800 Words

My design composition is very simple, but I made it that way with the intentions of relating a simple website with a simple company. The color scheme is also simple but I wanted to use earth tones in relation to the earth moving purpose of the company. The header is simple and simply states the company and the colors are calm and shades of green and brown. I really like separation and proportions in a website and document and so I use three horizontal lines to both highlight areas and create sections. The area of the page is dedicated to the body text. The body text will contain all the main information on the page. At the beginning of every page the body text will begin with a quote Todd has said about the service being discussed. I divided the navigation buttons according the services the company provides. These are lined up with the vertical line. I chose them to be vertically on the left side so they are parallel from the information and the user can read the information and also relate it to the navigation options. The footer consists of technical information such as office hours, contact information and the copy-write. I showed Todd the sample image of the homepage. He liked its simplicity and calming colors. He also liked the layout. The only suggestions he gave were terminology errors, which will be fixed.
I will be using CSS for the fonts, headers, footers, and body text. Each page in the website will be the same and so my goal will be to create a template so that each one will be easy to edit. This may change, however, because for each page I may change the color scheme to show that they user switched the page. I will be able to decide more once the webpage starts to develop. The font for the most part will stay the same in the body text. There is about an even amount of text for each page and so I do not anticipate a problem with that. If I do end up with a problem I will make the necessary adjustments. The biggest challenge has been trying to create the website as directed using the slice tool. I have asked my roommate to help me who I knew creates WebPages through Photoshop, and she was next to no help. Other than that, I have really enjoyed Dreamweaver and can really see how much better it works for web design than SharePoint.
As mentioned before I plan on using a template for all of the pages. The template will contain everything that acts as a border around the body text. The body text is contained in a textbox. As far as the color of the textbox and the template I am not sure how it will work. Once again, these are all issues I will be addressing as they come. The Library Items may be one way I can fix the body text option. I can store a design pair I like and use the library to store different button designs I could design. Another option for both would be to create different layouts and versions of everything and so I would be able to test different designs with different components. Another option I may use for the Library Items is the footer layout. The footer contains different types of information. I may choose to lay them out in a different order, depending on their importance. I am unsure as to what method I would use over the other. As far as problems, I think the biggest problem will be time constraints. Having enough time to make more than one layout would be excellent but certainly is not ideal.

The repetitive task option will come in handy a lot when I get my main page finalized. I will use it to record the steps I take as I create each design. This will make the process of designing the other pages much easier and ensure consistency is met in all of them. This will also be useful when I create the templates and CSS style sheets. I really like that my steps will be accounted for and tracked so that I will be able to repeat them when I need to. This will also be helpful in the same sense the templates will be in having the different options. I will be able to sample different components of the website and mix and match patterns. I really hope this will help me develop different ways I can design the website.

Final Project

For the final project I will be creating a website for my father’s construction company, Carl Hertz Construction. In high school I created the website and now we are finding out as the internet becomes more popular that people are in fact seeing it and using it for a business option. Unfortunately, some of the information on the business is incorrect so this would make for an excellent time to improve the information and format. Another issue I would like to improve on the website is its layout. When I had originally made it I did not have the knowledge I have now about web design and user behaviors. The navigation on the website needs room for improvement as well. Due to the economy and steep gas prices the company has had to change its customer clientele. I will design the websites content so that it will reflect this shift in business. Being a small business in an area where the larger corporations’ reign having the website will give another way for this small business to compete with the monopoly businesses. My goal for the website is to get Carl Hertz Construction more business by having their website out there for potential customers to view the company. The website is also important for small businesses as a whole because it will demonstrate any niche they may have. There are many things that because this is not a part of a major corporation Carl Hertz Construction is able to do. Problems that I foresee are maybe not having enough information for the site. Another issue is because this is seasonal work, pictures of the equipment building may not be possible until spring comes around and the ground has thawed. Any other problems that may come up should not be anything serious as if I need any information I only need to ask my dad. I have spoke to my client and they are excited for their new website and have high hopes in it affect the company’s revenue.

Web 2.0 Tool-Valerie's

The WebTool I thought would be useful is Picnik that Valerie had mentioned. I have used this program before when editing photos just as Valerie does. I am not a Web Design major; however, to demonstrate my artistic skills and knowledge of design I could use this to do just that.

I'm not sure what my future holds for me career wise. I would like to think I will get a job that I will find on my first try and make millions. This of course is very unlikely. I have learned a lot at my internship so if I am not able to find a job right out of college I'm going to attend CTU and get my masters in Project Management. I have learned this is an extremely good program to enter and the job offers are almost endless. A definite asset of mine is my resume and my strengths are what I have learned throughout my college career. The only thing that worries me is my confidence in a new job environment as it is always difficult.

Web 2.0 Tool

The Web 2.0 tool I found useful is Dex. Dex is a professional networking website that allows professionals and businesses alike to keep in touch and network to others in different locations. I liked this website because considering the fact that I will be graduating in August I will need to use a website such as this to perhaps make some connections beyond what I have already obtained.

www.dexapp.com

Introduction

Name: Carly Hertz

Contact Info: Skype: cmhertz
Delicious: cmhertz

Hometown: Menno, SD

Grade: Senior

Major: English for Information Systems

Favorite Food: Potato Soup

Favorite Movie: The Departed

Something Unique: I have a 9 year old brother

Hobbies and Interests: I really like to read. I enjoy watching movies and listening to music.

Goals for this Class: My goal for this class is to improve my father's construction company's website. I would also like to advance my use of Internet tools.