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Dynamic Web. 161B
Winter 2004
UCLA Design | Media Arts
Professor Casey Reas (by appointment)
TA Andrew Hieronymi (office hours Friday 3-4 in Kinross South 128)
When and Where
Monday & Wednesday, 14:00-16:50
Kinross South 128, UCLA
Concepts
The World Wide Web is difficult to define. While its origin reveals
it to be a publication media, others see it as a broadcast media, a shopping
mall, an environment for personal expression, etc. People are continually
using the Internet and the Web for different reasons and the technologies
are constantly shifting. In this class we will be reviewing a broad range
of the possibilities of the Web and working toward understanding it as
a dynamic media.
For the purposes of this class, the word Dynamic will be interpreted
in two ways. It refers to creating pages on the Web which contain dynamic
elements and the creation of dynamic pages. A page with a dynamic element
is a page containing an animated or interactive component. A dynamic page
is a page which is built at runtime (when it is accessed).
Skills
The technologies involved in creating work for the Web are continually
changing. The practical tools we will use in this
class will only be useful for a short time. We will focus on learning
the basic concepts behind the Web so that the skills you learn will be
transferable to future contexts. You will build on your experiences from
161A and will be introduced to CSS, XML, and PHP. The most important skill
to learn is how to teach yourself future skills.
We will work toward developing the vocabulary necessary to speak with
developers and to provide a basic understanding of the technologies.
Activities
This class is a design course, not a technical course. We will
be learning how to utilize various technologies in the service of design.
We will spend time learning technique and then apply it in a design context.
Through the quarter you will have the opportunity to complete nine problem
sets and write a research report. The first four weeks of the class will
focus on short exercises and the final six weeks are devoted to a larger
web project. The six week project is divided into weekly exercises walking
through the various steps in designing a dynamic website.
Evaluation
All work will be evaluated for it's originality, aesthetic qualities,
and conceptual sophistication. Feedback will be primarily qualitative
but numeric scores will also be given for all work. All problem sets must
be completed to pass the course. If a problem set is handed in late, one
point (out of 9) will be taken off each day. Work will not be considered
complete until it is accessible from the course website. Failure to complete
all problem sets will result in not passing the course.
The numeric breakdown for your grade follows:
10% Participation (contribution & concentration during class)
60% Exercises 01-08
30% Exercise 09
If you will not be in class, it is your responsibility to inform the TA.
More than two unexcused absences will result in failure (an excused absence
is one approved by the TA before the start of class).
References
Required Books
Web Design in a Nutshell, A Desktop Quick Reference. 2nd Edition.
Jennifer Niederst
O'Reilly
Optional Books
Programming PHP.
Rasmus Lerdorf, Kevin Tatroe
O'Reilly
ActionScript for Flash MX, The Definitive Guide
Colin Moock
O'Reilly
Discussion materials
Understanding the Web as Media
by Curt Cloninger
Usability Experts
are from Mars, Graphic Designers are from Venus
by Curt Clonginger
A Visual Vocabulary for Describing Information Architecture
by Jesse James Garrett
Online PHP References
Homepage
Manual
Tutorial
Online Flash References
Support Center
Actionscript
Dictionary
Flash to the Core Examples
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