Journal 4

At this point, I am in a good rhythm with my project. I have the basic layout ready, and I am familiarizing myself more with the Wordpress system layout and modifying CSS to fit my needs. Right now, I am awaiting information from my client. I asked her to select some of her favorite photographs for the galleries, and once I receive those from her, I will be able to put the images into the site and ensure the slideshows work as intended. After that step, I will have to get her "filler" information for each of the pages.

As I have been working, I have been struggling with design. I do not have a natural eye for design; it takes careful consideration for me to determine what is visually appealing. So, making a website for such a visual business (photography) where design is important has been difficult. I have found myself referring to many different design sources, especailly the Design Basics Index. One aspect of the book that helped me this week was the section on Harmony. "Visual echo is achieved through clear correlations between the colors, styles, content and typographic elements of a design" (Krause, p. 54). That page also gives the example of a postcard with an image of a flower, and the colors in the postcard match the colors in the image. I used this idea in the creation of the website; I have focused my color choices on those in Jessica Nicole Photography's logo:

I asked my client to give me the specifics on color- the exact codes for each color used in her logo. This has helped me to match the colors exactly on the site, and it has made for a more cohesive look to the site.

(Of course, my lack of design intuition is highly hilarious given that I will be creating my school's yearbook this year. This may be a true test of my design abilities!!)

Referenes:

Krause, J. (2004). Design basics index. Cincinnati, Ohio: HOW Design Books.