It took me a long time to pick and API, I tossed up between the pokemon, yugioh and naruto api but finally settled on SpaceX
To start, I began by writing a simple function to fetch my code to see what sort of object I would be working with. When I managed to get the images to render on the screen I knew this was something I could work with.
Normally I’d design before handing anything over to a developer to work on. This time I was the designer and developer! With little design I started writing code to show the launch photos along with the launch names. I thought it would be a good idea to have multiple sections on the page to show the different values within the object so I hastily added some sections.
I then started to focus more on the launch list and the launch information page. I wanted the UI to reflect SpaceX, big and bold and unfortunately so was my code.
I had big and complex functions that repeated a lot of the same code (it still does now but not as much). As I started to go back and refactor/tidy up my code I found ways to improve on it, cleaner and simpler. I’ve been really enjoying the project now that I’ve refactored and improved on my code.
I also made use of classes once I thought more clearly about what I was trying to show. Information on the crew could be stored and manipulated inside a crew class
This project tested me on my ability to adapt to change. With the focus being more on coding than designing, I found it harder to design a nice user experience. However I also found out I really enjoyed JS programming. More so than styling html with css. Funny because I am a designer for work!
Solving problems with code and seeing my changes happen in real time is extremely rewarding and something I aim to do more of now that I have a good (still basic) grasp on Javascript
