Topic Seminar - Introduction to Web Page Design

Winter Quarter 1998

Class Description: This class will provide an overview of electronic publishing on the internet. No previous knowledge of web publishing is necessary. At the end of the class, each student should have the technical and creative skills to place content on the internet.

While the use of various programs required to publish and view information on the web will be covered in this class, the primary goal of the class is to teach skills for preparation of web content that is organized adequately and designed appropriately.

Design Projects: Each student will create a personal website plus participate in the production of group projects.

Textbook: Visual Quickstart Guide: PageMill for the Macintosh by Maria Langer.

Materials Needed: At least one 100 MB ZIP disk. About $20.

Prerequisites: VICO 471/571 (Digital Imaging) and VICO 314/514 (Desktop Publishing), or permission.

Attendance Policy: You are expected to attend each lecture and lateness is considered an absence. You are permitted 2 absences to accommodate sickness or emergency. Additional absences will reduce your final grade by 1/3 letter grade for each incident.

Exams: Two exams will be given on information presented in class and on research/reading material assigned.

Grading: Projects will be graded on technical execution/skills and design concepts. Lab projects and test scores will be weighted equally. Your final grade will be the average of all grades received for work done during the quarter.

Plagiarism: There can be some elements of your design (i.e. public domain clipart, freeware CGI or Java scripts) that are not your own, but complete page designs created by others and submitted as your own are viewed as plagiarism.  Any suspected plagiarism will be referred to the office of judiciaries for further action. It is your responsibility to check copyright of anything included on your web pages. Assume that any work (photos, text, etc.) found on the internet is already copyrighted and avoid using it.

Participation: You should participate in group critiques for your own benefit as well as for the benefit of others in the class. Your ideas are welcome, and discussion enriches your own understanding of this new working medium and its specialized tools.

Office Hours: For meetings, please schedule an appointment with me through Judy Reed in the VisCom office. Judy Reed's phone number is 593-4898 and my office phone number is 593-4897. My office hours are Mondays and Wednesdays 1:00-3:00, Fridays 10:00-12:00..

Class Notes: The url https://www.afterness.com contains a link to notes for this class. (You're at the site now!)