Web Design f26 Course Calendar

Week 1: Introductions

M 8/24: Introductions

Assignment for Wednesday, 1/14

We’re going to get started pretty slowly this week. So, just a few little assignments and then we’ll get going next week.

Purchase the course packet immediately, as you will need it in class on Friday. If you have trouble purchasing it, email me right away.

Please read through the course web site carefully and post two questions you have about it to this anonymous form:

https://forms.gle/dMsrpG1SpiU7C2qC6

If you have yet to complete the confidential Start of Semester survey I emailed over the weekend, please do.

If you have any questions, just let me know.

W 8/26: What is the Internet?; 40 Maps; submarine map; data center map; data center map routes; data center before and after
F 8/26: McCloud; must have the course packet in class

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Week 2: Semiotics

M 8/31: Hall on semiotics; must have the course packet in class
Hand out Bi-Weekly Discussions and Discoveries Assignment

Assignment for Wednesday, 9/2
In class on Monday we read “Signs and Signing” by Sean Hall, which introduced a variety of concepts that contribute to the process of meaning-making. Those include the foundation concepts of semiotics—sign, signifier, and signified—as well as the form that signs take, such as icons, metaphors, indexes, symbols. It also included the process of how meaning is made as it goes from sender to receiver and the noise that often interfere with a message actually making it accurately.

For Wednesday I’d like you to review what we have read. Then, start looking where you tend to spend time in person and/or online and look for these concepts “in the wild.” Make note of what you are seeing, what semiotic concept(s) with which it aligns (it could be more than one), and how it is functioning—that is, how it is making meaning. If online, save the link to it. We will be able to bring in the link up in class.

Don’t look too hard or you will miss what is right in front of you. Signs and signifiers are everywhere. And by “signs,” I don’t just mean street or other signs.

Please also read the Biweekly Discussions and Discoveries Assignment and come to class with questions you may have.

W 9/2: discuss Hall and semiotics; notes for Hall (.pdf)
F 9/4: websites and semiotics; sju.edu in Internet Archive for Jan 1, 2026; current sju.edu

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Week 3: Emotional Design

M 9/7: No Class—LABOR DAY

Assignment for Wednesday, 9/9
The only work to be completed after class on Friday is your first Bi-Weekly Discussions and Discoveries Assignment entry.

For your first entry, I would like you to discuss what you have learned, discovered, and what questions you may have based on the McLoud reading on the gutter and closure in comics or Hall on semiotics.

In your What I Learned section, be sure to frame your discussion in terms of your learning and quote from the readings. You may also reference class discussions. Don’t merely recount what we did in class or summarize what was read. Discuss what you learned.

For the Discoveries section, when doing research, do not rely on AI or Wikipedia alone. You may start with Wikipedia for summary, but always go further by looking into the citations. AI summaries are not always reliable. Do not use them. Research does not need to be found online or academic; it can be in the form of examples you have found (online or offline) that have helped you understand the readings. You must link to any online sources. Do not just paste in the URL; link appropriate words.

Make sure you complete the Questions section, as well. Much learning happens through the process of asking questions.

The entry is due before the start of class on Wednesday.

Make sure you have your packet with you on Wednesday as I will no longer have copies for you to use.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

W 9/9: Read Walter on emotional design

Assignment for Friday, 9/11
If you did not complete reading in class the selections from Designing for Emotion by Aarron Walter, please complete it before the start of class on Friday. We read chapters 1, 2, and 3, which are pages 78 – 101 (note there is a typo in the table of contents starting that it starts on page 60; it should read 78). It’s a fairly quick read with lots of pictures.

In order to help us discuss and make real the text, please search the web for FIVE portfolio web sites by professionals in the field(s) you wish to go into upon graduation that you think embody emotional design principles and employ content well. Have those links with you in class on Friday. You will be able to use your laptops to show people at your table the sites you have chosen and why. We’ll then discuss a few of them as a whole class.

If you have any questions, let me know.

