Introduction to Web Design
A Trudie House

Download Course Syllabus – Introduction to Web Design

Instructor Information:
Rebecca Jackson
Email: Rebecca@ATrudieHouse.com
Web site: www.rbccajackson.com

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course will provide students with a working knowledge of the fundamental principles, theory, and concepts of web site design and creation. Students also gain hands on experience in developing the necessary basic skills and techniques for using a variety of coding, design and multi-media techniques that can be used to integrate both general design concepts, and interface design unique to the web, as well as using various media into simple, functioning website..

This will be accomplished through class demonstrations and assignments, research, lectures, group projects, reading assignments, and class discussions.

To produce a portfolio of web design projects which demonstrate significant growth in both creative & technical skills, and demonstrate a solid understanding of the visual elements & techniques of an ever-evolving technology of web design.

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COURSE CONTENT:
It requires hard work, patience, concentration, motivation & self-discipline to develop technical & intuitive skills.
Lab sessions will consist of exercises designed to become comfortable with seeing HTML code in both the Dreamweaver environment, and a “hard code” page.
Design fundamentals of form, line, shape, value, texture, color, space, and composition are all included in web design.

Web Protocols necessitate keeping abreast of industry standards, but several principals almost universally apply.

Software A proficiency in Photoshop is required to enter this course. Students will also learn HTML, Javascript, Dreamweaver, and some Flash, jQuery and blog/CMS interfaces.

Lectures will introduce different assignments and illustrate the importance of studying examples from other websites.

Group project One group project will be introduced towards the end of the semester. All members of the group must participate equally in their respective roles.

Group critiques of assignments will take place regularly. You must present your work and critically review your own work and that of your peers.

Critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills will be developed & discussed through each assignment, and individual & group critiques.

Homework will be assigned once a week and will relate directly to the assignments of that week. You should spend a minimum of 3 hours per week on out-of-class assignments.

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Class assignments must be completed on time and be submitted for a grade and a class critique when appropriate.

Project critiques will occur regularly & you are expected to participate fully. They are especially important. You must attend with your completed projects. Failure to do so will result in an F grade for that project, and late submissions will be graded lower.

Attendance & punctuality is mandatory for ALL classes. This is a fast-paced course and introduces skills that may be completely new. Regular attendance and punctuality are vital to this process. You must be on time- lateness is disruptive, will affect your grades, and will be counted as an absence after 20 minutes.

Absences: 3 absences of any kind is the maximum allowed. Any additional absences will affect your grade and if you reach 5 you will automatically receive an F. Because of the nature of a studio class where informal discussions and problem-solving happen uniquely in the classroom, you must attend all classes and are responsible for all material covered. Plan your time accordingly. If you miss a class, you are responsible for contacting the instructor as soon as possible to find out how you can make up the class work.

 

There are no unapproved breaks during this class. Ask the instructor first.

• Homework: Students should anticipate spending a minimum of 3 hours per week on their assignments outside of class.
  Materials: Students should bring the required materials of a travel-drive AND a few CDs for back-up. Failure to do so will render the student unprepared and this will affect your grade for that assignment.
• Portfolio submission: An on-line portfolio of all completed assignments will be submitted for evaluation at mid-semester and at the end of the semester. Students are responsible for keeping track of & storing all their assignments.
• These assignments should be presented neatly, in chronological order, in easy-to-find files.

The Minimum requirement for each assignment will be clearly stated.

Participation: A grade will be assigned for your general attitude, energy, enthusiasm, and participation in class, especially during discussions and critiques.

Lab Rules:

Cleaning up after yourself is required, plus a general respect for the lab. Please log off and turn off your computer after you finish, and throw away any bottles or trash.

No food is allowed near the computer. Use one of the tables near the instructor desk.

No Cell phones, iPods or personal audio devices are allowed in class. One central player may be allowed if appropriate.
Failure to observe these basic lab rules will affect your grade.

