Assignments
Textbooks:
- Garrett, J.J., The Elements of User Experience
Introductory Week
- Thursday: Course overview, establish computer accounts.
- Friday: Create first Web page.
- How to review a site.
- Here is a primer on blogging.
Garrett, Introduction, Chapter 1.
Monday: Discuss team project and establish teams.
Web Sites to Explore:
- Explore Hotwired, Wired Magazine (online) Web Monkey, and read Jim Frey's piece on Web Design.
- These sites are all related. What are they about? Is that clear?
- What are the key concepts that Jim Frey says about Web design?
- What is one helpful article you saw on each of the sites?
- Post your observations about this cluster of sites to the class blog. Use the review page above to help you. A good post is thoughtful, articulate, specific. It should be about 150 words. You may post your own thoughts, or respond to the thoughts of others.
WARNING: There will be zero tolerance on GSP errors on all Web projects.
Your home page should be up and running with a link to your resume. When you have finished the page and it is ready for me to review, please send me an email message giving me the complete site address to breedlov@cwu.edu.
Remember: Friday's class is for meeting
with your
team.
Week 2 Oct. 3 -- Color and Play
Garrett, chapter 2
Web Sites:
- Read The Art and Zen of Web Sites. What do you agree with? Is there something you disagree with?
- lynda.com is written by one of the leaders in graphics and color online. Check out her info on proper color.
- Explore the web design center at about.com regarding color.
- Pick a subject that interests you and find two blogs that you like and one that you don't. Post about them. What makes the difference? Be analytical. Saying I couldn't figure out what they were talking about is better than it was boring.
Add a page to your site defining your team project and describing your team. Link to the home pages of your team members.
Remember: Friday's class is for meeting
with your
team.
Week 3 Oct. 10 -- Images and Links
Garrett, chapter 3
Web Sites:
- A primer for accessiblity
- Review this site: Asterisk at http://www.7nights.com/asterisk/
- This web designer compared the sites of leading designers on a number of issues. At the bottom he lists links to those designers' sites/blogs. Explore and comment on the class blog.
Use at least five photos or illustrations on your pages. Make sure they are sized correctly. At least one should be a .gif, one a jpg. You will be evaluated on your creativity, the usefulness of your photos, and your proper technical expertise. Obey copyright laws.
Remember: Friday's class is for meeting
with your
team.
Week 4 Oct. 18 Introduction to Photoshop
Garrett, chapter 4
Web Sites:
- Review David Siegel's site. David Siegel is a leader in designer-controlled web design. Read his essay on balkanization of the Web. Take a look at his Killer Web Sites book site. His new site is completely different. Try it too.
- Here's the web site of a former student. What do you think?
- Review lynda.com site. Post your comparison of these three sites to the class weblog.
Week 5 Oct. 25 Tables and frames
Garrett, chapter 5
Web Sites:
- Making Usable Links, Also explore the other articles on the same site.
- Explore political sites. Find ones you like and dislike and explain why on the clas weblog.
Use nature to generate a color scheme, and page theme for a proposed site. Your customer is a hunting and fishing guide along the Columbia River. Use tables. Your grade will depend on the quality of the copy you write, the design and colors you chose. Include a secondary page that describes why you did what you did.
Remember: Friday's class is for meeting
with your
team.
Week 6 Nov. 1 Audience and Message
Garrett, chapter 6
Web sites: Check out these online magazines. Then find two online magazoines yourself. Introduce us to your sites on the weblog. Comment on these as well.
Remember: Friday's class is for meeting
with
your team.
Week 7 Nov. 8 Interface and Navigation
Garrett, chapter 7
Thursday: No Class.
Web sites: Explore sites where you buy things now. What
techniques
make the site easy to navigate and use? Tell us about your
favorite
shopping site at the Weblog.
Also check out amazon.com, the
granddaddy of all shopping sites....
Assignment #6 Due Friday by 5 p.m. .
Build a page using frames.
Pick a culture and use motifs from that culture to generate a color scheme and page theme for your client, a translating firm in Seattle. Use frames. Create the home page, and at least four secondary pages to show how you would use consistent navigation and color themes.
Remember: Friday's class is for meeting
with your
team.
Week 8 Nov. 15 Introduction to DreamWeaver
Garrett, chapter 8
Web sites: explore blogs about journalism. (do a google search.) There's a big controversy in this area: is blogging journalism? What do you think? Post your answer to the class blog with supporting evidence.
Assignment #7 Due Friday by 5 p.m.
Build a page using additional links.
A web page(s) using a color scheme you base around the works of a
famous
artist. Your customer is an art gallery. (Choose your favorite
artist)
. On the page, have ten additional links as well that indicate
your
expertise in researching for this site. You will be judged on the look
of the site and on the quality of information you provide about your
chosen
artist: text, images, links.
Remember: Friday's class is for meeting
with your
team.
Week 9 Nov. 22 Dreamweaver cont.
No Class Thursday or Friday.
Assignment #8 Due Wednesday by 5 p.m.
You have a client who wants a simple logo built. The company name is Fundamental Concepts, and they want a circle, triangle, square used -- the three fundamental shapes in design. Build five different proposals in photoshop. Display them on a Web page, with a description of why you did what you did. Which would you recommend? Why? Extra credit: Make one of them into an animated gif.
Week 10 Nov. 29 Pulling it all together: Site review and maintenance.
Assignment #10 Due Friday by 5 p.m.
Recreate your home page in Dreamweaver. Save both versions. Compare the two. What does Dreamweaver allow you to do that you couldn't before? Are there advantages to your hand-coded pages?
Remember: Friday's class is for meeting
with your
team.
Finals Week Dec. 7
- Final is at Thursday, Dec. 9 at noon.
- Online Portfolio must be completed by the final.
- Check it out on a Mac and a PC; with Explorer and Netscape. Try a slow modem if you can.
- Does your site meet accessibility standards? Why is this important?
- How well does your site address the principles in the book we've been reading? Be explicit and detailed in answering this.
- Teams will present their projects at the final.
In addition to the assignments above, you must review your own site. Create a section linked from your home page and include the following in a written analysis of your site: