December 4 – Documentation

Class Topics

December 2

Classes are canceled for today

Homework

  • Work on issues filed in GitHub. Documentation Posters are missing for many of you.

November 18/20: Preparation

Class Topics

  • Changes to Adobe Software
  • Monday, November 18: Team (317) and Individual (417) appointments with Rebecca to review work
  • Wednesday, November 20: Work Day (Rebecca will be at a conference). If you need help send Rebecca an email. If you need help on code you should make sure the code is updated and committed on GitHub and a live link should be shared with Rebecca for review. Rebecca will not address issues sent after 3pm on Friday.
  • Monday, November 25:
    • Presentations: Each presentation will be 5 minutes followed by Q&A. Morning presentations will start at 10:15am (Dragontown then advanced students). Afternoon presentations will start at 3pm.
    • Projects Due at 11:59pm (all files, no exceptions). Please review the specifications for you as an indivudal and for your team for the the grade you would like to earn. The link to the required team review will be posted on the class website on Monday, November 25. You should not fill this out until the project is complete. Surveys will be accepted until 12pm on November 26 (plesae remember that the survey is required to earn credit for this assignment)
    • Revisions and Late Work: No attempts of the professional development assignment or the web design foundation assignments will be accepted after 11:59pm. No exceptions. Do not wait until the last minute. Physical papers that are not in my mailbox before I arrive on Tuesday, November 26 will not be accepted.
  • UI Sketchbook (final checks on Wednesday, December 4): Choose a specific screen size and create a 404 error page for your Dragontown website. A 404 error page loads when the page the user is looking for does not exist. The tone of the text is generally apologetic and helpfully indicates that the URL does not exist in plain language. Do a little research on examples of 404 error pages and create 5 different options. Each sketch should be detailed with specific text, layout and imagery. Designs should align with your brand. NOTE: all remaining sketchbook assignments are posted in the User Interface (UI) Sketchbook assignment sheet.

November 4

Class Topics

  • Reflect on goals set in the semester.
  • Reminders: Revisions to Web Design Foundations should be submitted by Monday, November 11
  • Be Prepared for Critique on Wednesday
  • Posters for first assignment must be completeed in class today based on revisions provided last class. Show me the content before considering it complete.

October 28 – Testing

Class Topics

  • Usability Testing (see example of test plan from SUNY Oswego web team)
    • Test regularly and at all phases
    • Test tasks
    • Ask tester to talk about their thoughts out loud
    • Time tasks and make observations about hesitations or confusion
    • Each test should have a facilitator and a note taker in addtion to the tester
    • Critique should be kept separate from usability testing
  • Sentence-level markup review (group challenge)
  • Quick revision to posters before printing.

Reminder: Wednesday is advisment day in the art department, so it will be a work day. Art students who need advisement are encouraged to participate in the advisement session during our class period.

October 7: Accessibility Testing

Class Topics

All components of the Print to Screen project are due on Monday, October 14. Be prepared to start class with your presentation. You will have time to work on your poster in class on Monday and will be provided with a template.

September 11: Critique Part 2

Class Topics

  • Critique work (again) using the same criteria as last time. Make revisions. Determine if you are ready for a critique with Rebecca.
  • List out the key design features of the print design that give the design its character. How will you still include or hint at these design elements or approaches on a small/narrow screen? Typography is one key element to pay attention to. What currently works in print that won’t directly translate to a small screen design? How will you make decisions about how to deviate? Start sketches multiple solutions and approaches. Consider the pros and cons of each approach after you generate a number of solutions. Be sure to sketch at scale.
  • Update copyright.md file
  • Begin to markup content in HTML. Start with typography as you move into CSS.

September 8: Critique

Class Topics

  • Critique: Compare original layout (in print) with your print design (also printed). You will need a ruler for this critique (you can borrow one from 33). Evaluate the following:
    • Margins
    • Column width
    • Font choice: look at individual letterforms and distinct characteristics
    • Hyphenation
    • Indentation
    • Alignnment
    • Font-size
    • Line-height/Leading
    • Letter-spacing/tracking
    • Space between paragraphs and sections
    • Style and use of imagery
    • Details of pull quotes (text might be different color and weight, line-height is likely different, etc.)
    • Font-weight and font-style
    • Overall mood/tone of the page
    • Relationship of the content to the visual style
  • Review weekly logs. Are they complete? Do they have images? Are they detailed (they should be; this is in place of doing a weekly powerpoint or a full process book in InDesign)?

September 4: Print Layout

Class Topics

  • Address issues in Bio Page assignment
  • Review professional development assignment
  • Please update your readme.md file for Print to Screen Repo to include, as a minimum spec for Present & Document, Keeping the weekly log as described in 5:iv.
  • Review articles with Rebecca to choose direction for assignment.
  • Work on print layout

Homework

  • Complete the copyright primer worksheet. Use your own words to make sure you understand the concepts.
  • Complete print layout. Bring printed copy to class for critique.