The Web is indispensable to the lives of most people today.  Whether it’s access to news, banking, schoolwork, or friends, few of us can imagine (or particularly would want to imagine) what the world would look like if the Web suddenly disappeared tomorrow.  With the explosion of sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and SquareSpace, web publishing is now easily within the reach of almost anyone with a little patience and some basic computer skills. 

What makes all of this possible? Think about the sites we interact with daily.  Who are the people who made these sites?  How did they know where to start?  What do “they” know that you yourself want to learn from this course? 

“They” are web designers.  Web designers work on complex projects, solving many problems along the way. They must have an understanding of the technology that underpins the web along with an even better understanding of how people access the web today.  They contribute to communications strategy, but are not marketers.  They must understand and use the principles and practices of graphic design, but must simultaneously integrate usability and accessible design practices into their work.  They must understand and articulate the “business purpose” for a website, while thinking like, and advocating for, the people who need to use that site. 

In short, web designers work in a broad, interesting field, which crosses several disciplinary boundaries.  Many people choose to specialize in one aspect of web design such as strategy, visual design, or user experience design.  While small projects can be sometimes be completed alone, larger projects are simply too complex for any one person to undertake alone. 

For this course, you will be exposed to a range of knowledge and skills that the generalist web designer is expected to be familiar with.  No one course will make you an expert in web design, but you will learn about the profession and pick up new skills and knowledge along the way.  By the end of this course, you should be able to speak intelligently about the field and have a much better understanding of what aspects (if any) of the field appeal to you.  At the end of this class, you will be empowered with the basic knowledge and expertise to craft your own sites. 

The textbook used in this class is 

Learning Web Design - A Beginner’s Guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Web Graphics

Fifth Edition

by Jennifer Niederst Robbins

By Jen Simmons

If you travel to Silicon Valley and navigate between the global headquarters of some of the world’s most famous internet companies, you can head to the Computer History Museum. Wander through the museum, past the ancient mainframes and the story of the punch card, and you’ll eventually find yourself at the beginning of the Wide World Web. There’s a copy of the Mosaic browser on a floppy disk tucked in a book of the same name, a copy of Netscape Navigator that was sold in a box, and something called “Internet in a Box,” the #1 best-selling internet solution for Windows. Then there are the websites. Some of the earliest, most notable, and most important websites are on permanent display, including something called the “Global Network Navigator,” from 1993. It was designed by none other than the author of this book, Jennifer Robbins. Long before most of us had any idea the web existed, or even before many of you were born, Jen was busy designing the first commercial website. She’s been there from the very beginning, and has watched, taught, and written about every stage of evolution of the web.

Learning Web Design is now in its 5th edition, with a gazillion new pages and updates from those early days.

I am constantly asked, “What are the best resources for learning web technology?” I learned by reading books. Blog posts are great, but you also need an in-depth comprehensive look at the subject. In the beginning, all books were beginner books, teaching HTML, URLs, and how to use a browser. When CSS came along, the books assumed you’d already been using HTML, and taught you how to change to the new techniques. Then CSS3 came along, and all the books taught us how to add new CSS properties to our preexisting understanding of CSS2. Of course there were always books for beginners, but they were super basic. They never touched on professional techniques for aspiring professionals. Each new generation of books assumed that you had prior knowledge. Great for those of us in the industry. Tough for anyone new. But how in the world are you supposed to read about two decades of techniques, discarding what is outdated, and remembering what is still correct? How are you supposed to build a career from knowledge that’s so basic that you have no idea what real pros code in their everyday jobs?

You can’t. That’s why today when people ask me for a book recommendation, I have only one answer. This book.

This book you are reading now doesn’t require any prior knowledge. You don’t need to have made a web page before, or to have any idea where to get a code editor. It starts at the very beginning. And yet, unlike all the other books that start at the beginning, this one will get you to the good stuff, fast. Jen will explain every step you need, including some very advanced concepts. She’s packed this book full of cutting edge, insider knowledge from top experts.

I honestly don’t know how she does it. How can someone teach the basics and the advanced stuff at the same time? Usually you’ll learn those things years apart, with lots of struggling in the dark in the meantime. Here, Jen will lift you up from wherever you are in your journey, and take you farther. Every one of us—myself included, and I’m on the CSS Working Group (the group of people who invent new CSS)—can learn a lot from this book. I do every time I pick it up.

Pay attention to the notes in the margins. Read the websites she recommends, watch the videos. Jen is giving you a shortcut to a professional network. Follow the people she mentions. Read the links they suggest. These might be your future colleagues. Dare to dream that you will meet them. They are, after all, only a tweet away. It is a small world, full of real people, and you can become part of it all. This book will get you started.

—Jen Simmons

Designer and Developer Advocate at Mozilla

Member of the CSS Working Group

April 2018

From Chapter 4 onward, there are slides available that cover the material in the class text.  You are encouraged to study them.

All homework and project descriptions will be posted on this class website: 

http://webdesign.cgcseagles.org

Each student will have their own Dropbox or Google Drive folder/directory that will be used to store their homework assignments.

A calendar of when Chapters will be covered in class, and projected due date for assignments is provided in the Lesson Plan Calendar

There will be at least two grades given each week.  Your grade will be determined by a combination of marks received for

1. Exercise assignments, 

2. Quizzes, and 

3. Several web design projects, and in addition, 

4. Participation will be factored into your final grade. 

1. Read the Chapters of the Class Text.  <-- YOU HAVE TO DO THIS TO LEARN THE MATERIAL

2. Chapter slides are available for each Chapter.

3. Most of the Chapters in the text have Exercises you will be doing as homework assignments.  

4. The Chapter Exercises need to be completed by their due dates.   

5. The Lesson Plan Calendar outlines when the Chapters of the text will be covered in class, along with the Exercises you will be working on, and their due dates.

6. We will be reviewing in class the Chapter text or the Chapter slides.  You are also responsible for studying them on your own.

7. Some of the Chapter Exercises have the walkthroughs on this website to help you finish them.

8. We will be reviewing in class some of the Chapter Exercise walkthroughs.