Weeks 1 - 2

• Introductions

Thur, 31 Aug

• How the Internet works (notes)
• Observing websites: neutral language, balcony view
• Observing websites: making wireframes and naming the parts: Web Design Handlist

for Tues, 5 Sept

PageDescriptionAnnotatedWireframes using these pages

• http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/ - MIT News Office. Look around the site enough to sketch and annotate a representative page. In case you're courious, here's MITs home page: http://web.mit.edu/
• http://writing.colostate.edu/ - Wrting@CSU: Look around the site enough to find a representative page to work with. There may be more than one type of page.

Get started on Essentials, modules 1 and 2 over the weekend to see if we run into problems. When finished, turn in a page printout of the completed mod. Mods I and 2 will be due Tues, 12 Sept.

Tues, 5 Sept

• hand in PageDescriptionAnnotatedWireframes
• review how Essentials is going.
• sites in class: focus on usability / user centered design
• create wireframes and usability notes in class

Thurs, 7 Sept

• debrief on page description. Summers and Summers, p 7
• wireframes and notes: usability
• for Tues, read Summers and Summers, chap 1.

More site description: PageDescriptionAnnotatedWireframes: updated a little

• Pay special attention to the nomenclature of the headings and global nav links
• In a margin or on a separate page, Include some brief observations on usability: What features or elements seem to aid usability?
• http://www.getridofthings.com/index.html. Index page and a representative content page
• http://www.grandforksherald.com/ Index page and representative news story page

Tues, 12 Sept

• Mods 1 and 2 due. Start 3 and 4, due Tues, 19 Sept.
  • Mod 3: print final version of Quark Express page
  • Mod 4: tba
• Start Summers and Summers, chap 1: Portfolio Site Prototype Project

Thurs 14 Sept

• Part 1 of Portfolio Site Prototype Project due

Tues 19 Sept

• Mods 3 and 4 due. Start 5 and 6
• Part 2 of Portfolio Site Prototype Project

Thurs 21 Sept

• Part 3 of Portfolio Site Prototype Project

Tues 26 Sept

• no classes

Thurs 28 Sept

• Mods 5 and 6 due. Start 7 and 8
• Review Part 4 of Portfolio Site Prototype Project
• Revision of goals?

Start the site project

Tues 3 Oct

• Mods 7 (Forms) and 8 (Importing MS Word docs) due.
• Hand in completed project materials. Include a brief (one-page tops) statement (word processed) indicating how your final design addresses your stated goals. Revise your materials so that your prototype clearly connects with the goals you have stated. That might mean revising your goals or your prototypes.
• Read Summers, chap 2 to gain an overview of the first phase of the project, some conceptions of what might work as a site, and a sense of what you'll be doing for requirements gathering (eg: goal setting, site positioning research, observing and interviewing users).
• Come with some ideas for sites that can be created by 4 - 5 people over 9 weeks that address an existing need for a (local) audience.
• You will be either/or selling your idea to get group members, or looking for a group to join on Tuesday.

Before leaving, submit a card with

• group name - not a project name because you won't know it yet.
• the people in your group
• 1 - 2 sentence statement of what you might offer with your proposed site: a site concept that might be worth exploring to see if a site is necessary or appropriate. This can be in the form of a problem-solution statement.
• the potential users you have in mind: who are they.

Thurs 5 Oct

• Intro to wiki
• for Tues, 10 Oct: SetUpAWikiNamePage
• finding your group
• On your group site page: develop at 1 - 2 sentence statement of what you might offer with your proposed site: a site concept that might be worth exploring to see if a site is necessary or appropriate. This can be in the form of a problem-solution statement, and the potential users you have in mind: who are they. HuntingAndFishing has a good example.
• You can begin to collect early notes on what to include for content. You can test these ideas when you begin to interview potential users.

Tues 10 Oct

update Saturday: Some are really moving into the SetUpAWikiNamePage. Have a look at Grant's, for instance.

• Debrief on connecting goals with design choices: Examples. 10 mins.
• Work with chap 2 in Summers and Summers.
• Start Site Project: Requirements Gathering
• ID goals
• Develop your two sentence concept statement into a first draft of a purpose statement.
• Plan who to interview/visit, questions to ask, how to take notes, how to get those notes on the wiki, how to divide up the work.

I've sketched out a template for Requirements Gathering, linked to the HuntingAndFishing page.

• Use your main group page as you need to: to plan, make connections, set schedules and make assignments. Update it as your project moves forward.
• Expect to be working on the project outside of class - both face to face and on the net. Figure 2 hours for every hour of classtime.
• Bring your copy of Summer and Summers to class each day. You'll need to refer to it.

Tues 10 Oct

• Start Site Project: Requirements Gathering
• Use your main group page as you need to: to plan, make connections, set schedules and make assignments. Update it as your project moves forward.
• Expect to be working on the project outside of class - both face to face and on the net. Figure 2 hours for every hour of classtime.
• Bring your copy of Summer and Summers to class each day. You'll need to refer to it.

Thurs 12 Oct

• Workday: continue Site Project: Requirements Gathering
• Deadline: By Thursday midnight, you should have your site positioning research done and posted, user groups selected, and interview questions posted.
• You can begin interviewing and taking notes on your interviews once you have your interview questions formed. (taking notes (33) and key findings (34) for each interview)

Tues 17 Oct

• Touch base: Everyone stop by HS 109 at noon to compare notes.
• User interviews: revising interview questions, taking notes (33) and key findings (34) for each interview
• Hand in print outs for Mod 11.

