And the personality award goes to....

                       CSS                                       HTML

I found this image on a humor website that's mocking a certain fast food restaurant's advertised cheeseburger but I thought it served as a great visual for the analogy Zoe Gillenwater drew up in Stunning CSS. To summarize, html=basic hamburger, css=massive bacon cheeseburger. Following this concept I believe the real work lies not necessarily in making your website into the best bacon cheeseburger the world has ever seen, but in picking and choosing your toppings. Are pickles just the right touch or are they overkill? Maybe you definitely want ketchup which means that you will have to sacrifice the mayo. Are you getting my point or do I need to go into overkill?

What I'm finding in our readings, along with fellow students' blogs such as Margaret's blog that questions the choice of text, is this underlying question of personalizing our websites. How do we do this? And what are the questions we need to ask? 

As an Art Historian turned rookie web designer, I am still thinking in terms of "paper mode." In other words, my questions all lead back to how my choices in font, layout, style, etc. will best support the message I am trying to convey within my website.  For example, my subject is late antique sarcophagi, my goal is to popularize this genre through web design. So how can I do this? 

 I am hesitant to use an older cryptic font that could play on the funerary theme for the sheer thought that people will find this creepy and be turned off toward my topic. The same goes for using red within the website, red would mean blood, meaning death, which will remind the reader that they are not appreciating a piece of art but simply looking at ancient coffins.

I realize some people might be drawn to this and could argue that I should play on death as it will attract certain viewers. My intent, however, is to illustrate to the common viewer just how remarkable these works of art are in their overlapping themes, style, and content. So moving forward, as I move into the world of overwhelming font choices, web layouts, and thematic coloring, I plan to implement a decision making protocol almost like the perfect recipe for a delicious hamburger...too far? 

 

 

 

Comments

[Amber Oudsema]

This is so well put, Stephanie! I think it can be very easy to go into the world of overkill with too many types of font, or ones that contrast too much, too many colors, too many images. Yet, you want to get your point across and grab attention. We will all have to find that fine line between boring and too crazy. I have similar worries and most of our class will probably agree!