IDCC 380 Web Design II

Bentley Ranked 14th Nationally 04/23/09

2009-04-23T15:13:00.001-07:00

Check this out:

Here is something to be very proud of: Bentley University has just been ranked at number 14 by US News and World Report in their Best Business Schools Specialty Rankings: Information Systems.

Three academic departments at Bentley share this space: CIS, IPM, and IDCC (DUC). Take a look at the company we keep (click the graphic to the right to enlarge).

Further, it is interesting to note that behind us in the rankings are Arizona State University, the University of California--Berkeley, University of California--Irvine, Purdue University, University of California--Los Angeles, and the University of Pittsburgh.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Bill Albert, Director, DUC 04/22/09

2009-04-22T03:58:00.000-07:00

Check this out: Director of the Design and Usability Center (DUC), Dr. Bill Albert, speaks to the class, Friday, April 24, 2009.

Here is a portion of Bill's bio from the DUC site:

"Bill Albert is Director of the Design and Usability Center at Bentley University. Bill brings more than 15 years of experience in human factors, usability, and user research to his role leading the center. Bill has expertise in user interface design, information architecture, qualitative and quantitative research techniques, and user experience strategy. Prior to joining Bentley, Bill was Director of User Experience at Fidelity Investments, Senior User Interface Researcher at Lycos, and Post-Doctoral Research Scientist at Cambridge Basic Research. Bill is also a regular instructor at the International Usability Professional?s Association Annual Conference and at Bentley University.

Bill has published and presented his research at more than thirty national and international conferences. He recently co-authored (with Tom Tullis) the first ever book on usability metrics, Measuring the User Experience, published by Elsevier/Morgan Kauffman in March, 2008. He is currently working on his second book (with Tom Tullis and Donna Tedesco), focusing on automated usability testing (to be published by Elsevier/Morgan Kauffman in January 2010). He has been on the International Usability Professional?s Association Annual Conference (UPA) Committee since 2003, and the International Usability Professional?s Association Global Advisory Committee since 2007."

Class will meet in the DUC testing suite after first convening in Smith 210 at 11:20. Feel free to bring a friend or acquaintance who might be interested in learning more about usability and the facilities at Bentley.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Browser Testing Your Site 04/18/09

2009-04-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

Check this out:

As noted on their Web site, "Browsershots makes screenshots of your web design in different browsers. It is a free open-source online service created by Johann C. Rocholl. When you submit your web address, it will be added to the job queue. A number of distributed computers will open your Web site in their browser. Then they will make screenshots and upload them to the central server here."

Give BrowserShots a try. I think you will like the results.

Another very good professional service is CrossBrowserTesting.com. This from their Web site: "Test for 5 minutes per session for FREE. You can run the free console as often as you like. All you have to do is register, no credit card required, and you can start using the service immediately. However, we do prioritize our capacity for our paying customers. We give you FULL ADMINISTRATIVE ACCESS to the operating system."

You may find CrossBrowserTesting.com a little too much for your needs right now, but keep them in mind for the future.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Assignment 3 Requirements, 04/17/09

2009-04-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

Check this out:

Here are the final assignment new deliverables:

Exercise 13: Spry Framework, QuickMenu, and Web 2.0 Layout & Design (see handout for specific requirements).
IDCC 380 Site for Final Assignment (see handout (graphic above right) with Planning Aspects Relating to Dream Site, and Web page Assignment 3 for specific requirements).

Be sure to check all handouts for the various specific requirements. Note too that you are to hand in your Assignment 1 and Assignment 2 corrected papers (with my annotations on them). Print only the new pages, rendered and xhtml.

Note: your 380 site must demonstrate "excellence in design, functionality, and mastery of principles and practice." Remember, then, as I've often said in class, the 380 class site and the dream site must have a uniform look and feel. They can have two different designs, of course, but within each site you will have a uniform template driving all the top-tier pages. In the 380 class site, exercises area, all exercises will look quite different, however, as they were experimental in nature.

To recap: your 380 home page, about page, dream site discussion gateway and sub pages, dream site prototype gateway page, exercises gateway page, and 380 site map page will all have a uniform look and feel (design, layout, color palette, navigation scheme, footer, et al). Your dream site itself is a sub-site with its own design, layout, color palette, navigation scheme, footer, et al.

