Week 4 Lynda.com Certification: Writing Articles

The most important things I learned while watching this course on Lynda.com was regarding adopting technical tools and gathering reference information. I find these two areas as the most difficult areas when I begin to write an article. The course has showed me the various technical tools that I can adopt in my writing style to help bring my article to a more professional and scholarly level. Additionally, the course has given me a variety of reference information that I can utilize to further the discussion, argument, and position that I am presenting in my articles.

Week 4 Reflection: RISE Self-Evaluation

• Week 4 Reflection: RISE Peer Feedback

Marcella's Soft Launch

Hello Marcella,

After reviewing your soft launch website, I am very impressed. The initial layout of the website is short and straight to the point. You selected a catchy telephone number that is easy to remember. You included a recognizable logo that would definitely keep me coming to purchase cupcakes at the food truck. I did not imagine this company being mobile, however your level of creativity allowed this idea to evolve into a working fictitious business. I also was interested in the way you included customer reviews directly on the homepage. This is tactical when attempting to gain additional clientele or to keep your current clientele. Your About Us page was very personal and appealing to your target audience. This made me want to revisit my own site to add an enhanced logo to my homepage. What were you trying to highlight by providing a picture of the actual food truck during business hours on your home page? I think that this was a clever decision for the company because it shows the business in action and the typical crowd it draws. Have you considered adding descriptions regarding the types of cupcakes displayed on your Our Cupcakes page? Perhaps you can add more emphasis by adding contact information for the social networks that the company is affiliated with. By doing this, the company will build a larger network of followers that can track the locations and current news in regards to the business and the food truck. For example the business can utilize pinterest, instagram, facebook, and twitter to build a fan base where fans can track the food truck’s location. You could repurpose this sight for your public portfolio assignment from MCBS. Other than the things there were discuseed you did a great job for your soft launch keep up the god work.

Week 3 Project: Portfolio Skeleton

Part I:

My Portfolio Website

Part II:

I do feel confident in my understanding of the MCBS public-facing portfolio requirement. However, I do not feel that I have enough substantial information to include within the website. I feel that it is lacking information and skillsets that I have not obtained yet. The 1-2-3 star projects that I completed in my MCPP courses have helped to provide additional information for my portfolio page. It also has helped to add skills to my Skills and Abilities page. I feel that my About Me page could be stronger once I complete my coursework at Full Sail University. I believe that I am evolving into the professional that I would like to become. At times it is hard to put your information about you to people. I feel that the areas of my portfolio that need the most work are my About Us page and my Resume page. I think that cosmetically, my Resume page could be more appealing to the eye. In regards to the About Me page, I think that this page could contain more information that provides the public more information about my skills and abilities. This could include a deeper explanation of my skill set.

Week 3 Lynda.com Certification: Up and Running with HTML

Week 3 Practice: Portfolio Inventory (Revised)

Revised Blog

Responses

Week 3 Analysis: Portfolio Inspiration

http://globalmediadesign.com

http://fortysevenmedia.com

http://www.elitemediadesign.com

Week 3 Exploration: Digging Deeper

After review the list of articles listed on the WDC Diigo Resources website, I decided to choose three articles that spoke to my professional interest. The first article I chose to review and address was “Creating a Successful Portfolio” by Sean Hodge. I chose this article because I wanted to learn specific tips and techniques I could incorporate to in my educational and professional career to further showcase my skills to my professor and my current and future employers. I learned that less is more. I also learned that grid and column designs could support larger amounts of data.

The second article that I choose to review and address was “Ernest Hemingway’s Top 5 Tips to Writing Well” by Brian Clark. I chose this article because I want to learn different methods that can improve my writing style. I learned to always use short and concise sentences with strong verbiage or adjectives. I also learned to use vigorous language. This means to utilize vocabulary words that bring life to my compositions.

The third article I chose to review and address was “Useful Glossaries for Web Designers and Developers by Daved Brosche. I chose this article because despite me wanting to go into project management, in regards to my own personal brand I must be able to develop and execute well-formed and robust websites. I learned of a number of additional resources that can help with web development, web design, typography, usability, and Javascript Glossaries.

I definitely can apply the insight gained from these three article when creating my portfolio website that I will be completing this week by showing me specific methods to make the page better. The tips will help me make specific changes to my public facing portfolio.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/05/29/useful-glossaries-for-web-designers-and-developers/

http://www.copyblogger.com/ernest-hemingway-top-5-tips-for-writing-well/

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/03/04/creating-a-successful-online-portfolio/

MCPP Portfolio Project Submission: Peace.Love.Life Website

http://www.brianamericus.com/

I am seeking a 3 star approval rating for this project.

The objectives of this project were to build a robust and fully functional online website that features the U.N.I collections and upcoming designs for sale. I was looking to advertise the photography skills of my co-worker in additional to presenting the newest additions to the collection. I accomplished the set goals by building a website that can attract and encourage consumers to purchase merchandise directly from the website. Additionally, I was able to link the social media sites to build a social media community.  This helps to build a social community outside of this website. This website has the potential to be seen by thousands of people due to its high caliber of thought, time, effort, and design.

To complete this project, I utilized a number of resources available to me including Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator. This project include another team member named Alex Baldwin, who is a photographer.