The Mobile First Responsive Builds have been very enlightening projects, especially the SacWriter’s Group site.
At first, all these more complex CSS styling properties and elements seemed overwhelming. How and when and where….!! Our last project, the SacWriter’s Group site has allowed me to have a guide while at the same time challenging me in using all this new material. Media queries finally make sense to me in their relationship to responsive design and what I’m doing when I use them. There are so many elements in this site build, like the <blockquote> and quotation marks, that are really next level in terms of what CSS has to offer and what we can do with our coding. This project definitely challenges to me to think of layout and design differently and, of course, how to do it without making a mess. I am really seeing how much more simple my coding could be in terms of accomplishing what I want in my layouts, and I am slowly learning how to avoid unnecessary code. That’s still going to take a minute, but at least I can “see” it now. I keep hearing Professor Bill saying “I tried to keep it as SIMPLE as possible”. I get it; I may not be able to do it altogether yet, but I get it and I think it’s a key principle actually: keeping it simple. That is the beauty of designing mobile first and out I believe.
I am beginning to feel more comfortable with all of this now; it’s starting to gel, at least the basics of the more complex CSS. It’s not as scary and overwhelming and I think the thing for me is not to worry about perfection and getting it right, but simply practicing and learning. I’m also keen on learning where I can improve on design since I am falling short in that area.
The Click Spring field trip was AWESOME!! Thoroughly appreciated that outing and opportunity to hear Geoff speak! It was really satisfying to hear what a real employer is looking for in employees as well as interns. I really liked his business model and what he’s doing; I think it’s fantastic and I felt like “yes! this is what I want to be spending my time doing!”. Geoff gave us a great deal of comprehensive information about our field itself as well as highlighting all the ways we can extend ourselves professionally. His solid advice about practicing and building a diverse portfolio – doing as much as we can right now was taken to heart. This was a great experience and I got “fed” well…thank you!!
