html vs flash

This is actually my first go at making a site entirely out of Flash, and I found it to be a lot easier than I anticipated. Normally, I would have just added some Flash elements into a HTML/CSS designed site, mostly because that is what I have always done. I had never really liked the idea of making a whole site with Flash, on the off chance that someone was using a browser or a device that could not view Flash. Even today with the technology we have, there are still quite a few devices that are still not compatible. We have a little bit further to go, and once we are there, I will have no problem making sites completely out of Flash, but until there, HTML and CSS it is!

Database Design

We have just finished out MySQL database project and I have learn quite a bit thus far. I am excited to be able to more forward and use it in the real world. I created a database for my friends hair salon business for her to be able to keep track of her product inventory. If I was going to make some additions to it, I would have though to keep track of other things as well as far as income and costs to the business. Overall, it was a great course, as I will be using MySQL regularly once I am out in the work force.

design vs programming

Well, we have finished our first programming course of the program, and it was exactly what i thought it would be. Hard. But I am slowly but surely starting to understand the concepts. I myself, dont find programming natural. Design for me was very much natural for me. I found I spent, and mostly because of my experience with design, triple the amount of time reading and understand how to use visual studios and how to program as opposed to the amount of time I spent with any design program. Hopefully in a couple of years, programming will be as natural to be as design!

My fav portfolio sites

	- very personal with designers face as main focus of page - simplicity - good amount of white space for text and images
	- very personal making me to believe that they stand in front of their work - good separation - good use of social network sites
	- large images used to display designs - simplicity
	- looks more like a poster than a traditional website - no boundaries as to what you can include

What we've cover thus far...

Looking back over the past month and the courses we have taken, I think the one by far that I find to be the most useful is Photoshop. I think the most important thing on a website is to have the layout simple, user friendly and eye catching. With Photoshop, you can take an idea and lay it all out. Create a mock up of exactly what you have visioned and make it happen. Once you have the look and style you want, you can run with it with any other program. Edit, it in Dreamweaver, add some nice Flash animation, edit that in After Effects and you have yourself a nice site! But, in my opinion, Photoshop is the core of it all!

What have you learned from being a client that will make you a better designer/developer?

In class this week, we had to group up with someone and play the role of the designer and the client. It was good for us to be able to look at both side as the client as well as the designer to get a better idea of what is expected from both sides. As the client, as well as the developer I have learned the importance of clear communication. There is nothing worse than a client describing to the designer what the are after and the designer coming back with something that was not at all what they had in mind. As a designer, you dont want to have to do it twice if you dont have to.

One month in ...

So we are a month into the course, and have cleared 2 programs thus far. So far so good. Were starting off nice and easy and I apprieciate that because it has been a while since I have been back to school. The first program was an intro to Photoshop which was great for me to brush up on any new tools that are available in the CS5 series. I came out of it learning a couple of new tips and tricks and that alone is worth it for me. The second course was a new program for me that I haven't used before called After Effects. With only a week intro to it, it definitly has me hooked. We were only able to do the first few chapters of the book, but I plan on finishing it off within the next week and really get to know the program. I think its going to be a great program to use in combinitaion with Adobe Flash and it will help me take things to the next level. I'm really quite excited to move forward with it.