Keeping in TOUCH with technology

Keeping in touch: Image from http://www.sxc.hu/

In the week of the launch of the new Apple iPad, web developers are starting to think about the impact of touch screen technology on web design.

The iPad is the latest device to hit the touch screen market and is likely to provide the much needed push behind the technology. Touch screen technology in the form of tablet computers, has not been successful in the past due to lack of reliability, over pricing and also a lack of respect from web developers. The global dominance of Apple is likely to make web developers sit up and give touch screen technology more respect.

Web design has become accustom to designing only for the mouse. Designing for the touch of a finger-tip will require a whole different approach. For example there will no longer be the need for roll-over or hovering effects and links will have to be big enough to take the touch of a finger-tip.

From personal experience of using a touch screen to view web pages, there are also other factors to take into consideration. Having to scroll around a page and constantly zoom in and out makes most current web pages not worth the hassle.

Websites will have to consider touch screen users now, more than ever. There is the option of using different sites for touch screens, similar to current mobile phone versions of websites. But the prospect of having so many different versions of you website may not appeal to them. This could result in the standard version of websites changing to adapt to the challenges of touch screen. In time we could see a whole new era of web design.

Touch screen technology will provide yet another challenge to me in the future. This challenge, added to the continual challenges of browser compatibility, will add further restriction on my web design and development.

However, focusing on the positives of touch screen technology, it will give the web greater accessibility and make viewing it easier and more appealing. It will open doors to disabled users, and the wider support of websites designed for touch, will allow more people to view more sites.

The impact of the iPad is yet to be seen, however if it follows in the footsteps of other Apple products, it is likely to shape future web design and catapult touch screen technology to popularity.

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References-

Net Imperative, [29/01/10], Right to reply: iPad “will turn web design on it’s head”, http://www.netimperative.com/news/2010/january/news_item.2010-01-28.4503605531, [29/01/10]

The quickest three minutes of my life!

When I hear the word ‘critical’, I think of high pressure, important situations and nerves. And immediately, the first experience that jumps into my head is the three minute Interface Design pitch. I also understand critical to describe a turning point or a time of significance. The pitch was certainly a critical event.

In the build up to the pitch, I was laid back and although I was not looking forward to the pitch, I wasn’t dreading it. I have never had a problem presenting something that I am well educated about and have a genuine interest in. This being my own work that I would be talking about gave me the hunger to prepare well and the confidence that would not have been there if I was pitching a random topic.

Preparation didn’t go as well as I would have liked.  I attempted to complete my handout well in advance. I ended up printing the screen design pages of the handout numerous times, to include minor changes that I made to my design. The final time, the night before the pitch, my printer ran out of ink. Brilliant!

The morning of the pitch, and after getting up extra early, I was dressed in my shirt and tie and on the bus to college. It was straight to the library to print my handout. With everything going to plan for once, I was fully prepared with just under two hours till my pitch. I took the time to look over my prompts and to focus on the task in hand.

My time came; the calmness gushed out of my body and was immediately replaced by apprehension. I stood in the corridor almost hiding from Steve’s view through the window, squeezing very last second out until I had to enter…..Ashley! Time to go.

I started shakily, fumbling with my pen-drive. The USB slot seemed half the size of the connection on my pen-drive. I cannot remember my first words; I can only assume that I followed what I had written on my prompt sheet.

The prompt sheets that i can only assume that i followed.

The buzz of the alarm…that’s the next thing I remember. My time was up and I didn’t finish.

I was initially gutted not to have finished and passed first time, however this experience has hopefully quashed any nerves that I had of presenting. The following week I pitched again and finished in good time.

Is that really a quarter of the course gone?!

Well, that’s a quarter of the course completed. When I say that, my initial reaction is one of fear and I question how time has passed so fast. However the more I reflect on my first semester, I realise actually how far I have come and the scale of knowledge that I have picked up.

I put my initial reaction of being slightly shocked and scared that I have completed this amount of the course down to the pace and nature of the course. The pace of the course is dictated by solid deadlines and a clear structure of where we are heading and topics that need to be covered. If you find yourself thinking about the pace, you will more than likely find yourself behind, whether you miss a point on a lecture presentation or a whole deadline. Design also becomes the basis of your everyday life, if I’m sat on the bus looking at an advert or reading a take-away menu, I find myself applying knowledge from the course and learning from examples. So because the course is like this, I don’t realise that actually in this time I have achieved a lot.

My team for the egg challenge

I said before that time seems to have flown, but the first week actually feels like a long time ago. The ice-breaking tasks and the egg challenge were the key to the group bonding so quickly, a bond which is still strong today. On a personal level, I took confidence from being able to meet and get on with so many new people. It’s something that I haven’t had much experience of, but it’s going to be vital that I can do this in the future when entering a new job.

