10 Reasons Why I Prefer MACs

Is it wrong to just type because PC's suck 10 times?? It's not like it's a lie!

PCs SUCK

PCs SUCK

PCs SUCK

PCs SUCK

PCs SUCK...

After using the Macs in class I seem to have this affection for them now. I mean, I've heard from friends how great they are, how easy to manage, you don't need virus software for them since they are virtually the better machine. Now that I've been doing some work on them, I'm really in love with them. Quality is better, they are faster, they are easier to figure out what the problems are, keyboard is more comfortable and I like the mouse. The unleashed mouse, the one that has a touch sensor on it, in it. Many people dislike the mouse, it's too touchy or annoying, well the batteries do drain quickly, I'll give for that.

Maybe it's just me but I just like them more, I'd like to trade this HP in for a MAC!! It's like buying an AMAZING car, one you can specifically order with your very own preferences put in when it's built. THAT'S exciting for me!!

10 Things I Will Do This Year to Make Myself More Marketable

Ok, so a long list follows with this thinking, since I am going to be the best damn artist of whatever medium I can sink my teeth into, I need to start marketing myself. So I'm thinking of priming up the online portfolio website and then since I'm on YouTube I might as well post a video resume as well, maybe tie that in with the website. I need to think of all the possibilities here.

Can't forget the "old school" marketing using the business cards and even passing out the resumes during the designer expos and job fairs, snagging some business cards of merchants at the expos and fairs and emailing them my resume or plugging for jobs that way. That's another option, just need to keep the eyes open for the expos and fairs to come around.

Of course, blog blog blog blog blog and peddle my services wherever possible! Another idea is definitely make some flash "commercials" and post them on my YouTube or email them out. hmmmmmmm....  Did I forget anything? Am I on the right idea path??

10 Best Free Font Resources

I love fonts and letters and different typefaces, they really do have a character all to themselves, a personality!! If the designer can channel that personality and use it in the correct way, the print will work and the meaning will be made. I had a HUGE thick typeface book that I used years ago that was my ultimate font resource book that I would go to, I miss that thing!! But thanks to the internet, SOOOOOOO much more can be found at your fingertips. I never did like typography class until I started paying on the computer (the fancy thinking box), then the whole typog thing became easier to understand and deal with. Spell check helped tons also, but it doesn't do so well with shortcut words.

http://www.1001freefonts.com/
http://www.dafont.com/
http://www.searchfreefonts.com/
http://www.free-fonts.com/
http://simplythebest.net/fonts/
http://www.1001fonts.com/
http://www.urbanfonts.com/  - all these fonts are more for the artistic and interesting side. I've used them from time to time.
http://www.cool-fonts.com/
http://www.fontspace.com/
http://www.acidfonts.com/
http://www.unstage.com/2010/02/70-of-the-best-free-fonts-for-graphic-designers/
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/11/08/40-excellent-freefonts-for-professional-design/
http://www.downloadfreefonts.com/fontfiles/afonts.htm

So just in case a listing of awesome fonts is needed by all means look into these great links, I've used them on many occasion and I know I will be using them again and again. They definitely helped when I did my kinetic typography assignment, the fonts added to the meanings of the project, only used occasionally when a certain font was needed. Enjoy, uploaded for your pleasure. 

Some Awesome Quotes I've Heard

There have been some great quotes I've seen over the years, I snagged a few just because they were funny and had a few good points. I'll just keep adding to this here and there. :)  ENJOY!!

 

"Did I tell you how divinely and utterly happy I am?" - Audrey Hepburn

"I didn't discover curves, I only uncovered them." - Mae West

 

 "Life is too short to work so hard." - Vivien Leigh

 "One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues." - Elizabeth Taylor

"I have no regrets. I wouldn't have lived my life the way I did if I was going to worry about what people were going to say." - Ingrid Bergman

"Acting is like sex; you either do it and don't talk about it or you talk about it and and don't do it. That's why I'm always suspicious of people who talk too much about either." - Humphrey Bogart

"You are not exactly Superman, but you are awfully available." - Vera-Ellen

"Love is a game that two can play and both can win." - Eva Gabor

"Everything you see I owe to spaghetti." - Sophia Loren

"Take your life in your own hands and mold it. The world will try to rob you of your freedom, but fight for it! It's all you have to live for! That's all for the modern girl." - Irene Dunne in "Theodora Goes Wild"

"If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun." - Katharine Hepburn

"It wasn't the way I looked at a man, it was the thought behind it." - Gloria Grahame

"I don't mind living in a man's world as long as I can be a woman in it." -  Marilyn Monroe

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day." - Frank Sinatra

"I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty." - Imelda Marcos  

  - I Seem to like shoes A LOT also!!  :)

"I used to jog but the ice cubes kept falling out of my glass." - David Lee Roth

"I'm undaunted in my quest to amuse myself by constantly changing my hair." - Hillary Clinton     ....*note: I don't particularly care for Hil., but the quote was great! considering I change my hair color frequently!!  :)

10 Most Interresting YouTube Videos

I usually surf for videos when I'm thinking of a band or want to see a commercial or something. Since I've started school I've been using it more and more for tutorials and other learning's. It really is helpful, I've also been following classmates and of course, my teacher's site. I would highly recommend any of these sites for your viewing and learning pleasure. The last site was a great idea for a "sink your teeth in" video to show prospective employers, to get the job. I'd like to do something like that to snag that perfect job!!

