We are going to be reading http://alistapart.com/article/responsive-web-design/ Responsive Web Design · An A List Apart Article alistapart.com The control which designers know in the print medium, and often desire in the web medium, is simply a function of the limitation of the printed page. As well before we start getting into projects and assignments so take care of yourself read and then write and you should be fine and not behind. 1.) Think about what kind of website you want and think about what mobile devices you own and would want to design for. 2.) Find 3 websites 1.) one you love 2.) one you do not like 3.) one that includes something you want to know more about. Link them and discuss about each three.

This article was interesting in when Allsopp started talking about flexibility. The text part was interesting to read because giving the user the ability to make a text bigger or smaller gives them flexibility to their preference. On the web it should be flexible enough to be accessible to all audiences. As a designer, you have to think of all audiences and how they interact with your web page so everyone can access and adapt to it. Personally, I haven't dabbled enough in web design to think of this but after reading this article, it gives me a better understanding that my design needs to follow the function of my webpage to better interact and interest various number of audiences. I like to be in control of my design and design it the way I want and have a certain look to it but designing with all the control doesn't necessarily appeal to all audiences. Also, being a designer with all the control does a disservice to yourself because you're not embracing the possibilities of letting the control go and breaking through the limitations.

I'd say that this article is very honest and truthful about the role of the web in today's modern society. It is a true powerhouse in how we all communicate with each other. He calls for the web to be treated as its own medium, something of which seems sensible. It's very apparent that older, more concrete forms of sharing and communication, such as newspapers, radios, and books, are steadily on the decline. To try and push these things through the internet is successful to some extent, but not nearly as much as one would hope. The web must be truly treated as its own individual, and marketed and used as such.

What I find most interesting, is how the article presents the idea of adaptability and flexibility. We oftentimes forget that settings we may have may not always be acceptable for everyone universally, such as the size or type of font for color. The article forces the reader to keep their readers in mind when creating a website. What works for you will not always work for others. He keeps the key words, flexibility and adaptability in mind as he discusses his thoughts.

The article was not too interesting in my perspective. I've read quite a number of articles lately and this one does not exactly stand out to me. While it did touch upon a lot of important things, it still felt like an average article hoping to grab someone's attention. I am not saying it was a bad article. It is just that it did not make want to continue reading it


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My process to create ranges from pushing ideas back and forth to seeing something that inspires me. Usually it can be a sound needing and image or an image asking me to add sound to it. Sometimes it can be something I just have not seen be made or something I think is funny and want to share. Like many I like to share what entertains me and I think why I want to create or how my process arises. It all comes down to me having a need, gaining a solution, and wanting to share my solution for others with the same need. It can be a cool design on a t-shirt or a hack I found as well maybe my interpretation. As well I want to connect the digital world to the real world. From a young age I shared with my grandfather the ability to find a cheap and clever solution most of the time. Thanks to the internet and media I would like to try to make a living of it. I think I share the authors idea to make the web adaptable to us instead of us being adapted to it. As well the idea to share, change, and correct ideas.