F 9/11: Discuss Walter

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Week 4: Typeface Theory

M 9/14: Read Santa Maria on Typeface

Assignment for Wednesday, 9/16
If you were not able to complete the reading in class, please complete reading packet pages 37-77 by Jason Santa Maria on typography. Come to class with any questions you might have.

After completing the reading, I’d like you to experiment a bit with Google Fonts. The interface, unfortunately, is a bit clunky, but it is still a good place to play around with typefaces and think about how typefaces signify different emotions and feelings (they even have a “feelings” filter). To complete the work, follow these steps:

1. Go to Google Fonts.
2. In the upper right, click on “Grid” (I’ve found the site much more usable when the grid is shown).
3. In the upper left, in the Preview form box, type in your name in ALL CAPS. You will see your name appear under all the fonts in the main page.
4. Using the filters on the left, and thinking about what Santa Maria writes, I’d like you to choose typefaces you think would work well if you imagine your name appearing in the following communication spaces:
   1. On your own personal website
   2. Engraved in stone on a bank building
   3. On the letterhead of a law firm
   4. On a birthday card invitation
   5. On the top of your resume you’d hand out at a job fair
   6. On a bakery menu
   7. On a sticker advertising an arcade
   8. In a comic book
5. Write down each font you’ve chosen, why you’ve chosen it, and what about the font signifies that it would be appropriate for each of the eight communication spaces. We’ll be using Figure 3.3 Typeface Anatomy on page 47 of the packet (page 26 of the text), so try to include the typeface parts that are contributing to what the font signifies.
6. Print out your work and bring that to class with you.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

W 9/16: Discuss Santa Maria; typeface-handout.pdf
F 9/18: Discuss Semiotics Assignment; Emma Carlow Pecha Kucha
Hand out Semiotics Assignment; Semiotics Assignment Rubric (.pdf)

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Week 5: Semiotics Assignment

Assignment for Monday, 9/21
For Monday, there are a few things to complete.

First, your second Bi-Weekly Discussions and Discoveries Assignment entry is due by the start of class on Monday.

For your second entry, I would like you to discuss what you have learned, discovered, and what questions you may have based on the Walter reading on emotional design and the Santa Maria reading on typography.

In your What I Learned section, be sure to frame your discussion in terms of your learning and quote from the readings. You may also reference class discussions. Don’t merely recount what we did in class or summarize what was read. Discuss what you learned.

For the Discoveries section, when doing research, do not rely on AI or Wikipedia alone. You may start with Wikipedia for summary, but always go further by looking into the citations. AI summaries are not always reliable. Do not use them. Research does not need to be found online or academic; it can be in the form of examples you have found (online or offline) that have helped you understand the readings. You must link to any online sources. Do not just paste in the URL; link appropriate words.

Make sure you complete the Questions section, as well. Much learning happens through the process of asking questions.

Second, I would like you to read through the Semiotics Assignment and come to class with any questions you may have.

Third, please come to class with three possible websites from which you will choose one to focus on for your assignment. Use the description on the assignment page to help you decide.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

M 9/21: Discuss and work on Semiotics Assignment
W 9/23: Goto and Colter chapter 2 (packet pages 117 – 126)
Hand out ReDesign Assignment
F 9/25: Finalize Re-Design Assignment groups

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Week 6: Site Inventory/Creative Brief

M 9/28: Goto and Colter, packet pages 127 – 156 (up to wireframing)
Semiotics Assignment Due by 11:00pm

Assignment for Wednesday, 9/30
If you were not able to complete the reading from Goto and Colter in class, please complete it at home—packet pages 127 – 156 (up to wireframing).

Please read through the Design Assignment Site Inventory and Analysis Creative Brief requirements and come to class with any questions you have. We’ll be getting started on the work in class.

If you have any other questions, please let me know.

W 9/30: Work on redesign project
Semiotics Assignment Due by 11:00pm
F 10/2: Work on redesign project

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Week 7: Inclusive Design, Usability, and Usability Testing

Assignment for Monday, 10/5
For Monday, there is one thing to complete and one to get started on.