• http://www.youtube.com/user/LilredheadComics
• http://www.youtube.com/user/JavaScriptTeacher
• http://www.youtube.com/user/70000tons
• http://www.youtube.com/user/SuperRiceProductions
• http://www.youtube.com/user/jimmyrcom
• http://www.youtube.com/user/FuschiaCrayon
• http://www.youtube.com/user/kerrigilpin
• http://www.youtube.com/user/TechHelpVideos
• http://www.youtube.com/user/cgsbgs
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYjlzZhPvKI

10 Fave Resources for Design Inspiration

I find so much inspiration in anything and anywhere really, I usually get thoughts and sketch them out or put them into the mental file cabinet.  They seem to come from anywhere, if I'm sitting chatting with friends or family or zoning out watching the television. Usually my best ideas or thoughts come to me when I'm not even thinking about it, then the light-bulb turns on.

I'm a visual kind of person, I like to see beauty and I get the best inspiration from magazines, cartoons, art of any kinds, billboards when I'm driving down the street, images on websites or in print ads, life in general really. Vehicles are another source some cars and trucks have such wonderful lines, motorcycles for the artwork and chrome. Lastly there's music, I listen to almost anything and sometimes it inspires me to create or even delve deeper into my work and not let me think. It's like the other side of my brain takes over and I disappear into whatever it is I'm doing.

If i really get stumped for ideas I usually talk to people, get a flow going and see where it takes me. Sometimes talking to people starts a thought that ends up being a great idea or even a few great ideas really. Ya know, now that I think about it, I have seen ideas in my dreams from time to time. It's nice to zone out in a relaxing place and meditate for ideas too.

10 Fave Sites for CSS Tutorials & Reference

Since Lynda.com is a pay per site, I go snooping for the freebies. There are so many of them but these few have helped me along with the videos and books I pick up at the library.What I found has been HUGELY helpful along the way, this is a list of the websites that have helped me with understanding CSS, a few websites to get an idea what the codes look like with the actual layout, cheats codes to help me figure out CSS to the HTML relation plus a YouTube video source that helped here and there along the way. I've found, for me at least, I need a video to see how things work so I can figure out the hows. I'm wired for visual understanding, reading this and that only goes so far.


http://www.davesite.com/webstation/css/
http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp
http://www.csstutorial.net/
http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/stylesheets/introduction.html
http://www.freecsstemplates.org/
http://www.csszengarden.com/
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/dreamweaver/css.html
http://www.allwebdesignresources.com/webdesignblogs/graphics/30-css-cheat-sheets-quick-reference-guides/
http://www.templatemill.com/products/gallery.php?gid=31
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xklu0dUmVU

I'm trying to understand the JavaScript, MySQL and PHP stuff now, there is no easy way to understand that in a short time. Although. I did find a rather interesting YouTube video that has no vocals but Beethoven's 9th symphony plays while the person types. Just need to slow it down a bit...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t3ZysHg3Cc

I need to backtrack a few times just so I can "get" the little bits and pieces the person is explaining.  Alert brackets are interesting, probably not an idea to keep using them so's not to piss off the viewer. Ok, subscribed to that teacher, hope something more gets learned by me!! Maybe I should take more courses in this stuff to get me better prepared.  :)

10 Places I Will Visit in My Lifetime & Why

I love to travel, I love to sight see and have fun so traveling is always a passion for me. I don't need to see just a few places but I'd like to travel the world before I die. 

I've been to Scotland, England, Cozumel, Barbados and a handful of states in the U.S and would love to see more. Scotland and England were fun and wonderful places to see so going back to visit and tour is of course tops on my hit list. Then traveling to Germany, Italy, Japan, Ireland or wherever overseas would be awesome, it just looks so beautiful and fun! 

Coming back to the U.S I'd then travel to Canada and see why hockey is such a religion! I'm not a big Rush fan so it would be about the hockey. :) While in Canada I'd just take the trip to Montana and visit my family there for a while, then jump on the private jet and see Vegas, California, Arizona and Texas. Might as well take the plane to Michigan to see a friend and paint his man cave then off to Kentucky, Virginia, Louisiana and jump around a few places in Florida.

