Classes + teaching Digital and Emerging Media Design I

Syllabus

GDES-220 fall 2017 · American University Design
Instructor: David Ramos ( ramos@american.edu · office hours )

Websites, software, and user-driven systems are living things–not fixed artifacts, but arrangements of parts that change under every person’s touch. Interaction design offers a way of making sense of this unruly, flowing, evolving environment.

Approach

This course provides an overview of interaction design and web development as background for future projects and further study. The course emphasizes process, including sketching, decision-making off of the computer, and the refinement of design concepts. It provides students with exposure to the tools that would help in the building and maintenance of a much larger site.

“It is very much about designing and prototyping and making. When you separate those, I think the final result suffers.” (Jonathan Ive, March 2012)

Topics covered include the fundamentals of website structure and navigation; writing HTML and CSS; application programming; working with images; accessibility and usability; web typography, and graphic design for the web. Students will experiment with self-publishing, creating projects driven by their own responses to class materials.

“A special thing happens when designers open up to code, or when coders gain a deeper grasp of design. Suddenly function and beauty starts to blend naturally. This is where interaction design shines both as a creative pursuit and a craft.” (Amit Pitaru)

In the interest of gaining a strong command of the medium, the course focuses on writing code by hand. It takes a typographical, content-centered approach to building sites.

Students need not have any coding background. This class will be a mix of demonstrations, discussion, critiques, and studio working sessions. It requires extensive self-scheduled project work outside of the classroom.

Learning objectives

You will learn to:

Write hand-coded HTML and CSS, and build software
Analyze and critique interfaces from the perspectives of both user and designer
Imagine and create designs for interactive systems
Think about the social and political environment in which interactive systems operate
Research questions about technical and design issues

Structure

This class will be a mix of demonstrations, discussion, critiques, and studio working sessions. It requires extensive self-scheduled project work outside of the classroom. Projects are student-driven, using prompts as the starting points for more extensive research, asking students to create their own content and to supply their own point of view.

The class schedule and assignments are provisional and subject to change.

Office hours and contact

An office hours schedule is published elsewhere on your instructor’s site. The best way to reach me outside of office hours is through email (ramos@american.edu). It is department policy not to do critiques over email; plan ahead and take advantage of class time and office hours.

Projects and grading

30% Small projects and quizzes
70% Major projects

Expect quizzes on any reading material at any time; if you do the reading, you should do well on the quizzes. Participation modifies grades as necessary. These percentages will change if assignments and schedules change.

Tools and sources

Texts

This course uses assigned readings and one required textbook (on reserve at the library). Get the book and read it.

Duckett, Jon. HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2012. ISBN-13: 978-1118008188. htmlandcssbook.com

Additional resources

See a compilation of reference material on the separate Resources for IxD students site.

The AU Library provides access to Lynda.com online tutorials, which are especially useful for technical topics.

On reserve at the library:

Marcotte, Ethan. Responsive Design: Patterns and Principles. New York, N.Y.: A Book Apart, 2015. (An ebook/PDF edition is available for $11.)

Required software + tools

Access to Safari (preferably a current build)
HTML editing software (see below)
Paper or sketchbook
Tracing paper pad
Pen, pencil, and markers
USB flash drive or portable hard drive (Google Drive and Dropbox accounts will not suffice)
Backup drive (a separate device)

If you work on a laptop for lab/studio time, the computer must be able to run a text editor, Safari or Google Chrome, and GitHub Desktop.

Hosted services

Text editor for HTML/CSS

This class’ technical exercises focus on handcoding, which is the best way to understand how the web works. You will have access to a text editor in the Katzen labs. If you are working on your own machine, you will need your own software. Good editors include:

Sublime (Mac, Win, Linux; unrestricted demo)
Atom (Mac, Win, Linux; open source)
TextMate (Mac; open source)
Brackets (Mac, Win, Linux; open source)

Do not use a visual editor (i.e., no Dreamweaver).

Backup strategy

Loss of data is not an excuse. Back up your work. An adequate backup plan involves duplicating your work across three different storage devices, kept in two separate locations.

Process and submitting work

Projects in this class build through iterations; start early and work consistently. You will need to turn in evidence of your process, so keep versions of your files and paper sketches as they progress. Projects not seen in progress during previous classes will receive a failing grade. Late work will be marked down.

See instructions for submitting work.

In the interest of efficiency and equity, HTML-based projects will be evaluated using a current build of Safari on a Mac.

Policies

Attendance

Students are expected to attend scheduled class sessions. Grounds for excused absences are illness, family emergencies, jury or military service, and religious obligations. One unjustified absence is allowed for the semester. Each additional absence will lower the course grade by one step (i.e. from A to A-).

Come to class on time and do not leave early. Excessive tardiness, early departures, excessive break time, and lack of participation in assigned class activities will count as equivalent to half an absence (2=1 absence). Tardiness over a half hour will be counted as an absence.

Grading scale

This course requires a large volume of work outside of class time. Your instructor will use the following grade scale when evaluating projects, with plusses and minuses.

A 100–90 (“Wow”) This grade indicates work which is clearly superior. It does not mean “satisfactory” or “adequate.” Do not expect to receive an “A” without investing considerable effort, time, and discipline.
B 89–80 (“Good”) This grade indicates work that is more than merely satisfactory, reflecting strong understanding of the material.
C 79–70 (“Okay”) This grade indicates work which is merely competent, adequate, and satisfactory. Such work reflects understanding of most of the material covered.
D 69–60 (“Bad”) This grade indicates work which is unsatisfactory, not competent, or inadequate in terms of presentation or fulfilling the assignment.
F below 60 This grade is assigned for failure to complete an assignment in a timely and competent manner.

In the classroom

Silence ringers on phones.
Stay off headphones, email, texts, and IM.
Do not use computers for leisure browsing. No work on assignments for other courses.
Treat others with respect. (Notably, critiques are not for scoring points.)

Academic integrity

Standards of academic conduct are set forth in the University’s Academic Integrity Code. Please see me or consult the student handbook if you have questions about academic violations described in the Code or as they relate to particular requirements for this course.

Image and code citations: If you use any (including images and source code) from a source outside of the textbook and class demonstrations, insert a comment describing the material that you used, along with a URL for the original code. See class policy on citations and copyright.

Support services

American University offers an array of support services.