Lesson 1, Websites

Along with our reading assignments in lesson 1, we were given a number of websites to look over and review.  Both texts have companion websites, we were directed to several websites that showcased the best in web design, and also assigned to check out gimp.org for graphics.  The graphics portion of my website project is something I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about and will be a big factor in what kind of website I end up creating.  I thought about doing a personal site, but I’m really funny about photos of myself and my family being online.  I also thought of doing a website that was in some way about the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, or one of its smaller components, but worry about what kind of copyright issues I’m going to run into photo-wise, unless I make the trip to NC to take photos myself.  The 2 sites I found the most useful in this assignment were those for Favorite Website Awards, and Web Pages that Suck.  Kind of the best of the best and the worst of the worst.  I really liked the Disney World of Color website on thefwa.com, very beautiful but still simplistic.  The Bella De Soto website noted on webpagesthatsuck.com (and noted as one of the worst web pages of the decade) was truly painful to look at.  But honestly, visiting some of these sites got me thinking about other sites I regularly visit that are really not that great from a design standpoint, now that I think about it.  For example, I am a devoted watcher of Lifetime’s series Army Wives and have visited the website for the show many times, but I think it’s actually a little too “busy” and overwhelming.