I have no doubts that I'd visit more places and sight see, I am a free spirit and wouldn't mind the exploration and learning new things. It's who I am. :)     

10 Fave Activities

Ok, so I'm an energetic, hyper, enthusiastic person that would rather keep busy than bored off my socks. Below is a listing of some things I like and enjoy. As of late I've just gotten into cruise ventures now. :)

1) Sleep - one of my favorites, whether it's in my hammock (happy place) or on the couch. I don't get to do much of it lately but it's nice when a nap sneaks up on me from time to time.

2) Music - I love music, several kinds. Just don't care for the Disney pop music, just too sugary and technically overdone for my likes. I have the iPod filled with music that ranges from some country, classical, 80's music, etc. Music helps me do a good amount of housecleaning and landscaping around the yard.

3) Cleaning - I've noticed more Obsessive Compulsive Issues appearing within me now that I am a homeowner. Things need to be clean and in it's place, it keeps me busy and takes my mind off of things.

4) Swimming - I am a water sign and love to play and spend time in the water, I was raised with and in a pool and miss getting in one. Living in Florida is nice being able to be in water more, but unfortunately I haven't been able to swim much. I do need to do that more often.

5) Traveling - I love to get out and do things or go places, to see new sights and live. It's a great passion of mine. I've been to Scotland, England, Barbados, Mexico, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Indianapolis, North Carolina, Virginia and plan to go to more places as much as possible before I die.

6) Shopping - LOVE LOVE LOVE retail therapy!! nothing in the world helps me feel better than spending a bit of cash and filling my closets with more shoes and outfits! I don't get to do much of that lately since I'm on a budget :)

7) Sight seeing - runs hand in hand with traveling and well, shopping really. Since window shopping is in a small way close to sight seeing, so it all ties in. Seriously, it's nice to look at new things and see history and take lots of pictures.

8) Painting/ sketching - It helps me drift off in another place or do something nice. I've been painting/ sketching for years and like it, so therefore. :)

9) Laughing - at whatever it takes to get me in a happy mood. Movies, comedies, comediennes, comic strips, cartoons, anything funny really. Making other people laugh is a big thrill for me, kind of winds up the humor key a bit.

10) Concert Going - music helps this, if I get into a band and want to hear them in a live setting, concerts it is. It's a way to get out a bit of stress and energy for me, my release. For me it's better than doing drugs!!

11) Movies _ I'm picky about movies and have problems sitting through most. Disney Pixar and happy cartoonie types are a fave, some sci-fi works for me too. Don't like horror movies or scary thrillers, just not my thing.

12) Museums - something about walking around a museum or an art museum that is relaxing to me. I seem to get lost walking around looking at all there is to see.

13) Sunbathing in my "happy place" - yes, that would be my hammock. It's somewhere I've liked to go and just zone out and sunbathe when the weather is warm. I thought it would drive me nuts when the sling part of my hammock broke, I didn't fall through it, I just needed a new one. Funny how that is, something you've become accustomed to all of a sudden isn't there, but it can be replaced....someday.

10 Fave Artists

I've broken this down into two categories since for me, artists is a LARGE topic to cover. I obviously love the loud, different style of music, it's how I unwind, exercise, get into a good mood or even clean my house. Second category is my favorite artists that I particularly like. There are so many other artists that I enjoy ranging from tattoo artists, to the 3D artists that use chalk on sidewalks and the mural painters that use their hands to paint a huge mural. Just amazes me and makes me want to do that!!


Music
1) Van Halen
2) Metallica
3) Judas Priest
4) Nevermore
5) Testament
6) Megadeth
7) Motley Crue
8) Scar Symmetry
9) Pantera
10) 3 Inches of Blood

Art
1) Luis Royo - A friend of mine opened my eyes to the art of Luis Royo, his paintings are BREATHTAKING!!! I love his style and talent!!
This photo is one of my favorites because it's what I'd like to see myself as in a few years:


2) Tim Cotterrill- my fave sculptor so far, I have a small collection of frogs he's designed over the years. Tim uses a bronze casting and an amazing patina that makes the colors on the frogs and coy fish, breathtaking. I just LOVE collecting his art, when I can afford them!!

3) Pierre Auguste Renoir - french impressionist painter, I just enjoy his style and technique. He painted women beautifully whether clothed or not and he wasn't scared to use color! He brought out lights and made his paintings look like it was a nice sunny day, they made me smile when I would see them.

4) Boris Vallejo - Boris and his wife have done some amazing art over the years, some album covers, definitely books and magazines, calendars and book/ movie covers. I love how he gets his flesh tones, he is awesome.

