Sunday, June 9, 2013
It Will Be Worth It In The End
This blog began as a way to show my friends and family what I was doing in classes. Over time it evolved into a place that I would use not only to display my work but also to keep resources I found for classes, ideas for projects, and thoughts about my classes.
This blog has followed me from the beginning to the end of my journey in getting my BFA in Web Design and Interactive Media from the Art Institute of Austin. I have talked about every class I took on this blog. Now that I have graduated I will not be posting on this blog anymore. My hope for this blog is that it will help students in their classes whether its to find a resource or get an idea for a project or just to find out what to expect in a class they are about to take.
My understanding is that you can no longer earn a BFA in Web Design and Interactive Media from the Art Institute of Austin. From now on you major in graphic design and then specialize in either print or web.
Maybe I will start using this blog if I have anything to say after this.
Portfolio Show
The portfolio show is in a few days it will be the last thing I do as a student. I finished my portfolio websites so I have that to show. I will have resumes, business cards and cookies that's all I am doing for the show.
You can see all my ideas here
Here are my ideas for what I want to do for the portfolio show:
You can see all my ideas here
Here are my ideas for what I want to do for the portfolio show:
Final CSS
I finished the website for Bourland Music. The requirements were to make a responsive website and use some of the css styles we had learned in class. Check! One thing I did was as the page each box flips up on the page one at a time.
I tried to do a metro style theme website. It turned out ok.
I tried to do a metro style theme website. It turned out ok.
Labels:
Style Sheet Scripting
Final Elearning
I barely finished completely this project in captivate. I had alot of computer issues but in the end I had something to turn in. It just was not as pretty as I would have liked it to be.
I ended up re shooting all the videos I had made with my older daughter this time my youngest daughter was my spokesperson. Here is out blooper reel.
I ended up re shooting all the videos I had made with my older daughter this time my youngest daughter was my spokesperson. Here is out blooper reel.
Labels:
E-Learning Applications
Friday, June 7, 2013
Final Portfolio II
My final portfolio
And my linkedin page
I love the retro look.
Hover over the viewmaster.
My idea is I am a web master and that goes along with a view master.
Portfolio site for another art institute' graduating students.
Labels:
Portfolio II
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Old Stuff
Just found an old youtube channel with some work I did when I first started school
This is my final project for digital visual composition
Final Project for Social Psychology
A stop motion video I made for fun
A video of some of my photos
and 2 more videos of my photos
This is my final project for digital visual composition
Final Project for Social Psychology
A stop motion video I made for fun
A video of some of my photos
and 2 more videos of my photos
Monday, May 27, 2013
Motion Graphics
If you’re a fan of the show Mad Men or have seen the opening, then you’ve seen a motion graphic.
Motion graphics were all the rage in the 1960s (hence the look for
the Mad Men series set in the advertising field of the 1960s) and were
popular in movies, TV show openings and commercials.You’ve seen plenty of them, now that you’ve put the graphic with the term. They’re once again on TV, commercials, movies, web sites and any other visual medium.
Is it that they are retro? Do they bring back a feeling of simpler days? Are they just visually pleasing and that’s why they have been discovered again? Some people will say that they never went away and that’s true but they are hot again and a specialized talent is needed to create them.
If you’ve wondered how it’s done and how you can get involved in creating these projects, here are examples and hints from some experts in the field.
The whole article is here and has great examples
Inspiration
And some more inspiration
an H1 that works
Your headline is the first, and perhaps only, impression you make on a prospective reader. Without a headline or post title that turns a browser into a reader, the rest of your words may as well not even exist.
But a headline can do more than simply grab attention. A great headline can also communicate a full message to its intended audience, and it absolutely must lure the reader into your body text.
Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer
Writing Great Headlines
What Needs to Be in a Headline?
Email Subject Line Tester
Labels:
Writing for Interactive Design
Oh NO!!!
I am so glad I am graduating when I am. I had some really good professors at the Art Institute of Austin but now they have all moved on to better things. The ones that are left really are not qualified to be teaching. For instance I just found out that one of these "professors" is having Adobe Muse installed on the computers at school. He is very excited about that. I just want to hang my head in shame for the school.
