NOTE:

This schedule will be updated with new material throughout the semester. It is your responsibility to be aware of and survey this material.

Week one

• Introduction to course, order book, set up myweb account
• Lecture: Web versus Internet
• Exercise: Basic structural elements (.pdf handout)
• Readings & material
  • The future of magazines
    

Week two

• Lecture: Bits/bytes & more structural elements (.pdf)
• Activity #1
• Web image formats & basic Photoshop work (.pdf)
  • Image for manipulation
• Readings
  • Briggs, ch. 1
  • HTML cheat sheet.
  • "Retargeting ads follow surfers to other sites"
  • The Net's 40th and related video (and what they didn't expect)
    

Week three

• No class for Monday meeting (Labor Day)
• CSS basics
• Uploading webpages using FTP
• Readings
• Briggs, ch. 2
• Text manipulation using CSS
• CSS handout #1
• Font families to consider
• Most common fonts
• Tool: Color scheme generator

Week four

• Intermediate CSS
• Readings
  • Briggs, ch. 3
  • Photoshop backgrounds handout
  • CSS handout #2
  • CSS cheatsheet
• Quiz #1

Week five

• Photoshop
  • Layers, layer styles, shapes
• CSS
  • Vertical/horizontal backgrounds
  • Absolute positioning
• Readings:
  • Briggs, ch. 4
  • Parent-child relationship
  • Process for logo creation
  • Safe dimensions for each monitor size
  • CSS handout #3
  • CSS handout #4
    

Week six

• Project one: Final draft due next week
  • Requirements
  • Evaluation guide
• Font considerations
• Usability
• Readings
  • Briggs, ch. 5
  • Photoshop handout #2
  • Character codes
  • Embedding YouTube videos and Google maps

Week seven

• Floating images and wrapping text
• Readings
  • Briggs, ch. 6
  • CSS handout #5
  • Wired article about Craigslist
  • Logo design practices
• Assignment of final project teams
• Quiz #2
  

Week eight

• Accessibility
• Readings
  • Briggs, ch. 7
• Project one due Wednesday or Thursday
  

Week nine

• Discussion about final project material and subject
• Readings
  • Briggs, ch. 8
  • McAdams' discussion on writing for the web
• Examples of good design
  • Interactive Narratives
  • CSS Zen Garden
  • BestWebGallery (CSS)

Week ten

• Lecture: Search engine use and function
• HTML 5 discussion and exercise
• Reading
  • Briggs, chapter 9

Week eleven

• Storyboard exercise
  • Layout example
  • Navigation example [2]
  • Site ID concept
• Reading
  • Briggs, chapter 10
  • Handout: Flash labels and button text
  • Diagram: Button timeline

Week twelve

• Audio exercise
• Reading
  • "How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live"
  • Could HTML 5 kill Flash
  • 10 Ways to Design a Good Web Site
• Quiz #3

Week thirteen

• SlideShowPro basics & production
  • SlideShow Pro Quick Start guide and Wiki
• Standards & browser history
• Reading
  • Briggs, ch. 11
• Lab work on final project stories and layout

Week fourteen

• No class -- Thanksgiving
  

Week fifteen

• Final project work
• Reading
  • Twitter and journalism
• In-lab work on final project
  

Week sixteen

• Due: Final project draft #2
• Advertising online
• Quiz #4

Finals week

• Final project work in THMA 312 during finals period
  • M-W class: Monday at 8-9:50 p.m.
  • T-Th class: Thursday at 10-11:50
• Final project due

Contact

Prof. Matt Blake
Tehama Hall 339
530-898-3608
mdblake (at) csuchico.edu