Stock photography, image maps and image optimization

Learn about the screwed-up family I created for this assignment on stock photography, image maps and image optimization. I enjoy creating stories and characters.

I was glad to explore using Getty Images, though I don't think I'd ever buy photos from the site for my personal purposes. I like taking photos on my own -- so maybe someday my photos will be on Getty Images for others to use!!

The lessons on image maps and image optimization were really helpful. When I updated my online portfolio last month I did not explore image optimization, and as a result the text in my images is a little "muddy." I now know that I should have used the GIF file format rather than JPEG for the images with text. I definitely plan on redoing that layout in the near future to clean up those "muddy" images. I'm also likely to use the image mapping feature in Dreamweaver, which is MUCH quicker than slicing up an image map in Photoshop/Fireworks. Good lesson!!

Chapters 5 and 8

She shoots colors all around...

I enjoy reading about color theory. I remember my 7th grade English teacher, who was a former Clinique salesperson (not sure how that made her qualified to teach English, but hey, it was Catholic school), once gave us a lesson on color theory, explaining how different colors had different meanings and could invoke different emotions when you see them. The example I remember is McDonald's, which uses red and yellow in its logo; the yellow gives off a "temporary" vibe so people won't stay in the restaurant long, but the red makes them want to come back.

Color is a vital part of any type of design. When I recently designed a layout for my online portfolio, I used the colors white, cream, teal and navy blue to give visitors a feeling that I was professional and mature, yet youthful and creative. The type, layout and other design features all added to the feeling I was trying to convey. In fact, I’d say that I almost always first choose a color palette as the inspiration for whatever design I’m doing; when I choose brighter colors I usually end up with more geometric, block-like shapes, and when I want to work with darker or more earthy tones my design is more traditional or organic.

Just for fun, I looked up the psychological traits of my two “favorite” colors -- white and green. White is purity, innocence and cleanliness, and green is nature, fertility and growth. I also like brown, but that was not on there. No one really likes brown, but I think it’s warm and earthy and it makes me feel good.