Really? As a student that has invested a lot of time and money into getting my degree The last thing I want to do is in a job interview talk about how as a serious designer I use MUSE!!!!!!
An article explaining my feelings on this subject.
"web designers and developers we spoke to have reacted in horror at Muse"
I guess I should not be surprised this is also the professor who wanted me to do my portfolio site in WIX!!!! I was really angry about that one and put my foot down. I told him that would cheapen what I do. I did not spend 4 years in school to in the end make a wix portfolio site!!!!
Really? As a student that has invested a lot of time and money into getting my degree The last thing I want to do is in a job interview talk about how as a serious designer I use MUSE!!!!!!
An article explaining my feelings on this subject.
"web designers and developers we spoke to have reacted in horror at Muse"
I guess I should not be surprised this is also the professor who wanted me to do my portfolio site in WIX!!!! I was really angry about that one and put my foot down. I told him that would cheapen what I do. I did not spend 4 years in school to in the end make a wix portfolio site!!!!
Trends
I have a class with a prof I can not stand this quarter. One of the things that drives me crazy about him is that he pretends to know so much more than he really does. Actually I think he really does believe he is a superior all knowing God. I guess it is easy to dup a bunch of recent High School grads into believing that but I am much older with much more life experience and I know what an idiot he really is.
The worse is when he tries to explain SEO. He is totally clueless. I wish he would just read about Google Penguin instead of vomiting misinformation to students!!!Here is one of the best websites for learning real SEO.
So in this class I have with him he likes to talk about web design trends. I literally have to bite my tongue because usually what he is talking about are things that have been around for awhile and are actually on the decline. Here are some real trends that are becoming popular in Web Design. (Actually some of these have been around awhile but are still popular)
Responsive Layouts
Fixed Header Bars
Large Photo Backgrounds
Looking for large image backgrounds? try this.
Infinite Scrolling
Color Trends
HTML5 and JavaScript
parallax
Video Backgrounds
V cards
A few things I saw on other websites that I think are good to know when it comes to website trends
1. Thanks to responsive web design, which allows designs to convert to screens of any size, designers are creating websites that give the feeling of being in front of a movie screen. We are seeing websites that use little text with big photos and videos (photo and videos that sometimes cover the screen entirely).
2. Adobe flash player has been a dear friend of the computer users for several years. But, with the introduction of the hyper-text markup version 5, it is time for Flash to make way for the new software.
3. Gone are the days when websites were cluttered with the not-so-useful to the entirely irrelevant content. The trend now entails leaving sufficient empty space, thus being more minimalistic in the web design concept. These websites are highly functional and not to mention aesthetically pleasing.
Principles of minimalist design
The worse is when he tries to explain SEO. He is totally clueless. I wish he would just read about Google Penguin instead of vomiting misinformation to students!!!Here is one of the best websites for learning real SEO.
So in this class I have with him he likes to talk about web design trends. I literally have to bite my tongue because usually what he is talking about are things that have been around for awhile and are actually on the decline. Here are some real trends that are becoming popular in Web Design. (Actually some of these have been around awhile but are still popular)
Responsive Layouts
Fixed Header Bars
Large Photo Backgrounds
Looking for large image backgrounds? try this.
Infinite Scrolling
Color Trends
HTML5 and JavaScript
parallax
Video Backgrounds
V cards
A few things I saw on other websites that I think are good to know when it comes to website trends
1. Thanks to responsive web design, which allows designs to convert to screens of any size, designers are creating websites that give the feeling of being in front of a movie screen. We are seeing websites that use little text with big photos and videos (photo and videos that sometimes cover the screen entirely).
2. Adobe flash player has been a dear friend of the computer users for several years. But, with the introduction of the hyper-text markup version 5, it is time for Flash to make way for the new software.
3. Gone are the days when websites were cluttered with the not-so-useful to the entirely irrelevant content. The trend now entails leaving sufficient empty space, thus being more minimalistic in the web design concept. These websites are highly functional and not to mention aesthetically pleasing.
