|
Social Psychology of Web Architecture: Constructing My Own Web Site
|
By Albert K. Ne III
Earlier Generations: Setting The Foundation
Web Designer Principles As I See It: From My Point Of View
Psychological Aspects to Web Design: Perusing Dr. James Site
What It's Like to Become a Web Designer: How I Got Started
In this report on Social Psychology Of Web Architecture, I will share with you the trials and tribulations that I endured during the designing phase of my first web site, what I believe could have made the process a lot less complicated, and other web sites I have created since then. Under no circumstance do I claim to be to be an expert in web page design. In fact, I still believe that I am a long way from being able to design web sites comparable to some of the students in the Previous Generation's. However, I do feel that I have come a long way and that the process by which I go through now in designing web pages are a lot more enjoyable than in the past.
In addition to my own biography, I will also take a glimpse into some of the material that previous generations who have worked on concerning the topic of Web Design. I will be visiting and commenting on both Dr. James Social Psychology Of Home Page Architecture and Jeff Glover's Sucky To Savvy Web Site. Mr. Glover is a designer of web sites and can be described as "critic" of both high-quality and low-quality web page design.
I found two very good sites while probing through Previous Generation's. First, I discovered Ms. Flordeliza Finta Web Site in generation 10 and while looking through her homepage I found Mr. Aaron Libed's Web Site. Mr. Libed and I were in generation 8, 409b and shared views concerning the difficulty in web design. I noticed that he had no problem in designing web pages and tried to gain as much knowledge from him as I could. From my own previous experience, and comments made by others in previous generations, the most difficult aspect to deal with when designing a web page was not having the knowledge to know how to design the page and the ability to upgrade it. I went back into the previous generations and found other students who had the same problem. For example, Erin Tanaka's "Thoughts From A Web Designer," in generation 6 stated:
"During my lifetime, I've had only two major experiences with computers. The first would be at my working place where I would do some light data entry. My second experience would be typing out my papers on Microsoft Word. As a new web designer, I started at zero: absolutely zero knowledge about web pages. At first, I was scared to take this class because I had heard from others that it was "really hard". Some people said that they were constantly on the computer during their spare time. Being that I was not interested in computers, I was worried. Finally, I realized that I had no other choice but to take this class or else I would not be able to graduate. When I attended the first class meeting and received the first assignment, I thought to myself, "I'm not going to survive in this class...should I drop out"? Graduating this semester was very important to me and that is what kept me going. I could not believe how lost I felt but thanks to my classmates, I managed to keep up. I was also very frustrated because as soon as I learned how to edit my files in the CSS account, they changed the system. As I look back on the semester, I think that getting the information and actually writing the reports was the easiest part of the class."
Another site that I found quite interesting was David Jackson's homepage in generation 6. What I enjoyed about his page was the "frankness" he used in describing the "Hadh Work" that goes into creating such sites. Here is an excerpt from his page.
"It's hard for people to understand how much work goes into making a web page. I think you have to try and create one yourself to know how much effort it takes to learn how, to actually do it, and to continually update it. Even I find myself flipping through web pages like nothing and not stopping to appreciate them. But, having to create pages yourself, you find yourself saying things like, "Wow! How'd they do that?" or admiring some original piece of graphics. Sometimes when you see something new, you just can't help to stop and look for a while."
After discovering this site and many others like them, I was glad to know that I was not the only one experiencing frustration and heartache.
WEB DESIGNER PRINCIPLES AS I SEE IT:
MY POINT OF VIEW
From the very beginning, I was always intrigued with creating and developing a web page. I initially had the techno-phobia that I am sure everyone experiences when they first get into generating something on a computer. I was frustrated and emotional at times because I could not comprehend some of the language that was being used. However, as time went on I became somewhat proficient and less intimidated by the technology. Now, with sites like Jeff Glover's Sucky To Savvy Web Site and Web Tools anyone who has any kind determination to construct a webpage can do it with the tools and some advice downloaded right off the internet. Constructing a webpage is a long and arduous process but it can be done with some common sense and following some of the guidance given by Mr. Glover and other web sites.
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS TO WEB DESIGN:
PERUSING DR. JAMES WEB SITE
In viewing Dr. James Social Psychology Of Home Page Architecture I found many good points that he made which can be very useful to those who adhere to the advice. For example, Dr. James Psychological Characteristics of Hypertext Links described what a person might be experiencing at the time he or she is constructing a homepage.
"The affective feature of links refers to their motivation. It answers the question, Why the link was created, or, What was the person's purpose for putting a link there.
The cognitive feature of links refers to their argument or implication. It answers the question, What new information or knowledge is being created through the link, or, What is the new idea that is communicated by the link.
The sensorimotor feature of links refers to their location and appearance. It answers the question, How the link was created, or, What is its physical appearance."
When someone is in the course of developing something like a webpage, they are not consciously thinking about what is taking place. There are trying to complete a task that may be difficult, or they may be enjoying themselves because they know what they are doing. For me personally, I would not even consider thinking about anything else except getting the work done. This is what I found so interesting about the characteristics that Dr. James utilized. They described the same emotions and sensations that I myself, and many others just like me, would undergo while constructing such sites. I think that when we begin to view the psychological aspects that defines how we conduct ourselves in these situations, when learn to appreciate it.
WHAT'S IT LIKE TO BECOME A WEB DESIGNER: MY STORY
This is the fourth class that I've taken from Dr. James and I can honestly say that I enjoyed every one of them. When I first started back in generation 8, I was not exactly a skilled web designer. In fact, I considered myself a computer illiterate and was easily overwhelmed by the vast amount of information involved with constructing a web page. I was taking two classes at the same time (not recommended if you are just starting with HTML). In my second generation 8 class, 459s98, I was bombarded with so much information that I could no longer keep up with the assignment due dates. I was merely trying to create a page that was personalized to me and did not realize the amount of time that was involved in doing that. I quickly learned that it was better to try and understand the concept of web design first, then to apply that knowledge at a reasonable pace.
In those classes I met some very knowledgeable people that were very helpful in recommending the course of action that would be most suitable for my abilities as a web designer. Robert Nakagawa was a very skillful web designer who proposed on many occasions how to approach and deal with problems that I was having in my work. Another one of those individuals was Aaron Libed, who was not only knowledgeable in web design but was incredibly patient when working with me as well as others in the class.
After learning all that I could from every possible source, I tried to apply what I learned in designing sites that I felt were more geared toward my own personal taste. This is why my web pages use a lot of military icons. Now, however, I would like to upgrade the skills that I currently possess and try to use them for other projects such as programming.
ANNOTATED INDEX TO WEB DESIGN: SUPPORTIVE SITES
The following sites were really helpful in that it provided tons of information that could assist the new web page designer to overcome the phobias of the computer. It also supplied the advanced web designer additional tools that could be added to his or her repertoire. Good Luck and Godspeed!