5) Piet Mondrian - a Dutch painter that created just a basic grid and painted a few blocks using the primary colors red, yellow and blue. I studied his technique in Commercial Art classes and found that no matter what art you design, you are using a Mondrian technique of lines and blocks.

6) Doug Johnson
7) Roger Dean
8) Derek Riggs - Doug, Roger and Derek are designers that have done album cover art for many bands over the years. They've inspired me and made me appreciate what a dying art it is nowadays.

9) M.C. Escher- I just like to stare at his designs and put myself into them. Walking up or down the staircase, walking around and through corridors, looking into the glass ball. He has created some amazing, twisted artwork.

10) Myself - yes myself, I'll take that moment to glorify myself and say I am a decent artist, I love to create, draw, paint and do whatever I can to feel free and explore a wonderful feeling of thinking or going outside of myself and creating something I can be happy about.

10 Fave Shopping Sites

Hi, my name is Dawn and I'm a shopaholic. I've spent entirely too much money on wonderful fun things over the years so I know about the subject of retail therapy!! My girlfriends and I agree, if we had unlimited spending abilities, we would need a new house just for the clothes and shoes alone!! Granted I love shoes and wish they could fit my flippers, some do and that's where I get into trouble. But there's much more to my shoe fetish, clothes and household items I've found seem to be more and more a want, now that I own a home. These are a few of my favorite places I like to visit and drool over many an occasion.

1) Victoria's Secret - www.victoriassecret.com
2) Fredrick's of Hollywood - www.fredericks.com, Both Freddies and Vikkies are two of my fave shopping spots for the obvious, they do have lovely clothing styles I love too.
3) your next shoes -www.yournextshoes.com
4) Christian Louboutin shoes - www.christianlouboutin.com, yes, I have a shoe issue, I'd love to afford the shoes I do see. Even if there is a sale, at this point I still can't afford shoes at either of these sites but I can always dream! Louboutin is a fashion designer that makes incredible styles, just love what he comes up with on a runway!
5) Christian Siriano Designs - www.christianvsiriano.com, Christian Siriano was a winner of project runway some years ago, I love his use of color and design style. He's recently done several lines of shoes for Payless Stores, which is nice to bring the fancy-schmancy style down to the individual that can afford the lower prices. Now if only he would do a fashion line for like say, Target or Sears!!
6) Swarovski - www.swarovski.com, I absolutely love sparkling little baubles, unfortunately also expensive!! My mother worked for Swarovski some years ago and still gets "the kids" the annual Christmas snowflake for Christmas. So she has "turned us on" to Swarovski and we use them for almost every occasion for gifts if we have the opportunity. A high recommendation to you if you need ideas or gifts for hard to shop for people or those that would something different made from (lead free) Austrian crystal.
7) Body Central - www.bodyc.com - Clothing, a favorite. My girlfriends and I make sure we check this store out whenever we are in the mall window shopping and we get the catalogs monthly.
8) DSW Shoes - www.dsw.com - like you need to be surprised that there is another shoe website in my blog. This is a great shoe warehouse, there are stores as well as the online store to browse through.
9) Walmart - www.walmart.com
10) Lowes - www.lowes.com, the last two sites are obviously where i go to do my little shopping or household item shopping, affectionately referred to as 'Hell' in my family.

There are many other sites I like to check out, whenever I get the grand opportunity to spend money. I hope some of these sites help if you needed ideas to shop for goodies or just to make note that shopping is my habit. :)

10 Best Books

See, I am a weird bird. I like the autobiographies and fantasy books. Since I have been in school I haven't had any chance to do any leisure reading, just text books and design magazines. These are just a few of the books I have read and I'll probably list a few of books I'd like to read next.

1) Anne McCafferey has a series called The Dragonriders of Pern, I fell in love with the series. If you can get into the whole fantasy of dragons and a sci-fi twist to the books, I'd recommend it.

2) Percy Jackson and the Olympians series from Rick Riordan is next on my list. Another fantasy/ mythology book series, based on the what if principle on the Gods of Greek Mythology actually spawning with a mortal and that child's life as he grows up developing and learning of his odd skills and traits.

3) Ozzy Osbourne collaborated on his autobiography 'I Am Ozzy' and it was fabulous! Agreat read but wished for more stories!! Ozzy is a great performer and I enjoyed his reality series show, to read about his life and all the trials and tribulations was amazing. And yet, he still lives and sings!! Just barely audible tho, but he still saunters on!

4) Motley Crue- The Dirt was a cool read all about the band and their struggles. I'm an '80s metalhead kind of gal, reading this was cool to see what the real poop on the band really was. I was shocked about ALLLL the stories, was aware of just a few. A good read if you get into the rock n roll lifestyle. :)

5) Nikki Sixx- The Heroin Diaries, after reading 'The Dirt' and learning about all the drug stories within the band, this was an amazing read. Nikki Sixx is the bass player for the band, he died a few times due to heroin overdoses and came back to tell about it. He published this in a diary format like the original with pictures and omissions of course, it is a raw, dark eye opener of a book that really opens your eyes to the disease (or stupidity) of addiction.