Principles of minimalist design
Labels:
Web Design Resources
Learning To Wire Frame
In every web class I have taken we have had to wireframe our websites first. When I first started wireframing sites I spent more time looking for templates to help me then I actually did framing my websites here is a link with some useful ways to wireframe.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
All the tools you need to beat the curve
Adobe’s Creative Suite is dead, long live the Creative Cloud
It's the end of the line for boxed versions of Photoshop, InDesign, and the rest.
Read the article here
Important info for students using Adobe
Read about it here
Currently pricing for students is
It's the end of the line for boxed versions of Photoshop, InDesign, and the rest.
Read the article here
Important info for students using Adobe
Read about it here
Currently pricing for students is
Student and Teacher Edition Annual plan for
US $19.99 per month
CSS
Basically all we do in this class is have a lecture, an in class assignment that somehow never works, and then we work on our websites. I decided to re do my website that I did for Bourland Music decided to go with Metro style this time.
Some topics we have covered are CSS3 text-shadow property, CSS sprites, nth child and Media Queries.

Some topics we have covered are CSS3 text-shadow property, CSS sprites, nth child and Media Queries.

Labels:
Style Sheet Scripting
Captivate My First Kitchen
Working on my final for elearning. I am using my My First Kitchen idea that I have already used in 2 other classes. So far all I have are the videos.
Labels:
E-Learning Applications
3 Weeks
It is hard to believe that in only 3 weeks I will be done with classes and have my BFA!! Two weeks after that I have the portfolio show and graduation. I really didn't want to do either one but friends and family really want to come to graduation. It will be so strange not to have classes. School has been such a big part of my life for 4 years its going to be a strange transition for me.
Past portfolio shows on facebook. The one thing I notice about this is that in the pictures all I see is staff and students even though career services says over 100 employers come to this.
For the portfolio show I am provided with a table, some pencils, a tablecloth, and some mints. Everything else I have to bring in myself. We are suppose to have resumes, business cards, and some kind of hand out for people to take. Right now I am planning on creating a video that loops and having that play I like this one. My handout cookies in cd sleeve with label that says one smart cookie and my url to my portfolio. I am not going all out like I said all I see in the pictures are staff and students.
I did create a pinterest board with tons of ideas for show too bad I am not really going to do any of this.
Looping video ideas for portfolio show:
Business
Evolution
Presentation
Sketch
stickman
Resume
This one goes with my resume website and cards
Touch
Monitor
Green screens I might be able to use
Security Monitors
curtains
rotate screen
Past portfolio shows on facebook. The one thing I notice about this is that in the pictures all I see is staff and students even though career services says over 100 employers come to this.
For the portfolio show I am provided with a table, some pencils, a tablecloth, and some mints. Everything else I have to bring in myself. We are suppose to have resumes, business cards, and some kind of hand out for people to take. Right now I am planning on creating a video that loops and having that play I like this one. My handout cookies in cd sleeve with label that says one smart cookie and my url to my portfolio. I am not going all out like I said all I see in the pictures are staff and students.
I did create a pinterest board with tons of ideas for show too bad I am not really going to do any of this.
Looping video ideas for portfolio show:
Business
Evolution
Presentation
Sketch
stickman
Resume
This one goes with my resume website and cards
Touch
Monitor
Green screens I might be able to use
Security Monitors
curtains
rotate screen
Thursday, April 11, 2013
How To Get A Job In Web Design
10 Steps To The Perfect Portfolio Website
How to Create a Web Design Portfolio With No Job Experience
How to get your first job in web design Succeed with a perfect portfolio and polished CV
A web portfolio is essential to any business or freelancer hoping to market their design skills, of course you can gain work by word of mouth but without a portfolio showcasing your work then you’re missing out on potential business.
Portfolio Design Trends: vCard Websites
10 Great Places to Find Web Design Jobs
How to Land Your First Job as a Web Designer/Developer
Seven Tips for Your Design Job Interview
What I have learned from conducting hundreds of web design job interviews
11 Common Web Design Company Interview Questions
Interviewing Web Developers - 20 Good Questions to Ask
Interview Question and Answer for Web Designer :: Interview Question Checklist for web Designer
Front-end Job Interview Questions
How to Create a Web Design Portfolio With No Job Experience
How to get your first job in web design Succeed with a perfect portfolio and polished CV
A web portfolio is essential to any business or freelancer hoping to market their design skills, of course you can gain work by word of mouth but without a portfolio showcasing your work then you’re missing out on potential business.
