Blog 13/14 - Jake Holt

Web Page Layouts and Design was a great assignment for me, because it tied directly in with things I'm having to learn at work. I'm a video production specialist by trade. A significant portion of my job duties includes creating graphics and typography to placed within the videos I create. So, having to read through those articles ended up being really helpful. I learned some of the foundational basics about what works in design and what doesn’t.

I even had a meeting with a couple of the designers from our department and they gave me even more tips. Sifting through some of my favorite websites and really paying attention to the detail of how they organize things was pretty inspiring. I’ve looked at all of those sites so many times, but re-approaching them with a new perspective was cool. There were definite similarities in how they did things, but also major distinctions.

The sleekest and most accessible websites I found were the minimalist ones. Apple, for example, was used as two of my 12 examples. They are pretty much the standard in everything tech, and their website is no exception. It will be key for me to take some of these elements that we learned and incorporate them in my own website.
Along with Apple, another good example to check out would be Blizzard Entertainment's website. They're continually skilled in the art of creating an engaging and accessible layout which ultimately makes users want to spend money. So colorful and vibrant!

Week #13 Kevin Buckway

        Web design is one of my favorite things to study. I think this may be due to me being a fairly visual learner and me being drawn to design in general. I think viewing and studying the relationships of how artifacts on the web are laid out and designed is very interesting. That paired with the fact that
good web design can make or break a company’s success is worth studying.

        The first website I wanted to feature is https://www.tesla.com/. I love their sleek design which
uses clear contrast, bold colors, simple navigation, and instant gratification to ensure their audience
understands their brand and style. It shows a unique, bold, and luxurious attitude which defines the Tesla brand well in my opinion.

        The second website I’d like to mention is http://www.shaybuckway.com/. This is my wife’s website, which she maintains and designed herself. It is not always perfect but I think it is a great example of a simplistic, quickly “scannable”, and photo centric design. It instantly shows the audience the product with large high quality photography. And through white space it allows viewers to really focus on the importance of the quality put into the content. The color scheme is simple but has enough contrast to hold interest.

        These two websites are great examples of clear web design which uses all the tactics listed throughout the websites we read this week. There are many examples of great sites which made learning these design rules simple and enjoyable.

Week 13 - Carly Rowe

I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving break.

I personally loved this assignment of web layouts and design, it was fun to look at different websites and indicate what you think is a strong point and what you think is a weak point in their websites. I found lots of wonderful websites but I have to side with my friend Autumn’s website for being my favorite. It is nice, tasteful, simple, the colors are not overpowering, there are not too many photos that make it cluttered, and the purpose behind the store is amazing in itself. Her website is:

http://www.akvkcreations.com/

I would recommend it to anybody I come in contact with who needs what she sells.

Another website that I found to be interesting is Buzzfeed, we all know Buzzfeed as that website that has the little quizzes you can take, or the “21 items that make you say “me.”” What I found interesting on that website is, the spacing is great and the fonts are consistent, but the images and the website itself are cluttered which in a way, makes it difficult to navigate. Navigation is a key for me when going to a website, I hate when I get to a website and it is so cluttered, I have anxiety.

Week 13

I really enjoyed this week in class. I learned a lot about effective website layout and design. There were several tips outlined in the readings this week. Listed below are a few examples of websites I believe are effectively designed.

www.ulta.com

The first website I chose is for Ulta. In our readings we learned that color is a key element to incorporate when designing a website. You want to ensure that you choose colors that draw your users in and are not too overwhelming.  It is best to choose colors that complement one another and fit the theme of the website. The website for Ulta has colors that are bright enough but are not harsh or overwhelming.  The pinks, beige and purples work well with the theme of the website.

The second website I chose is https://www.coldstonecreamery.com/

One element that is important when designing a website is size. It is important to use both large and small text along with different sizes of images. You can highlight the information that is the most important by choosing the proper size. This website highlights the name of the business and the products (ice cream) on display. Size can communicate a message to viewers without saying much at all.

I found a grammar error this week while I was texting my brother. This should say:

"Thanks for the help this week. You're so nice!" 

It's crazy how often I notice grammatical errors because of this class. 

Blog 13, Derrek Ballard

This week's assignment was refreshing since it was so unlike any other assignments we've had so far. It also didn't take me very long which is great considering the book report is due next week.

