karmanaut/coursenotes/2003 - Web design for 3D animators
Silicon Graphics Centre - 7471Y (Web Page Design)
Course outline
| Week | Principles | Code | Techniques | Project |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Web publishing | HTML structure | Valid code | Requirements; concept brief |
| 2 | Cross-browser design | HTML tags | Web graphics, compression & colour | Initial graphics |
| 3 | Information architecture | HTML elements | Flow diagrams & card sorting | Concept development |
| 4 | Concept, look & feel | HTML attributes & links, tables | Image slicing | Screen design & layout |
| 5 | Interaction design, Accessibility | Embedding media | Shockwave 3D, Flash 3D, Web3D | Web3D production |
| 6 | Information design | Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) | Style | ASSESSMENT: Concept |
| 7 | User Testing | HTML integration, frames | Affordances, constraints, etc. | Graphics production |
| 8 | Iterative design | Intro to Scripting; CGI & JavaScript | Scripting, automation | Test & refine |
| 9 | Distribution & promotion | Meta tags | FTP, publishing systems, DNS (domain names) | ASSESSMENT: Presentation |
Resources
- WWW Consortium's HTML validator
- Workers of the Web, Evolt!
- Floppy's Web3D guide
- About Web3D
- Using Cortona in HTML
Assessment
This module will be assessed on a project basis, as follows:
Design a website to promote an animation that you have made.
You must provide:
- a flowchart describing the information architecture of your site.
- a page layout mockup showing how the site will be constructed, taking into account principles of fluid design and cross-browser compatibility
The above requirements will be assessed at the beginning of class in week 6. This assessment will make up 50% of your mark.
The site must have at least:
- three linked pages
- one GIF animation (no more than 60KB), making an iconic representation of the project, taking into account principles of impact and branding
- one Flash 3D animation (no more than 120KB)
- one Shockwave 3D animation (no more than 240 KB)
The site must validate to the XHTML 1.0 Transitional document type definition, as determined by validator.w3c.org
The above requirements will be assessed at the beginning of class in week 9. This assessment will make up the remaining 50% of your mark.