When your assignment is complete, deliver it to Gail Wessell in Smith 121, no later than 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 5. Be sure to sign the sheet provided.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Site Design Inspiration, 04/13/09

2009-04-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

Adobe Spry Framework for Ajax 04/08/09

2009-04-08T06:49:00.001-07:00

Check this out:

According to the developers at Adobe, "The Spry framework for Ajax is a JavaScript library that provides easy-to-use yet powerful Ajax functionality that allows designers to build pages that provide a richer experience for their users. It is designed to take the complexity out of Ajax and allow designers to easily create Web 2.0 pages.
The Spry framework is a way to incorporate XML, JSON or HTML data into pages using HTML, CSS, and a minimal amount of JavaScript, without the need for refreshing the entire page. Spry also provides easy to build and style widgets, providing advanced page elements for end users. The Spry framework is HTML-centric, and easy to implement for users with basic knowledge of HTML, CSS and JavaScript."

Check out these Spry Examples:

Data Shell Sample
Multiple Filters Sample
CSV Dataset Sample
Collapsible Panel Group Sample
Tabbed Panels Widget Sample
Tabbed Panels, QuickMenu, and Web 2.0 Layout: Prototype I
Tabbed Panels, QuickMenu, and Web 2.0 Layout: Prototype II

In class, we will explore in depth the xhtml, css, and JavaScript necessary to create a sophisticated Spry tabbed panel widget. Your final exercise (!) will combine Spry, QuickMenu, and Web 2.0 layout and design techniques (see Prototype I and Prototype II ).

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Withdrawal Deadline, Monday, April 13 04/05/09

2009-04-05T08:43:00.001-07:00

Check this out:
Here is a message for you and me from Dean Ellis, Office of Academic Services:
"Please be aware that the final deadline for students to withdraw from a full semester Spring course is Monday, April 13. The only exceptions considered are for late occurring medical or family crises. Poor performance in a course is not considered an extenuating circumstance for late withdrawal. Therefore, I encourage you to talk with students now if you fear they are in danger of failing and should consider withdrawal."

You know where your grade and absences put you at this point in the semester. If you think you are in danger of receiving a bad grade for the course--one that will seriously affect your gpa--make an appointment with me to discuss your progress in the course.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below. Note also that each announcement has a permanent link, available through the announcement title and posting date.

Sourcing Graphics for the Web 2.0 Exercise 04/01/09

2009-04-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

Check this out:

In your penultimate exercise (rounded corners, png, quickmenu), be sure to source your graphics correctly. To the right is a screenshot of the Chinese Art page I showed you in class, in case you need a refresher idea on the model to use. Remember to format all sources with a hanging indentation; voila:

Goddess of Prosperity, Chinese Art Poster, MPW-10213. (n.d.) Retrieved March 30, 2009 from http://www.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-10213/Chinese_Art.html.

GRSites.com Template Maker. (2009). Rounded corders generated March 30, 2009 at http://www.grsites.com/generate/category/5/

Microsoft Office Clip Art Photographs: MPj04389970000[1].jpg (monster-fade). (n.d.). Microsoft Office 2007. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation.

Page background: ChineseArt.jpg. (2006). UniKeep Arts & Entertainmment 2006 Gallery. Retrieved March 30, 2009 from http://www.unikeep.com/awards/gallery_arts.shtml.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Christopher Hass Speaks about Web Accessibility 04/03/09

2009-04-01T06:16:00.000-07:00

Check this out:

Chris Hass, Usability Consultant from the Bentley Design and Usability Center (DUC), speak about Web accessibility issues on Friday, April 3, 11:20-12:35, in Smith 210.

Here are some of the topics Chris will cover:

What is a disability? What?s the difference between a situational and a functional disability?
What are assistive technologies that affect Web use, and how familiar does one need to be with them?
What is accessibility? From both legal and practical standpoints
What/who governs Web- and software-based products in the US and abroad
Understanding the letter AND the spirit of the law ? advocating for ?usable access? not just ?access?
What coding solutions typically support or fail to support accessibility
What decisions can able-bodied developers make as opposed to testing with persons who have disabilities
Case examples from DVD development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site development, HP.com?s commercial Web site, others
The perils and challenges of ?Web 2.0? for persons with disabilities
ROI benefits of accessible design

Brief Bio:
Chris Hass has more than 12 years of experience in human factors research, user interface design, and accessibility in the development of innovative user experience programs. Chris has unique expertise conducting human factors research with persons with physical and cognitive disabilities, a skill that strategically aligns with one of the center's key growth areas. He also brings extensive experience designing information architecture and interaction designs for consumer, medical, professional, and human service products. Prior to joining the Design and Usability Center, Chris worked at the American Institutes for Research, where he was a senior research scientist in the Human Factors Research and Design group. Previously, he served as a World Wide Web specialist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

OpenCube's QuickMenu and Dreamweaver 03/27/09

2009-03-27T06:31:00.000-07:00

Check this out:

In class on Friday, March 27, you will acquaint yourselves with QuickMenu by OpenCube. As noted on the OpenCube site: "QuickMenu is a new and unique solution for generating fast and feature rich drop down menus. An extensive in-page visual interface produces lightning fast pure CSS list based menus capable of functioning in browsers with their JavaScript disabled."