The first assignment was another key point in the first semester. It again gives me a better sense of time, as I feel that I have come a long way and learnt a lot since this assignment. The actual assignment proved useful in giving me an insight into the industry. But it was the process of actually doing the assignment and going through the hand-in process etc. which proved the most valuable. I realised that you have to start working on the assignment from the first week, and you can’t afford to waste any time. Hand-in day was quite stressful and I found that I had lots of little time-consuming tasks, which had I started earlier, could have been completed prior to the hand-in day.

My first website design for the Interface Design module

The most enjoyable point in the first semester was when we started designing our first websites for the Interface Design module. The module proved to be a huge learning curve. My problem was that I initially spent hours and hours on my design, and I became too attached to it. I had planned to put my design on Das Forum for feedback, however having spent this amount of time on it, I was reluctant to make any changes at first. By the time I realised that this feedback is essential and saw how much it helped other members of the group, it was too late to have adequate time for changes. I was frustrated with myself for this and felt like I had wasted a lot of time; however it’s something that I can learn from and in the future I will be getting feedback as quickly as possible.

The Typography module ran concurrent with Interface Design. The tasks involved designing various typographic solutions to briefs. The short deadlines and wide range of subjects made this part of the module exciting and was something I looked forward to every week. Slightly less exciting was the laborious task of learning the typefaces. I made a good start, however as the workload in the other module increased, I lost focus with learning the typefaces. It was stressful as I could see from other members of the group that success was down to the amount of time you put into learning them. Better organisation of my self study time and having the discipline to stick to my plan could have helped. I was relieved to get back on track with the typefaces and I went into the test confident of achieving at least a pass mark.

I am unsure whether the next semester will be easier or harder than the last, however if I can at east match my success, I will still be confident that I’m on the right track to become a Web Designer.

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Where am I going

After high-lighting areas where I can improve in my last post, I can now compile an action plan to help me improve.

The most important skill in order to be a successful web designer is being a good communicator, as highlighted in my previous post. Aside from the obvious written communication skills needed, it’s the public speaking and presentational skills which stand out as being the most important. It’s essential for a web designer to instil confidence in the listener and not make them feel awkward. Verbal mannerisms, body language and eye contact are all factors which can destroy the listener’s confidence, if got wrong. The only way for me to be good in these areas is to practice doing presentations and take onboard any feedback from Steve. The worst thing I can do is take any feedback personally and become reluctant to do presentations. So it’s my aim to take any feedback and use it to improve what is an essential skill.

I also high-lighted the need to keep up-to-date and interact with the industry. I can do this by reading more of the articles linked to in Twitter. Also by uploading some of my own work onto Das Forum, I can receive feedback from my course mates as well as experienced web designers. Receiving this feedback could save me hours of staring at my design work, pondering how to improve it.

I now have an idea of how assignments are marked after receiving my marks for my first assignment. Having passed the assignment, I can set myself the target of passing every assignment in the future and not letting my level drop. However being the type of person who likes a challenge, I would like to achieve a Merit in the next assignment, and make an improvement every assignment in the future. Being realistic, this isn’t going to happen, as I will be weaker/stronger in some areas than others, but I like to set myself tough challenges. Obviously the end goal is to ultimately pass the course and gain the FdA qualification, but I also want to pass the course with at least a Merit.

In five years time, I see myself being a free-lance designer. With the end goal of eventually having my own small to medium sized web design company, I see free-lancing as being the natural route to take. However I plan to have three to four years working for a company once I have left college, to gain experience and the portfolio needed to progress to free-lance.

Targets/ Goals:

• Take on board presentation feedback and practice presenting to act on issues raised in feedback.
• Read more articles linked to on Twitter.
• Upload work on Das Forum to receive feedback/ suggestions.
• Achieve a Merit or Distinction in all future assignments.
• Pass the course with at least a Merit.
• To be an accomplished free-lancer in 5 years time.

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Where I am now.

Having received my score for my first assignment, this is a good time to assess my current level, both in relation to becoming a good student and an employable web designer.

I have now settled into the course and I feel that I’m over the initial hurdle. Although I’m aware there is still a long way to go, I’m enjoying the everyday challenge. My willingness to accept a challenge is typical of the ‘Activist’ learning style. After completing The Learning Styles Questionnaire ^[1], I now know that I have a strong preference for the Activist learning style, and a moderate preference for the Pragmatist and Theorist learning styles.

