Class #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:
   
   
   
   • What are Web Standards?
   
   
   • Ten
     reasons to learn and use web standards
   
   
   
   
   


7. REVIEW:
   
   
   
   • What is Accessibility? "Accessibility" is used to describe how easy something is for everybody to use, regardless of impairment or disability.
   
   
   • Why is Accessibility important?
   
   
   • 10
     Reasons Clients Don't Care About Accessibility
   
   
   
   • LEGAL PRECEDENT SET FOR WEB ACCESSIBILITY: NFB v. Target
   
   
   
   






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
   
   
   
   • Look for someone with an existing business who is interested in having a web site designed or redesigned. The services you are offering are low or no-cost web design. You will complete the project within the next 15 weeks, so your client must be available by phone or email during that time.
   
   
   • Some good places to contact are:
     
     
     
     • Manhattan Small Business Development Center
     
     
     • Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation
     
     
     • Small Business Development Center at Brooklyn
     
     
     • Brooklyn
       Chamber of Commerce
     
     
     
     
   
   
   • You can also try advertising around the school. Many students and faculty have small-businesses and are often looking for a web site designer. Again, make sure the business is an existing one, not a startup.
   
   
   • Start by asking your client to fill out a Client Survey
     
     
     
     
     • Sample Client Survey
     
     
     
     
   
   
   
   

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

• If you're not familiar with coding with web standards, or don't know much about structure vs. presentation and the basic rules and syntax of XHTML and CSS you'll want to refresh your XHTML and/or CSS skills complete the following two tutorials before next week.
  
  
  
  
  • XHTML Beginner Tutorial
  
  
  • XHTHL Intermediate Tutorial
  
  
  • CSS Beginner Tutorial
  
  
  • CSS Intermediate Tutorial
  
  
  
  


• If you feel totally lost, I recommend that you take the basic web design class instead, but if you're determined to catch up, complete the tutorials above and buy the additional book below:
  
  
  
  
  • Build Your Own Web Site the Right Way Using HTML & CSS, Ian Lloyd, SitePoint (May 2, 2006), ISBN#0975240293
  
  
  
  

Syllabus

Advanced Web Design 7168



10:00 - 1:20 PM

N/1102



Spring 2008

Instructor: Jay Van Buren

Email: ad650@early-adopter.com


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

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 now and how it will be used in the future will allow you to make your (or your client’s) content stand out.

The main project will be the completion of a web site for an actual client, including all the stages that a professional web designer should go through on the way to creating the site. I’ll be including both information
about how things are generally done by professionals in the field right now, and tips and tricks that I have learned personally (often the hard way) to help things run smoothly and achieve the best possible
out come for you and your client.

This class is not about learning to create web sites (you should already know that). This class is about creating truly excellent, beautiful, elegant web sites 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. The future will belong to designers
who are able to grasp the implications of new technologies while they are still in their embryonic stages and creatively engage those implications, inventing new communication strategies before the need for them is clear to all.

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. And during office hours -- Tuesday afternoon from 2 to 5pm

• 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).If you borrowed it from somewhere, cite it. NO EXCEPTIONS

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