You will be combining CSS, JavaScript, and XHTML to create some very interesting and highly sophisticated drop-down/fly-out menus. I think you will find this whole menu-creating experience to be both challenging and and enjoying.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Optimizing Your Web Page 03/19/09

2009-03-18T10:55:00.001-07:00

Check this out:

In class on Friday, March 20, we will look at the Web site Optimization tool from WebSiteOptimization.com--in particular their Web Page Analyzer - 0.98, which produces the Web Page Speed Report. The speed report deconstructs a Web page into its various objects: css, css images, images, xhtml, JavaScript, and the like. It then calculates page loading times and makes various suggestions on how to optimize your page.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

CSS Tab Designer, 03/03/09

2009-03-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

Check this out:

Here is some information about CSS Tab Designer, and a link to the download page (click on graphic). Have a blast.

Spend some time before next class familiarizing yourself with this little utility. We'll hit the ground running with it on Tuesday, February 26.

"Create killer menus effortlessly! CSS Tab Designer is a unique and easy to use software to help you design css-based lists and tabs visually and without any programming knowledge required!
With the CSS Tab Designer, you can :
Quickly design your list visually

Choose from a variety of styles/colors (60+ different designs/colors supported).
Generate strict xhtml compliant code"

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Assignment One Deliverables, 02/13/09

2009-02-11T09:04:00.000-08:00

Check this out:

To the right is a simple schematic of the IDCC 380 site you will have built for assignment one, due Friday, February 20. Click on the graphic to downlaod a pdf file detailing the requirements for the assignment.

By the way, one of the requirements for layout pages 4 and 5 is that you insert a unique Google gadget in one of the columns. The complete selection of gadgets is rather interesting and fun to peruse. You will also find that designing a gadget into your page is a nice challenge, for both aesthetics and validation purposes.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Purchase of Dreamweaver CS4, 02/05/09

2009-02-05T04:44:00.001-08:00

Check this out:

I know that a good number of you are interested in purchasing Dreamweaver CS4. Here are the instructions for the licensed student purchase through Bentley U. Note the student price is $99, plus shipping and handling. This price cannot be beat. I highly recommend that you take advantage of this if you can.

It's very important that you purchase the correct platform (Windows or Mac), as this software is not returnable and not refundable for any reason.

Windows Platform License
https://owa.bentley.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=dcc911fc496548bb9cecf2dceca2aecb&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.cdwg.com%2fshop%2fproducts%2fdefault.aspx%3fEDC%3d1603103 (add to cart)

You must also add 1603100 to the cart for the media (from the shopping cart use the quick cart function)

Macintosh Platform License
https://owa.bentley.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=dcc911fc496548bb9cecf2dceca2aecb&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.cdwg.com%2fshop%2fproducts%2fdefault.aspxEDC%3d1603099 (add to cart)

You must also add 1603096 to the cart for the media (from the shopping cart use the quick cart function)

Your order total including media should be $115.69 plus tax and shipping, and your order should arrive within 2-3 weeks. If you have any problems, email https://owa.bentley.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=dcc911fc496548bb9cecf2dceca2aecb&URL=mailto%3astudentsales%40cdwg.com or contact Bentley's sales rep, Lisa West-Woodard, at https://owa.bentley.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=dcc911fc496548bb9cecf2dceca2aecb&URL=mailto%3aLisawes%40cdw.com

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

CSS Box Model, 01/30/09

2009-01-28T10:16:00.000-08:00

Check this out:

As I have mentioned in class, you will need to become comfortable with the css box model, as that forms the conceptual and technical underpinning of all layout, navigation, and design elements using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).

Note this figure from Andy Budd. You can see from this set of "boxes" how the container metaphor works and how white space can be introduced into page design. In class, we will continually put this box model into action, as we work throughout the semester with margins, borders, and padding. Of course, all of this guides the shape of the ultimate container: our "wrapper" div. I think you will enjoy the design power that css and its box model give you.

Next class, we will continue to work on our layout exercises, and as we do, you will see again and again the large number of ways that the CSS box model plays a major role, in layout, design, and ultimately navigation.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below. Note also that each announcement has a permanent link, available through the announcement title and posting date.