6) Valerie Bertinelli- Losing It & Finding It. I just wanted to know about her life with Eddie Van Halen and I read a self help book about losing weight, don't get me wrong, it's a great book. I just don't have her drive, stamina and money to afford a personal trainer and exercise routine through weight watchers.

7) Howie Mandel- Don't Touch Me. This was a great, funny read!! Howie has an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and does not like to be touched! Hence he is always giving people a fist pump instead of a handshake.

8) The Twilight Series - I'm a vampire fan, I love the books but the movies are weak. Something about a different kind of love story with a weird twist that reads interesting for me.

9) The Van Halen Saga - I'm a huge Van Halen fan, I live to read and know more about the band. Yes, I would love to design album covers and do band things for the music I love. Van Halen music as well as many other bands made me want to be creative.

10) The Autobiography of Lemmy- White Line Fever-He still has a penchant for alcohol and drugs, I don't think that will ever quit - unless he dies. This is just a thin book on his life, dreams, achievements and well, highs.

11) Cant forget the whole Harry Potter series. I love the whole idea that a 12 year old could possibly have magical powers, and there is a castle that happens to be a school that teaches all the cool magical things, other than at Universal Studios. I think I read this entire series within 3 months, I also believe they need to go back and redo the movies to more closely follow the books!! But that's just me.

12) I did start to read the Carl Jeung book when I was in Psychology. I thought I'd get to read it at some point but I've been busy with classes and not able to open it back up. I do like to read intellectual books once and a while.

and for the to be reads...

1) Sharon Osbourne- Survivor
2) Dave Mustaine- Heavy Metal Memoirs
3) Rudy Sarzo- Off the Rails
4) Bobby Blotzer- Tales of a Ratt (no it's not a typo)
5) Vince Neil- Tattoos & Tequilla Yes, I like knowing the rock n roll lifestyle. I do like other books, but these fascinate me more.

I don't sit down with books unless they appeal to me from the start. On the rare occasion i get to dig around a bookstore I usually peruse certain areas of the bookstore, pick a book and read the first few pages. If they appeal to me, I usually end up buying it. On a rare, maybe never occasion I find a book that Oprah had on her reading list. Most of the ones I'd prefer hearing about through word of mouth from friends. I'm not a horror reader or thriller novel. I like what is interesting and I can sit through. So, judging by what my book likes are if you (the reader) has read between the lines, do you have any books you think I'd be interested in??

Since I've Gone Away.....

...took some time when I got back from da "Booze Cruise" to check out my classmates websites that they single handedly created (is that a word??), wow, they have talent!!! It inspires me more and more yet depresses me to see their talent vs. mine. I know it's different skills and expertise all rolled into one, I'm just blown away by their level of know how. Although, I'll be honest, I'm gonna be picky about what I see....

Outone Vanna really has a great site, he thought that out a bit. http://thebestdamprogram.com/vanna2/ he kills me how talented he is. The layout is great and yeah, he makes me ill with his site. But I give him props for having it and showing it off.

Derrick did an interesting site, http://thebestdamprogram.com/brangers2/index.html - for some reason i just get this stuffy feeling from it, like It's crammed into a box rather than spaced and laid out a bit better. The spinney icon is cool, but might need to just be slowed down a bit, in my opinion.

John did a great job on his site, I like the cold metallic look really, http://www.thebestdamprogram.com/suarez2/index.html - the only thing that gets me is the typeface (font choice), I feel it's either too small or just not the right type and it just muddies all together.

Mister Thomas Castle of Castle Designs configured this one, http://www.thebestdamprogram.com/castle2/ - and I am having problems already. If he has a certain font used for certain first letters, I'm not seeing it. Plus it looks sparse and hard to read. I'm just not feelin this site.

Chris I have small issues with already and I am trying to give him benefit of doubt here. http://www.thebestdamprogram.com/vazquez2/ - for starters, typeface is either too small or not the right look. the pics along the side are dark and there isn't anything to tie the images in with the layout. Plus, there are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many grammatical errors that it hurts me reading it. It just looks like it needs more work or needs to be thought out better.

Mason has two interesting sites, http://www.thebestdamprogram.com/sweeney2/ & http://www.thebestdamprogram.com/sweeney3/ . I still get really annoyed when capitalization isn't used properly, it's a me thang. But he has some great skills!! WOW! I think his portfolio has some great work, personally, I think his third site is better than the second layout and content wise. The second site is ok, I like the glowing neon boxes, the typeface is annoying, the links in sources should be linked up to something in my opinion. It's a short and sweet site, he kept it short and simple.

