And So...

This is it! The final installment. I’m not very good at final reflections, so I’m just going to wing it.

It’s been a ride. I’m truly amazing by how much I’ve learned over the past few weeks. I knew that web design was going to be a challenge, and it was, but I’ve also learned so much about mental health. Both have been instrumental in this process, but I feel like I can take this knowledge and apply it beyond the 20% Project, especially mental health.

This project has also led me to an epiphany: I do not want to pursue web design or graphic design as a career. That is not happening. While I love doing this for myself, almost as a hobby, I don’t think I would be able to do this for other people. Web/graphic design is just as much a creative field as art or music are, and when you’re making money off of your art, you take commissions. Clients can be tough...I’ve seen my share of weird requests that my mom has had to deal with as a photographer. One client wanted a portrait of her poodle with fairy wings (not even kidding).

I think that’s pretty self-explanatory.

Anyway, I really have enjoyed doing this. Even though the site isn’t live (yet), I plan on continuing to work on it until it is. This issue is incredibly important to me, and I don’t want to give up on it just because the school year has ended. When, I don’t know, but it’ll happen!

Next steps? Well, unfortunately, the Grid (which is the web host I’m using) has postponed their release date (again), so I will have to wait to begin the actual construction of the site. But in the meantime, I’m going to gather content and finish the sitemap. After that, it should be smooth sailing.

I want to thank April for assigning this project (I don’t think I’ve ever said that about a project). I loved every second of it. Also thanks to my mentor, my mom, for helping me through the confusing, yet wonderful world that is the Interwebs.

And thanks to everyone who’s been following this project. I know I never respond to any of your lovely comments (I’m really bad at responding to just about anything), but I truly enjoy each one and they never fail to put a smile on my face.

And with that, I bid you all a very fond farewell.

[exits, pursued by bear]

My Tale of Woe

When I finally decided that I was going to create a website, the obvious place for me to start was the name. The name is the first thing a visitor sees, so it couldn’t be something I just pulled out of a hat. I had to give this considerable amount of thought.

At first, I had this idea to use most beautiful combination of sounds in the English language (phonetically). You know, the kind of word that just sounds beautiful, it rolls off the tongue, and the actual definition of the word is not considered. To anyone who didn’t speak English, it would sound like music...just saying it would be soothing on its own.

That was the thought, anyway. When I found a study that someone conducted to find that word, I found that, while he’s probably right, this wasn’t going to work.

The most beautiful word(s) in the English language: Cellar Door.

Now, if you say that out loud it’s quite beautiful. But unfortunately, it doesn’t generate the most beautiful image (*cough*). Plus, that domain was taken. I had to scrap it.

Then I started looking for foreign words that meant something relating to what the site was all about (stuff like ‘calm’, ‘escape’, ‘relief’, and ‘breathe’ *foreshadowing*). I tried every language in Google Translate (don’t judge), but I failed miserably. I was still holding onto the idea that the word should sound beautiful. Nothing really stood out to me.

I only thing I got out of that process was some German. Ich kann sprechen ein bisschen Deutsch, aber ich kann nicht Domain Name finden.

Anyway, that was out. At this point, I was coming up with my own words. I don’t even want to revisit some of the terrible concoctions I had considered, but there was one that I really ended up liking: Miro. It looks cool, sounds cool, and it rolls of the tongue. And design-wise, the word was visually fluid; I was already coming up with logo ideas.

But then, I search for it. There’s already a ‘Miro’. And you know what it is?

A LAME KNOCK OFF OF ITUNES, THAT’S WHAT.

The domain was taken, anyway. After I explored Miro a bit (passive aggressively) to discover all of its glorious inferiority, I had to cool down and regroup.

Wait…

Calm down. Breath. Take a deep breath.

…

…

…

TAKE A BREATHER! :D

But breather.com was taken. So I had to settle for breathr.