Free Graphics for Layout Exercises 01/27/09

2009-01-26T10:20:00.001-08:00

Check this out:

Here is a free graphics zip folder that you may use without providing a source note at the bottom of the page for layout exercises 1-5 (or any other exercises for the semester).

You are also free to use your own graphics, but I realize some of you don't have anything digitized that you have produced yourself. Throughout the semester, as we move into work with various media, I will supply material of my own that you may use free without sourcing. In fact, if you would like to see the motherlode of my graphics I'm making available to you, check out the Buchholz Picasa Public Web albums.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Exercises 1-5: CSS Layout Templates -- Ice, Liquid, and Jello 01/23/09

2009-01-23T04:00:00.000-08:00

Check this out:

Our layout exercises will deal with flow, layers (divs) and absolute pixel placement. The PowerPoint tutorial on Divs and Floats will prepare you for some of the basic layout and design principles that are predominant on the Web today. The tutorial is also available in PDF format for printing (Divs and Floats PDF). The print version also supplies notes on the discussion.

In preparation for building the five templates of exercises one through five, we will discuss the design terms "ice," "jello," and "liquid" layouts. Over the next few days, you will be creating pages that participate in each of these design schools.

Following are a few selected Web sites that illustrate the three layout concepts of exercises one through five.

Liquid design (all elements flow):
http://www.webstandards.org/
http://www.htmlbasictutor.ca/flexible-liquid-design.htm
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/em/
http://www.w3.org/
http://bluerobot.com/web/layouts/
http://www.mardiros.net/liquid-design.html
http://www.webdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63332
http://www.evolt.org/article/Liquid_Design_for_the_Web/%2020/15177/

Ice (all elements are fixed):
http://www.mpix.com/
http://foreignexchange.tv/
http://lenovo.com/us/en/

Jello (some elements flow; some are fixed):
http://icanaz.org/
http://www.w3schools.com/css/
http://webdesign.about.com/od/layout/i/aa060506.htm
http://www.sitepoint.com/
http://webstyleguide.com/page/fixed-flex.html
http://www.themaninblue.com/writing/perspective/2003/12/22/
http://www.zdnet.com/
http://roselli.org/adrian/articles/liquid.asp
http://cyber.bentley.edu/faculty/wb/courses/370/
http://www.cnn.com/
http://bentley.edu/
http://lsvp.wordpress.com/
http://webdesigninfo.wordpress.com/web-templates/
http://www.webforumz.com/
http://www.search-this.com/2007/11/14/hip-to-be-square/
http://www.d.umn.edu/

On your layouts.htm gateway page, you will provide floated thumbnail screenshots (no larger than 200px x 200px) hyperlinked to an actual Web site illustrating each of these three layout types. I will provide explicit instructions in class on all aspects of this complete layout assignment.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Information Architecture and the WWW, 01/20/09

2009-01-20T12:39:00.000-08:00

Check this out:

Today's introductory presentation on Information Architecture and the World Wide Web is now available for you to view on your own computer. Just click on the icon to your right, and you will be taken to the tutorial.

Here are some of the key terms we covered, terms that will keep cropping up in the course:

primary, secondary, and tertiary navigation
Top-tier and second-tier navigation
drop-down/fly-out menu
Banner, footer, contents area of a page template
findability
browse
search
content, context, user
xhtml, css, dhtml, JavaScript, Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), Spry components, and programmable widgets
RSS feeds and subscriptions

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Welcome to IDCC 380, Web Design II, 01/16/09

2009-01-16T06:45:00.000-08:00

Check this out:

Building upon the knowledge and experience gained in IDCC 370 Web Design I, this course develops further the generally accepted concepts and applications of information architecture, human factors, and usability in creating and managing Web sites. Topics include page layout and design, navigation systems, interface design, Web graphics information architecture, interactivity, writing for the Web, site architecture, management, and maintenance. You will work with high-end Web authoring tools to create various site elements.

Please take a moment to fill out the IDCC 380 student information form.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Assignment 3 Requirements, 04/29/08

2008-04-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

Check this out:

Here are the final assignment deliverables:

Exercise 14: High Fidelity Prototype: Infinite Menu on an E-commerce Site (see handout for specific requirements).
Exercises 15-17: XML Slideshow in Flash Using Flash Slideshow Maker Professional (3 separate web pages plus one gateway page; see handout for specific requirements).
Exercise 18: Creating Your Site Blog (see handout for specific requirements).
Exercise 18: RSS Feed Tags (see handout for specific requirements).
IDCC 380 Site for Final Assignment (see handout (graphic above right) and Web page Assignment 3 for specific requirements).

