COMD 3551 Web Design II | ADVANCED HTML & CSS

Day & Time:	Thursday, 6:00PM – 9:20PM
Instructor:	Jerron Smith
Email:	thepixelsmith@gmail.com
Website:	https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/smithcomd3551fa2015/

Course Description

Advanced web design is a continuation of ADV2450 Web I, a prerequisite of this course. Students will study, in further detail, HTML and CSS to ensure that they have a solid foundation. It is assumed that students have a solid grasp of Photoshop and Illustrator, and understand the proper web design workflow. The course is focused on completing a web site, designing and building it, as well as writing all the content for the site. A portfolio site is not appropriate for the final project, and will not be acceptable.

Search Engine Optimization, Analytics, and web marketing strategies will be reviewed, and implemented.

Additional Course Description

Coding is cool, and fun too…but mostly cool.

Attendance and Lateness Policies (college and department)

A class roster roll will be taken at the beginning of each class. Only two absences may be allowed. After two absences, a student may be withdrawn because of unsatisfactory attendance (code WU). Students arriving after the roll is taken will be marked “late.” Students may be notified at the earliest opportunity in class after they have been absent or late. After being absent two times or equivalent (2 lateness = 1 absence), a student may be asked to withdraw from the class (code W before the College drop deadline) or may be withdrawn from the class (code WU).

Academic Integrity Standards

You are responsible for reading, understanding and abiding by the NYC College of Technology Student Handbook, “Student Rights & Responsibilities,” section “Academic Integrity Standards.” Academic dishonesty of any type, including cheating and plagiarism is unacceptable. “Cheating” is misrepresenting another student’s efforts/work as your own. “Plagiarism” is the representation of another person’s work, words or concepts as your own.

Research

A large emphasis will be placed on awareness of the design world by observing the state of design in our community: books, publications, web sources, museums and graphic art organizations. Students are expected to gather reference materials for all their projects and are encouraged to use the college’s library resources. http://library.citytech.cuny.edu

Class Policies

Unless otherwise noted, projects given as Homework Assignments are due at the beginning of class and must be handed in (if physical), placed on the server, Flash Drive or sent in email to be reviewed; otherwise it is considered late.
ANY MISSED ASSIGNMENTS WILL EARN ZERO POINTS. Assignments received after the deadline will drop a grade at the end of the class. After that time period, any late assignment will earn a zero. A final folder of all projects will be handed in via DropBox, Google Drive, Creative Cloud or other file storage/sharing service along with the final project at the end of the semester.

Class Participation

You are expected to give thoughtful, constructive feedback in class. You are to be prepared for each session, meaning you will have read all required selections, performed all appointed tasks, and completed all homework. You are to do your homework with professionalism and to seek help as soon as possible.

Instructor’s Recommendations

Come to class on time: Students arriving more than 15 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 two classes risk failing the course.

Turn in assignments on time: Homework turned in late will lose 10 points for every day that it is late. Work turned in more than two weeks from the due date will not be accepted. Project 1 and Project 2 may not be turned in late. Missing projects may result in a failing grade for the project.

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. Chances 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.

SAVE, SAVE, AND SAVE AGAIN: There will be no sympathy for work lost for not saving properly.

BACK UP YOUR WORK: Murphy’s Law Applies In All Things–You will lose your flash drive or it will become corrupted. Save your work in at least two places. Cloud-based services like dropbox can work as well if not better than a computer at home.

Instructor’s Prerogative

I reserve the right to change the syllabus or grading formula as I see fit, given the composition and progress of the class. I will notify the class as to these changes in writing in a timely fashion.

Class Supplies

FLASH DRIVE: or other portable storage device. This will be used to transfer your work from home and class. Image files can be large, so make sure your flash drive is at least 8gb.

SKETCHBOOK: For taking notes during technical demonstrations, brainstorming sessions, and for sketching ideas for projects. YOU WILL HAVE TO PUT PENCIL TO PAPER AND DRAW. I highly recommend you use a gridded sketchbook.