I personally adore Ty's site. He knows a decent design, he works at branding himself, he is talented, I'd like to see him go far. http://www.hiredgunsdesign.com/portfolio is his personal site. I like the black and white contrast with the hits of red, the layout is great and my eye travels along his page. I'd give him a solid A on this, it looks great.

Jacobs site seems just short and sweet, http://www.thebestdamprogram.com/childs2/, I understand his point, I just think it needs more. Images, graphics, text...something to make it more captivating other than a bright aqua color, light background image and text. Where's the research links? Where are the references??

Ashley has some neat images on her site, the popping links when you hover over them all is annoying. Page 4 has no breaks, it's all one long paragraph and looks just annoying to read. http://www.thebestdamprogram.com/houston2/ Page 3 looks better, I'm glad she's got the research in there, looks good! Page 1 top half of the page looks great, the second half around the image gets tight and busy. Good job for Ashley!

Justin put up an okay site. http://www.thebestdamprogram.com/pugh2/ , I'm picky about the tabs and the colors myself. The typeface needs to be either bigger, spaced wider, fit better something, it just seems to be smooshed with the colors he has used. The yellow typeface is really bothering me.

I like the changing image at the tab, I had to sit there a minute to "get it" that it was for Social Network. http://www.thebestdamprogram.com/calhoun2/ , S & E?? I didn't get that at first either. It was nice, he researched, images looked good and were tagged.

Kyle did a nice little site, he is always doing something in black or dark colors though, I'd like to see him do something bright someday, be diferent! http://www.thebestdamprogram.com/rowe2/ - the little images need to be a bit bigger or brighter, definition citings at the bottom could use a hover color or a different color other than dark blue, hard to read on a dark background. The 10 skills could use to be spaced a bit more apart, it looks shoved together. Just two sites he used as a reference?? really??? At least the images are nice to look at....



I seem to be missing a few others websites, I'll dig around for them tho and add them little by little. I have some competition out there, and some I just am not worried about. I'm kind of annoyed that some classmates didn't bother putting anything out there, epic fail as I occasionally say. Ok, this turned into more of a critiques site rather than "check this out..." oh well.... :)

January Mid term test, one of many tests

So the class took a lovely test today, this is the last part of my rather lengthy test. Feel free to make comments, correct me, teach me, after all, this is what learning is all about.

(Q) What are ten things you can do to make sure your web page is optimized for Search engines?

(A) 1) Research your competition

2) Interact in online forums

3) Monitor and maintain your website

4) Use Analytics

5) Make a keyword list

6) Use social media networks to your advantage

7) SEO Software and Webmaster Tools

8) Create an account at Google Webmaster Central, Yahoo Site Explorer and Live Search Webmaster Center verify you are a site owner and gather all the information and free-bees as you can manage.

9) Have relevant links to other sites and they link to you.

10) If you’re not going to SEO yourself, find a company that specializes in White Hat compliance's that will do the SEO to proper specifications.

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(Q) How can a business best use a Web Site, Facebook, a blog, Flickr, YouTube, and Twitter to create an effective online marketing campaign?

(A) By creating a campaign on the social media networks you assuring yourself of being seen by someone that is surfing the web or looking for a certain something. Three out of four people are on social networking pages every day, to post your site or link or blog about it, brings an interest to whatever it is that’s being marketed. By creating a creative and engaging campaign, it will help in drawing in the clicks. Don’t confuse customers with crazy sites that will give seizures but pique their interest in any other way you can.

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(Q) Web 2.0 was about the web site providing the platform and the users providing the content (EBAY, Facebook, YouTube…), Web 3.0 is about managing the content. What is a content management system, when and how might it make sense for a business to use a CMS as apposed to a traditional web site, and how do Joomla and even WordPress fit into the Web 3.0 environment?

(A) As I roughly defined above, (content management system) is the collection of procedures used to manage workflow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based. Data can be defined as nearly anything: documents, movies, pictures, phone numbers, scientific data, and so forth. CMSs are frequently used for storing, controlling, revising, semantically enriching, and publishing documentation. Serving as a central repository, the CMS increases the version level of new updates to an already existing file.

It is a software program that is used to make designing multiple advertisements to be placed within a website much easier. It stores the ad (or content) into a database, the system can retrieve it and put the information wherever based on rules you can use and however flexible the CMS is. The source code is available to use and change whenever needed.

10 Skills I will develop in the near future.

1) Time Management
2) Self Promotion & branding
3) Networking
4) Financial Accountability
5) Programming language
6) Leadership Skills
7) Advertising Skills
8) Customer Service Skills
9) Web development & services
10) Self Improvement

That list just looks so short??? So much more I could add, but it's early yet, one step at a time right?? Just focus on what I can and let the rest just fall into place.