GRADES

For an above average grade: Additional time, effort, and enthusiasm in and out of class are necessary for an above average grade. Students who listen, ask questions, work hard, take risks, explore concepts & media, and actively engage in constructive criticism and an exchange of ideas will benefit most from this class and earn an above average grade.

 

Final Grades for this class will be based on the following:

70% Quality of assignments overall and evidence of improved technical & creative skills
20% Participation in critiques & group discussions; general attitude, energy, &
enthusiasm in and out of class; attendance & punctuality
10% Quizzes

LETTER GRADES

1. for work of consistent excellence showing significant growth
2. for work of very good quality
3. for work meeting the average expectations of the class requirements
4. for unsatisfactory work and/ or attendance problems
5. Unsatisfactory work and/ or excessive absences

MATERIALS LIST

• One Flash/Travel drive or external hard drive
• 2-3 writable CDs used as back-up
• Notebook to take notes

SUGGESTED READING:

Learning Web Design: A Beginner’s Guide to (X)HTML, StyleSheets, and Web Graphics [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback) by Jennifer Niederst Robbins (Author)

SCHEDULE

1/22 WEEK 1

• Brief intro. and discussion on the development of The World Wide Web
• Course Structure (lectures, demos.,assign., work-groups, critiques, mid & final projects and digital portfolio of course work)
• Storage device:(memory/flash drive, etc.)
• Course website (to be given first week of class for assignments and test folders)

FILE ORGANIZATION and ADMINISTRATION

• File hierarchy and paths
• Servers, what are they, what’s on them?

WHAT IS HTML and DREAMWEAVER?

• Learning HTML coding

1/24-1/28 WEEK 2

• HTML and (XHTML) more DREAMWEAVER
• Building simple pages
• 256- The original color palette and it’s rapid journey to extinction
• Image compression with Adobe Photoshop
• File formats: GIF, JPG, and PNG
• PDFs for downloadable documents
• uploading and downloading, review file hierarchy
• Begin first web-site project

1/31-2/4 WEEK 3

• Introduction of Style-sheets (CSS)
• Continue first web-site project

2/7-2/11 WEEK 4

• Critique first web-site project
• Design issues: what constitutes a well-designed site? UI, interactivity etc.
• Using Photoshop to design a site
• Begin javascript roll-overs

2/14-2/18 WEEK 5

• CSS layout-div-tags
• Widgets, Google (search engines, calendars, etc)
• Begin second web-site project (redesign an existing site)

2/21-2/25- WEEK 6

• Continue to work on second web-site project

2/28- 3/4 WEEK 7

• Continue to work on second web-site project

3/7- 3/12 WEEK 8 Spring Break.

3/14 – 3/18 WEEK 9

• Critique second web-site project
• Intro to web-portfolios (HTML, Flash, JQuery and DHTML)
• DHTML (Javascript and AP Divs)
• Media: Flash, Quicktime, Mp3s
• Marketing, SEO, keywords, Google, Search Engines and more

3/21-3/25 WEEK 10

• Start project 3: web-portfolios

3/38-4/1 WEEK 11

• Continue project 3: web-portfolios

4/4 – 4/8 WEEK 12

• Continue project 3: web-portfolios
• Conclude and critique project 3: web-portfolios
• new technologies, blogs, CMS and more
• start final project four (TBA)

4/11-4/15 WEEK 13

• Continue project 4

4/18 – 4/22 WEEK 14

• Continue project 4
• No classes Friday 4/22, Good Friday

4/25 – 4/29 WEEK 15

• Continue project 4
• Conclude and critique project 4

5/2 – 5/6 WEEK 16

• “Tweak week” upload and test all sites, modify, add and correct
• elements to all four projects to prepare for individual meetings with instructor

5/9 – 5/13

MANDATORY Individual Critiques with Instructor.

CONDUCT CODE/ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

As a resident of A Trudie House, you are expected to exhibit conduct compatible with the mission of our organization. It is your responsibility to become familiar with and adhere to the A Trudie House Student Conduct Code and the Academic Integrity Policy, as contained in the Resident Handbook.