First, your third Bi-Weekly Discussions and Discoveries Assignment entry is due by the start of class on Monday.

For your third entry, I would like you to discuss what you have learned, discovered, and what questions you may have based on the the presentation you created and/or the first readings from Goto and Colter.

In your What I Learned section, be sure to frame your discussion in terms of your learning and quote from the readings. You may also reference class discussions. Don’t merely recount what we did in class or summarize what was read. Discuss what you learned.

For the Discoveries section, when doing research, do not rely on AI or Wikipedia alone. You may start with Wikipedia for summary, but always go further by looking into the citations. AI summaries are not always reliable. Do not use them. Research does not need to be found online or academic; it can be in the form of examples you have found (online or offline) that have helped you understand the readings. You must link to any online sources. Do not just paste in the URL; link appropriate words.

Make sure you complete the Questions section, as well. Much learning happens through the process of asking questions.

Second, I have shared with each of you your individual Engagement and Presence documents. The Midterm section is due Friday, 10/9 by 11:00pm. So, feel free to get started on that, as well.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

M 10/5: Packet pages 102-113 inclusive design, and 178-195 on usability and usability testing; Christina Mallon Advocates for Inclusive Design

Assignment for Wednesday, 10/7
For Wednesday, please review what we read in class (packet pages 102-133 inclusive design, and 178-195 on usability and usability testing) and continue working on your web redesign work.

I’d also like you to read the following short articles on usability from the Nielson Norman Group (founded by pioneering web usability guru, Jakob Nielsen):

• Guidelines for Visualizing Links (May 10, 2004)
• Reduce Redundancy: Decrease Duplicated Design Decisions (June 9, 2002)
• Deep Linking is Good Linking (March 3, 2002)
• First Rule of Usability? Don’t Listen to Users (August 5, 2001)
• How People Read Online: New and Old Findings (April 5, 2020)
• Is Navigation Useful? (January 9, 2000)
• Explicitly State the Difference Between Options (August 23, 2024)

In class on Wednesday we will get started talking about inclusive design, usability, and usability testing.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

W 10/7: Neilson Norman Group on Usability; testing prep
F 10/9: Inclusive design analysis
Midterm Engagement and Presence Due by 11:00pm

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Week 8: Research and Project Week

M 10/12: No Class–Fall Break
W 10/14: Class canceled — conduct usability tests and work on redesign project
F 10/16: Class meets; discuss Inclusive Design Analysis
Usability Tests Due by start of class

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Week 9: From Analysis to Suggestions

M 10/19: Class Canceled
W 10/21: Drawing conclusions from analysis and making suggestions
Inclusive Design Analysis Due by start of class
F 10/23: Work on materials
Creative Brief Draft Materials Due by start of class
Creating the Executive Summary

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Week 10: Beginning the Redesign

M 10/26: Finalizing the Executive Summary
Creative Brief Final Materials Due by 11:00pm
W 10/28: No Class—Day of Dialogue
F 10/30: Goto and Colter, packet pages 157 – 177

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Week 11: Sketches and Case Study

M 11/2: Work on Project
W 11/4: Work on Project
Pencil Sketches Due by start of class
Discuss Individual Case Study
F 11/6: Work on Project

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Week 12: Wireframes

M 11/9: Work on Project
Basic Wireframes due by start of class
W 11/11: Work on Project
F 11/13: Work on Project

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Week 13: Mockups

M 11/16: Work on Project
Mockup Drafts due by start of class
W 11/18: Work on Project
Discuss Final Client Memo
F 11/20: Work on Project

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Week 14: Work on Project

M 11/23: No Class—Thanksgiving Break
W 11/25: No Class—Thanksgiving Break
F 11/27: Work on Project
Individual Case Study due by 11:00pm

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Week 15: Possible COM Week Presentations

M 11/30: Work on Project
T 12/2: Work on Project
W 12/4: Last day class meets, Work on Project
TBD: All final group and individual work due by 11:00pm
TBD: Final Engagement and Presence / Final Reflections due by 11:00pm

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