Color and Grammar

So I checked out the website about color. I thought it was very interesting and informative. I enjoyed being able to use the interactive lessons and games to better understand the purpose of each color. I had already learned that certain colors meant certain things like red can mean anger and blue can mean calm. However, it was nice to see a list of other words that are associated with each color. Also, it was interesting to see the positive and negative attributes to each color.

I also enjoyed the article on grammar and composition. As an English major, I have an interest in grammar and how words are put together to form a proper sentence. I thought it was interesting how Bradford Connatser divided our language into two different categories, prescriptive grammar and organic grammar. I can see these differences in everyday life just carrying on conversations with others. I even have a different way of speaking that I know isn't always "grammatically correct."

Connatser mentioned that technical writers have to be aware of the difference between organic and prescriptive grammar. Readers aren't always aware of the prescriptive grammar rules and have a harder time comprehending certain documents. Connatser said that sometimes technical writers use exceptions in their writing to help the reader better understand the information. He said that the way things are said sometimes trumps proper, prescriptive grammar. If the prescriptive grammar will confuse the reader, it should be avoided.

It is hard for me to agree with this. I have taken class after class to learn the proper way of forming sentences and choosing the correct words to use. I don't want to have to abandon these rules because someone else isn't going to understand what I'm writing. I understand that some people might think something is incorrect and that could reflect badly on the writer, but I want to use the correct rules because I know it's right.

Homepage Creation

So I think these next few weeks are going to awesome. I am extremely excited about being able to start our actual websites and put our designs on the screen. I have so many different ideas that I want to test our and see what looks best on the internet. I actually created my mock homepage this past week, which makes me even more excited. As of right now, I may have too many ideas to accomplish in the few weeks we have, but I am going to try. I really want this to be a website that I can show potential employers and graduate schools. I am excited about using the techniques we have learned in class with photoshop. I hope you all are excited too!

This is kind of what I want my page to look like.
Does anyone else have any ideas about your own pages?

On another note, is our homepage design that we are turning in on Monday supposed to actually be what we want our page to look like or just a general idea?

Web Design!

So I was pretty excited about font last week. This week, I am even more excited to continue work on our webpages. I think it is going to be a challenge to get everything looking the way I want it, but I think it is going to be a great talent to learn. I have been searching through random websites to look for inspiration for my own website. I have found a few things that I like, but I haven't found that one thing that I really like. I am going to continue looking for neat designs that I can pull from.

This week's reading on imaging was also pretty interesting. It is crazy how every piece of a document is important to the readers. Everything can be interpreted in a different way so it is important that the design conveys exactly what you want to say.