The book suggests that Activists are happy to shrug failure off and put it down to experience. This attitude has helped me on the course. For example when I’m learning how to use the software, I’m not scared to try things and get them wrong and then learn from it. This had aided me in getting to terms with Adobe InDesign quickly.

A characteristic of the Pragmatist learning style is that people with this learning style immediately start to work out how to put new ideas into practice. This again is good for me, as when I get information in lectures, I can see how this new knowledge can be applied to my work. This brings my work up to the required standard.

Finally, Theorists tend to be perfectionists. This is an essential attitude to have in Typography particularly, but in web design as a whole.

My results on the questionnaire were broad and I don’t have a strong preference for one learning style. This explains why it has taken a while to settle into Self Study, but I have now found the most effective system for me to complete the work.

Looking at the Andy Rutledge ^[2] blog, there are a wide range of skills needed as a web designer. Aside from the technical and business skills, which I feel I am strong in, the most important skills appear to be personal interaction skills. Communication underpins web design, whether its public speaking, written communication or body language. The course has placed a huge emphasis on these factors, and although I feel I have improved in these areas, I am in need of further development.

The Skillset Interactive Media standards ^[3], state that designers need to manage their own personal development and keep up-to-date with industry developments. By writing these blogs, I’m looking at my personal development. My reflective writing has dramatically improved since learning the reflective models and gaining experience in writing like this.

With regards to keeping up-to-date with the industry, it will be important, to hopefully give me a smooth entry into the industry at the end of the course. I could keep up-to-date with the industry, by reading online articles etc. I haven’t been doing much of this, so this is an area that I can improve in. However it’s probably not essential at the moment, while I’m still learning the basics.

Overall I am finding that although I have very little experience of web design, I am realising that a lot of the knowledge I’m learning already seems second nature. For example, I was already using the Four Principles of Design without even knowing it, in the small amount of design work that I have done. And I’m taking in any new ideas quickly and easily.

From looking at the two articles and by taking the Learning Styles Questionnaire, I’m confident that I’m on track to becoming successful in the industry. The course is addressing most, if not all of the skills that are noted as being essential in the articles. The articles have highlighted areas that I need to develop before trying to enter the industry, but I can already see that I have improved in these areas. I have no reason to believe that by the end of the two years, I will be ready to carve myself a successful career as a web designer.

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1. Honey, P. & Mumford, A, The Learning Styles Questionnaire, Peter Honey Publications Limited.

2. Rutledge, A. [23/06/08], The Employable Web Designer, www.andyrutledge.com/the-employable-web-designer.php,14/11/09.

3. National Occupational Standards: Interactive Media, www.skillset.org/standards/standards/IM/, 14/11/09.

Where I have come from.

My hunger to succeed on this course is a result of my experiences over the last four years. I was first bitten by the web design bug, when I was studying GCSE ICT at Outwood Grange College. A module on the course involved building a website header and a simple set of navigational buttons, using Macromedia Fireworks. For reasons that I am still not fully sure of, this was the most fun I had ever had at school. I achieved distinction on this module, so the fact that I was good at it, probably made it more enjoyable. But I also learned a lot about myself. Up until then I had always excelled at the less creative subjects such as Maths and Science, and had previously dropped Art. But I finally felt that I had found my creative side, and this new approach was exciting and gave me a much needed motivation boost through to the end of my GCSE’s.

I achieved top grades in my GCSE’s, so staying on at Sixth Form was the obvious route to take. I chose to study Maths, P.E, ICT and Business Studies at AS level. I had a successful year and achieved good AS results. However I struggled in my second year of Sixth Form, probably due to me being complacent from my AS results. I knew that I didn’t want to go to university, so with no help or guidance from my college to pursue any direction other than university; I started looking at the options available myself.

During my time at Sixth Form, I had been gaining more and more knowledge of web design by using online tutorials. I was now certain that this was something that I wanted to do for a career.

I heard that a lot of my friends were doing apprenticeships in their desired career paths; however I wasn’t sure if there were web design apprenticeships available. I sent emails to around twenty local companies, and received several replies. I was initially disappointed with the replies, as they were all basically saying that they didn’t do apprenticeships, however one reply was very positive. Horbury Design took the time to send a very informative email, explaining that the best route into the industry was to complete a course and get a qualification in web design.

They pointed me in the direction of Wakefield College, and the FdA Web Design course. I completed my UCAS application and was invited to an interview. The interview went well, and when Steve outlined the details of the course, I was certain that this was the course for me. The emphasis on working with the industry really appealed to me, and when I was given a conditional offer to study the course, I was delighted. I then had the seemingly endless wait till my A-level results, but was confirmed on the course after receiving them.

My foot into the web design industry was finally on the ladder.

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