EXPERIENCE 4

It all started when I purchased my own domain name, marking my personal territory in the vastness of the Internet. Exploring the design and creation of the World Wide Web has been an insightful experience for me over the past couple months, as I educated myself on the tricks of HTML5 and CSS. I found open source web building forums, inspiring reference pages, and the amazing database of Google fonts. By coding my own portfolio website completely from scratch, I was able to take a more thorough look at how I would like to present and brand myself as an industrial designer. From creating my own icons to choosing an accent color (and a background color!), I did my best to create a consistent user experience on every single page, leaving the visitor with an impression of who I am and what they can expect if they work with me. For example, I learned that I could make my buttons turn from grey to yellow when the cursor passes over them. This catches the visitor's attention with a bright, friendly color pop and invites them to click on the active link. By recognizing this consistent behavior across every link, the user can easily navigate the pages and distinguish interactive moments throughout the website. With a little site mapping and user testing, I considered my target audience and made sure that the information they want appears to them first while still ensuring that their eyes have to rest on the content that I, personally, want them to see.

 

I feel like I've broken the 4th wall! I am now able to visit nearly any website and imagine the basic layout of the code that governs its behavior while appreciating the designer/developer behind the screen. I still have a lot to learn about advanced website animation and interactions using javascript, but that is another code for another day. I feel confident writing HTML5 and CSS in the skills section of my resume for now. My website is already making its rounds on the many post-grad job applications I have sent out, and I can't wait to use my site to explain my work during a couple job interviews next week!