In the Thick of Things

     Oh I just hate it when I don't have time to update my blog! School has been absolutely insane lately. This semester, the classes are different, 3 are computer classes, and two of them are pretty intense. In particular the Intro to .NET Programming; learning the C# programming language with Visual Studio. Holy Moly, I don't have time to breathe some days. I still love it, but it is very serious learning, lots of homework and a team project to work on, something everyday. And nothing takes half an hour to complete or work on, oh no. Everything takes several hours or days to complete. It is like immersion, only with a computer language instead of a spoken one. I'm fortunate that the instructor is very knowledgeable and thorough, so I am getting my tuition money's worth!

This is a generic user interface (UI) created w/ Visio

     Of course, I believe that you get out of school what you put into it, so I am trying to do my very best, and that does add to the time it takes me to complete things. But I do love it, and that is still a surprise to me somedays. In college, the first time around, back in the mid 80's, I had no interest in computer programming. Of course, all I knew about it was the binary code I had learned a bit about in high school, which I thought was sooo boring. But I am so enamored of the web development and design field, that I want to know everything. I don't ever want a client to ask me a question that I cannot answer myself or know exactly where to go to get the answer. Maybe I am being unrealistic, but I don't want to be a hack, I want to be good, very good. I don't think I'm asking too much, especially since I am asking it of my own self.
     Of course, everything is not about me. My husband had knee surgery today. Had a torn meniscus and it was causing him pain when he ran, and he runs a lot! Came through with flying colors, thank goodness. He is already walking a bit without crutches. He is a very good patient too, I'm so lucky. I skipped two classes today so I could drive him to and fro and play nurse. I still have a ton of homework to complete this weekend, but I did enjoy a book while waiting. Michael Crichton's "State of Fear." What a great book! I have been absorbed with this while taking care of my patient. I really miss having time to read for pleasure. But it won't be like this forever. 
     There is one more thing I have to mention. While I was in Avon Lake, Ohio for the visual journal class with Teesha Moore, I met a woman who was staying in the same B&B. Her name is Sue and she is an amazing visual journal artist and photographer. She went to Egypt to fulfill a life long dream and ended up witnessing the beginning of the revolution. She made it back safe and sound, thank goodness. If you want to see the photos of her trip and read about her experience, you can check out her blog. It is on my list of Blogs I visit, Chez Madame. There are a lot of images, so don't forget to click on the "older" link to see them all. They are really amazing photos.

WTF?

Anatomy of Type

     What The Font?  I'm talking about typography, type...fonts. You cannot believe the levels of detail, the amount of history and the importance of understanding typography in relation to web design. It is like peeling an onion, with so many layers, each one more fascinating and enlightening than the last. If you have seen the movie "Pleasantville," it is like seeing something in color for the first time. A new awareness is born in you and you can never look at anything in print the same way again. And considering how much of our everyday world has some type of lettering or numbering in it, there is no escaping it. It is an incredible aspect of life that most take for granted and never really notice, outside of the subliminal effects that take place, which in many cases, is the intention. Printed words are used to give us information and the font style of those words is selected to influence our perception of that information. If you understand typography though, you can see that extra subliminal message, like the character "Neo" in the "Matrix" movies, who finally sees through the computer bad guys and just sees their "code." Typography is a powerful tool, even a weapon in the

"The Matrix" bad guys in "code"

right context. The choice of font, or fonts, for a website, is one of the most important, if not thee most important detail. So making a good choice depends on how much you know about typography. And in order to understand typography, you also have to understand the basic principles of design.
     I had no idea. But I find myself loving this subject. I also find that I am guilty of having used some of the most reviled fonts in previous projects! It's a bit embarrassing, kind of like realizing that you spent the day walking around and talking to people you respect and all the while you had a big coffee stain on the middle of your shirt. Or going to the bathroom at a party and seeing a big piece of spinach stuck to one of your front teeth, and knowing that everyone you spoke with got a good look at it too. So how does a font come to be labeled as "bad?" I asked my typography instructor and I looked around online for the answer. There are two main criteria: overused and inappropriate. Comic Sans is at the top of the list. If you want to read more about it, check out this video and this website. I got an inkling of this last semester when my Web Animation instructor threatened to fail anyone who turned anything in that was created with the Comic Sans font. Her reaction to this font was visceral!

Comic Sans, the most "Unwanted" font

Can you imagine someone getting angry, really angry, about a type? My initial reaction was "who cares?" But then I realized that due to my total ignorance of the subject, I didn't understand. I just hate when I do not understand something. And here I want to be a web designer, someone who has to use type and select fonts, font weights, font sizes and font colors as part of the process. I knew then that although the college's Web Developer program does not include Typography I, there was no way I could become a good web designer without a thorough understanding of it.
     So here I am, descending down the rabbit hole, learning about typography, from the very beginning. What an eye opener! I swallowed the red pill and my view of the world will be forever altered. And you know what else? I like those red pills...

Last Day of Winter Break

     Well, it has been basically a month since the fall semester ended, the spring semester starts up tomorrow. I enjoyed my break immensely. There was lots of quality family time, visiting and catching up with friends, "doing" the Christmas and New Year's holidays, creating art, cooking, reading, organizing, cleaning and keeping my blog updated often. I felt all the tension leave my shoulders and upper back shortly after Christmas, when I really had no serious commitments left or due dates looming. But as I sit here typing, taking a break from one last home project that must be finished today, I feel those butterflies returning to my stomach. I don't carry them around all the time, just in the beginning, before I've gotten the syllabuses and heard what the instructors will be requiring for my new classes.
     I actually did very well last semester, grade-wise, I got a 4.0, and made the part time Dean's list for a third semester, though I can say I've never gotten a 4.0 before, at least not since high school. Even my college career at CMU never included a 4.0 semester. But I worked very hard for those grades, made a lot of sacrifices because I wanted to understand the materials, programs and concepts well enough to show someone else, which I have always believed to be the true measure of "learning," the ability to teach it to someone else. Dreamweaver is the only problem. I got a 4.0, but learned hardly anything that I did not teach myself in that "Web Design I" class. What a mess it was, I'm still lamenting over the money and time I wasted by taking that class. I did complain, but there was nothing that could be done. I bought a Dreamweaver CS4, "Classroom in a Book," publication and had planned to go through it over the break and teach myself. However, I found that I needed  serious down time. I needed to recharge and reconnect with family and friends more than anything else. So now I will take my Dreamweaver book with me to class, and in between classes, I will go chapter by chapter and teach myself Dreamweaver this semester, bit by bit.
     I believe that if you want something badly enough, you have to just go get it and not let a bad experience keep you from achieving your goals. In the past, I would have felt like I was the problem, incapable of learning the complexities of the program, but luckily, with the passing of the years, has come real wisdom and insight. I can actually see where the real problem is, assess my own abilities and limitations and rework my plan to get what I need. Sadly, I watched many of my classmates, most of them just out of high school, struggle and eventually give up on that class. I showed anyone who asked or who I sat near, whatever I could to help them, but there was so much we didn't learn, it was frustrating for everyone. But as I've said before, I'm on a mission. I want this more than I've wanted anything for a very long time. I want to work as a web developer, comfortable with the coding side and design side, for the rest of my life, as a career, as a way to make a living. So I'm dedicated to this mission, extremely focused and will not be deterred by any obstacles, whether they are external or of my own making. I have to add that I am so passionate about this area, I have loved everything I have learned to date and cannot wait to learn the rest! Bring it, BRING IT!!!!