What have I learned so far????

Web design is not new to me but I have to admit that I absolutely have no artistic creativity and tend to stick to the more technical side of web design.  I've designed a few websites in the past but none from scratch, and have always used a template to get started.  I just don't have the visual talent to create something from nothing.  What I learned so far about graphic design is that it's not that complicated as long as you stick to the concept of C.R.A.P.  CRAP stand for contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity.  These four elements of graphic design ensure that a graphic or a web page is visually stimulating and effective.

Graphic design is absolutely everywhere in our lives today and it's something we encounter every day.  You encounter graphic design daily; in magazines, newspapers, websites, mobile device and even while driving on the billboards on the side of the highway.  There's no escaping from graphic design and the influence it has on us.  We are visual, and the best way to get a message across is to visually present your idea or product and if done correctly using the principles of CRAP, it will be effective.  Graphic design on the web has also become extremely influential and essential for businesses, politicians and anyone else trying to reach a wide audience.  The ability to reach millions of viewers across the world without spending a fortune has influenced many aspects of our connected society.

Web vs Print
When designing for the web, there's a few things that one has to keep in mind in order to be effective.  First of all you have to remember the basic design principles of CRAP.  The web presents a few challenges for web designers because of the many different ways that the Internet is accessed.  When designing for the web, you have to keep in mind how your content will be consumed either via a PC, mobile device or even a printer.  The different screen sizes and devices present more of a challenge for a web graphic designer than someone designing for print.  Print is a "static" design that is set and consumed in the same format after it is printed, while web graphic design needs to be fluid and dynamic in order to be relevant and effective.  With web design you can reach a wider audience and it can be as or even more effective than print media in today's connected society.

Reflection
Most of the topics covered in the videos are not new to me and were just a refresher of the things that I've learned over the years "tinkering" with websites and working in the technology field.  For me, the videos reinforced the fact that it's difficult to become a master of all aspects of web design and to make a living designing websites you have to specialize in certain technologies in order to become proficient and effective.  It doesn't mean that you shouldn't grow your skills and expand your knowledge in all areas of web design, but it does mean that there's just so much to know and so many programming and scripting languages out there that it's impossible to master all of them. To be successful in web design you need a modular approach to design that you can build on.  Even if you lack graphic design experience it doesn't mean you shouldn't try designing a website.  There's many resources on the web that can help you overcome your lack of expertise in areas of web design.  For example, when a friend of mine asked me to design a website for his business a few years ago I agreed even though I was lacking graphic design skills. I used a website called guru.com to solicit bids for a banner for the website.  The cost was minimal and I had a professional looking banner that I was able to integrate into the website's template. Bottom line is that you don't have to be an expert in all aspects of web design but you do need a solid understanding of all the pieces that go into web design in order to be successful. With the modular approach to web design you can build on your skills as you learn things like HTML and then build on that knowledge by learning XHTML, CSS and other aspects of web design.