Carol Zimmerman's Blog

http://thecaffeinatedblog.typepad.com/the_caffeinated_blog/2008/08/unlock-the-full-potential-of-your-linkedin-profile.html

http://www.seomoz.org/
http://budurl.com/

I’ve changed quite a bit this week. I changed the top navigation to sit on a black background and the page the user is on will be white. I also changed the side in which my name sits on. I purposely wanted it “going off the page” so I left it that way. I’ve also added a bottom navigation and a header. For the interior page, I changed the color of the box the scroll bar will sit on. I also added information about the displayed piece.

I learned a lot about slicing this week. Slicing helps to optimize different parts of the whole project, that way the overall file size can be lessened without having to compensate parts to have other parts look great. Just go to layer>create slice.

I learned mainly about web site setup.  Make sure you do research about the average user viewing options (i.e. resolution, etc.)  This will help you determine the fold and other variables.  Also, I learned that when designing a website, it is important to only use RGB and the dpi doesn’t matter.  The dpi is solely for print.

Selectors tell how any HTML tag should be styled on a pge or site.  Class selectors must use a period before the rule and can be applied multiple times.  ID selectors must precede the rule with a pound sign and identify major page sections.  Descendant selectors is a rule based on the HTML, class, or ID that an element sits within and create individual instances of change.  Ems are used to specify size based on the user’s preferences.

This week, I learned a lot about animation.  I’m excited about this because it’s not as hard as I thought it would be, and kind of fun.  I learned how to effectively use keywords, as far as making sure these are included in your TITLE tags, and ALT tags, and in the heading or first few paragraphs of a page.  And I learned how to effectively design while still planning for the keyword search.

New Tags

• <div></div>   :applying style to block level elements
• <span></span> :applying style to inline elements
• If a period appears before a style, it is a class selector
• # is an id selector

As always, links are to the left.

This week, I learned some different effects in the videos for Fireworks.  What was most helpful was doing something totally on my own with the AACC banner designs.  They aren’t that great but I am starting to become more familiar with the tools.  I also learned how to create “roll-over links” in Fireworks.  You simply use the icons with the circle, rectangle, or polygon in the properties panel and draw over the area you want to become a link.  The hands-on experience helps.

Photoshop is the one thing I have consistently used in all of my classes since the beginning of time.  So learning something new there will come later with more advanced projects, I’m sure.

First Idea:

• My personal professional portfolio
• Self
• I have all of content on my hard/flash drives
• Yes, digital content exists
• I want to create a portfolio that I could present to art schools instead of a free one made by other sites
• This would be professional looking and presentable as a serious student

Second Idea:

• MAS Marketing
• This is a business my boyfriend is beginning, so I can toy around with ideas and such
• He has all information, etc. that I would need.  Most information would be obtained through “interviews”, etc.
• This business is an advertising and marketing consulting firm