EVERYTHING CHANGES WITHIN THIS DAY AND AGE AND IT IS UP TO US TO ADAPT TO OUR SURROUNDINGS. THE INTERNET ISN'T AN EXCEPTION TO THIS THEORY. WITH EVERYTHING GOING ON WITHIN THIS WORLD, WE HAVE THIS IDEA THAT WE CAN CONTROL OUR CREATIONS OF THE INTERNET AND THE OUTCOMES. THIS ISN'T NECESSARILY TRUE BECAUSE THE INTERNET HAS ITS OWN LIMITATIONS AS WELL AS HUMANS DO. I DONT THINK THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THIS CONCEPT BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE LANGUAGE OF CODING. WITH CODING YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO CREATE YOUR OWN SPACE WITHIN THE RESTRICTIONS OF THE INTERNET'S CAPABILITY. I THINK THAT THIS CREATES THE SECOND GUESSES OF THINGS WHEN IT COMES TO DESIGNING BECAUSE WE CAN'T EXCEED SOMETHING WE CAN NOT CONTROL OURSELVES. I THINK THIS IS WHY WE SEE A RISE IN MINIMALISM BECAUSE SOMETHING THAT IS TOO EXTREME WILL NOT BE ABLE TO COPE WITH THE TECHNOLOGY THAT IS ACCESSIBLE TO US AT THE MOMENT. IT IS KIND OF SAD TO SEE THE SAME THING ON ALMOST EVERY WEBSITE YOU GO ON. IT'S LIKE WE HAVE LOST IDENTITY AS OUR TECHNOLOGY HAS ADVANCED WITHIN THIS GENERATION. THIS IS PARTLY APPLE'S FAULT BY MAKING EVERYTHING SO SIMPLE FOR THE CONSUMER. I DO LIKE COLORS AND FONTS SO WHEN I MAKE SOMETHING I TRY TO INCORPORATE IT AS MUCH AS I CAN TO MAKE EVERYTHING FUN AGAIN AND APPEALING TO THE EYE. OTHER THNA THAT I LIKED THE ARTICLE I THOUGHT IT WAS PRETTY INTERESTING TO READ BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER EXPLORED THIS ASPECT OF THE INTERNET YET.

I found this article interesting because the author took the point of view of the reader into consideration before anything else.  He explained that when creating a web page it must be adaptable among many platforms and the inability of text on paper to do so, which I hadn't previously thought about. I found his interest in the future of web design compelling because in order to design we must always be thinking of the future in order to stay one step ahead.

This article showed me that the webs ability to adapt across platforms rather than stay put is an advantage rather than a flaw. It just takes the eye of a designer to let go of the pre existing notions of the past and embrace the future.

Response to “A Dao of Web Design”

Before I had started reading the article “A Dao of Web Design”, I didn't think it would catch much of my interest, after all I am someone who wants to pursue and animation major not a Web Design one. However, after a couple of paragraphs it started to catch on, I had read some things that could be related with art. Allsopp goes on to talk about how mediums are borrowed from pre existing ones to creature new and better mediums. Which is something I can relate to art, people sometimes take art styles that were once popular or are popular today and add their own flair to it, to call it their own or to make it better. Mediums aren't just relatable at Web deign and art, Allison uses the example of it being related to things such as music videos, television, and popular radio.

I love the fact that he puts emphasis on the word “adaptability”. Things are always changing, whether it’s people, interest, web pages, etc, but we have to learn how to change things and be flexible. We have to learn to make things that can accommodate peoples needs and wants. I would like to add a quote that i enjoyed from this reading:

As observing detail is clarity,

So maintaining flexibility is strength;

Use the light but shed no light,

So that you do yourself no harm,

But embrace clarity.

Tao Te Ching; 52 Clarity

"A Dao of Web Design" was an interesting read. The most pertinent aspect of the article for me was the author's emphasis on the importance of adaptability. Innovation doesn't come by just sticking to the exact same ruleset; it requires thinking outside the box and trying something new. It reminds me of an old phrase that's the enemy of innovation: "But we've always done it this way." Blocking the web's full potential does a disservice not only to its users but to its future designers as well. Why wouldn't we want to make web pages more accessible to more kinds of people? Shouldn't all users have the same ease of access, or should some put up with design flaws neglected by stubborn designers?

Re:Dao of Web Design

I really liked the analogy that they use when they talk about print being the parent and the web being the child. The concept of control going directly to the people is something that hasn't been fully established and frankly I don't completely agree with. I do think that accessibility is necessary for the growth of the web, but how much can you change about a site until it changes from what it originally was. I think now a day, we've established a good amount of accessibility in our websites. I don't think that I've seen any websites lately that I couldn't navigate through because the font was hard to read or the font was too big. I somebody can't read anything on a website, they'll just zoom in.

