Redesigned School Site

     So I finished my assignment I told you about in my last blog post. Directly below is my redesigned logo for Pedro Menendez. I did not spend a lot of time on the logo, because the layout of the site I knew would take me a while.

      I decided to model the site I was making as a redesign of Pedro Menendez High School after the Adobe companies business website. The only thing I saved from the logo was colors. I basically started over otherwise. All of the colors I used on my redesign, came from the original Pedro Menendez High School webpage.

      For me, the most challenging part of this project was by far the layout adaptions I had to make. It took me nearly 3 full days just to get the layout almost right. Even so I had to move things around after I added content and colors. I learned a lot more of the beauty of using div tags for layouts. They were a lifesaver in this project for me.

Below are links to these websites if you wish to see them for your self.
Pedro Menendez High School: http://www-pmhs.stjohns.k12.fl.us/
Adobe: http://www.adobe.com/
My new version: unfortunately our servers for the department are still under renovations/updates. I'm not sure when they will be finished. So I cannot give a link at this time.

New Pedro Menendez High School logo

 Original Pedro Menendez High School site

Adobe. This is the business site I decided to model the new site after.

My redesigned homepage for Pedro Menendez High School.

Next Project

For our next project in class (and possibly the last for me as there are only 14 school days left but than subtracting AP test days, and senior outing, exct. )



I will be redesigning the Pedro Menendez High School (and logo) in the style of Adobe website.

Screen captures are below.

Pedro Menendez High School

Adobe

Parallax in Web Site Design

What is Parallax in web site design?

 Parallax is a form of scrolling website design growing in popularity across the internet, 

The term “parallax” first came from the visual effect of 2D side scrolling videogames that used different background image movement speeds to create the illusion of depth during gameplay. This was generally done by making the background of the game move slower than the foreground in order to make it seem further away. This same concept applies to parallax site design in which the background of the website moves at a different speed as the rest of the page for an impressive visual effect that allows for countless creative applications for online storytelling.

Parallax design gives websites a great opportunity to; wow viewers with page depth and animation, take a story-telling approach to guide visitors through the site, make page visits last longer by encouraging visitors to scroll through the entire page, provoke curiousity, direct  visitors to calls to action, reenforce website credibility with innovative interactive viewing.

What do you need to be able to create a parallax site?

The right HTML, CSS, and jQuery code.


Are there any usability or other issues with parallax sites?

It doesn't work on mobile sites and smaller websites tend to put several pages into one, effectively shooting themselves in the SEO (search engine optimization) foot. Also parallax causes slower load times, which can lead to performance issues, which does impact SEO negatively as well as conversion, customer satisfaction and site usability.

Here is two screen captures and links of sites that do this very well. 

Cycle Mon

Lost Worlds Fair

Senior Project. Weekly Update: Week 4 final update

3/14/14
This week I finished my Senior Project, keeping a daily log of what I have done. Tomorrow Spring Break starts and I will be gone for 10 days. 

I planned my Senior Project to learn more about GarageBand and how to create songs through it. I am using a Video Tutorial Playlist from Lynda.com titled GarageBand '11 Essential Training with Todd Howard.

This week my deadlines were that I need to have Chapters 9, 10, 11, and the conclusion done in the tutorial. I managed to finish those Chapters on Thursday. But I was very close on Wednesday. I also had a due date for a final song that to be turned in today. Because I was ahead I took some time and did a few things for other classes. This week I finished           re-learning my way around GarageBand, this time learning it the proper way instead of just figuring it out as I messed around. I started out with a few simple Jazz melodies this week and ended up with a song. I could have used more time on the sound editing, but I am happy with it.

I feel like this week went well, just like the last three weeks. The first week I discovered that the guy in the tutorial uses real instruments he plugs in to the computer and I can't do that. Therefore I can't do most of the exercise files. This freed me from some assignments and allowed me to work ahead which has been nice knowing I have been missing some class days lately. It was nice not having to worry about the state tournament once we got knocked out last week. I'm really glad I was able to do GarageBand for my senior project.

Below are a few screen captures of my song from this week.

Senior Project. Weekly Update: Week 3

3/6/14
This week I continued my Senior Project, keeping a daily log of what I have done. Normally I would post this tomorrow but I will be gone all day for a Jazz Band Competition at Pitt State. 

