The last two weeks we learned new skills such as Sass, animations, and Parallax, which I can see myself using in the future. I also had some time to think about my final project. I spent a lot of time reflecting on my own web design skills, what I have learned, and what I want to make to conclude the semester.
Sass had many similarities to when I was learning Java in AP Computer Science. While HTML and CSS had some similarities (parent / child elements etc.), Java used a lot of variables and nesting. Using the these techniques in Sass was familiar and helped clean up my code. I also thought it was interesting how many of these features were ported to CSS. It made me realize how CSS continues to update its features, even after we learned how CSS was one of the first coding languages that unified web design. It’s cool to see these new features being added.
Next we learned about animations. Learning animations were surprisingly both simple and complex. The easiest were the transitions and translations, which involved moving different elements of divs. I can see myself using these to make my buttons or websites more interesting with subtle movement, such as a button slightly growing / rising when hovered over. However, the perspective and animation properties were a bit confusing. The example that surprised me the most was the rotating title card / div, which made the element spin. Over time I hope to incorporate subtle transitions and translations to my designs while learning how to use 3D elements, perspective, and keyframes to my designs.
Despite learning both Sass and animations, my favorite lesson was learning about Parallax. This involved different elements or images in the background scrolling at different speeds to demonstrate depth. I have wanted to incorporate these into my designs since I started web design. While the examples were pretty confusing to understand, I can see myself starting to add the simpler methods to my future websites to add more depth and variety to my sites.
Finally, I thought about my final project. We had to choose between coding two microsites (our midterm and a new one), or a 4-5 page website. While I wanted to code my micr0site, I wanted to make something more professional. I considered making a new portal page or portfolio for myself. However, I realized that it would be difficult to find 4 pages worth of information to add to it. Then I considered coding my website from last year’s final: Himawari Travels. Despite having many of the features and ideas, I wanted to challenge myself with a new idea.
That’s when I decided to do a new website for an idea I had for a long time: a mindfulness / meditation app. I like meditating to ease and relax my mind. I also have wanted to make an app surrounding these ideas. Making a website would be a great way to practice making a website that promotes a product or app, informs the user, and has a consistent theme. I am excited to see where this final project ends up.