10 Ways to make money on the web today.

1) AdWords
2) Start a blog or Wiki
3) Social Networking sites
4) Create training or how to videos on YouTube
5) Paperless coupons or groupons
6) Sell Advertising on your website
7) E-commerce
8) Online business
9) freelance thru craigslist or other social networks
10) sell stuff on ebay

Yeah, there are a few more ideas to put with that, online web-inars (or is it webinars?), push your brand - online self promotion...
I'd like to make money, lots of money really. What woman doesn't want unlimited spending? I'm still going to work my tush off for what I can though, while praying Publishers Clearinghouse backs that Armored Truck up to my front door!!


...sigh....a girl can dream... :)

10 Technologies that are changing the way we work and play.

1) iPhones, iPads, iPods, iApps
2) Cell phones for texting and surfing the web -blackberry, pdas
3) AdWords
4) Netbooks
5) Video Game platforms
6) Social Media Networks
7) Touch Screen Technologies
8) Cloud Computing
9) Updates in Web Designing
10) cds to mp3s

SOOOOO many new technologies appearing in the world today. Slightly scary, a bit fun, all depends if you're tech savvy or just learning all about it. Either way, this is the new millennium, this is an eye opener of whats to come and how we've all been progressing, growing...

Amazing to think about really, so much has changed, become obsolete. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for it!! I just wish I would have invested in all the stocks for these companies years ago!! ;)

10 Great Design portfolio sites.

I'm a different individual, I like the flashy colorful websites. So looking into peoples websites helped me in figuring out some things and getting ideas. These are just a small few that I saw were interesting.

1) http://www.spoongraphics.co.uk/ - not much for dull colors myself but the artwork is fabulous. I like how you can click on small boxes of his work and x out in the corner. Easy to navigate and well done.

2) http://www.albertlo.com/ - The graphics at the top corner caught my eye and pulled me in. Great use of layout and an all around nice site.

3) http://www.eddidit.com/ - not only a home town boy (philly) but a sense of humor on his site. This site actually gave me ideas and thoughts on web designing.

4) http://www.narrowdesign.com/ - like the interactivity and creativity on this site. The front page wasn't quite centered but it has a great flow to it. Shame some of the links weren't working, would have liked to see more.

5) http://www.your-majesty.com/ - another nice site, the 3D is great, a little confusing but otherwise very cool and original.

6) http://www.workforfood.nu/ - a cool flash website & colorful. Downsides are images flipping too fast and annoying, startling music at the start.
7) http://eisforeffort.com/ - An ok site, the guy has skills and great ideas, he is talented. I felt like of all the body of work that hes done so far, his site just needed more umpf.

8) http://nopattern.com/nopattern/home.asp - VERY COOL SITE!! Loved the color, the layout, very rad site. The guy has photoshop skills, very impressive!

9) http://www.microbot.ch/ - Another KEWL site to check out, animation, sound, interactivity. I'm quite impressed!!

10) http://www.behance.net/TheHejz/frame/viewall - Is it something in the water over there?? There is amazing talent overseas, I'm so impressed. Talented guy, beautiful artwork, stunning. Liked the layout of the site, it worked.

There are so many talented people out there, so many websites I was snoopin through. Definately gave me ideas and points to think about when laying out a website, definitely!

10 Ways to use Web 2.0 technologies to boost your career.

1) Blogging
2) Twitter
3) Social Networking
4) Facebook
5) Podcasting
6) Mashup
7) YouTube
8) SEO or your web
9) Cloud Computing
10) Google

With all the new technologies offered in the world, self promotion, web design, job hunting, marketing, etc. It's a great idea to put some attention towards using Web 2.0 and soon 3.0 technologies to get your name out there as a designer and pump up a company that hires you.

10 Ways to use the web to promote your business.

1) Promotion
2) Blog, websites, articles
3) Become part of social networking websites
4) Put your personal website on your business cards, emails and letterheads
5) Post informative and fun videos on YouTube and link to your website and social networking sites.
6) Tweak your website for Search Engine Optimization and primo navigation
7) Create a commercial for your business, post it on YouTube and if you can, cable television.
8) Create pay per click promotional ads for the web.
9) Create a site map so the bots can link to your page when a browser is doing a search.
10) Make sure your website has the images tagged, meta data is used, hyperlinks are marked and keywords are where they need to be.

I'm a big fan of self promotion, getting your name and face out there is paramount when you are in the market, whether it be commercial arts, music, design, restaurant or personal shopper you need to be promoting. It's a dog eat dog out there and there needs to be promotion to make you stand out from all the other dogs in the pack. I'm not saying go out and streak during a baseball game with a banner of your company, I'll admit I'm a colorful person, but I would rather promote myself without the embarrassment. Use the web and all the goodies that are associated within it for promotional reasons, why else is it there, not just for the new video games being promoted.

