JavaScript is kicking my ass. I have to say that I don’t really get the algorithmic nature of JavaScript. I can do basic stuff, but anything beyond basic and I am completely lost. I do understand the language better than I used to, but it still evades me, for the most part. This is the big sticking point for me.

jQuery might be simpler. Maybe I should start the jQuery tutorials before finishing the JavaScript tutorials. I am well into the third of those and am completely lost.

Another thing to improve upon is my ability to design interesting looking pages. I can make simple HTML pages, but they look kind of boring to me. I need to get more comfortable with creating decent color palettes and with web typography in general. Code School has tutorials in web design that ought to be helpful.

Ultimately, I need to sort out both development skills and design skills. While design may seem like the easier of the two, I have a feeling that the way design impacts syntax and signifying value is a deep subject. The goal, of course, is to create designs that enhance the readability and the clarity of a site. Not all of the important information of a website resides in the text. In any case, the book above the fold ought to be able to sort out some of these issues for me. I am not a good designer, but as with all things I can easily improve.

So currently I am in the middle of the first design tutorial, having covered typography and color so far. I have to say that these tutorials throw a lot of details out there, leaving little room to absorb them. For instance, there are complementary and analogous color schemes - these are the ones I remember - but I can’t say that I fully understand the difference. Something about changes in hue, lightness, and saturation.

Just a quick look and I have found a explanation here. This ought to be a decent reference site. I have long thought that I need to use a better palette of colors for the pages I create, adding some thematic consistency. This is something I need to work out.

Ultimately, I would like to expand both my coding and design skills so that I am able to create a truly interesting and interactive site. What the site will be still alludes me to a certain degree, but I do know that I am not interested in creating a boring site that nobody will want to visit. My goal is to create a site for my students and for potential employers that highlights my work and interests. In a sense, the entire website could be a portfolio for my work. Either that, or it could be a blog with a separate portfolio.

Here I am hitting the 500 word mark. Let me finish up this post and start a new one later.