1. art 249 :: interface design II
week 16 :: a

2. :: in-class examples Douglas Bowman’s CSS Zen Garden design process:
Raid on Deerfield website process

3. :: in-class examples A Design Method by Ross Olson
Grey Box Methodology by Jason Santa Maria

4. :: today’s agenda Today is a working day
work on your portfolio entry for your web site
work on any sketches that you need to “clean” up
scan your sketches, then clean them up in Photoshop
design your 8.5 x 11 layout for your chosen portfolio items
what is the narrative of your portfolio entry?

5. :: in-class project
How to prepare your web site to become a portfolio entry
Gather all of your assets
Creative brief
Sketches
Site map
Page maps
All comps (early drafts through final drafts)
Coded site (source html and css files
Save out 300dpi images of your content
make a folder to place all of your portfolio entry images
digitize your sketches (scan them, clean them up, save them out as uncompressed .tiffs)
update and save out your site map and page maps (.tiffs)
save out any comps that you will need (.tiffs)
take screenshots of your code - include BOTH .css AND .html code (.tiffs)
take screenshots of your final site

6. :: in-class project Tips for digitizing your sketches
“clean” up your sketches before scanning them
use a thick black marker in order to get a high contrast scan
adjust the scanner contrast settings before scanning
scan your sketches at 300dpi
clean them up in Photoshop
erase dirt and unnecessary artifacts from your scan
don’t go crazy with this, they are sketches after all
adjust your image (levels, contrast, etc.)
save all images as uncompressed .tifs into your portfolio folder

7. :: in-class project tips for designing your portfolio layout
design the layout for how you want to show the progression of your designs from sketch to final
consider a diagram/flowchart/heirarchy tree showing the full design process on one page
use michi’s layout as an example if you like, but please feel free to design your own as well
you can design your layout in either portfolio or landscape view
things to keep in mind:
what is the narrative of my portfolio entry?
beginning, middle, & end
beginning: what is the primary design problem at hand? who is the client? what is the targeted audience? what is your primary goal/objective for the site? what are the major obstacles?
middle: what steps did you take to try to solve your design problem(s)?
end: how did you ultimately solve/resolve all of your design problems?
how can I best show this full design problem solving process from concept to final design?

8. :: in-class project
elements to consider including in your portfolio entry:
your name, the class, the date
a project title
brief description of the project (1 or two paragraphs at the most - consider including your primary goals/objectives, main design problems at hand, and target audience)
thumbnail sketches
artwork/concept sketches
thematic color studies and/or typography studies
multiple rounds of comps
a diagram/flowchart/hierarchy tree that demonstrates the full design process on one page
code screenshots to demonstrate that you coded the site
icons to demonstrate the QA testing process
final images of the site, perhaps seen inside of a browser window, or perhaps a zoomed-in close-up or detailed view

9. :: in-class project
typography study examples:

10. :: in-class project color study/background color study example:
DIRECTION A: “HOT” Stylistic risk level: High Colors: Warm (Shades of Reds, Oranges, Yellows, Black, Greys, and White)
DIRECTION B: “COOL” Stylistic risk level: Medium Colors: Cool (Shades of Blues, Greys, and White)

11. :: in-class project
a diagram/flowchart/hierarchy tree that demonstrates the full design process on one page

12. :: in-class project
icon examples:

13. :: last homework assignment
due ::
Portfolio entry item
assignment: Choose which assets/productions documents (sketches, site maps, page maps, comps, etc.) that you created in this class and prepare them to become a part of your personal portfolio. Design the layout of your portfolio entry in such a way that demonstrates the full design process from concept to final product.
format:
digital: .pdf file of your portfolio entry
printouts: 8.5” x 11” sheets of paper