It's not completely about how much money you can make, some websites actually failed for multiple reasons, therefore no money was brought in. It's an age of new and modern technologies, use everything that's available to you and have fun with it. Give it a little personality and use the brain that God gave you and those around helped it to congeal!! Don't worry, I'll be right there using my talents to be bigger and better and promote myself and whoever hires me to make their company bigger and better!!! :)

10 Reasons to hire a professional designer.

1) Uniqueness, one different person to offer something different.
2) Search Engine Optimization skills.
3) Professionalism - distinguishing between a personal and professional site.
4) Getting a message across.
5) Changing web styles, updating, keeping up with the newer times - management.
6) Time efficiency- the business person has more time to handle other affairs.
7) Reliability and stability
8) Knowledge of browser compatibilities
9) To show your personal brand and marketing (the company)
10) Attention to detail - think attract new customers/ business.

A designer brings something new and unique to the table, those ideas combined with the knowledge of the business at hand help in creating a unique package. The concept of the package that is put together will bring business and revenue into the company. The designer hired also helps to alleviate some of the stresses within the organization.

10 Design ideas to make your site look better.

1) Know your target audience and the aim of the site.
2) Roll over buttons that change color or shape.
3) Fluidity - the place your eyes travel too.
4) Clear fonts and proper use of color.
5) Information, Intelligence and Inviting!
6) Contact information in as many places as possible.
7) Strive to empower the person visiting the site, not speed up the system.
8) The visitor should always know what is happening & don't overwhelm that person with too much.
9) The information for the decision must be there when the decision is needed.
10) Visitors should always know how to find out what to do next.

There is so much to make your site look better, be better, work better, be pretty blahh blahh blahh.... common knowledge it just to keep the site simple. Make the most of the site you are designing, have a plan for the site, have detailed information an don't bore the visitor and yet don't annoy the visitor with too much. Most of all, do research, know the topic the site is about and gather as much information as possible. If problems arise, they are easily fixed.
And these are my thoughts on the subject.
Thank You.

10 Things to make your site index better.

First few things that come to mind are things recently learned when researching web accessibility, i think i will just narrow down the points into one.
1) Make sure your site is marked up for the disabled individuals who need assistance on the web.
a) Tag all images, alt and anchor tags, make sure text readers can read whats on the page.
b) Make sure the colors of your site can be "seen" by those who are colorblind, and that they aren't obnoxious colors.
c) Try to refrain from heavy Flash movie use and make sure the images are at a fairly small size.
d) Use proper font and font size and make sure the font is distinguishable against the background.

2) Research! Make sure you have the credible info that will inform the viewer and your page layout will attract the viewer and organize that info properly.

3) Links to other sites- use social media sites and relevant sites.

4) Meta-tags and key words in the header. Make sure your site can be accessed and seen at the top of a browser search engine.

5) Make sure your website says who you are and what you are about up front.

6) Make sure your url is user friendly and bots (crawlers) can find your site.

7) Do not use the visit counter - if one person visits your page, will that be a catch for the #2 person, or reason to hit the back button?

8) Use screen space properly, not just for the information and colors but navigation and layout, stay away from frames.

9) Update your site often, check the links, manage the content. If you have email sent from the website, keep up to date with replies.

10) Run all the proper checker software and aides you can on your site: webcrawler, w3c markup validation, css checkers, etc. they can help. Also submit your site to an Open Directory or any other web checkers for the validity of your site. AND SPELL CHECK!

This is my top list, subject to changes, suggestions and anything else I am missing :)

10 things NOT to do when creating a website!

1) You need to have visual contrast, not when it's obnoxious and difficult to look at! Background pictures or colors should NOT look horrendous together.
2) Design the website for your customer NOT for yourself, the customer wants and expects it to be a certain way.
3) Do not use images that have absolutely nothing to do with the page itself.
4) Spelling, correct phrase structure, proper vocabulary are a must!! Make sure you spell check and proof-read what you are typing.
5) Don't make your site so difficult to navigate that people will get frustrated and leave.
6) Don't assume your web site is going to be the money maker of your business.
7) Use Flash properly and not as a backdrop or to give a visitor an epileptic seizure.
8) Do not cram as much information into one page, space it out effectively.
9) Make sure someone that visits your site can figure out what your site is all about within seconds of visiting your website.
10) Make sure all images & maps are tagged. Keep those who use readers, who cannot see the web page visually, can still access your website.

Was spending the day on www.webpagesthatsuck.com and found a great posting on top 15 things not to do when designing a website. Information is not lacking on this site and it made me think. Not to mention some of the links of webpages and illustrations are priceless.