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Success By Design For Sharon Wasko

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Sharon sitting at an outdoor picnic table with an open laptop that displays her website on the screen.

Sharon Wasko of Rosendale has taken off as a local web and graphic designer thanks to her time at SUNY Ulster learning web design skills. Recently the Blue Stone Press published an article about her success within the community. One of her professors published the print piece on his blog, you can read it here. Some of the classes she took include Graphic Design (Intro through III), Commercial Photography, and Web Design. She thanks her Web Design professor Dina Pearlman; for giving her the knowledge that has been instrumental in the launching of her website and career. Curious what this website looks like? Then give it a click!

SharonWasko.com

Logo with picture of glasses that states: Sharon Wasko Graphic Design
Logo from SharonWasko.com showcasing her love of teal and vintage ideas

It’s an online portfolio of her skills. Including but not limited to graphic & web design, photography, media layout, brand development and logo creation. In the Spring of 2018, she established her company Sharon Wasko Graphic Design, and created this site of her own. Now she has helped a few local companies to do the same. Since then, she’s gained a variety of colorful clients, mostly artists who have a professional passion that mirrors her own.

What’s She Up To Now?

While attending classes, Sharon holds a student aide position in the SUNY Ulster Marketing and Community Relations office. There she helps the webmaster to maintain, update, and add to the school’s main site, sunyulster.edu. She is also currently collaborating on an interactive site to display the school’s renovations. Capital projects, improvements to the school’s physical structures, have been followed and documented with photos. She is helping to create a site where all those improvements are fun and easy to view for all.

All those projects are just a side gig to her own thriving business as a freelance graphic designer. Her responsibilities and skills are ever-changing and evolving, as is natural with web based careers. Her already impressive portfolio is always growing.

A logo created by Sharon from her website

An Arts Education That Led To Web Design

Sharon has gotten her education in her own style. As a part of that she received her BFA before coming to our community college. Resulting in a degree from the College of New Jersey, formerly Trenton State College, with a concentration in painting and a minor in women’s and gender studies. She expressed that her time there differed greatly compared to a two year college. “It was a totally different experience, going to a residential 4-year school, but now there’s a more diverse group of students in my classes” said Sharon. SUNY Ulster’s community atmosphere provided her more freedom within her life. She has still managed to raise two young girls as she begins her business and continues to make it grow.

Another Student Success For The Books!

Among other students who have gone far with their time at SUNY Ulster. Sharon Wasko is now on the list. If you are interested in taking some of these courses, there is a degree program of classes. You can begin you associates degree in the field or just take a course or two, it’s up to you. Click here to learn more about this field and the classes offered.

The Secret To An Awesome Website: Design Your Dreams With UI & UX

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Hands reach over a desk that is scattered with markers, pens, papers, and a smart phone that lay on front of a computer screen. The papers show scribbled designs of buttons and maps.

Everything we use is designed by someone. The clothes you wear, the car you drive, your coffeemaker, and all the websites you visit. The practice of designing for different things goes by various names. However, when it comes to a computer website design, we use the terms UI & UX, meaning User Interface & User Experience. Whether or not this sounds familiar to you, you more than likely encounter it everyday. I’m going to explain both of them quite briefly as it’s a complex and exciting thing that you may just need to take a whole class in to fully understand, but more on that later.

UX – User Experience

A smart phone, half of which only shows outlines and the other half of which shows buttons, image, and colors. UI UX
Source: http://netaq.ae E solution blog.

The two jobs go hand in hand but are two different things. One relies on the other to function properly. User Experience usually comes first and deals with mechanics of a webiste, how it functions and feels to a user. It is a structure or foundation for the site that should optimize how a person feels about a company. A website with a good UX design should feel smooth and easy to interact with. A good designer takes into account how a user thinks and architects information in a way that is easy to find. On the other hand a website with bad UX is: hard to use, confusing to navigate, and clunky feeling in general. If you’re intrigued, here’s a preview of a cool book all about User Experience by Jesse James Garrett.

UI – User Interface

Source: UX Collective

User Interface design is making the aesthetic elements of that website. UI designers manage everything visual in regard to appearance and how that affects the user’s feel for the site. Meaning colors, theme design, the look of the menus and can include logos, buttons, scrolling and other interactive elements. It’s an important part of the job that can influence a user, usually a customer, and what their opinion is of that brand that’s being represented by the webite. If you’re looking for more info on that check out this full explanation of the UI, UX, and the difference between them by Emil Lamprech.

UX and UI design are specialized trades that can involve marketing, computer science, research, some sociology and analytical skills. It’s knowledge that few have; and those who do are able to apply it to all kinds of situations, and clients.

An arm holds up a piece of paper with dsigns for an iPhone blueprint
Image by William Iven from Pixabay

Why It Matters

Good user experience and design can impact an organization in so many ways. It’s beneficial for the obvious reasons; people spend more time (and maybe money) on your site when it is alluring to see and fun to use. Plus more people While also being beneficial in the long-term, especially for certain feilds such as education. Studies have shown that learning institutions who utilize modern user experience design strategies can better support current student learning styles. A website or application should be a good reflection on a company that makes them stronger. Having a good UX and UI design is important, if not integral, in making a company shine amongst all the competition out there. To increase sales and growth continually is no easy feat, and with these skills it’s quite literally made into a science.

Alright, now it’s later.

“I’m In!” You Say, “Teach Me More!”

Gladly. Your complete guide to UI & UX is right here. SUNY Ulster is holding a class all about this speciallized knowledge. It’ll take place at our Stone Ridge campus for the Fall 2019 semester. It’s an elective for the web development degree program, but anyone who’s qualified with the basics can take it.