When I began graduate school, which seems like eons ago, I was the epitome of a lost puppy. I had been out of school for six years, and it had taken me 17 years to earn that ever elusive bachelors degree.
I know that I spent the first two years floundering. I ended up doing my masters thesis on three of Charles Dickens Christmas tales: a dream come true for me. I had always loved the works of Dickens and it was his humor in A Christmas Carol that had hooked me.
When I began my PhD though, it didn't feel right to continue down the path of Victorian literature. Don't get me wrong, it is my favorite literature, but it left me feeling partially empty. I knew what the problem was, and I worried that I had taken the wrong path by going back to school. There is no doubt that I love writing and that I thoroughly enjoy teaching writing to freshman, but I need more. I need to somehow also be immersed in technology.
Luckily for me, two of my mentors in grad school steered me in a good direction when they suggested I look into doing a dissertation that combined writing and technology. That, in my book, was a win-win situation and a totally Lost Puppy finally found a home in writing and computers.
So fast-forward to now, and I find myself faced with the challenge of teaching web authoring, and I'm loving the things I am reading that deal with the importance of the WRITING in web design. As Derek Powazek argues in his article "Calling All Designers: Learn to Write!", "it's time we designers stop thinking of ourselves as merely pixel people, and start thinking of ourselves as the creators of experiences" ("Calling All Designers"). This is exactly what I'm talking about. There is a place for those of us who are nerds, geeks, techno bobble-heads AND love writing.
Powazek goes so far as to advise would be employers that "if your designer says, 'I'm not a writer.' it may be time to find one who is" ("Calling All Designers"). I couldn't agree with him more. Sites do not have to be impersonal places with stiff and unfriendly language. They can be places that are inviting and that have personality (see yesterday's post). If you are a techno Bobble-head who loves designing websites, take it to the next level and let your personality influence your text. It's a brave new world out there for those willing to embark on the journey. Are you up for the challenge?
I know that I spent the first two years floundering. I ended up doing my masters thesis on three of Charles Dickens Christmas tales: a dream come true for me. I had always loved the works of Dickens and it was his humor in A Christmas Carol that had hooked me.
When I began my PhD though, it didn't feel right to continue down the path of Victorian literature. Don't get me wrong, it is my favorite literature, but it left me feeling partially empty. I knew what the problem was, and I worried that I had taken the wrong path by going back to school. There is no doubt that I love writing and that I thoroughly enjoy teaching writing to freshman, but I need more. I need to somehow also be immersed in technology.
Luckily for me, two of my mentors in grad school steered me in a good direction when they suggested I look into doing a dissertation that combined writing and technology. That, in my book, was a win-win situation and a totally Lost Puppy finally found a home in writing and computers.
So fast-forward to now, and I find myself faced with the challenge of teaching web authoring, and I'm loving the things I am reading that deal with the importance of the WRITING in web design. As Derek Powazek argues in his article "Calling All Designers: Learn to Write!", "it's time we designers stop thinking of ourselves as merely pixel people, and start thinking of ourselves as the creators of experiences" ("Calling All Designers"). This is exactly what I'm talking about. There is a place for those of us who are nerds, geeks, techno bobble-heads AND love writing.
Powazek goes so far as to advise would be employers that "if your designer says, 'I'm not a writer.' it may be time to find one who is" ("Calling All Designers"). I couldn't agree with him more. Sites do not have to be impersonal places with stiff and unfriendly language. They can be places that are inviting and that have personality (see yesterday's post). If you are a techno Bobble-head who loves designing websites, take it to the next level and let your personality influence your text. It's a brave new world out there for those willing to embark on the journey. Are you up for the challenge?
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