Ashlyn's design journal

Week One

Prompt: What do you hope to achieve in this class by the end of the term? Are there special projects or technologies you’d like to see covered by the end of the term? Is there a site (or two) that gives you butterflies in your stomach? What is it?

Response:I would to become comfortable with creating a website from start to finsih. This will allow me to build a portfolio that I can use in the fall. I'm not super familiar with web design so I am unsure of specifics of what I would like to learn. But eventually, I would like to end up in the UX/UI field so any of this experience is helpful!

Some cool websites that I have come across are Campos Coffee

Ocean Health Index

Inspiring site of the week: Abduzeedo

Week Two

Prompt: Design Journal Prompt for week two: What are you planning to do for project 1? What content do you plan to show? How will you make each page unique while maintaining a cohesive design across the project? How will your color palette, imagery, and typography choice complement your subject matter?

Response: For project one I am planning to create a website on four edible mushrooms of Oregon. I plan to show a combination of illustations and photography of the mushrooms and will include information and identification tips for each mushroom. I will make the pages cohesive in style but will change up the layout for each page to keep things interesting. I will choose natural earth tones mixed with bright colors to mock the colors of the mushrooms. I'm still not sure of the typography but I'm thinking of using something playful like Windsor.

Inspiring site of the week: Think Bear

Week Three

Prompt:This weeks journal prompt, I want you to clearly imagine one user who'll love to use your Project 1 website. This user could be you, it could be someone similar to you, it could be someone completely opposite from you, it could even be a non-human animal or an alien or an amoeba. You get to choose. Really imagine what they are like in their mind. What do they spend their time on? what are their hobbies, clothes, music, favorite foods, books, tv. what's their personality like. Once you've imagined this person. write about them. just a paragraph, three to five sentences. try to have fun with it.

Response: This website will be great for anyone interested in the art of mushroom hunting. I personally enjoy mushroom hunting but still have a lot to learn about the edible mushrooms of Oregon. So, this website is for people in a similar position: for people who enjoy mushroom hunting or are interested in the idea of mushroom hunting. The website shows four different types of edible mushrooms that you can find in oregon and explains a little bit about identifying mushrooms, and the type of environment they thrive in. The person that will be interested in this site has read All That the Rain Promises and More and needs a quick refresher on the mushrooms of Oregon.

Inspiring site of the week: Young Jerks

Week Four

Prompt: Read this short article https://hbr.org/2019/08/learning-is-supposed-to-feel-uncomfortable and this one on resistance https://www.mindful.org/the-neuroscience-of-resistance-and-how-to-overcome-it/. Considering these articles, make a list of 5 things to keep you going when you feel resistance or discomfort..

Response:

  1. Take time to process.. acknowledge that discomfort is not always a negative feeling.
  2. Share thoughts with supportive friends or family.
  3. Talk myself through the resistance. Acknowledge fear, but don't let it overcome you.
  4. Be proud of the small steps.
  5. Research.

Inspiring site of the week: Kuon Portfolio

Week Five

No journal prompt.

Week Six

Prompt: Design Journal Prompt -What did you choose the business/cause that you chose? Why do you think your redesign will be better? What area/content will you focus on in your redesign? Look at two other similar websites. What stands out about those sites? what bothers you abut them? How will you improve things in your own design.

Response: I chose Thai Farmhouse Kitchen because it is one of my favorite local restaurants and it has so much life in its branding and overall aesthetics. I love the imagery that comes with the complex dishes created at Thai Farmhouse. I also found there website a little difficult to navigate. I could not get to Portland from their main home page. I wanted to recreate their website that focuses on the rich imagery and beautiful dishes. There is a lot going on with their homepage and a lot of information is crammed onto one page. I think this will be a fun project to work on!

Inspiring site of the week: EEM PDX

Week Seven

No journal prompt.

Week Eight

Prompt: Read this article on mobile first design and share your thoughts on mobile first vs desktop first.

Response: My first thoughts on mobile first are that it makes perfect sense for the mobile dependent world we live in. The data in the article shows the decline in desktop usage, and the increase in mobile. In 2016, internet mobile usage actually surpassed desktop usage, and this is only going to continue to grow. I personally find it easier to design for a small space first and then to design for a larger space. Otherwise, the designer might have to leave out significant features if they run out of space on mobile view. I believe mobile first allows the designer to focus more on the content and allows for a more clean and intentional design.

Inspiring site of the week: Feed Music

Week Nine

Prompt:This one's about "why." Read this article (try to pretend it's not a cheezy article about business success). Spend some time thinking about why you are pursuing a career in design. Really dig down, do the 7 "whys" tool in the article. OR If that's too challenging right now, consider people in your life or people who've inspired you. Think about what drives them, what their "why" is. Why did they work so hard to do XYZ, was it from past experiences they had, was it because they saw a need they were called to fill? What's their deeper "why?" Ask them if you know them, or look up some biographical information and try to figure it out. Write about either you or your inspiration.

Response: I am pursing a career in graphic design because I was really missing having a creative outlet in my life. I initially went to school for Art Education because of my love for art... but my love for teaching was not there. Years later after I went on a completely different path, I found myself truly missing the opportunity to be creative. I was really nervous going into this field, as I know it's saturated and I wasn't sure if I was going to be good at it. I was living with a roommate at the time who did graphic design and I was always so intrigued by her work. I feel like I have truly found something that I absolutely love and that will provide sustainability and an income in my life. Not only do I truly love graphic design but I also hope it will allow be to work remote one way so that I can travel and work from wherever!

Inspiring site of the week: Bruno Arizio