Portfolio Design Trends: vCard Websites
10 Great Places to Find Web Design Jobs
How to Land Your First Job as a Web Designer/Developer
Seven Tips for Your Design Job Interview
What I have learned from conducting hundreds of web design job interviews
11 Common Web Design Company Interview Questions
Interviewing Web Developers - 20 Good Questions to Ask
Interview Question and Answer for Web Designer :: Interview Question Checklist for web Designer
Front-end Job Interview Questions
Labels:
Career Development,
Portfolio,
Portfolio I,
Portfolio II
Welcome to CSS
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation semantics (the look and formatting) of a document written in a markup language. Its most common application is to style web pages written in HTML and XHTML, but the language can also be applied to any kind of XML document, including plain XML, SVG and XUL. CSS can be both a tricky and easy to learn. The syntax itself is easy, but some concepts can be difficult to understand. Web design might not be the most accessible area to everyone, but CSS and HTML can be very useful, and these are two parts of coding which are really easy. I mean to change the color of your font you just need to type: “color:red”, does it get easier than that?
CSS
CSS Cascade from Russ Weakley
HTML5 & CSS3 from ianlintner
Web Trends
Web Design: 20 Hottest Trends To Watch Out For in 2013
Responsive Design
CSS has a simple syntax and uses a number of English keywords to specify the names of various style properties. A style sheet consists of a list of rules. Each rule or rule-set consists of one or more selectors, and a declaration block. Prior to CSS, nearly all of the presentational attributes of HTML documents were contained within the HTML markup; all font colors, background styles, element alignments, borders and sizes had to be explicitly described, often repeatedly, within the HTML. CSS allows authors to move much of that information to another file, the style sheet, resulting in considerably simpler HTML.
Headings (h1 elements), sub-headings (h2), sub-sub-headings (h3), etc., are defined structurally using HTML. In print and on the screen, choice of font, size, color and emphasis for these elements is presentational.
Prior to CSS, document authors who wanted to assign such typographic characteristics to, say, all h2 headings had to repeat HTML presentational markup for each occurrence of that heading type. This made documents more complex, larger, and more difficult to maintain. CSS allows the separation of presentation from structure. CSS can define color, font, text alignment, size, borders, spacing, layout and many other typographic characteristics, and can do so independently for on-screen and printed views. CSS also defines non-visual styles such as the speed and emphasis with which text is read out by aural text readers. The W3C has now deprecated the use of all presentational HTML markup.
Labels:
Style Sheet Scripting
What Is Instructional Design?
Instructional Design (also called Instructional Systems Design (ISD)) is the practice of creating "instructional experiences which make the acquisition of knowledge and skill more efficient, effective, and appealing."
There are many instructional design models but many are based on the ADDIE model with the five phases: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. As a field, instructional design is historically and traditionally rooted in cognitive and behavioral psychology, though recently Constructivism (learning theory) has influenced thinking in the field. The concept of learning design arrived in the literature of technology for education in the late nineties and early 2000s with the idea that "designers and instructors need to choose for themselves the best mixture of behaviorist and constructivist learning experiences for their online courses". But the concept of learning design is probably as old as the concept of teaching. Learning design might be defined as "the description of the teaching-learning process that takes place in a unit of learning (eg, a course, a lesson or any other designed learning event)".
There are many instructional design models but many are based on the ADDIE model with the five phases: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. As a field, instructional design is historically and traditionally rooted in cognitive and behavioral psychology, though recently Constructivism (learning theory) has influenced thinking in the field. The concept of learning design arrived in the literature of technology for education in the late nineties and early 2000s with the idea that "designers and instructors need to choose for themselves the best mixture of behaviorist and constructivist learning experiences for their online courses". But the concept of learning design is probably as old as the concept of teaching. Learning design might be defined as "the description of the teaching-learning process that takes place in a unit of learning (eg, a course, a lesson or any other designed learning event)".