In my research for this week's Web Page assignment, I found two web pages that I liked the most.

My favorite web page is YouTube because it's organized well, uses the rule of thirds and the font type and size is standard across the board.  The sub-hierarchies are make the website user-friendly and increases efficiency.

The other web page that stuck out is the America First Credit Union home page.  The colors complement each other and the scheme stands out.  The photo definitely stands out from the rest of the website.  The web page features a large attention-grabbing advertisement for their latest deal and follows the rule of thirds.

Blog 12 Jake Holt

This last week taught me plenty about headlines that I’d never known before. I wasn’t aware of the format that involves the number of lines and the size of the font. I just figured it was kind of whatever fit on the webpage best.

I actually liked writing them quite a bit. It’s an art form in and of itself. I learned that people will subconsciously skip over a headline if it isn’t quick and catchy. If it doesn’t include the right keywords, it won’t strike people as relevant.

There is so much material online, that people have trained themselves to filter out bad or boring content automatically. So a headline that pops and sets up an interesting story is crucial to any article. Another thing that helps a headline is if there’s a bit of humor sprinkled in, if it’s in the right situation, that is. If the article is serious, it’s important to frame the headline as very serious, as if it’s the reader’s civic duty to click on the headline and read.

There’s a lot that goes into writing a headline that I didn’t know before this class. I definitely have a better sense for what I like and don’t like now.

Blog 11 Jake Holt

Over the course of the last week, I looked at a lot of headlines. Some good, some bad. I found that most of the headlines I thought were bad had to do with length. If a headline was long, lacked rhythm and didn’t set up the story quickly and efficiently, I was far less inclined to click on it and read the story.

Here is an example of a headline I thought was bad. It’s by www.wired.com. “Security News This Week: Snowden-Hater Michael Pompeo May Be CIA Director”

I feel that this headline doesn’t properly set up a story for multiple reasons: one, because it requires a lot of prior knowledge that many people may not have. It’s very specific, and therefore limits its potential target audience by quite a bit. It’s also wordy and split into two parts. It’s simply too long and convoluted.

Inversely, there are plenty of great headlines out there. Here’s one I found this week that I thought stood out and worked for me. It’s by NBC News.

“Grandmother’s Accidental Thanksgiving Text to Random Teen Leads to Heartwarming Viral Story”

This headline is interesting. It sets up to tell a story that’s going to have a heartwarming message. It’s relatable. It contains plenty of cohesive buzz words that catch the eye.

Blog 10 Jake Holt

This lead on CNN was effective. It was concise, informative, and foreshadowing in a non-gimmicky way.

"There was no mention of building a wall along the Mexican border. There was nothing about repealing Obamacare. But President-elect Donald Trump has plenty to do in his first 100 days in office."

Donald Trump is what the United States is talking about. That's a given. Most of the news in the entire world is about him and his infamous statements that he's made while campaigning for the office he would eventually win. This lead worked for me because it started off by stating that things may be different than we thought...that there may be a plot twist of sorts.

That Donald Trump may actually be putting ample thought into the enormous responsibility he now has on his shoulders.

A good lead sets up a story. And being the most relevant and important topic in the country right now, it’s crucial to make sure stories like this are set up properly. Starting off by mentioning “The Wall” was smart, because that’s probably the most controversial of all the policies we may or may not see over the course of the next four years.

Make Grammar Great Again

Oh Grammar, the damning god of the writer. Our scholarly judge which teaches us the rules we must learn in order to breaking them. Since our fate is cast in-part, by this demon god, the devil is in the details. Brushing up on grammar has become a necessary chore; but it’s something I try to be aware of at all times. Lately, I’ve been working on my natural understanding of word meaning; as well, how the word is spelled. I stumbled upon an app called 7 Words. The game presents multiple word parts and mixes them together. The user is then presented with seven definitions, to which they must assemble the correct word for each. It’s a fantastic word game to brush up on difficult words.

My grammar mistake this week comes off the heels of the presidential election. Many folks are posting from a place of anger; this can cause grammar mistakes. However, my suspicion says this might not be the case with this young micro-blogger. She might need to brush up on the elementary use of the English language.

I would edit this status:
“I suspect my followers do not read what I post about Trump; perhaps they’re uneducated.”