BUT breathr.com was also taken. See, there are these terrible, terrible people out there who buy a bunch of domain names and set up ‘placeholder’ sites. They don’t do anything. They just say that “this domain is registered and you can’t use it unless you buy it from us”. This practice is technically called ‘cybersquatting’, but my mom and I call them domain trolls.

I contacted the person who owned breathr.com to ask them what they wanted for it. Usually, domain names are really cheap (somewhere around ten dollars). I wasn’t really expecting them to write me back, but when they did, I wasn’t expecting this.

They wanted $10,000 for breathr.com.

Nope. Sorry. I just have to settle for breathr.net.

So there it is, my tale of woe. I really am happy with the name. It took a while to get there, but it was worth it in the end. If you want to find out if a domain name is taken or not, I would suggest Google Domains, Hostway, or GoDaddy. And here is an example of a domain troll site, if you ever encounter them. Unless you’re willing to spend upwards of $10,000, then I wouldn’t bother contacting them.

The Bane of My Existence: Comic Sans

(I’m sorry, April. It has to be done.)

If you’ve ever held a conversation with me for any length of time, then you probably know that I absolutely despise the (unfortunately) popular typeface, Comic Sans. The font, originally developed for Microsoft, has gotten a lot of flack over the past few...oh, I don’t know...decades from graphic designers and typographers. However, Comic Sans has also gained some apologists in recent years. So, since my project involves web design (and typography), I thought it would be appropriate to settle the debate as objectively as possible (for the most part…). I’ll start with Comic Sans’s origin story:

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Comic Sans was designed by Vincent Connare in 1994, as commissioned by Melinda Gates of Microsoft. They needed a new typeface for the program manager at the time, Microsoft Bob, a “user-friendly” interface in the early days of Windows. In this program, a pixelated dog named Rover and other characters help the user navigate their newfangled computer through speech bubbles (written in Times New Roman). Connare wanted to make the script as “friendly” as possible, hence its childlike appearance.

In fact, at one point, the Euro character had an eye in Comic Sans. It was eventually removed because the EU threatened to sue Microsoft over it.

Ironically, Comic Sans was never used in the final version of MS Bob, but it was turned into a default font in future Microsoft products, such as MS Word. Today, it is widely regarded as the worst font in the history of the digital age.

But why? For the most part, it is looked down upon because of its ubiquity in inappropriate applications, typographical flaws, and for just being really ugly.

#1: Inappropriate Use of Comic Sans

I mean really...

If you cringe at the sight of Comic Sans like I do, then you know that you see it everywhere, from public services to tombstones. Keep in mind that the font was originally designed for a talking dog...there’s no reason for you to use it on your resume, much less in front of your country’s embassy.

Comic Sans isn’t a universal font. However, there are some appropriate applications for it (*gasp*):

• It’s generally accepted that you can use Comic Sans when it is meant to be read by children under 11 years of age.
• Many dyslexics find that Comic Sans is much easier to read than other fonts (albeit there are many fonts that are designed specifically for dyslexics that look a lot better, aesthetically).
• Sarcasm.

#2: Typographical Flaws:

Here’s the objective part I was talking about. If you look at Comic Sans through the eyes of a graphic designer, you would instantly see the problems with it. For the purpose of demonstrating these problems, I will be comparing Comic Sans to Helvetica. *Keep in mind that Comic Sans has gained popularity because it looks like 'handwriting'.*

Modulation is when the size of the stroke changes in the same stroke (so, the line thins out or thickens and then returns to normal). Both Comic Sans and Helvetica have unmodulated strokes (the stroke size doesn’t change). Other, more classic looking fonts, like Garamond, are modulated; this comes from the days when books were handwritten. Pens were flat-tipped, so the stroke would change slightly when they made a curve, like in an ‘S’ or ‘C’.

Here’s the problem, though. When you look at Comic Sans vs Helvetica:

They still look different. In the letter ‘n’, the stroke should get a little thinner when the curved shoulder meets the stem. Helvetica does this. Comic Sans does not. This gives the font weight that makes for that iconic clunkiness. So much for a handwritten font.

