1. My name is Zachary Milewicz, and I'm a junior majoring in Psychological & Brain Sciences with minors in Marketing and Design.
2. As an interdisciplinary student across three undergraduate divisions, I have a strong interest in merging these areas (psychology, marketing, and design). I love learning new ways to bring them together while applying knowledge from various courses. I'm taking this class so that I can continue doing so, advancing my technical and design skills for a new medium. This course will also go toward my design minor, and I've heard great things about it from friends who have taken it in past semesters.
3. I have no experience with HTML/CSS/JS. Back in high school, I designed a pretty simple MVP version of a mobile app in Android Studio using just a little bit of XML and Java.
4. I hope to learn how to build engaging interactive design projects. In the past, most of my work has been limited to fairly static forms, and I've always sought to elevate my interaction with others across a screen. I hope I'll be able to apply some of my current knowledge (such as how to best engage others) and test it out through design projects in this course.
5. I expect designing for a screen to be different from designing for paper in that it will require more patience. With paper, I can envision an idea and immediately put pen to paper to convey it visually, whether for my own reference or others. However, I won't have that same quick flexibility, at least to start, when designing for the screen. I imagine it will take some time to get used to this new process, as already, I find myself frequently previewing my code on a browser page (rather than just seeing it in front of me on paper as a constant work-in-progress.
6. I think the 72andSunny website exemplifies highly effective design, as it is very well-organized while appearing visually-pleasing. It is somewhat simple, yet extremely engaging. Their brand comes through very strongly through elements such as the orange 72andSunny logo on the top left in contrast to the clean white background. As you scroll down, their message "We believe that unignorable creativity is the most powerful force in business" is beautifully written, and it is designed in a way to make the "unignorable creativity" line really pop through that branded orange again. Another effective design element on this website that I really love is when you scroll, the text of the 72andSunny logo on the top left disappears, leaving just the sun icon, and this spirals/rotates as you scroll. This motion keeps the website very fun and engaging alongside the other dynamic components, including a video reel across the width of the homepage.
7. I think The Atlantic website exemplifies effective communication, as it disperses a wide array of information in a clear manner. While the website homepage contains a lot of headlines and links to various articles, it does not feel too busy. This is due to the open/white background, the crisp headlines of various sizes, and the use of imagery throughout. Despite the simplicity I just described, readers can gather a decent amount of information before even opening an article. The website also has additional features aiding in its effective communication, including a section dropdown with a variety fo options ranging from politics and health to business and education. There's also a tab specifically for popular and latest, allowing highly relevant topics to easily and quickly be communicated effectively.
8. I think the Airbnb website works really well due to its combination of a cohesive, aesthetic design with high functionality. Upon entering the website, you are presented with well-designed elements of the brand, including a unique, captivating Airbnb home. This is overlaid with a search bar to find your next stay, including fields for location, check in and check out, and number of guests. I imagine having this search bar so prominent and user-friendly makes it an effective element for driving searches and reservations (and thus profits). The "Places to stay" search bar also easily and smoothly converts to a search bar for "Experiences" upon just one tap. They even have a button for "Online Experiences," which brings users to a page dedicated to Covid-adapted events. There is much more I could go on about (and I will certainly continue looking at this website as a source of inspiration for the semester to come - and beyond)!