Category Archives: 07 Midterm Critique

Midterm Rubric

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Students: please help draft the rubric.

We are supposed to have a rubric so that you have an idea of how I grade these projects. While a lot of planning goes into developing the course so that everyone can fish for a lifetime, there have to be standards for accountability.

This is one such attempt. I would like for you to think about these categories and evaluation criteria, and give me feedback that would add or subtract or help me make them more clear.

Email me with suggestions.

Thanks, onno

Midterm Rubric

above expectations

at expectations

needs work

below expectations
Volume of work Additional pages or exquisitely done pages. Complete website Fully functional front page, product page and bio page. Pages are not fully functional and incomplete. Pages missing or too incomplete to be functional.
Technical Ability Is innovative and uses User Experience guidelines and clear site architecture to develop engaging web site. HTML is semantic and validates. Various CSS strategies are used to layout the website. Code has errors but still works. Code does not work.
Clean Design Design is consistent with clear design elements throughout; Design tied to meaning; Nothing irrelevant, everything has a purpose. Design satisfies the requirement. Communicates its intent and is clear Design is simplistic and does not add anything to the communication. Design hampers the communication.
Research The portfolio is well situated and targets all potential users. The portfolio is well thought out from the artist’s point of view. Additional research did not broaden the horizon. The portfolio demonstrates artist’s perspective, but lacks general appeal. Lack of research shows up in product that is not clearly defined for any audience.

 

07 Homework

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Final Assignment

  1. 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.
  2. The only criteria is that the design and organization of the website sells this something, and that it look professional.
  3. 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.
  4. I want to be persuaded by how your final project is.
  5. Read the List Apart article Designing Fun and give the emotional basis of the User’s Experience some serious thought.
  6. Make sure the information is organized and structured accordingly.
  7. 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.
  8. Do not hesitate. Ask me if you have a questions. I am here to help!
  9. 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.
  10. 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!
  11. 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.
  12. Homework from here on out is divided into two parts. One part concerns the unit and the other part concerns the final project.
  13. 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!

07 Midterm Presentation

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Week 7
10/15

Activity: In-class peer review.Activity: Presentation and Critique of portfolio. Development of Final.

Homework

Final assignment: create a site that sells something. Final Assignment is Due: at the end of the course. Final Topic is Due:: next week. Second Quarter Assessment: Have your midterm up so I can grade them.

Materials

Additional materials for this unit can be found by following these links:

Goal

The goal of this unit is to:

  • provide each student with the time to exhibit their work to the rest of the class, to share what went right, and the walls they have hit because it takes time to digest the large amount of new information that we have covered in the last six weeks.
  • receive feedback from everyone else about what works and does not work so well.
  • discover that you have all been in the same boat, which should make you feel a whole lot better.

Outcomes

At the end of this unit, students will have:

  • spent about ten minutes each presenting their portfolio and their typography assignment.
  • expressed the UX and IA decisions that went into the project
  • explained the problems they set out to solve
  • show the way that they tackled those problems.
  • used the work-sheets to help present and express themselves.

Assessable Tasks

Assessable tasks are those core tasks required to create modern web design.

That is a lot of material to cover!

Hand coding the HTML and CSS should come together with the midterm assignment. Bold terms signify assessable tasks:

Tasks / Activities Date Requirements/Indicators
Marking-up Content Week 2 Is the markup valid and semantically correct HTML5?
Styling the Content Week 4 Is the CSS valid, clean, and using structural selectors when possible? Are various layout strategies used to construct the pages?
Constructing the Portfolio Site Week 6 Information Architecture Is the site logically laid out? Is it SEO friendly? Is it tracked using Google Analytics?
Is the web site Future Proof? Week 8 Is the website responsive to a change in viewport size, from an iPhone to the standard web browser?
Explore CSS3 and HTML5 Week 9-11 Are CSS3 & HTML5 being used to create the final website?
Modularity and Interactivity Week 12-14 Are PHP and Javascript being used in the final website?
Forms Week 12-14 Are forms being used in the final website?

Definitions

These are the general criteria that The Webby Awards use to evaluate web sites. You should be familiar with them.

Content
Content is the information provided on the site. It is not just text, but music, sound, animation, or video — anything that communicates a sites body of knowledge. Good content should be engaging, relevant, and appropriate for the audience. You can tell it’s been developed for the Web because it’s clear and concise and it works in the medium. Good content takes a stand. It has a voice, a point of view. It may be informative, useful, or funny but it always leaves you wanting more.
Structure and Navigation
Structure and navigation refers to the framework of a site, the organization of content, the prioritization of information, and the method in which you move through the site. Sites with good structure and navigation are consistent, intuitive and transparent. They allow you to form a mental model of the information provided, where to find things, and what to expect when you click. Good navigation gets you where you want to go quickly and offers easy access to the breadth and depth of the site’s content.
Visual Design
Visual design is the appearance of the site. It’s more than just a pretty homepage and it doesn’t have to be cutting edge or trendy. Good visual design is high quality, appropriate, and relevant for the audience and the message it is supporting. It communicates a visual experience and may even take your breath away.
Functionality
Functionality is the use of technology on the site. Good functionality means the site works well. It loads quickly, has live links, and any new technology used is functional and relevant for the intended audience. The site should work cross-platform and be browser independent. Highly functional sites anticipate the diversity of user requirements from file size, to file format and download speed. The most functional sites also take into consideration those with special access needs. Good functionality makes the experience center stage and the technology invisible.
Interactivity
Interactivity is the way that a site allows you to do something. Good interactivity is more than a rollover or choosing what to click on next; it allows you, as a user, to give and receive. It insists that you participate, not spectate.
It’s input/output, as in searches, chat rooms, e-commerce and gaming or notification agents, peer-to-peer applications and real-time feedback. It’s make your own, distribute your own, or speak your mind so others can see, hear or respond. Interactive elements are what separates the Web from other media. Their inclusion should make it clear that you aren’t reading a magazine or watching TV anymore.
Overall Experience
Demonstrating that sites are frequently more — or less than the sum of their parts, the overall experience encompasses content, structure and navigation, visual design, functionality, and interactivity, but it also includes the intangibles that make one stay or leave. One has probably had a good overall experience if (s)he comes back regularly, places a bookmark, signs up for a newsletter, participates, emails the site to a friend, or stays for a while, intrigued.

07 Final Project Objectives

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Outcomes

At the completion of the final project, students will have developed the following skills:

  • Project management skills
    1. Managing files and using file-naming conventions
    2. Designing for usability and accessibility
    3. Managing a quality assurance test
    4. Factoring visitor response into redesign
    5. Synthesizing content based on reflection
  • Design skills
    1. Investigating and incorporating color and layout consistently
    2. Applying principles of user interface design
    3. Considering screen size
    4. Designing consistent website pages
    5. Rebuilding web pages based on visitor feedback