Assignment #2 Review

My personal goals for this class:

• You can walk into a job interview, say you know xhtml/css and basic web design...and actually mean it
• You can work with an organization/department and help support what they want to accomplish on the web (whether you're doing the design or helping someone who is)
• You can move on to classes like Special Topics (XML and/or Database Driven...), Information Visualization, etc. and be ready for them (and be ready to get the most out of them)
• You can take on clients and create web sites for them. Restaurants, Bars, and other small businesses need to be on the web...nothing fancy, they don't need CMS systems or lots of Flash...they just need a presence...go, help them, and make a little $$

 Assignment particulars:

Quick Reminder:

• If you're absent from class (w/out a valid excuse) and I go over something...it's on you
• There's no extra credit or "do overs" in class w/out an emergency/preset reason
  • There's no make up work at the end with homeworks/labs, do it now or it's not done
• If I graded something incorrectly let me know

Principal things I took pts for OR I'm worried about for the future:

• No purposeful or illustrative linking into the two sites that you were writing about
• A serious lack of screen caps to show me what you were writing about
• Incorrect use of xhtml
  • don't use ul to achieve a margin
  • don't use li for just a bullet (•)
  • don't make your anchor not an anchor
• Weak use of CSS
• Images that didn't show up (especially if you didn't load them or check permissions)
• Resizing images with xhtml...height and width in the img tag are the actual height/width, help the browser and help the user
• Spelling (seriously). There is asolutely NO excuse for a spelling error in your main navigation area.

What will earn a "F" on the next assignment (you're warned):

• If I see what appears to be generally an exact duplicate of css that we did in class...this is a web design class not copy/paste class, apply what you learn...don't just alter.

Things I hoped to see:

• Clear, concise writing that made the point w/out droning on. This doesn't mean "very little text" this means well used text
• Links INTO the sites you were reviewing that highlighted items/areas you were writing about
  • This doesn't mean the two links on the front, this means contextual links to the other sites
• Nice use of Simple code
• <!-- Comments in the xhtml code, especially those that would help someone maintain the site -->
• /* Comments in the css code... */
  • Note: if you spend all your time on comments and your writing stinks and/or your layout fails, I won't even get to the comments
• Clean well organized code and removal of code that you're not using
• Actual print css (everyone prints everything)
• Some good navigation between documents
  • No matter what you design, it's going on the web...make the navigation easy (no back/forth)/always on top...only 3 documents here...from each/to each
• Small touches: .ico files for personalization; quick logo(s) for images; good use of Title tags to accentuate each area (i.e. Barnes&Noble vs. Borders: Home, Barnes&Noble vs. Borders: Visual Design)
• Checking in IE 7 and FF 2 (your responsibility to have access to both), and making sure your site worked at 1024x768 (the most popular resolution and the one I use)
• Making sure things worked in print as well as the screen...not just hiding things, but swapping when necessary

Remember it's not about knowing MORE stuff, it's about being able to do more with less...MORE doesn't make you better, understanding how to use what you've got does...it's also about thinking beyond what you immediately see on the monitor in front of you...you have to consider different resolutions, computer platforms, connection speeds, user interests, alternative devices, etc. (for the next assignment you'll have to set a baseline...)