TODAY

We can’t survive losing a day of work time right now, so while me getting there (and some of you, I assume) isn’t possible, we’re going to soldier on with an online-replacement version of WRA 210 for February 3, 2011.

There will be a lot of writing (sorry!) but it shouldn’t be too exhaustive. And there will be some direction given by me, of course.

We’ll make it work.

A LI

L FU

N

First, a little fun. If you’re too young, or just too hip, to know– the title slide image is from a rapper named Snow’s first album ( get it? 12 inches of SNOW?).

Here’s his hit video for you– Informer!

TODAY

Here’s the game plan:

1) Updates2) Explanation of what you’re going to do3) Prompts, prompts, prompts, prompts4) Forecasting next week5) Homework

And so I don’t say it over and over, as always, if you have questions email, IM, or call. I’m around. Don’t hesitate.

UPDA

TES

Okay, a few things:

1) I will have module grades for you on Tuesday. I might post them to Engrade before then, but I want to be able to talk to you about them when you officially get them back.

2) Some of you didn’t get my message about the Tumblr posts. I’m going to give you until Friday to get caught up/make them right. See next slide.

TUMBLR

From the syllabus:

For class, you will maintain a Tumblr blog. Each week you will complete three activities involving this blog.

I’m going to put each of them on a new slide so you can see the three different things. Sorry if this seems like overkill to those of you who haven’t had problems, but I want to make sure it’s clear. I don’t want anyone to be confused.

TUM

BLR

1

1) You will post in response to one of the texts we have read that week (your choice). You will pick some idea in the text then expand on it, reflect on it, interrogate it, or otherwise build upon your understanding.

That is one post.

TUMBLR 2

2) You will post a reflection on the work you are doing. This should include notes about what nuts-and-bolts web design things you are learning and trying, but this is also a good place to pose questions. I will comb over these each weekend to plan class for the next week.

That is a second post.

TUM

BLR

3

3) Once a week you should post some sort of web design resource or tutorial. This can be anything– a web page of resources, a step by step tutorial, a video, a podcast… anything you find out there that you think is useful.

That is a third post.

That’s 3 a week.

For the first week, it’s okay if you only have one, but we’re now in week 4, so by Tuesday of next week you should have 10-12 Tumblr posts.

TUMBLRS

Your responses should be approximately 1-2 pages (or more) of text, but because this is a blog format, I’m going to sort of put you on the honor system. Engage with the material and reflect. I am confident you know how much writing indicates engagement. If I find after a few weeks that you’re not writing enough, we’ll talk about it.

So it’s been a few weeks. Some of you are doing great. Some of you aren’t doing the work at all. I will email you individually if your posts right now aren’t solid enough, but if you don’t have posts, I’m not going to remind you again. You should have seven posts– at least-- right now. If you don’t have them by Friday, you’ll lose points.

UPDA

TES

3) Remember that Module 1 is due this week. I’m going to bump it back to the 13th so that we can discuss some coding options in class Tues and Thurs.

You will likely want to use Weebly or to create a new Tumblr so you can use its web capabilities, but I will also show you how to start your own page in Dreamweaver on Tuesday.

THE ACTIVITY

We were going to use today doing some in-class discussion, but clearly we can’t simulate that (we could try to do it via chat, but then I’d have to get all of you online at once, and on short notice…).

So instead, I’m going to present you with a series of prompts. There will be several. There are at least two questions for each reading (some have three or four). Your task is to do the following:

1) Select one question from each set of prompts (A-F). 2) You will then answer that question with a paragraph (or two) and 3) email all your answers, in one document, to me. You will end up with SIX responses, one for each set of prompts.

@al

exa3

25@

msu

.eduWhen you have answered your

chosen six questions (remember, a paragraph or two each), email the responses (make sure to label them with a letter and number, i.e. A3) to me at alexa325@msu.edu . You need to send your responses to me by noon (12 pm) on Saturday, February 5th.

BEGIN PROMPTS

A: Whitespace

The first set of questions is from the reading Whitespace. We read it last week, so you might need to review.

Reminder (sorry to hammer this): pick one question from each set (A-F). That means from the next several slides (for reading A: Whitespace) pick ONE question to respond to, then move on to reading B, to reading C, etc.

A1

In the reading, Boulton says: “In newspaper design, information is dense. Sometimes, as in web design, it’s difficult to add whitespace because of content requirements.”

We ran across this issue with some of the websites groups chose for module 2 as well. Propose two different ways to handle the problem of too much content from a design/elegance standpoint. Remember that you will still have to please the “client” whoever that might be. Also remember there isn’t a “right” answer or a “wrong” answer as such. It’s about being creative.

A2 Bouton uses the phrase “visual comfort” in this reading. What does that mean? Give examples.

A3

Based on the reading, why does white space (or negative space) matter? Why is it worth careful consideration when crafting a design?

B: CH1 DWS

Now we shift to chapter one of the book Designing with Web Standards.