Then, there’s kerning.

Kerning is the space between two letters. There are several instances where the spacing is ‘off’ in Comic Sans, as shown above. This is just how the kerning tables are set (parameters programmed into the font that make the spacing even between any two letters), and sure you can fix them manually, if you want. But there’s a reason fonts have kerning tables: to make the font look pleasing and uncluttered. Due to the long crossbar on the ‘f’, it would collide with the ‘o’, ruining the spacing and thus defeating the purpose.

And that isn't even all of it.

tl;dr: Comic Sans is not similar to handwriting, and its programming does not make for a pleasant appearance, therefore, it is not a well-designed font.

#3: It’s Ugly:

Let’s face it. Comic Sans isn’t the most attractive font out there. When you compare it to fonts like Helvetica, Trebuchet, Georgia, or even Century Gothic, there’s no competition.

That’s fine. But if you want a friendly font, there are plenty of better alternatives to choose from, and most of them look like actual handwriting.

A lot of people think that Comic Sans is going to make a triumphant comeback, but I’ve put aside my bias and looked at this objectively (...you know, for the most part…) and it probably won’t happen. Comic Sans will just have to be the butt of every design joke for many years to come.

And don’t even get me started on Papyrus.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_Sans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUCcObwIsOs

http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/why-you-hate-comic-sans/

The Nazgul Frisbee

Today, I had lunch with my dad, and we were waiting for our food at our table. At this restaurant, they give you those annoying buzzing frisbees that screech like the Nazgul when they go off and have been medically proven to trigger heart attacks (depending on who you ask). And, as usual, I literally screamed, much to my dad’s amusement. A while later, an older couple sat across from us, and they too were waiting for their ticking time bomb to go off and receive their meal. It didn’t take long for their buzzer to begin buzzing (and I’ll admit, I jumped a little), but what they did was probably one of the most surreal and mind-boggling things I have ever witnessed.

They. Just. Sat. There. No, jumping, no screaming, not even a gasp. They just sat there, neither of them noticed that it had even gone off.

For at least thirty seconds.

Finally, the man happened to glance down at the buzzer, to which he raised his eyebrows nonchalantly like he had just spotted a freaking lucky penny on the ground (meanwhile, the buzzer is still moving across the table).

Now, I will say that I startle way more easily than most people (a trait I must endure), and I’m not saying that their reaction was somehow invalid because that’s not how I would have experienced it. It was simply another subtle reminder that the way that I experience the world is vastly different from how other people experience it. And that’s okay. That’s why I think that empathy is so important. Some people can’t seem to see and perceive anything beyond their own experiences; they just assume that if they’re like this, then everyone is like this (whatever ‘this’ may be).

But admit it, sometimes, it can be hard to step into someone else’s shoes and understand how they live on a day to day basis. We can empathize, sure, and don’t get me wrong, that is incredibly important (especially when dealing with mental illness), but we’ll never really know what it’s like unless we share their experiences.

Because I don’t live with an anxiety disorder, I don’t know what it’s like to live that that, and I don’t know what it’s like to have a panic attack. All I can do is try and understand, and hopefully help those who have to deal with it.

Not everything on this website is necessarily going to apply to everyone who visits it. One person may find an image of a tree swaying in the wind soothing and tranquil, while someone else might not be affected by it at all. Like with everything, you can’t please everyone. This website isn’t going to be a definitive solution for everyone’s problems, whether it be your mental health or your current mood. This is definitely something I need to keep in mind as I begin collecting content for the site.

So far, searching for content is actually pretty fun. I guess researching this sort of stuff does that. The subtle things when I'm designing the site, too, like color and shape...you’d be surprised what such little, seemingly insignificant things can do to you subconsciously.

I’ve also designed a logo (I’m pretty happy with it ^_^). It’s rasterized, unfortunately, but it’ll be vectorized on the website... *nervous laugh*: