outline

Why Web Design in a Computer Programming Class?

• Think back to the beginning of class
  - a way of communication

Internet in the 1960's

• ARPANET
  - System developed by the US Military as a way to communicate with other parts of the world in case of nuclear war

The Academic World

• NSFNet
• Now professors, physicists, Nobel Prize winners are able to communicate with each other and share notes, swap recipes for nuclear fusion……

Commercialized Internet

• After the 1992 Presidential Campaign the charter was changed to encourage personal and commercial use of the Internet.

So What are We Talking About?

• The three generations of the web and how it has developed thus far

First Generation

• Sites were purely text based
• Bare-bone functions
• Looked like textbook pages
  - designed by technical people
  - linear
  - monochrome monitors

Second Generation

• Spring 1995
• Monochrome screen replaced with color
• Sites contained graphics, loud colors, extended HTML tags, and the beginning of animation

Third Generation

• Wrought by design
• Designers spend hours and days making the sites enticing to the visitors
• Gives a visitor a complete experience, using metaphors to pull the visitors into the site
• Contains beginning, middle and end

Know Your Audience

• Who is your target?
• What is the purpose of the site?
• Objective statement
• What are the specifications?
• Type of presentation?
• Who will maintain the site?

Your Target Audience-Who are they?

• Children
• Teens
• Adults
• Senior Citizens

The Site's Purpose

• Communicate
  - why are you making this site?

Objective Statement

• Here is what the information will do
  - flows from the purpose statement
• Expands on the general descriptions in the purpose

What are the Site Specifications?

• How many pages are required?
  - flow chart may be necessary
• Special equipment needed?
• How is each page linked?
  - navigation

What is the Presentation Type?

• Colors
  - backgrounds, graphics
• Layout
  - CSS, frames, tables
• Type fonts
  - be cautious on what you select

Site Maintenance

• Who will maintain the site?
• How difficult will it be to maintain?

Design Sins

• Blank-line Typography
  - CSS assists here, be cautious of browser compatatility
• Horizontal Rules can become unruly
• Background images that interfere
• Slow Load
  - how long will the viewer wait to see your page?

Design Sins - Continued

• Aliasing, Dithering and Halos
• Aliasing
  - jagged edges
• Dithering
  - generally look bad
• Halos
  - symptom of pixel rot

Color

• Primary
• Secondary
• Complimentary
• Monochromatic

Navigation

• Almost as important as any graphic you could use
• Difficult to navigate - people will move on
• Some sites are design oriented - nice, clean site, but until you discover 'mouseovers' you have no idea of where you are

Ease of Use

• Children - using large buttons or symbols children recognize to navigate
• Teens - like bolder sites, music, graphics
  - these can still be done tastefully
• Adults - easy to use, want to get information and move on
• Seniors - easy to use, font size important

Sites