Thurs 19 Oct

• Workday. You might want to meet f2f.
• Deadline: Midnight, Friday 20 Oct All user interviews and research done. Interview notes posted.
• For Tues, 24 Oct, read and annotate chap 3 Summers and Summers.

• Finals of personas and well-developed content inventory due midnight Friday, 27 Oct.

• Deadline: Midnight, Friday 20 Oct All user interviews and research done. Interview notes posted.
• For Tues, 24 Oct, read and annotate chap 3 Summers and Summers.

Tues 24 Oct

The pace of class is going to accelerate for a couple of weeks. You need to get started on personas and experience design materials so part of your group can move to Dreamweaver on Nov 7.

• Meet in class. Chapter 3: User personas
• Start Site Project: Personas and Content Inventories
• Drafts of personas posted by classtime, Thurs, 26 Oct.
• Develop your content inventory as you develop the personas.
• Start designating tasks to group members. Keep track of who's doing what on your project page.

Thurs 26 Oct

• Meet in class.
• Review: How are personas developing? Names, contexts, user goals...
• Start Site Project: Experience Design: Site maps, wireframes and navigation. Update: Don't prepare visual mock ups yet.
• Some examples
• Finals of personas and well-developed content inventory due midnight Friday, 27 Oct.

Sun 29 Oct

I've left comments on the Persona pages and the Content Inventory pages. Be sure to develop your content inventory in detail, and drawing on the persona goals. (I've assigned provisional points on the content inventory so you can see how far you've come, and how far you need to go.) Your site maps, nav, and wireframes are going to depend on how much content you're including, and what kind of content you're including. Design the nav from the content up.

Have a good work day on Tuesday, and I'll see everyone on Thursday. Bring your site maps, etc.

Tues 31 Oct:

• Work day. Morgan is out of town but you can still meet to work.

You'll need to

• develop site maps, wireframes, and navigation for each level or type of page on your site.
• update your content inventory
• assign tasks: Decide on how to split up the tasks and responsibilities

Thurs 2 Nov

• Meet in class to review work
• '''Content inventory, site maps, nav, wireframes due
• present and review in class'''
• for Tues, 7 Nov: Read and markup chap 4: Visual Design

Tues, 7 Nov

• class meets face to face
• move to Dreamweaver to set up site and create templates.
• discuss visual design from chap 4 and creating design mock ups.
• Make task assignments. Start Task Assignment area on your project page. Name people, tasks, due dates, and completed or not. Begin to record your work. Deadline for task assignments: Thursday, 9 Nov.

Thurs, 9 Nov

• Morgan is presenting in Mankato. Workday.

Tues 14 Nov

Class canceled due to illness. Use the time as a workday. We'll meet as usual on Thursday for the quiz.

Thurs 16 Nov

• Meet in class. Quiz on visual design elements.
• Then working time.

Tues 21 Nov

• Meet in class to touch base.
• Deadline for Dreamweaver page templates and visual furniture!
• Upload what you have, even if it's rough.

Thurs 30 Nov

• workday

Tues 5 Dec

• class meets. Qs on chap 5* upload what you have

Thurs 7 Dec

• workday

deadlines

• Deadline: Midnight, Friday 20 Oct All user interviews and research done.
• Finals of personas and well-developed content inventory due midnight Friday, 27 Oct.
• Thurs, 2 Nov: Content inventory, site maps, nav, wireframes due present and review in class
• Tues, 21 Nov: Dreamweaver page layouts / templates and furniture.

reference

• SiteProjectRequirementsGathering
• Site Project: Personas and Content Inventories
• Site Project: Experience Design: Site maps, wireframes and navigation.
• Some examples

Tues 28 Nov

• Meet to touch base
• Review what's been uploaded
• Upload what you have
• All - and especially writers - read Chap 5: Creating Effective Content

Tues 12 Dec

• class meets!
• some final notes

Preparing for your presentation

• Start a new page titled FinalPresentation
• Update task list: list who did what
• Review your original site concept and goals. Present the original goals, and if they need updating, add an updated version.
• Use the rest of the page for your individual notes. You can refer to these as you present, and I will refer to these as I review.
• You'll have 15 - 20 minutes, plus some time for questions. Everyone should present. How you divvy up the presenting is your decision.
• Speak mainly to how the site is designed to meet users' needs and priorities. Speak not only to the finished site but to the process: Design problems you ran into and how you solved them.
• To prepare, you might review the Final Checklists at the end of chaps 2 - 5. You'll find topics to address that you can select from.

• For a final review, I'll be looking at
  • the project itself: effectiveness at meeting your stated goals using the principles in Summers and Summers - 100
  • individually: a demonstrated understanding of principles of web design as presented in the Summers and Summers and in class.

Final

The final is

• Friday, Dec 15, 1:00 - 3:00
• Each group will present what they have, talk about how they made choices, problems, success, and how their design decisions go back to their user profiles.

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Sidebar

Web Design for Content Writers

• CourseSyllabus
• CourseStatement
• CourseResources

Project Workspaces

• NorthernLights
• TravelPrograms
• HuntingAndFishing
• FiberArts

Sites

• Bemidji Borealis
• Travel Programs
• Hunt/Fish Bemidji
• Fiber Fabulous

Process

• Site Project: Requirements Gathering
• Site Project: Personas and Content Inventories
• Site Project: Experience Design

Participants

• AngelBatterman
• JeppeBundgaard
• JeremyDewey
• GrantGartland
• ToddGeiger
• KatherineGrandstrand
• TravisGrimler
• EricNorquist
• SharonSimpson
• JessicaSpeer
• MollyVotava

• AspenEasterling
• MichelleHawkins
• EricKuha