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Sunday, June 7, 2009

Walking through a spider web . . .

What is the web? No, not what is a web . . . we all know that spiders spin webs and I guess now that you mention it, a web could be symbolic of the World Wide Web. We use the Internet to travel the information highway all around the World as far and as Wide as we can imagine all interconnected like a Web. Newsgroups, mailing lists, search engines, blogs, podcast and even Nana's baked lasagna recipe that you were not supposed to post. "Shame on you!"

I discovered that the web has been around since the 60's but everyone was trying to change the course of history and didn't really care about it than. Oh well, its pretty popular now and it was nice to learn what all these acronyms actually stand for (i.e. URL, uniform resource locator). But FYI, it's OK with me if we use the abbreviations.

Honestly, even though I know better, I'm the guy that expects the search engine to bring back exactly what I was looking for. A search engine searches through a database using robots and spiders (there's that spider again) to identify another site's content for what you are searching for. Directories are broken down into subject categories and are a more efficient way to drill down to what you are looking for. No more getting tangled up in the web for me!

You all know how much you like junk mail another form of printed advertising. So why don't we all just create web pages instead? Well, there is a time and place for printed advertisements and web pages. In a nutshell, I now understand that printing is more portable, cheaper to read, better developed, reliable and space is measured in inches (did I mention its easier to read in the bathroom . . . sorry). Yet, the web's advantage is infinite. It's cheaper to design, easier to update, has a better visual spectrum of colors, you can archive information using minimal space, you can utilize "cross-marketing", improve ease of customer response, space is measured in pixels . . . I think you get the point!

At this point, you can see I have learned CRAP. Come on, relax, that's not what I am talking about. CRAP is an acronym for Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity. Now that I am over analyzing every newspaper article and catalog, my time in the bathroom has increased two fold. Contrast can be defined simply as creating a focal point for your eye ensuring that other elements follow a hierarchy on the referenced page. Repetition ensures that the elements of the page are being tied in together. Alignment brings order, DON'T MIX ALIGNMENTS! Proximity refers to the relationship between items on the web page and how they belong together. All of this spun together creates a spectacular web page of CRAP! By the way, check your spelling . . . the acronym should probably be CRAPS!

Graphic design obviously plays a vitale role in our every day life. Whether it is at work or at home, it all depends on the application, a good designer needs to understand their audience so that the best source (web or print) is utilized to grab the consumer's attention. The designer must also keep up with the latest technology so that they can stay a cut ahead of the competition.

Check me out next week for more Moody Monday Montra!

2 comments:

  1. Nicely done!I like the story twist that you put into this weeks blog. See you tomorrow evening.

    ReplyDelete