A Dao of Web Design Response

This article is an interesting perspective on the evolution of technology. There are a lot of compatibility problems in today's competitive market of technology with companies trying to push their own products to be more popular than the other. For example, most people have either an Android or iPhone device but their chargers are not interchangeable. Web designers must look at issues similar to these and surpass them while sticking as close to the original idea as possible. These are some of the biggest challenges of the modern web designer.

I think that a lot of the quotes from Tao Te Ching can also be related to other forms of art. In playing music, I find it best to learn as many styles or genres as possible in order to be prepared for anything. It helps to be flexible when improvising or playing live when anything can happen.

"... A strong association between design and the Dao."
- I found the correlation John made very intriguing. It was an interesting parallel.

"Embrace the web as its own medium."
-Let it be free. Experiment with it.

"Rethink... Abandon control..."
-I compared this to my drawing ethic. Recently, I've thought of creativity as a muscle and that every time you exercise it, it grows.

"Think about what your pages do."
-Very good way to see it. I'm definitely going to apply this to painting and drawing.

All in all, I've taken a lot of concepts from this. I've learned that experimentation is the backbone to creativity. Not only that, but applying a different perspective will most likely result in more efficient ways of thinking, and therefore, have an impact on your imagination.

             Doa of Web design, huge eye opener for sure. As a newborn in the world of web design, this article offered great insight when it comes to the creation of a webpage. I was particularly interested in the thought of leaving the old rituals of print and creating new ones for the web. One being letting go of the idea that as designers we control the user experience and constrain it to what we want. In the article John Allsop explains that rather than constraining the user to one font, or one page layout or one set of color schemes, developers should make the web page almost universal. Allowing the user to to tweak or override certain parts of the page in order to fulfill certain needs. For example if a person is color blind and the web page shows words of importance in red, for the colorblind user it can make things very difficult. But if the web page is made accessible enough to change the color. The user can freely and without difficulty surf the page. A good example of this is, how buildings today by law offer accessible entrances, parking lots, bathrooms etc...  in order to help those who are disabled.
The most insightful bit of advise Allsop gave from the article to me was definitely that as designers when creating a page we should focus more on what the page will actually do rather than what it will look like.
 Twitter : @EZAinc

Dao of Web Design

The Dao of Web Design written by John Allsopp is a thought provoking complex writing that reveals and eludes to numerous concepts and topics to be explored. The ideas within the piece can be appreciate from a  technical, creative and philosophical perspective. The sheer number of concepts stemming from the piece, cannot possibly be addressed in this short blog.  After reading the Dao, I thought to myself, “hhmmm…”, as I realized that while I am a mature adult, I am still a child taking baby steps into the unknown world of web design.

One point the author did not explore is the fact that while children become adults, one day they will return to the state of a child. The same can be said for technology. The old becomes the new, and the new becomes the old. Death. Birth. Life. It's a fluid process of evolution that drives creativity, innovation and change. We draw upon the past, while dreaming of the future. The future cannot be achieved if dreamers are confined to a rigid box, or a set of rigid rules that define and control the present. As a child entering the complex world of code and parameters, I look forward to a future when every idea or vision can come to fruition using technology, and the internet. Web users should be able to access and consume data the way they want it. The way of the web will be shaped by those who use it, only if the world of users can use it, the way they want.

 

“The Way is shaped by use, but then the shape is lost.

   Do not hold fast to shapes, but let sensation flow into the world,

   As a river courses down to the sea”.

   Tao Te Ching; 32 Shapes

 

 

The New Medium (Dao of Web Design)

John Allsopp delves into the idea that the influence that mediums have on one another works well in some aspects and not well in others.  Mediums of entertainment such as radio and television are similar enough to one another which has allowed them to build off one another.   However, when the web was first introduced, it was revolutionary. It provided the ability for people to connect, share, and collaborate with one another across the world.  Information could be uploaded and used by anyone with access to the Internet.  