Instructional Design Resources
List of links for instructional design
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/670/
http://www. purdueonlineprograms.com/ldt/ learning-design-technology
http://texas.wgu.edu/ education/master_education_ learning_technology
http://www.utcoursesonline. org/programs/programinfo/med/ educationaltechnology/ elearningcert.html
http://www.utcoursesonline. org/programs/programinfo/med/ educationaltechnology/index. html
http://www.kaplanuniversity. edu/education/education- instructional-technology- master-degree.aspx
http://ed.fullerton.edu/msidt/
MOODLE
https://moodle.org/
Round Rock Isd uses Moodle
http://moodle.roundrockisd. org/
Moodle Book Series
http://www.packtpub.com/ article/choosing-the-right- moodle-book-for-you
BLOGS AND OTHER PROFESSIONAL RESOURCE WEBSITES
http://www. instructionaldesigncentral. com/
http://christytucker. wordpress.com/2007/05/26/what- does-an-instructional- designer-do/
http://instructionaldesign. gordoncomputer.com/IDRoles. html
http://www.glassdoor.com/ Salaries/instructional- designer-salary-SRCH_KO0,22. htm
http://community.articulate. com/
http://www.webresourcesdepot. com/7-widely-used-and-open- source-e-learning- applications/
http://www.techlearning.com/ index
http://theelearningcoach.com/
SOFTWARE
http://www.virtualsalt.com/softtools.htm
http://trainingforce.com/the-beginners-instructional-design-toolkit
YOUTUBE CHANNELS
http://www.youtube.com/user/eLearnerEngaged?feature=watch
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz9w-sllDpT-z762oNRYBNw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYrq1uAJ-PE&playnext=1&list=PL622CCBDF28CD42F3&feature=results_main
http://www.youtube.com/user/eLearningAcademy?feature=chclk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lva6X2hvWjc&playnext=1&list=PLFC6D1877BBA7DF80&feature=results_main
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/670/
http://www.
http://texas.wgu.edu/
http://www.utcoursesonline.
http://www.utcoursesonline.
http://www.kaplanuniversity.
http://ed.fullerton.edu/msidt/
MOODLE
https://moodle.org/
Round Rock Isd uses Moodle
http://moodle.roundrockisd.
Moodle Book Series
http://www.packtpub.com/
BLOGS AND OTHER PROFESSIONAL RESOURCE WEBSITES
http://www.
http://christytucker.
http://instructionaldesign.
http://www.glassdoor.com/
http://community.articulate.
http://www.webresourcesdepot.
http://www.techlearning.com/
http://theelearningcoach.com/
SOFTWARE
http://www.virtualsalt.com/softtools.htm
http://trainingforce.com/the-beginners-instructional-design-toolkit
YOUTUBE CHANNELS
http://www.youtube.com/user/eLearnerEngaged?feature=watch
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz9w-sllDpT-z762oNRYBNw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYrq1uAJ-PE&playnext=1&list=PL622CCBDF28CD42F3&feature=results_main
http://www.youtube.com/user/eLearningAcademy?feature=chclk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lva6X2hvWjc&playnext=1&list=PLFC6D1877BBA7DF80&feature=results_main
Instructional Design Portfolio and Getting A Job
Skills
What are the 3 most sought software skills for an Instructional Designer?Instructional Designer Requirements
Instructions for Making a Portfolio
How to Develop an Instructional Design ePortfolioLike all home pages, the one for your instructional design portfolio should include an introduction to the site and what your visitor may find here.
Getting a job as an Instructional Designer
Sample Online Portfolios
Kyle Creasons Instructional Design Portfolio ... video production and editing, graphic design, 2D animation/compositing, 3D animation and web development.Here you will find four e-learning projects. A technical training for HEC Montreal university, an instructional Video, an HTML website, and an online guided tour.
Kathy Cannon. eLearning Specialist & Instructional Designer in Cambridge, Massachusetts. eLearning Portfolio
Your instructional design need has found a solution! TrainSmart has the knowledge, skills, tools, creativity, drive, and partnering attitude you are looking for to close the gaps that define your need.
Tonia has 10 years of instructional design and eLearning project management experience.
My name is Boshra Zawawi. I hold a MEd in the Instructional Design and Development program under the College of Education and Human Development from George Mason University.



























