Design Memo:
I wanted to design a webpage that was simple and clean looking. When I visit a website, I enjoy someplace that is easy to understand and does not distract me from the information with bunches of media and moving parts. The color scheme was the first thing I did; I chose a green and white theme because it felt scholarly to me, as well as relating to the seriousness of the subject at hand. The introductory and central image is a succulent plant, which represents growth—a concept that goes hand-in-hand with the topic of growing Creativity in schools and major programs. Each individual piece of my webpage was something I wanted to utilize to provoke thought and instill my representation of Creativity, down to the font of each titled page. The fonts differ to get the reader to notice them, if someone looks at the same font for an entire webpage, it becomes repetitive and boring to the audience.
I chose the method of a top-bar for navigation of the site. I liked that each piece of the website was laid out simply and in plain sight of the readers. Each bar is in order of progression to show how the information was intended to be read for a greater impact, though if read out of order the information remains important and relevant, it just loses the maximum effect. I did not incorporate media on the branch pages, I wanted the text to be the main focus on the information pages. The only page with an extra image is the HOME page, this is because it introduces the readers to the subject and gives them a glance into what the article is pertaining to, before even reading it. The text is formatted simply as well, this goes along with the overall theme of elegance and letting the facts speak. I really love the way my webpage turned out, I think it contrasts the topic of Creativity and wildness of the mind with its mild nature.
Reflection:
This project proved to be extremely insightful into how I view my own field. Before this project I had never thought about the vastness of my major or the struggles teachers and students are facing in creative writing. Research has revealed to me that the world is not an easy place to write, it is enormously difficult for teachers now-a-days to encourage creativity due to the harsh world we live in. It had never occurred to me that encouraging students to be creative was becoming an impossible task, what happened to our kindergarten days where painting and playing princesses was purely imagination? Why can’t we write from the same place that we used to play? Teachers are also struggling to figure out a fair way to grade creative work that is not discouraging in the long run. I find a lot of issues within the concepts of grading creativity after doing this project because it brings up issues of how we as a society are grading someone’s mind and imagination. (This is not to be confused with grading someone who put no effort into a project or assignment, only to those who clearly worked hard but may have had an out-of-the box interpretation of their assignment). In this aspect I have found a deeper appreciation for my schooling because I never felt this lack of encouragement in creativity that is going on in schools now.
The growing amount of Creative Writing majors had also never occurred to me. Maybe it’s the inspiration of vintage texts sparking a new light in our generation, but maybe it’s students believing English is an easy way out. Personally, after years of English courses, I find that if you aren’t passionate about English, others can tell in your writing—the jig is up! English is filled with inspiration, insight, and imagination, the texts that paved the way for modern day Creative Writing are what form the foundation of how we see the world. (At least that is how I view them). After this project, I see English in a new light entirely. English, a lot of times, is skipped over or made to be less important in the mind—is this why imagination is beginning to run thin?
I found the sources that I used very insightful to the overall concept of Creative Writing. All three sources were very modern and contained real issues that must be addressed in the English community. The scholars thought of concepts I would have never sought out on my own, which made the combination of the three very powerful to my argument. The study of Creative Writing relates to the imagination of Creative Writing, which relates to how we grade that imagination. This is relevant to how I began to view the overall concept of my field, because it tied together the most basic aspects of it in ways that are difficult to grasp. I think as a society, we have programmed ourselves to each see English as difficult or easy, but no where is is stated that English can be a combination of the two—we may understand a text but not be able to get our thoughts about a text down into an essay; this is the beauty of English, it is so many things. If nothing else, this project has shown me that the concept of English is much deeper than I had previously perceived it as, even after studying it for so long.
Sonder 