The cool website I picked was jux.com (specifically https://reedgmc.jux.com/).
Jux serves as a website that you can use to showcase your stuff, whatever it may be (photos, art, quotes, stories, videos, etc.). I think the intended user is anyone who wants to share their stuff with the world. I think it can serve as a portfolio or even a more modern facebook photo album. It is also great for ipads or any touch screen because you can scroll through posts very smoothly. One of the best things about this site- it DOES NOT cost any money!
What also is great about this site is that it is VERY user friendly and SO easy to use. Prior to the web design course I knew very little about creating my own web page but last semester it became a project I worked on for the Olwen Solar Garage/REED Block Course. I was hesitant to use it but I figured it out within an hour of sitting down and working in it. Other great features of Jux are that it gives you quite a bit of room for the user to change it to however they want it to look (colors, fonts, arrangement, text, size, etc.) allowing the user to generate the visual hierarchy of the page through manipulation of these items. The visual contrast then is up to the user as well. On the main page of the site you create, the Jux site organizes your posts into a collage of squares keeping the proximity of the items close and continuous. I have found this to be quite the common trend of many websites these days, very much so blog-like and allows the user to scroll through smaller images to find the one they want to pick and look at more in depth. Once a specific post is chosen, I like that it really focuses on the post you made whether it is a photo or video, the whole screen becomes what you make it, no ads or other huge task bars or menus. There is a menu bar, but it is small and only appears when scrolling over the top portion of the site, allowing the focus to remain on the content.
Other specifics: the doctype is HTML, it uses javascript technology, it uses CSS technology. I think this is the main style sheet is (but I am not 100% positive?)- <link href=”https://d3kstbadygo5b1.cloudfront.net/assets/desktop-b961d8d4b28e2babdbee70c0a3bc0ef0.css” media=”screen” rel=”stylesheet” type=”text/css” /> ?
Enjoy checking out the REED JUX!
The customization available with Jux is very neat and useful. The possibilities for creativity are endless. Using the website on an iOS device is a pleasant experience, where you can utilize all aspects of flawless integration with HTML5. The fact that it’s a free service is mind blowing considering the advanced functions within the site.
Jux appears to be very user friendly and interactive as well. It introduces the information neatly and clearly, making it easy to appreciate the work that was presented as well. The best part about this site for me was the fact that it doesn’t take attention away from the pictures. This way you are still able to gleam the information that you need, without being overwhelmed and losing sight of the main goal of the site.
Jux is awesome! I really enjoyed the documentation of the REED Block via this site. The chronology is well-laid out, and i like the very image-based visual hierarchy. It is also very iPad friendly, which is great for a blog because I feel like that is type of website that works well with that specific technology. Also, free=awesome.