1. Since the target audience for my Module 4 (and final project) is extremely limited, it should, in theory, make it easier for me to design my site to meet their needs. The audience will consist mainly of potential employers; possibly those in the journalism field, or from elsewhere. Given this, I suppose a good way to draw these users in and give them what they want would be to make the appropriate information easy to find, as well as to give the site good, clear navigation.
2. & 3. To chart out my audience for this site would be a significantly easier task than what Ragle-Davis gave as an example. Given that the audience will consist mainly of potential employers, the only real difference among audience members will be the different purposes for which they are looking at my online portfolio. The only real differences might be the type of job for which I am applying, so it may be beneficial for me to tailor the website to suit different employers. A good idea might be to have one unified homepage for all users, with navigation allowing them to choose a different area of the website to suit their needs.
4. -Verba talked about prototyping, mainly highlighting the pros and cons of this method. I think that prototyping could be a good idea for me, considering the fact that I am attempting to tailor my website to fit a particular audience. It could be tough for me to test that audience's needs, however, the overall idea of prototyping would likely be more beneficial than not. Prototyping could work well for Modue 4, but definitely would be helpful for my final project.
-Boulton talked mostly about idea sessions (brainstorming), this doesn't really apply to my projects because I am working alone, however, I can see how it might be beneficial to me to bounce ideas off of others, and to ask others to take a look at my final site to determine whether or not it is easy to use, and if it fits the ultimate purpose.
5. I suppose that with my final project, as well as my Module 4, I will mostly be addressing the issue of accessibility. Given the purpose of my site, I would have to say that this is probably one of the most important elements of the website. If the navigation does not work properly, or is not clear, or if there happens to be an error present on the website, it could easily defeat the whole purpose of having an online resume by discouraging potential employers from attempting to take a look at me, and my website.
6. I think that my idea of the role of web authors has changed only slightly since taking this class. I have realized just how much work goes into creating a website. Not only is the time necessary for creating the webiste itself, but all of the time that must go in to forming ideas for a good website, coming up with new original ideas, and simply creating a usable site without too many errors can take an extremely long time, and a lot of hard work. As we learned from Zeldman, there are also numerous standards that web authors must adhere to when creating a website. For instance, they need to make the website usable for disabled users, etc. I would have to say that web authors are not the exact same as coders. I feel as if the title of "web author" indicates a different type of work that is necessary. Web authors design web pages, and coders create them.
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Were you able to attend the PW portfolio workshop not that long ago? If not, you will still probably want to check out what others have created. This is not to say you have to follow their designs or structures, but you can see what others in your shoes have produced to know if you think there is something you can use or even, what you really do NOT want to do, with your content.
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