This prompt covers the preface and chapter 1, but none of the questions are specifically from the “before you begin” section.

B1

Zeldman asserts that “99.9% of websites are obsolete.” What does he mean? How does one avoid this obsolescence?

B2 On page 15, Zeldman points out that old web browsers were “proprietary.” What’s that mean, and why was that such a bad thing?

B4 Zeldman claims that “backwards compatibility is a lie.” Why does he say this, what is his evidence, and why would we ever insist in such a thing (backwards compatibility) if it isn’t real?

C: UNWEBBABLE

And so we shift to the reading Unwebbable.

C1

The article starts with: “It’s time we came to grips with the fact that not every “document” can be a “web page.” Some forms of writing just cannot be expressed in HTML”

Do you agree? Why or why not?

C2 Amid his reasoning why scripts won’t work as webpages, Clark says: “Nobody seriously intends screenplays on the web to have the same function they do in real life—getting read, getting optioned or bought, and getting shot. All of that happens on paper, not on Firefox.”

From a designer’s standpoint, does that matter? Should we as those who do the digitizing work say “hey, no one is going to use this in a digital format?” Why or why not?

C3

Near the end of the article, Clark states: “Armed with this knowledge, what are we going to do? Prediction: nothing. People will continue to fake the appearance of scripts and use John August–caliber presentational code. But we do have an alternative.”

What is(are) his alternative(s)? Does it make sense?

D: ON WEB…

And next, the reading On Web Typography.

D1

What change has enabled designers to not be constrained to system standard fonts, and what powers/problems does this present?

D2 In this piece Santa Maria offers some rationale for why system fonts were a good idea and why non-system fonts could be serious trouble. Pick one of his reasons and explore it/talk about how you think it could help/hinder your design practices.

D3

What is “contrast” as described in this article? Give an example of a good contrasting pair of fonts and a bad pair (along with the reasons why)

E: TYPOGRAPHY …

Moving right along to Typography Matters.

E1

Why was typographical precision a problem in the past? How has that changed recently?

E2 Kissane tells us that readers have a less than ideal reading situation online. How does she propose we rectify that problem? Does that seem logical/applicable?

F: CH

APTE

R 2

DWS

And lastly, chapter 2 from Designing with Web Standards.

F1 Zeldman talks about the “cost of design” before web standards. What does he mean? What was the cost?

F2

What is the problem with a “desktop-centric” design? How do we avoid that?

F3 Where does Zeldman point to be “web forward?” How would this change our sense of how to code?

@al

exa3

25@

msu

.eduWhen you have answered your

chosen six questions (remember, a paragraph or two each), email the responses (make sure to label them with a letter and number, i.e. A3) to me at alexa325@msu.edu . You need to send your responses to me by noon (12 pm) on Saturday, February 5th.

END PROMPTS

NEXT WEEK

On Tuesday, we will talk about coding and make sure that you have a good sense of how to put together your Module 1 final project.

We will also talk about your Module 2 grades and make sure we have everything squared away.

On Thursday, we’ll talk more about module 3.

HOM

EWOR

K

For Tuesday, read Chapter 3 and 4 of DWS (p. 69-90).

Your Twitter question for the weekend: how does class content and activity change when it goes online?

BONUS!

Picking the Super Bowl winner via Website critique.

http://www.steelers.com/

Good things about Steelers.com:1) Colors work well together2) Nice use of “steel” texture in background3) Decent balance of content vs. white space4) Images and other prompts lead the eye well5) Good use of images, for the most part (what’s

up with the guy on the story I capped?)6) Excellent palette management (the

recurrence of the red and blue from the logo in the submenus, for example)

Bad things about Steelers.com:1) The yellow outlined boxes don’t work so well2) There’s a lot of stuff moving (go check it out)

to distract the eye3) They went a little overboard self-promoting

merchandise (I count 4 ads)4) Some things are in weird places (like their

jobs link being under “tickets &stadium”)

http://www.packers.com/

Good things about Packers.com:1) Nicely muted yellow and green2) The logo pops. 3) The mild/light tones are easy on the eye

without simply being white4) The use of color and images leads the eye

well (at least “above” the fold)5) Nice high-res game photos dominate the

front page making it dynamic

Bad things about Packers.com:1) I’m not digging the stripes in the background–

it’s cheap new design move to give texture.2) There’s an element of the Packers.com page

flush with the banner add at the top– not good3) The menus are soooo cumbersome4) The page looks great up top but really falls

apart designwise as we scroll down. The change in the grid size makes it feel lopsided, and this happens twice.

5) Like the Steelers, there’s a lot of moving stuff.

THE VERDICT:The Steelers site is too dark, otherwise it’s great.

The Packers site would be better, EXCEPT for the violations in the grid. It is, however, quite impressive.

It’s a design push.

So…I go Steelers because my girlfriend is from Pittsburgh.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!