Shepherd Career Services and The Importance of Design

So I finally decided that to choose the Shepherd University Career Services website as my Capstone project. I think my decision stemmed from the prospect of a very professional outcome and a nice addition to my repertoire. I admit, that I am a been overwhelmed and anxious to begin, I love web design, but I am not very experienced in it. So I already feel that I am starting at a disadvantage, but I also think that this challenge is going to spark some personal growth. This is my shot to prove what I can do and I want to blow it out of the water. I can feel the pressure growing, I mean it's only the culmination of my academic experience.

As I start my research into my Capstone, I realize that this was going to be a much bigger project than I anticipated. One of the first things I learned was to keep my cool, it's difficult when I'm working with a third party, and sometimes it gets a bit frustrating trying to coordinate schedules. However, things eventually worked out and I'm hoping that every thing will sail smoothly from now on. I think it's just the nerves beginning to set in, but I am excited to finally and officially sign on to this project. I have as of right now found a sample client inquiry that I plan on taking to my meeting on Thursday, to go ahead and get some feedback and ideas for the website, directly from the source! 

This week, it already seems that I'm taking a crash course in web design theory. I'm not familiar with all of the aspects and elements of web design, so I definitely needed to learn as much as possible, as professionally as possible in a short period of time. I did not realize how essential the theory of web design is to its overall functionality and effectiveness. One source that I have found particularly helpful and informative is Graphic Design Solutions by by Robert Landa that laid out a specific plan of action for web site development.

The top three things that I noticed that were important in a functional website:

1) Usability

2) Visual interest

3) Information Distribution

Using these three things along with some of the other design principles, I hope to start gaining some credibility and be able to present some designs on my meeting. 

Though I also know that designing is only 50% of my journey and that my next step is learning how to successfully execute my design.