INDEX CARDS: They have a million uses

Class Objectives

Instructional Objectives For the successful completion of this course students should be able to:	Assessment Evaluation method/criteria:
Define and explain basic concepts of UI/UX, Information architecture, product management and the role of Designers.	Students will demonstrate competency in written exercises and presentations leading up to an investor pitch.
Define and explain the applications of UI/UX, Information architecture and product management.Demonstrate AGILE methodologies to tackle complex problems in order to come up with a pertinent design solution.	Students will demonstrate competency by completing projects and presenting their process workflow.
Demonstrate a proficiency in using IA tools and methods. Demonstrate how to choose the most appropriate method or approach for a specific project.	Group and/or individual interaction projects.
Speaking: the student will demonstrate the ability to articulate him/herself using relevant industry-specific vocabulary.	Evaluated through class discussions and project presentations.
Social Interaction: The student will demonstrate the ability to work as part of a team, including people from a variety of backgrounds, and build consensus.	Evaluate the collaboration and integration of the team during the group project, class participation and group presentation

Grading Formula

Grade	Numerical	Meaning of Grade
A (Excellent)	4.0	Represents exemplary work. Work consistently exceeds expectations of professional craft and quality.
B+	3.5
B (Good)	3.0	Work meets basic expectations of professional craft and quality.
C+	2.5
C (Satisfactory)	2.0	Work does not meet professional expectations of craft and quality.
D (Unsatisfactory)	1.0

Grading Criteria

The final grade for this course will be determined by the grades each student earns on the following projects and assignments. The grading is done using a numerical point system with each gradable assignment worth a certain maximum number of points. The maximum numerical value that is possible exceeds 100, allowing a student to make up for a weak showing in one area with a stronger final project.

Project/Assignment	Maximum Value
Project: News Article Layout	15 pts.
Midterm Exam	20 pts.
Main Project-Web Site Design & Creation	30 pts
Final Exam	20 pts
Homework	10 pts.
Preparation, Attendance & Participation	10 pts.
Total:	105 pts

 

The numerical grades are then converted to alphabetical grades based on the following conversion chart:

Range in %	Letter Grade	Range in %	Letter Grade
95-100	A	72-77	C
90-94	A-	70-71	C-
88-89	B+	68-69	D+
82-87	B	62-67	D
80-81	B-	60-61	D-
78-79	C+	0-59	F

Topical Outline

Class 1: Course Description – concept and design. Homework: Conceptualize the project site. Write up a small description & choose an appropriate domain name. Offer 3 viable options. Research similar sites.

Class 2: Class critique of domain names and concepts for final project. Research, content development and keywords determination. Begin design process. Homework: Create 3 alternate logos and 3 interface designs for the project web site. Be prepared to present the designs and have questions looking for feedback.

Class 3: Class critiques of web site designs. Create site architecture. Begin to build the web site. Homework: Write list of keywords/keyword phrases appropriate for each page on the site. Site map, wireframes, finalized design. Submit for grade.

Class 4: Page Organization with HTML Understanding how HTML  elements are used to Organize a page – Understanding Layout Types: Fixed, liquid, layouts. Homework: Build 3 different wireframe layouts of  your first page. Create and upload a custom “ under construction”  page.

Class 5: Understanding the Box Model Learning in detail how to position elements on a page. Homework: Continue 2-week assignment. Be prepared to present design in class.

Class 6: Mastering CSS Selectors & Pseudo selectors Understanding how web pages are styled – How to style fonts and text. Homework: 2-week assignment: design and layout of article

Class 7: Mastering CSS Selectors & Pseudo selectors Homework: Continue Article layout assignment

Class 8: CSS in depth. How the cascade works. Using selectors, styling tags, selectors, classes and IDs. Homework: Complete exercises in CSS.

Class 9: Understanding CSS Inheritance & Specificity

Class 10:  Typography on the Web Homework: Study for Quiz – Integrate keywords in copy for all pages on site.

Class 11: Quiz | Understanding Web Analytics | Meta Tags Homework: Implement analytics into final project site.

Class 12: Understanding the place of Tables in Modern Web Design Working session | Individual instructor-student review of project.

Class 13: Studio | Attendance is required. Final Project Due

Class 14: Working with Forms | Creating Forms and implementing form validation scripts

Class 15: Class Critique of students’ final project