Why Copyright is Important to me

       Copyright is what protects art. It protects ideas, creativity and expression. I stand tall and proud for that. Artist pour out their hearts, souls, blood and tears into their works. I feel that's something that should be respected and taken note of, which copyright handles. It speaks out with the art's message in it's own way. This is someone's artsy view, it belongs to them alone.

       I've seen so many times on Instagram where people have disrespected artist and the craft. They clearly see this great individual wanting to open up and share with the public, but still take advantage. It's sickening that people really just don't care or have good morals nowadays. They don't acknowledge the consequences at all. I am an artist myself and it bothers me that people would take credit for something they didn't have a part in just because it appealed to them. I'm so thankful for copyright and the gate it builds around our expression. It gives us that control and true ownership, that sense of comfort and security.

"I think copyright is moral, proper. I think a creator has the right to control the disposition of his or her works - I actually believe that the financial issue is less important than the integrity of the work, the attribution, that kind of stuff." -Esther Dyson


Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/copyright.html

-A.W

April 22,2016

My First Functioning Website

   
      So for the third week of class, we were asked to design a website. Yes a working website, with five different pages. We were also asked to create it based on a controversial topic of our choice, state our side, provide information to back it up and present the final product to the class. Sounds simple enough, right? It’s only five pages and it’s focused on what you care about. That was my train of thought at first, I was relaxed and taking my time with everything. That was my mistake.

     Turns out, the project was much bigger than it seemed. I never considered what it would take to build a website. I was struggling from the very start, I couldn’t even decide on a topic to build on. It was frustrating and fun all at the same time. I had never done anything like it, never thought I could do anything like it. I worked so fast and so hard that I didn’t even realize what I was doing, and when I finished it all began to sink in. I, a freshman in college, actually made a website. It was one of those great ‘mom I made it’ moments. I felt like I did something big, and in a way I did.

     I didn’t care that my website may not have looked as great as others, I was just proud that I actually made it on my own. Within 3 weeks, I made a functioning website.  On top of that, I learned a lot along the way. I learned how to apply graphics, how to make a navigation menu, how to link things etc. And to me that’s what matters, changing through each new experience. I’m not a web designer or a professional graphic designer, but I’m getting closer every day.

-A.W

April 17, 2016.

 

                 What Makes An Effective Website?

When making a webpage, there are a lot of things to be considered. It has to be thought out completely. So many focus on just one thing or one side of things, but I learned it’s important to look at the whole picture. I realize for anyone who wants to be a web designer, you have to consistently ask yourself: What makes a website effective? You have to reflect on your own experiences with sites, think on what made you click on them in the first place…what made you stay? I have decided to share my thoughts on what I feel makes up a good website.

My Main Needs in a Website

ü  Easy Navigation

                     -When I’m surfing the web and looking at web pages, I want my experience to be as quick and simple as possible. I’ve been to websites were to seems like forever to either load something or find something. That shouldn’t be the case. This subject was discussed in my class, and we all agreed after 5 seconds most individuals have lost interest. This is why I listed navigation first, without it people rarely would take and take in anything else.

ü  Easy to Follow Information

                         -I haven’t heard many people mention this but I feel it’s just as important as the easy navigation. With the layout and wording itself, nobody wants to feel lost or confused. We all prefer being firm in our position as onlookers, knowing what we are reading and having no problems are reading the information. This is essential to a website, it’s what they were designed for; sharing information. If the information is scattered then the page has nothing to offer its viewers.

Of course after these you need to work out graphics and even consider making it use-able for individuals with disability, but I just wanted to give you the main ones that begin the lineup of everything else. I hope this helped and thank you for your time. J

-A.W.

April 10, 2016

Coding For Web Page Building 

   

     I have never tried coding before, even when I was attending a computer class in 9th grade. The subject of coding was never brought up to me. I always thought websites were made on a program, just not one like Dreamweaver CC. I assumed it was a program similar to Microsoft Word; with fonts, pictures, colors etc. The Web Design 1 class gave me a big time surprise.  

   

     As I was listening to the information given by my professor on Tuesday, I was a little overwhelmed. I thought everything sounded extremely hard, which was to be expected. My professor was typing different codes onto the screen to demonstrate and the more in depth it went, the more confusing it seemed. I thought I would never get it. 

    After our lecture, it was me and my classmates' turn. I remember siting there, for who knows how long, thinking about how I was going to do this. Some of my classmates told me they had experience with coding before, one of them had even finished an assignment of the week. I was really beginning  to doubt myself, I felt small but as time started dwindling I went ahead and started practicing.  Here's the great part: It was actually pretty easy! How amazing is that? I was cutting myself too short. I got the hang of it for the most part. Of course it took me a while and i still struggled a little but i got it together. It was a great feeling, still astounds me as i'm typing this out. I made it through the first week of coding! Woo Hoo! :) 

-AW Sunday April 3rd 2016