Mockups

Based on the feedback I got from the class, I made some minor adjustments to the original logo/header. Subsequently, I reduced the verbiage in the subtitle and selected a different image of the newspaper. Belatedly, I came to the realization that the newspaper image I had originally selected was prior to my grandparent’s ownership of the Herald. Now that I descovered this problem, I made the necessary change to the logo/header.

The WordPress template made the application of these changes much easier for an individual with my skill set. While I don’t consider the process I had to endure to apply these design changes and edit the code particularly easy, the mere fact that I was able to accomplish it speaks directly to the value of a CMS for me. My confidence with WordPress is growing daily.

Learning Disabilities and Accessibility

My oldest daughter, Megan, is a senior in high school and she’s also learning disabled. Joe Clark uses the term “dyslexia” to describe the vast array of cognitive impediments that inhibit learning and prevent access to various websites. My daughter’s specific condition falls within this generic, and somewhat outdated, categorization. Reading and reading comprehension is the functional problem created by her unique set disabilities. Consequently, over the course of the last year, we’ve been surveying various colleges and trying to come to grips with the range of services each institution provides. Typically, we’d make contact with each college’s disabilities coordinator to gain an appreciation for what tools were available for a student like Megan. In so doing, I was, for the first time, exposed to adaptive technologies, such as screen readers. At Salisbury University (on the Eastern Shore of Maryland), where Meg will be going to school, they make all their GEN ED textbooks accessible through a screen reader type of program. And fortunately for us, this type of assistance accommodates the majority of the issues we faced. If Megan’s disabilities were any more severe than they are, then college would not likely be an option for her. Even with these vital accomodations and enhanced accessibility, college will remain a struggle for Megan. Nevertheless, without these types of tools, my kid could never go to college. Therefore, it’s impossible for me to overstate the importance I attach to this type of web design and software application. This stuff can really change people’s lives.

Design Failure

My presentation tonight will be a perfect example of what not to do.   With that in mind, here’s my explanation:   I picked wordpress in part because its various themes offered some design flexibility in choosing colors.  The particular theme I selected in wordpress has three or four color options.  I selected the ”Autumn” pallette because it gave my site an older look and it also matched some of the yellowish newspaper images I wanted to include as part of my logo.   Therefore, in designing my logo, I knew that I wanted to include an image of my grandparents’ newspaper, the Hays County Herald.  So, using photoshop, I matched the brown color that wordpress provided as part of the Autumn pallette and I dropped in an image of an old yellowing copy of the Herald.  The newspaper used an Old English font on its front page.  I simply tried to copy this font in my design.  With my daughter’s invaluable assistance,  we found an ”embossing” feature in photoshop that made the text look like it was raised.  I liked that look so we applied that feature the website’s title, “A Life Together.”  I also tried to apply the Old English font to the site description but that was too hard to read because the text was significantly smaller.  As a result, I just used Ariel for the site description.  What I found to be more difficult than picking colors and fonts for the logo/header was determining the proper size of the image.  After much trial and error, 681 pixils wide by 110 pixils tall appeared to be the best guess but I may not have it right yet…as you will see shortly.  Anyway, here is my finished logo/header.    Looks pretty cool, right?  Not! 

Now, if you are viewing this on anything less than a widescreen monitor, stand-by for real good laugh.  Here is the logo/header applied to my website.     

Obviously, the search box is kicking my butt.

Google’s Plan for Out-of-Print Books Is Challenged

For those who took Clio I last semester, you’ll remember this discussion. Here is the NY Times article

Errol Morris Part Three: Gettysburg Photo

This is the last segment of Morris’ most recent NY Times piece. His stuff is really good.

Errol Morris Part Two: Gettysburg Photo

The link to the first part of this Errol Morris article is in my previous post. Here is part two

Many Options and Limited Time

All the design options are daunting. Photoshop, in particular, has such a range of effects and multiple avenues to achieve those effects that I find it difficult to maintain a direct A to B approach learning any specific function. Typically, I fail to follow the instructions and end up doing something that I had no intention of doing. Sometimes these neophyte diversions lead to profitable discoveries and sometimes not. Ultimately, time seems to be the real issue. With enough time, I’m sure a preferred method can be found for a desired effect. That is why I have a preference for the tutorials by Moll and Petrik. Simply, I like having my hand held. I like having a clear idea of what I’m attempting to accomplish and the steps needed to pull it off before I begin. I also like being able to refer back to the tutorial after I make a mistake or miss a step. Petrik’s tutorial was particularly helpful to me because I have photoshop elements. The more I tried to implement Eismann’s restoration techniques on scanned images of my grandparents old photos, the more I realized that photoshop elements and photoshop are substantially different. So in the end, I just wish I had more time. In that regard, this post can be considered a vote in favor of tutorials.

And speaking of the use of historical images, the NY Times ran this article by Errol Morris about a photo found on the battlefied at Gettysburg.  Pretty interesting.

For Hist 697 and All Veterans of Her Majesty’s Army

Sitemap and Wireframe

I previously posted a hand drawn sitemap that reflected a hierarchical order of information that was constructed under the premise of using stand alone pages. After installing wordpress, however, my website kinda lost its hierarchy. The template or theme provided by wordpress provided global navigation that essentially flattened the information structure of my site. Consequently, I found that the sitemap and wireframe revolved around me trying to represent how wordpress is depicting my content. Here is my sitemap and here is my wireframe.

WordPress Modifications

Besides being a week late, I’m still an unable to effect certain font changes and customize a color scheme. But since my sitemap and wireframes will be meaningless without this information, I figured I needed to post this….as is. The particular wordpress theme I selected did come with a few color options. Consequently, I was able to choose the least offensive color scheme available. The colors look better on my laptop than on my desktop. I did add a plugin from wordpress’ list of one-click activations. However, I have no idea if this plug will help me in any way. I was hoping to find a plug in that might provide some added value displaying digital images on designated pages. Just playing around with installing pictures I figured out that I could add pictures either as individual blog posts or as a gallery on a stand alone page. Each method has pros and cons so I was curious if a plugin might offer me some other alternative relative to displaying images. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. But plugins aside, I think this wordpress theme will be conducive to presenting my content. If I stay with wordpress, I may yet add an additional page so that I can separate early childhood photos from the images of the Hay County Herald. I think the thumbnails offered in a gallery presentation are better for the newspaper images while blog posts can allow people to comment on various family photos. The lone bright spot for me is the comfort level I have developed with wordpress. I have no doubt that I can expand or change most any aspect of this website to suit future needs. Thus, I think wordpress maybe more sustainable for a computer-goon like me.

Have a look: