Intro to Web Media

This post has been sitting in my drafts for a while now and seeing as I'm already half way into a 3.5 weeks winter school it's probably about time I post this. Intro to Web Media is the subject I'm currently doing and has certainly been exciting so far. Deadlines have of course been tight which has been tough (no time to change your mind) however I'm finding the computer tutorials excellent; I finally feel productive in these tutes (although I do notice I have a tendency to lose focus after 2 pm). The skills we're learning are practical and I can imagine applying them in the near future. There's also a nice balance between left and right thinking. I find coding rather therapeutic and it's certainly a nice break from from the usual brain-straining-creative-conceptual-thinking; coding is another kind of problem solving like a puzzle with the bonus of being able to see the results then and there (it sort of reminds me of maths something which I miss *unleash the inner nerd* haha).

I think this subject leads on nicely from Type for Print (TFP). Before I didn't understand why TFP was a prerequisite but now I realise that web design goes beyond learning the html and css or constructing layouts in a digital format. People often distinguish between the two mediums of web and print, but by understanding the importance of grids, the usefulness of style guides and how typography is essential to design - I realise the principles of print can also be applied to the context of web.

Also, another reason why this subject is a nice lead-on from TFP is because we're basing our website on a chosen magazine! By the end of winter school we will have completed a redesign of the magazine's website (not the full site however). Those days immersing in the world of magazine sure will pay off as I have a decent amount of firsthand experience of being the reader/audience of magazines and keeping in touch with their websites.