This class was definitely difficult and time-consuming at times, but I ultimately found it quite rewarding. I feel like the class helped improve my design skills in a number of ways, mainly: being more intentional with the use of typography, feeling okay to "break the rules" and create a less conventional design, and establishing a process of designing something from moodboarding and visual research to wireframing. Additionally, learning how to use Figma was certainly a valuable skill that I will continue to use in the future, especially as a developer working on my own projects.

My earlier projects were alright, though I definitely struggled at first. My Hello World gif had poor control of typography. I struggled to come up with a good visual system and design language for my Fan Page. However, through my challenges I feel like I improved my processes of creating a controlled visual system, which I think was reflected in my Helpful App.

One activity of note (and why I didn't get around to revising some things I wanted to) was my jQuery Activity 2 (the clock). I wanted to make something that I felt would be useful to me, so I decided to create a clock that depicts time as progress throughout your day as opposed to the actual time itself. I felt that this would be useful as I often wonder how much time I have left in my day or in some time frame where I have set some goals. The progression of time is displayed through an arc that mimics the sun's arc across the Earth through a day. The background colors change at the beginning and end of the "day," mimicking a sunrise and sunset. This can be tested out by inputting a short duration of time into the activity.

I also substantially revisited the Republic of Send Fan Page. While I didn't have time to do a full overhaul and I still would not consider the site complete to my vision (I feel like additional pages about the Republic would be nice), I think the changes I made certainly improve it quite a bit, such as improved typography and adding colors. I also focused on adding motion to the web page to create a more immersive experience and make viewing the page feel more like a "journey" or even a "ski run." I feel like this adds a lot more action to the site which is appropriate given the website is about skiing.

Thanks for the great semester!

- Ben