Publishing systems
DM3430A fall 2014 · GW Corcoran School of the Arts and Design
Instructor: David Ramos (davidramos@gwu.edu)
Design a website or an app for an existing publication, creating an interface that flourishes under different screen sizes and variable contexts.
Either use responsive design ideas to create a site that adapts itself to different conditions, or create designs for the range of screen sizes.
Explain your design by creating documentation and prototypes, using the tools and methods taught in this course.
Question the contexts that we usually define. It might suffice to create desktop and smartphone versions. Perhaps your content demands one single infinitely-adaptable view, or maybe tablets need special consideration. A website could might want one interface for use while a passenger waits for a train, and another interface for after the passenger has boarded. Let the content, purpose, and audience help you make these decisions.
Tasks
Background (for 9 September)
Identify a publication. Choose a daily newspaper, a monthly magazine, a blog of exceptionally high editorial standards, or a news organization website. Quality, volume of stories, and format should be similar to that of leading newspapers of record. Secure instructor approval of any publication.
Do some background research: find circulation and reader data, enough that you can talk about the publication’s audience and likely changes to it. (The GW Library does not have subscriptions to newspaper/magazine audit bureaus, so you will have to look for articles.) Learn about the publication’s recent redesigns and any shifts in editorial policies.
Prepare a ten-minute presentation. Tell the class about the publication, its readers, and its recent history. Analyze the publication’s website, and offer recommendations for what a new website should accomplish.
Phase I (for 30 September)
Create a new design for your publication. At a minimum, you should show us:
- What individual stories look like, for key story types
- How readers move on, once they finish reading a story
- How people can find stories about particular topics
- How people can browse stories
- What readers see when they first arrive
Describe the design for at least three screen sizes and contexts.
Phase II (for 9 December)
We will introduce one new design requirement every week, and your project will need to react.
Deliverables
Necessary deliverables will vary from project to project – discuss details with your instructor. You will need to create a mix of three types of material:
- design documentation,
- process documentation, and
- prototypes
Use design documentation to explain how your design works. Use tools like low-fi wireframes; flowcharts; site maps; and written text. (Low-fi wireframes have much less detail than the real site.) Show how the design works on large screens and on small screens. Remember to provide labels that describe the parts and how they interact!
Process is an important part of this project. Include a record of your design process, showing in-progress and alternative versions.
Create prototypes that people can use or pretend to use. Choose your own method for creating prototypes. You might produce working prototypes built in HTML/CSS, JavaScript, or PDF; you could also make static hi-fi wireframes. (A hi-fi wireframe contains all the detail of the real site.) You could even create video to show the workings of your design.
Evaluation criteria
10% Concept
20% Process
25% Usability, navigation, and visual design
20% Craft (details; does it work?)
25% Documentation