New CSS and Unordered LIsts

Attaching external CSS pages is essential to good website design. For my site, I have two style-sheets attached. The first is the one most people see. It is the default style-sheet that will format the pages for internet viewing. This one includes all the fancy stuff such as the pull out button navigation and the general formatting of the page. The second style-sheet is the print style-sheet. This style-sheet tells the computer how to print the page in a clean and orderly manner because most people don't need all the fancy formatting for printing.

In designing the navigation for my site, it was essential to use unordered lists. In this unordered list, there is a special id to specify to the CSS how to respond to this special navigation list.

Revisiting Target Market

Target Audience Research

In creating a new portfolio site, it is important to first ensure that my “target market be clearly defined” (Lake). The target of my site as a whole is to gain the attention of potential employers and peers and to begin conversations about my work.

The target audience of my site is potential employers in the web and graphic design fields. I want to especially focus on the web and packaging industries. I intend on applying for employment at larger firms and companies so my site must look professional as well as demonstrate my skills and my playful and creative talents. I do not wish to work at an overly conservative location so some bending of the rules is acceptable. My future employers are looking for someone who is web savvy and up-to-date on the current digital trends. On the Turner Duckworth site, they claim they are looking for designers that are “confident, self-sufficient, articulate and motivated students with a strong ability to concept - a bit of wit and a sense of humor doesn’t hurt either!” (Turner Duckworth). Keeping that in mind, I need to create a site that is easy to navigate, displays information clearly and showcases my creativity and personality.

Winter 2011 - Inspiration for a New Year.

For the new year, I have decided that my website needs some serious work. I have abandoned my old address from school and created amandameng.com. This will be my home-base for all future projects.

I have also been working on a more useable layout that is more tailored to a target audience. I have been researching interesting layout design and hope to make my site more visually appealing. Here are some sites I have been looking at for inspiration:

Final css Zen Garden site

For my final Zen Garden site, I chose to work in a darker color palate than I normally would. My goal was to create a deep jungle theme without using overtly jungle imagery. I accomplished this by using a dark gray background with rich green accents throughout the page. For the background, there is a hint of foliage.


My site will stand out from the rest by being bold. The layout has a structure which creates an environment that is easy to navigate and access. The visual hierarchy is simple to understand which makes my page have readily accessible usability.

The wide area of the body text makes the mass of information seem less daunting. I chose to widen this area because I noticed in the other designs of this site, the information became very intimidating because of its length.

Hello Zen Garden!!

I am going to work on the CSS Zen Garden site. CSS Zen Garden is a place to practice new and innovative ways to use CSS to enhance an HTML page. To use this site, you first download the plain HTML and without changing it, add custom CSS using the div tags provided and there you go: you are on your way to being a CSS Zen Master.

This is my prospective wireframe for my upcoming CSS Zen Garden project. I want the side bars (in red) to be stationary and have all other information elastic and scrollable.

Working on the Site

I am making progress on my website. I am especially proud of my new portfolio page. I created it for usability and visual appeal.

And now for my intended audience: My goal is to appeal to potential employers in the branding and packaging fields of graphic design. I LOVE packaging and I have been working really hard on creating a portfolio site that is able to allow employers to get both the visual aids and written words to express how great my stuff is and that I love to do it.

Visit my portfolio page now!

Reading Wired "How the Web Wins"

I was reading "How the Web Wins" on the Wired website and found it interesting how they compared apps to the web. I find them not so easy to compare.

I believe that apps can be qualified as both part of the web and different things altogether. As a huge fan of "Angry Birds," "iTunes" and all apps created by Duck Duck Moose (for my son) I do not believe that the raw web is capable of replacing apps on my mobile phone. Apps for children are nice because it is easy to hand my phone to the little person in the back seat on long car trips and let him play without worrying what he is looking at. They are very simple to navigate that even a one and a half year old can do it.

I am very happy that apps are pushing web designers to achieve more in their usability and design. I am excited to see what the future will bring.

"How the Web Wins"