Final Assignment
- The final assignment is to create a web site to sell something. It can be a product, such as jewelry, a service, such as a restaurant, or something abstract, such as an opinion or an issue. You can use another project you are working on in other classes, or a previously completed project. There is a lot of leeway on this assignment.
- The only criteria is that the design and organization of the website sells this something, and that it look professional.
- Students do their most creative work when they’re motivated by the work itself. I want you to choose a final project that will motivate you to do your best work.
- I want to be persuaded by how your final project is.
- Read the List Apart article Designing Fun and give the emotional basis of the User’s Experience some serious thought.
- Make sure the information is organized and structured accordingly.
- I am here to help you realize your final. If you have questions, ask me. I am always surprised by the number of students who do not ask me when they are having a problem. This happens a lot. The main reason, I think, is that all of the answers are both in the book and on this website. Students think that they can figure it out on their own. The problem is that there is so much information that it is not always easy to connect up with what you need at that moment. So you get stuck, and instead of overcoming your limitations, you problem solve within them, which is not usually the best approach.
- Do not hesitate. Ask me if you have a questions. I am here to help!
- One of the biggest obstacles is procrastination. It will catch up with you. I see it happen every semester. Post your progress each week, so I can follow your work.
- Come up with a proposal for your final project and create a new work-sheet. Specify what you are going to sell and how you are going to sell it, introduce research to back it up and develop a strategy based on the target audience. This is due next week!
- You will have the rest of the semester to finish the project. Next week we focus on making your portfolio responsive so that it works on all media. At the same time you need to research and come up with the topic for your final and be prepared to defend it in class.
- Homework from here on out is divided into two parts. One part concerns the unit and the other part concerns the final project.
- Your final site needs to be almost finished by week 13 for peer review. Do not procrastinate.
As you are selling something, keep in mind that usability expert Jakob Nielsen saw little difference in guidelines for effective ecommerce web sites in the ten years he’s been keeping track, despite the technological changes that have taken place. See article.
That means your web site has to address the psychology of the shopper, which doesn’t change as fast as the technology.
That psychology includes:
- Address what people want
- Don’t confuse them with anything else
- Structure the copy and styling to aid comprehension.
- First impression is golden or a lost opportunity
Focus on the User’s eXperience!