt at this technique:

Here's my attempt
I think everyone should check this tutorial out, because it adds a really cool effect to your headers!

Design Psychology

I found this article very interesting. There are a couple quotes I'd like to pull out because I found them very important or especially good:

"Possibility is far more enticing than limitation."

I just liked this one for its universal correctness. I think it is fitting in many situations outside of web development too.

"By contrast, on those occasions that I was allowed to get rid of the clutter and make a display featuring one or two seasonally relevant items (and lots of open space surrounding the area) we sold out of the featured items. Every time."

The writer's story about working in retail really made a lot of sense to me.

Having said that I think one thing that relates to our project possibly is the idea that the client is not always necessarily right. The author says that sometimes you have to go against what your client tells you to do because good web design principles should usually come first. Now, I don't know specifically how this might play into our Habitat project, but I guess you never know.

I think the idea of using white space frequently to space things evenly will be something to use in our project. This goes along with that second quote up there. If you leave breathing room around important content the user will be more enticed to read it, examine it, or whatever the case may be.

The portion of the article about logo size is something we can consider for our project. If we just make sure we don't overdo it with the habitat logo, that will be something to monitor. Overall this article made some seemingly common-sense points, but it was good to read so that I can keep this design principles in mind for the future.

Site Reviews

1. www.newegg.com

Audience: I believe the audience is either tech savvy or semi-tech savvy individuals looking for computer parts and electronics. Ages probably between 18-40 are probably most likely to visit this site.

The most important content:
The daily deals.
Located:
Center of the page.

Layout:
I think it uses fluid.

Navigation areas:
Main navigation bar across the very top with 12 items in it.





2. www.lineage2.com

Audience: The audience is people who enjoy MMORPGs and current Lineage 2 players.

The most important content:
The most recent game news.
Located:
Center of the page.

Layout:
I think it uses fixed.

Navigation areas:
Main navigation bar on the left side with 9 items.


3.www.youtube.com

Audience: The audience is very broad. Because of the wide variety of content and its cultural popularity, it is hard to pin point the audience. I think most people who have the Internet have been exposed to Youtube at some point.

The most important content:
The search bar!
Located:
Center of the page, up at the top.

Layout:
I think it uses fluid.

Navigation areas:
Main navigation bar on the top with just 4 items.

Stakeholder Session

I think our interview with the Stakeholder, Nancy from Habitat Erie went really well. I felt good about the ideas we exchanged and I think Nancy has the right expectations about what we can do as a group. We accomplished what we set out to do as well. We got a general idea for what the problem is, what we can do to fix it, and we got some specifics. She sort of outlined the site for us, what pages are needed and what is on each page. So I feel like we have what we need to get to work on the site. I don't think I would do anything differently, at this point. As we get to working on the thing I will probably think, "ah, we should of asked x,y, and z," but as of right now I think we're good. The only challenge for me was not having any web design experience, and therefore not really knowing where to start. As of right now, I don't think we have anything left unanswered but if my experience with software development is any indication, I'll think of a few I'm sure in the next few days.

Questions For Stakeholders

Here are some questions I think will need answered:

• What is the number one goal of the website we will be building?
• Who is the target audience?
• What type of content will be presented on the website?
• Are there special logos, color schemes, or other company-specific marketing standards we need to adhere to?
• When does the website need to be up and running?
• Where can we find the information we need to present on the website?
• How can we contact the stakeholders if we have new questions?
  

Good & Bad Web Design

An example of good web design in my opinion is Google: www.google.com (in case you didn't already know that).

I believe Google has good web design for the following reasons:
1. It is very simply laid out
2. It has advanced features for advanced users
3. It does not have too much going on

I like the fact that Google is very easy to use for its main purpose as being a search engine. All I have to do is type in some keywords and hit enter. It is really easy. But Google also has given me the ability to expand its functionality. I can use iGoogle to personalize it, giving me instant access to my Gmail, the weather, news articles and other things in addition to the basic search engine!

An example of bad web design, in my opinion is Angel - Gannon's Online Learning System:
(angel.gannon.edu)

Three reasons for this:
1. Pages do not seem very clean
2. It is difficult/buggy for teachers to use (to post assignments, drop boxes, etc.)*
3. It is difficult to find things

*this could just be the teachers I have had

In my experience with angel the layout is a little bit all over the place. This makes it not ideal for navigation and tends to leave me wanting a little bit more. However, I do like being able to electronically submit assignments using Angel, and it seems to work well enough to be functional and even helpful.

First Entry

Three things I'd like to be able to do when I leave CIS 240:
1. Know how to implement a web site using html.
2. Understand CSS and be able to create style sheets that express my own artistic preferences.
3. Have the ability to use javascript or some other type of script to make a website more dynamic.

I don't really know what to think about challenges or hurdles in the world of web design. My lack of experience is the main reason for this, and I suppose it is also going to be the main hurdle. From the little experience I do have, I can see deployment being something that gives me trouble.

I am most excited about being able to say that I know how to use html. I have seen many job descriptions that require knowledge of html and, even though I am a software engineer, I believe it will be a great thing to add to my list of skills.