ClemsonGC Takes on Front End Design Conference 2015

July 9, 2015

Click on the image to view an animated picture book of the conference.

Reflections provided by Claudia Giles and Megan Matthews, GC students
Edited by Erica Walker, lecturer

The Front End Design Conference, hosted every summer in St. Petersburg, FL provides students with an opportunity to learn far more than simply coding skills. This year, ClemsonGC’s third year attending the conference, Mrs. Erica Walker brought students Claudia Giles, Megan Matthews, and Ginger Li down to Florida for a full day workshop and two days of conference speakers and activities.

Student reflections on the conference:

At the conference we were immersed in an environment composed of industry leaders speaking on topics ranging from: design fundamentals, how to work well with designers, other disciplines of programming, entrepreneurship, images for the web, coding languages, accessibility, efficiency and more. In the course of a few days we were provided with the widest possible gamut of exposure and we now have a well-rounded view of the industry. It was clear that all of speakers at Front End invest their heart and soul into changing the digital world and this motivates students to make the same impact.

We attended a full day, hands-on workshop the first day at the conference. Megan says “I attended the User Experience and Animation workshop where we were able to participate and learn in a classroom like setting. The most enriching part of the entire conference was by far the workshop.” The teacher Val Head, used CodePen.io to have students work on live coding examples throughout the day which gave us an opportunity to apply what we were learning.

Technology changes quickly, so simply learning the syntax of one language will not prepare us for the ever-evolving digital era we live in today. So many designers and teachers do not know how to code; they can design amazing interfaces but designing without code in mind is largely ineffective. Claudia states “I want to be both- a craftswomen and a coder. There is nothing more gratifying for me than designing something beautiful and being able to make it come to life before my eyes through coding. The front-end conference left me with a sense of empowerment and eagerness to challenge myself and to challenge those around me in the Graphics Department.”

The Graphic Communications department focuses on preparing students to solve problems in many arenas- lithography, designing for print, video production, flexible packaging, screen printing, etc. But even within this experiential-based major, there are topics that can be learned at the Front End Design Conference that are not offered on-campus. In order to suppliment her interest in learning code, Claudia began teaching it to herself from online resources. She adds that “teaching myself to Code has been a huge problem solving adventure- but I enjoyed having a space [at the conference] where I was supported and challenged at the same time.” After each Front End Design Conference, Mrs. Walker and the students recognize many opportunities for problem solving in the world of front end development that the department hasn’t fully explored yet.

In retrospect, Megan states that “Overall, I learned a great deal about the recent developments and future trends of front end web design and I had fun at the same time. I would highly recommend this trip to students who are not just interested in web development and design, but also to those looking to network with some interesting and passionate people.” Claudia adds that “one of the highlights of the trip for me was meeting so many women who work with code. Growing up in a culture that deems computer coding as unattractive and masculine, I have very rarely been encouraged to pursue the career that I love and crave so much. It was amazing to see so many women who are at the top of the front-end design field!”

ClemsonGC values opportunities to expose Juniors and Seniors to additional resources and industry experts by attending conferences and shows throughout the calendar year. Exposure to people working in our industry is a powerful addition to classroom and lab time to open up opportunities that students may not be exposed to otherwise. For more information on the conference, visit the Front End Design Conference home page.