I planned my Senior Project to learn more about GarageBand and how to create songs through it. I am using a Video Tutorial Playlist from Lynda.com titled GarageBand '11 Essential Training with Todd Howard.

This week my deadlines were that I need to have Chapters 7 and 8 done in the tutorial. I managed to get ahead and do part of Chapter 9. Because I was ahead I took some time and did a few things for other classes. This week I continued to re-learn my way around GarageBand, this time learning it the proper way instead of just figuring it out as I messed around. I went back and edited a few very minor things in the songs I had previously created. 

Today I turned continued in part of Chapter 9 which isn't due until Monday.  Its's been nice being able to be a little ahead.

I feel like this week went well, just like the last two weeks. The first week I discovered that the guy in the tutorial uses real instruments he plugs in to the computer and I can't do that. Therefore I can't do most of the exercise files. This freed me from some assignments and allowed me to work ahead which has been nice knowing I have been missing some class days lately and because I don't know if we are going to State for Band next week. I'm really glad I was able to do GarageBand for my senior project.

I would normally include a few screen captures of the songs I have been working on, but as I do not have any that are new, I didn't really see the point in it. I will have some next week.

Senior Project. Weekly Update: Week 2

2/27/14
This week I continued my Senior Project, keeping a daily log of what I have done.

I planned my Senior Project to learn more about GarageBand and how to create songs through it. I am using a Video Tutorial Playlist from Lynda.com titled GarageBand '11 Essential Training with Todd Howard.

This week my deadlines were that I need to have Chapters 4, 5, and 6 done in the tutorial as well as publish a minimum 2-minute long song with pre-recorded loops, using what I have learned. and any techniques I have acquired on my own.
This week I continued to re-learn my way around GarageBand, this time learning it the proper way instead of just figuring it out as I messed around. Knowing where shortcuts are and where different sound abilities and stuff is allowed me to expand on and create a real version of the song I envisioned, from one I had already started. It also allowed me to build a few ideas out of nothing. 

So far I have a really intense intro for a future song and I completed my song this week. As I was gone on Wednesday I did not have quite as much time to perfect this weeks song as I would have liked.

Today I turned finished Chapter 6 which was on my deadlines today and turned in a 2:17 song.
If I am able I will work ahead this next week knowing that I will be gone on Friday next week for a Jazz competition. In my initial planning, I did account for this, but I would rather be ahead than behind in case I end up traveling with the pep band to state the following week. By working ahead I hope to compensate, or at least be in a better position should that take place.

I feel like this week went well, just like last week when I discovered that the guy in the tutorial uses real instruments he plugs in to the computer and I can't do that. Therefore I can't do most of the exercise files. This freed me from some assignments and allowed me to work ahead which has been nice knowing I will be missing some class days in the coming weeks. I'm really glad I was able to learn this.

Below are a few screen captures of the songs I worked on this week. I did a lot of editing on the sound on it just like last week, although these are not as thorough as last weeks was. I initially started two separate songs but ended up combining them today. The transition isn't what I hoped it would be and I wish I had more time to work on it.

Senior Project. Weekly Update: Week 1

2/21/14
This week I began a Senior Project. In addition to keeping a daily log of what I have done.

I planned my Senior Project to learn more about GarageBand and how to create songs through it. I am using a Video Tutorial Playlist from Lynda.com titled GarageBand '11 Essential Training with Todd Howard.

This week my deadlines were that I need to have the Intro, Chapters 1, 2, and 3 done in the tutorial as well as publish a minimum 2-minute long song with pre-recorded loops, using what I have learned.
This week I re-learned my way around GarageBand, this time learning it the proper way instead of just figuring it out as I messed around. Knowing where shortcuts are and where different sound abilities and stuff is allowed me to expand on and create a real version of the song I envisioned, from one I had already started.

Today I turned finished Chapter 4 which isn't on my deadlines till Monday and turned in a 3:34 song.
I worked ahead this week knowing that I will be gone on Wednesday next week, which in my initial planning, I did not account for. By working ahead I hope to compensate for that.

I feel like this week went well, although I discovered that the guy in the tutorial uses real instruments he plugs in to the computer and I can't do that. Therefore I can't do most of the exercise files. This freed me from some assignments and allowed me to work ahead which has been nice knowing I will be missing some class days in the coming weeks. I'm really glad I was able to learn this.

Below are a few screen captures of my song from this week. I did a lot of editing on the sound on it.