Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Week #2


  1. Post a link to your homework page to the comments section of this blog post, your home work page should contain a link to your delicious tags and show your 5 bookmarks of sites that are excellent, lets take a look at them

  2. what is web 2.0

  3. SEO madness

  4. Top 25 APIs

  5. an aside -- the possibility of a new artformis Carl Rove a Genius on Par with Marcel Duchamp?

  6. We will be looking at the pirate page and thinking about how it would be best done but first we need to cover some other material

  7. First Get the Web Developer Tools! Do it now!


  8. A quick word aboutWeb Standards
    Workshop

  9. STRUCTURE REVIEW and SEMANTIC MARKUP:


    1. My Semantic Markup bookmarks

    2. Using Meaningful (Semantic)
      Markup

    3. Logical Structure using Meaningful Elements (examples)

    4. Additional Structure using divs and spans with meaningful,
      structural IDs and class names
      .

    5. Validation and
      meaning extraction

    6. Document
      types, DOCTYPE switching, browser modes

    7. How would be the best way to have done the Pirate Page


    8. Bill of RIghts






  10. Resources



    Homework
    | Week 2


    For next class:


    CLIENT WORK



    • Contact your client and ask them to fill out a Client Survey form.

    • Create your own form or use this as a guide:


    • Only offer services you are able to provide and make sure the client
      understands that this is a class project and you have a schedule to keep.

    • Please ask them to return the form by next class meeting.


    Skills practice and Reading



    • Semantic Markup practice finish and style Bill of Rights-- all semantic markup try to use as simple CSS as you can

    • Read Chapter 1 in CSS Mastery




Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Week #1

Topics Covered in Class:



  1. Introduction to the class

    1. Syllabus

    2. Schedule



  2. Introduction to Jay

    1. parsons

    2. multex

    3. bellwether

    4. thirdmind

    5. SENSEI

    6. E-A

    7. Art



  3. Tools we'll be using

    • del.icio.us
      My Delicious tags are here and my tags for this class are here. (this was the course number for the first advanced web design course i taught and i've just kept this-- bookmark it for yourself so you don't forget it!


    • this blog




  4. Introduction to web 2.0

  5. REVIEW:

    • What is Functionality? "Functionality" refers to the features or functions provided by the product. The primary focus is on what the user can do with the product.


    • What is Usability? "Usability" refers to the ability to use a product easily, effectively, and efficiently to perform a task. The primary focus is on how people work with a product.

    • What are Aesthetics? "Aesthetics" are
      a set of generally agreed upon ideas about what makes effective communication in a given medium. Establishing an aesthetical sensibility requires that you look beyond your own personal likes and dislikes to evaluate a work within the medium in which it is presented.

    • The FUTURE of web design and avoiding obsolescence as a web designer




  6. REVIEW:



  7. REVIEW:





  8. Day One Skills Test


    In this in-class test you will be asked to create a simple web page from scratch.

    • Step 1, download this zip file right here

    • Step 2, unzip the file you will see
      • one photoshop document
      • one png screenshot

    • Step 3, using the photoshop file to find exact colors, sizes, and fonts and for the image of the "pirates" which you can crop out of the photoshop doc, recreate this screenshot as an html page as accurately as you can


    If you know how to use css do it, and make your page have an external style sheet, if you don't just build it however you know how to. If you know what i mean by "semantic markup" make the markup as semantic as you can. If you are unable to build a page like this, you should not be in this class.


  9. Finding a Client



Homework Week 1

  1. Buy the required textbooks from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. OR - Read them on Online Library

    • CSS
      Mastery
      , friends of ED (February 13, 2006), ISBN#1590596145


    • DOM
      Scripting
      , friends of ED (September 20, 2005), ISBN#1590595335



  2. Start looking for a small business client to work with this semester.


  3. Find five sites that are examples of excellence in web design and Del.icio.us them, include why you chose them in the notes field

  4. Reading: The section of Chapter five of the Cluetrain Manifesto called Fort Business. If you are interested read the whole chapter.

  5. Create homework index page and post homework link (that is a link to your delicious tags) to it (or blog if necessary). Link homework page to this blog's comments section.



Resources

Friday, January 18, 2008

Syllabus

Advanced Web Design



CRN 3053

Spring 2008


Instructor: Jay Van Buren

Email: ad650@early-adopter.com


Course URL: http://vanburen-adv-web.blogspot.com/


Hours: Thursday, 9:00 - 11:40

Location: 55 W. 13th, Rm. 425


Course Description:

The Web may be a turning point in human history that rivals the taming of fire or the invention of the printing press. It's been changing profoundly how we do business and communicate for the past 10 years and its just getting started. New technologies are ensuring that as the haystack of information grows exponentially our ability to find the needle we need at any particular moment is growing too.


Whether you are selling a product or service, trying to convince people of an idea, or creating interactive art, the web is the air we all breathe. Understanding how to use this medium as well as it can be used will help your (or your client's) content stand out both now and in the future.


The main projects will be the completion of a website for an actual client, including all the stages that a professional web designer should go through on the way to creating the site. This class is not about learning to create websites (you should already know that). This class is about creating truly excellent, beautiful, elegant websites that are built using the best possible practices, and match the needs of your client in both form and function. We'll also spend some time talking about and trying to understand both where we are right now and where we are headed.


Course Goals:

Upon successful completion of this class, the student will have gained the skills be a professional web designer, and will have a thorough grasp of the state of the art of web design including both aesthetic, conceptual and technical issues.



Grading:


10% - Attendance and Class Participation

40% - Weekly Assignments (each one will be worth 6 points 6=excellent, 5=average, 4=acceptable, not turned in = 0)

50% - Final Project


Course Requirements:



  • Come to class on time. Students arriving more than 20 minutes late may be marked absent.




  • Attend all classes. Each week we will build on the work learned the week before. If you must miss a class, please let me know ahead of time. It is your responsibility to obtain any missed material from your fellow classmates, and to turn assignments in on time even if you are absent. Students missing more than three classes may fail the course.



  • Turn in assignments on time. Work turned in late will lose one point (from a possible 6) every week that it is late. Final projects may not be turned in late.



  • Ask Questions. This is a technical class, and we will be covering a lot of information in a short time. If you are confused, lost, need clarification, etc, please don’t hesitate to ask questions in class. Chance are your fellow students will benefit from the answers AND this will add to your class participation grade! I am also available between classes via email.




  • Academic Integrity. Plagiarism and cheating of any kind in the course of academic work will not be tolerated. Academic honesty includes accurate use of quotations, as well as appropriate and explicit citation of sources in instances of paraphrasing and describing ideas, or reporting on research findings or any aspect of the work of others (including that of instructors and other students). These standards of academic honesty and citation of sources apply to all forms of academic work (examinations, essays, theses, computer work, art and design work, oral presentations, and other projects).



  • It is the responsibility of students to learn the procedures specific to their discipline for correctly and appropriately differentiating their own work from that of others. Compromising your academic integrity may lead to serious consequences, including (but not limited to) one or more of the following: failure of the assignment, failure of the course, academic warning, disciplinary probation, suspension from the university, or dismissal from the university.



  • Every student at Parsons signs an Academic Integrity Statement as a part of the registration process. Thus, you are held responsible for being familiar with, understanding, adhering to and upholding the spirit and standards of academic integrity as set forth by the Parsons Student Handbook.


Reading and Resources:



There are two texts that we'll be reading from

  • CSS
    Mastery
    , friends of ED (February 13, 2006), ISBN#1590596145


  • DOM
    Scripting
    , friends of ED (September 20, 2005), ISBN#1590595335