Assignment 7: 13 Tell Tale Signs

This article was interesting to me because I grew up in the "typewriter" days. I realized after reading this article why I was taught to do things a certain way -- like underline the title of a book because you couldn't italicize on a typewriter.

Some of the 13 signs that I believe are important include the following:

1. Two spaces after punctuation. This is one of those "old school" habits that I personally acquired and it was very hard to break. In fact, I still do it to this day. However, when dealing with publications, according to the author, this habit gives publications an unprofessional appearance.

2. Using bullets instead of hyphens. This is another "old school" habit because typewriters couldn't produce a bullet. Bullets give a more polished, professional look.

3. All caps. All caps were used in the past to provide emphasis; however, with the software that is now available, all caps is not really the best way to provide emphasis. Think about it....when text is in capital letters, every word has the same shape and you start reading letter by letter. With the different typefaces that are available now, all capital letters is something that is not used much anymore (thank goodness!).

Assignment 7: The Importance of Color

Before reading these articles, I had not given too much thought as to how important color is. Color affects our mood, our buying habits, and our appetite. Retailers use color for advertisements, retail packaging, and interior decorating. Of all the colors, blue is considered an appetite suppressant. Weight loss plans suggest putting your food on a blue plate -- or even better -- put a blue light in your refrigerator!!! Maybe I need to try these ideas!! When you think about it, how many food items are blue? Not many when I started thinking about it. One article even went so far as saying blue M&Ms (which were just added a few years ago) are the last ones left in the bag.

Important issues regarding color and E-commerce:

When a web site is created for a business selling a product, colors must be as accurate as the existing technology will allow. Colors must function as the primary focus in the store's design -- the web page layout. Colors must create a sense of visual harmony and enhance the customer's interest in the shopping experience.

Assignment 5 -- Podcast Assignment

Our group consisted of Jackie Spears, Christy Bryant, Diane Dotson, and Sara Landry. Our podcast contained information on how to create an effective newsletter. The first step was to create a script. I didn't realize how important that step was until we were ready to actually record the podcast. We spent a good bit of time rehearsing our script before we actually recorded the podcast. One of our biggest obstacles was keeping the podcast within five to six minutes. Ours was too long at first and we had to "cut down" our script several times. When we actually started the recording process, there were several things we had to take into account: background noise, talking into the microphone, talking clearly and not slurring your words.

This podcast experience was a first for me, but was interesting to me in how it is all put together and the tools that are available (Audacity) for a polished finished product.

Assignment 3 -- RSS feeds

RSS feeds was something I had seen on various web pages, but I had no idea what it was all about. I set up an account with Google Reader and subscribed to various feeds that I was interested in. It's amazing to me how this can be set up to give you constant updates. I am still learning on how to do all this, but at least this assignment has made me investigate RSS and how it can be used to save time for personal and work information.

Frank McCourt Lecture

I attended the Frank McCourt lecture on Thursday, April 10, 2008, at the University Theater.

I wasn't really sure what to expect because I had not read any of Mr. McCourt's book. However, a friend of mine who attended the lecture as well, had read his books and loved each of them.

I enjoyed the stories Mr. McCourt told of teaching public school for the first time and the flying sandwich. It seems that the attitude of students hasn't changed much!!! I appreciated his way of teaching that may have not been the "norm" at the time.

According to my friend who has read Mr. McCourt's books, he grew up in poverty but yet he still pursued his goals and overcame many obstacles in his life.

Desktop Publishing--Communications

"Define the purpose of the product and identify the specified audience."

This standard works hand-in-hand with the "Work in Solving Problems" standard. The specified audience needs to be identified and what exactly you want to convey and then you can decide on the appropriate media to use.

Desktop Publishing--Work in Solving Problems

"Distinguish design requirements as they relate to purposes and audiences including one-surface objects, multiple or bound pages, stationary, book jackets/magazine covers, pamphlets, magazines, brochures and labels."

Different audiences are drawn to different forms of media, and it is important to target the proposed audience with the appropriate type of media.