When Allsopp states that “the web is a new medium” he doesn’t mean to disregard all of the other mediums before it, but simply suggests that it needs to head in its own direction.  The web is in an entire league of its own.  The rules and expectancy of the mediums that influenced the web are not to be disregarded, but the web has paved the way for a new foundation of information sharing.  It changed the way communication occurs, and varies greatly from the one-way channels that television or radio provide.  

The control has transitioned from the creator to the user.  Those who use the Web should be able to change it according to their needs and desires.  Not everyone needs the same resolution or has the same device with which they are viewing something online, so the Web has to adjust for all of these differences.  The web is run by those who use it, and so it’s important to cater to those who use it, or at least let them cater themselves.  

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Response to A Dao of Web Design

While reading the blog post “A Dao of Web Design” I had many thoughts cross my mind. Most of them were regarding similarities from the tension of the old and new medium. In the 2000 the tension was between the printed page and the web. In todays age it is between streaming music, TV, Movies and more all online versus purchasing an album, having cable at home and watching it, and going to the movie theaters. In the blog post, John references how when a new medium first occurs it borrows most of the old medium. So when TV shows were first created, the producers decided to put advertisements during the show just like radio shows. However with TV shows it is much more distracting and often times ruins the show. On a radio show it made sense because it allowed the host to take a break and have some water, run to the restroom etc. With TV none of that was necessary so it just caused more problems than not. Now with TV shows becoming more and more available online for streaming we see little to no commercials. The reason for this is that we, as customers would rather pay monthly to watch our favorite shows without ads. Now there are some limitations like how many seasons of that show are available and how frequently it is updated but all of this is being improved. Just like how the web was the child of the printed page, on demand streaming is the child of broadcast tv.

Response to A Dao of Web Design

As a person who appreciates and lives by proverbial sayings, I found this article by John Allsopp to be very intriguing and thoughtful. Relating the nature of web design to that of Daoism was Allsopp's way of telling web designers to change how they view the world of HTML and style sheets. He found that too often, designers tend to cling to the idea of "control" and how they seek to micromanage their websites, ultimately resulting in their downfall. Instead, Allsopp emphasizes the importance of flexibility and adaptability. He urges our generation not to hold onto the ideas of the past, as that can hinder the potential for further imagination and creativity, and to try to open our minds to the possibility of more. Being flexible and understanding that our sites needs to go far beyond our own vision is the key to unlocking new possibilities and creating the future for web design.

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RE: A Dao of Web Design

        John Allsopp's article touches upon a crucial component when it comes to design: adaptability. When people were first exposed to the Web, he describes how some attempted to control a lot of the medium's components as though it were print. Allsopp's Dao references suggest that as Web designers, or designers in general, we should focus less on controlling the Web page or any new technology to our standards and instead focus on the things it can do. As people, we shouldn't limit ourselves to prior knowledge on the technological predecessors of the new devices that become available to us. Flexibility and adaptability are key when designing either a site or product once new tools become available to us, similar to when the Web came out. Without this mindset, content creators in most industries would be struggling with newfound technologies as they'd be unable to work and keep up with them as they came out.


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Hello Everyone. You can just do a "NEW POST" to post your feedback on the article. We will go through them and discuss tomorrow evening. Blog posts must be completed BEFORE class time for full participation grades , which i will clarify as we move forward. IF you also read other people's posts (which you SHOULD do] you can click on the pencil icon beneath their post to post a comment on someone else's feedback as well. At the end of the semester we will simply count your posts, and comments and there will be a percentage woven into participation. So since no one has officially posted yet, CHOOSE NEW POST AND Also include a link to your Twitter Profile!! I urge you to personalize it and i will make suggestions on WHO to follow but you should follow at least 5 -10 companies or artists, game design firms etc that interest you. cheers Patrick

SYLLABI [Subject to Change}

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7k2o27d25d8x1g2/PP_DMD1070%20-%20WEB%20DESIGN1%20Syllabus%20Fall%2016.docx?dl=0