Be sure to check all handouts for the various specific requirements. Note too that you are to hand in your Assignment 1 and Assignment 2 corrected papers (with my annotations on them). Print only the new pages, rendered and xhtml.

Note: your 380 site must demonstrate "excellence in design, functionality, and mastery of principles and practice." Remember, then, as I've often said in class, the 380 class site and the dream site must have a uniform look and feel. They can have two different designs, of course, but within each site you will have a uniform template driving all the top-tier pages. In the 380 class site, exercises area, all exercises will look quite different, however, as they were experimental in nature.

To recap: your 380 home page, about page, dream site discussion gateway and sub pages, dream site prototype gateway page, exercises gateway page, and 380 site map page will all have a uniform look and feel (design, layout, color palette, navigation scheme, footer, et al). Your dream site itself is a subsite with its own design, layout, color palette, navigation scheme, footer, et al.

When your assignment is complete, deliver it to Gail Wessell in Smith 121, no later than 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 6. Be sure to sign the sheet provided.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

The Web 2.0 Look: Rounded Corners & Gradient Fills, 04/23/08

2008-04-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

Check this out:

I promised I would recommend two tools that would give you the Web 2.0 look as you design your sites: rounded corners and gradient fills.

For rounded corners, go to sitepoint and give Spanky Corners 1.1 beta a try. As the developers note: "'Spanky Corners' is an experimental technique for using only CSS to produce 'round-cornered content boxes' with semantically pure markup. It does not require JavaScript to work." After creating your corners, be sure to download the zip file, unzip the file, and save the contents in your 380 site.

A really neat and painless way to make various kinds of gradient fills is to use grsites.com's gradient texture maker: http://www.grsites.com/generate/group/4000/ Once you produce a gradient, you can then define CSS to use the gradient fill as an element background: in pages, sections of pages, buttons, and the like.

Happy designing!

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Usability Testing: Don't Make Me Think! 04/21/08

2008-04-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Check this out:

We'll be examining usability testing on Tuesday, April 22, so please bring Steve Krug's text Don't Make Me Think! to class. I will walk you through a few of the most crucial aspects of usability testing, so it would be a good idea for you to be able to follow along in Krug's eminently readable text.

You will also receive an actual usability test that we will walk through in class, preparing you for your final assignment test treatment. The last half hour of the class will be devoted to viewing a videotaped usability test.

Thursday's class (April 24) will be spent in Smith 223, the Design and Usability Center (DUC) class room near the main testing suite (directly across from the trading room). DUC director, Beth Loring, will talk to you about her career and usability testing here at Bentley. We will also tour the testing suite.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Site Design Inspiration, 04/19/08

2008-04-19T03:38:00.001-07:00

High Fidelity Prototype Model, 03/27/08

2008-03-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

Check this out:

The screenshot to your right links to the high fidelity prototyp model for Exercise 14, the Visual Infinite Menu to be the centerpiece of an e-commerce site of your choosing.

Remember, this final layout/navigation exercise functions as a kind of mid-term exam for the course, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate to site visitors your best work in the two critically most important aspects of Web design: layout and navigation.

Your objective is to create a high-level (high fidelity) prototype page of an e-commerce site, providing the expected functionality of such a site in the design. (As noted in the assignment requirements, some of this functionality will exist only at the design phase; it is yet to be programmed.)

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.

Exercise 7 - Usability Associates Services, 02/24/08

2008-02-24T02:08:00.000-08:00

Check this out:

Tuesday, February 26, we will begin Exercise 7, using one set of the tabs you generated with CSS Tab Designer, Thursday, February 21. This tab set will become the top-tier primary navigation in the header of the services page of our prototype site, Usability Associates.

Exercise 7 will allow you to place the tabs in a fully functional template, complete with wrapper, header, left-column secondary navigation, right column content, and footer. The screenshot at right (click for larger view) illustrates the prototype I built from a tab set placed into one of the earlier layout exercises.

This exercise introduces you to a number of new Web design challenges, chief of which is putting together layout (with appropriate color palette), primary navigation (generated), secondary navigation (hand carved), exported and commented CSS, exported JavaScript, W3C validation, and high level prototype functionality. All in all, this exercise is an excellent design, information architecture, and site management experience.

If you have questions, just e-mail me at wbuchholz@bentley.edu. Feel free to comment on this announcement, or if you want to e-mail it, click on the little mail icon directly below.