brit – Learning Journal

Tardy End Post

Yes, I am a fan of these learning journals, and yes, I contradict myself because I often find myself forgetting to do them… However, I’ll go over the last few weeks of class!

I’ve loved all these classes. I’ve done all 4, starting with Natalie and ending with Bill. It’s been fantastic, challenging, and fun. It’s been hard and really, you put some blood, sweat, and a few tears, into figuring everything out. Once you do though, it’s so rewarding.

Pro Tip: Redundancy = Success

It seems like its been sometime since I last posted here, but perhaps that’s just life… Anywho, llama sites! It all started with the llama sites and now has transformed into something more intimidating, or so it appears.

It all started with the llama sites and having the header and footer all figured out and then we put “the loop” (creates blog posts or really any place where you wish to have customizable text) in the code.

For some reason, when you start with a llama site and then have the challenge of doing THE SAME thing but with a more complex looking header and footer, my mind goes blank. Literally last Tuesday, it was as if I had never seen code before. Not sure what happened. By Thursday, we transitioned last semester’s Concentric site into a theme WordPress would read.

Creating all those pages – essentially three different layouts – made the redundancy of the tasks stick into my brain. I was able to do the front page of the site on my own!

It really… honestly… shows that practice, practice, and practice, is not some cliche. There’s no epiphany here. I just need to get this more into my life. Not sure why I pass it off so easily, but it needs to become a fixture.

I’ve Got CRUD

The past couple weeks we covered databases to give us some insight into how WordPress works. For that, we went through the four phases of CRUD – Creating, reading, Updating, and Deleting databases.

Hold Up… Rewind…

I seemed to get ahead of myself in the last blog post. I forgot to add thoughts about our awesome guest speaker! But this week I will, along with some Javascript-y flashbacks being introduced to PHP.

Why Code?

This past week really makes me look back and question whether I am a glutton for punishment.

New Semester

I don’t want to jinx myself, but I’m thinking this is the class that I’ve earned to finally be in after allllll the other web design classes and the crazy language of Javascript.

Brittany’s Bio – AAD 87

‘Ey oh!

My name is – as the title implies – Brittany. This is my third class with Bill, and my… 6th (?) semester at Sierra. This is also my third round at Sierra.

Hey, Look What I Can Do!

These last few weeks, post-spring break, have been crazy… fun! It worries me a little because I’m wondering, “What the hell have I been doing the first half of the semester?”

So Little Time

I don’t think this is because its the end of the semester, but for some reason its like I have zero time to do anything and get it done. Its as if I don’t even know what time management is. So much to do, and yet so little time…

Highs N’ Lows

This past week, I learned a few lessons that I’ve previously known about, but I have seem to have forgotten for the moment and needed reminding.

Color Palettes & Grids

Last week, there were some interesting “Eureka!” moments. Both concerned color theory and CSS grids. Come, let me tell you what I mean…

FTW! (For the Win!)

Last week we not only got presented our midterm microsite assignments, but we also tackled full size images and their responsiveness. Seeing websites out there big sized images and/or video, it seems that that is the direction of design people are looking for. Plus, it’s awesome!

Going Mobile

This last week I couldn’t attend class due to family events and Thursday we had no class. However, there was still a lot of learning to be had within the course files. I think this week the work made me go through all the emotions – fun, annoyed, and relief!

Flexbox is Magic

This week was chalk full of information that my little OCD mind found to be so fun! I’m not going to lie, it’s a lot. Oh, so useful though!

Flex Your Floats!

As a designer, I really like to think outside the box and do stuff that no one else is willing to try, or just haven’t yet. Usually, its just me being over zealous. Nevertheless, when it comes to using block elements and making a page that’s pretty and organized, utilizing floats and flexbox creates a panic-less me.

The Art of Typography

Combining fonts is really an unappreciated skill, unless you realize its not exactly the easiest design concepts to master.

Like Riding A Bicycle

I’ve had years of practice with HTML and sure, I don’t use it everyday like I used to since I’ve returned to my studies, but regardless, it’s very much as if I’m getting back on a bicycle after a 23 year hiatus.