Robbins, J. N. (2012). Learning web design: A beginner's guide to HTML, CSS, Javascript, and web graphics. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly.
Summary: Chapters 1-3 provided basic resources and information to the world of web design. In Chapter 1 there was a lot of underlining discussion about the many different job positions within the development of a website. In my own personal experience I find these particular job descriptions to be unnecessary. As a web designer you must be familiar with all facets of the site design, and to depend on a “UX Designer” or another niche specialization will limit your offerings to the client, as well as eat into your profit margins unnecessarily. The global field of web design is very competitive, and a savvy business mind is far more necessary than a design niche job classification.
As we entered into Chapter 3 I found the content to be much more relevant. Users accessing the web utilizing a mobile device is drastically increasing, and in some cases surpassing the usage of the users who access the web utilizing a desktop device. Responsive web design using HTML5 is far more relevant than identification of niche job descriptions.
Q1. What is responsive web design?
A1. “Responsive web design is a strategy for providing custom layouts to devices based on the size of the viewpoint (browser window).” (Robbins, pp. 38)
Q2. What is the difference between a responsive web design strategy and a dedicated mobile site?
A2. Responsive web design is a strategy that adjusts the site layout based on the size of the browser window. The dedicated mobile site is a second/separate website that is targeted for viewing on mobile devices only.
Tracy,
ReplyDeleteIt really seems like the need for webpages to be accessible through mobile technology is more and more important. A very large portion of our student population has regular access to smart phones, but not as many have access to computers or tablets. With this, I believe we need to focus more on mobile web design.