Congratulations on completing your projects. Even if you’re not totally done/things are broken, present what you have and talk through your design decisions and code, starting with first assignment, eight steps, typography poster, issue website, and last but not least, your portfolio where you sell yourself to the rest of the class. As long as you’re in class, presenting your project, you’re welcome to resubmit it by the end of the semester.

Structure

I will assign in class a first responder (1R), second responder (2R), and notetaker (N). The first responder (1R) will kick off our discussion as soon as the presenter has finished sharing their work, covering design issues. The second responder (2R) will add, subtract, and expand on the first responder, focusing on the code. The notetaker will listen carefully and document the highlights of the critique in a class document for later reflection by the presenter. Class engagement is a requirement, so let us all work together to make each one of us the best that they can possibly be.

When critiquing, these are the questions that need to be considered:

• Design considerations:

• 1. Does the portfolio stand out?
  2. How would the target audience respond. Contextualize your answer.
  3. What is the narrative? Could the story be told better?
  4. How is the graphic design? Scale? White space? Typography?
  5. What is the inspiration/research behind it, How is the content supported?
  6. Do the layout and navigation support the goals for viewing the collection?

• Code Considerations:

  1. Is the markup valid and semantically correct HTML5 ?
  2. Are images the correct format and size ?
  3. Are UX concerns driving the design process ?
  4. Are all 7 steps articulated in the design process for portfolio and final ?
  5. Is the CSS valid, clean, external, and using structural selectors wherever possible ?
  6. Are various layout strategies used to construct the layout ? Document Flow ? Positioning ? Floats ? Flex Box ? CSS Grid ?
  7. Is the website responsive to a change in viewport size, from smart phone to the standard web browser ?

To generate a general assessment of your performance and participation in class, on the midterm, and on the final, I will:

• Look for originality (surprise me)
• Check the code
• Check for completeness of the assignments and the efficacy of the communication.
• Look for overall improvement

The checklist I perform:

• Make overall assessment, checking off the assessable tasks set forth in the syllabus. Is the HTML valid and semantically correct HTML5? Centralized style sheet? (there should be no local or embedded styles). Etc.
• How responsive are the Final and Midterm?
• Are there sufficient pages to represent a professional website? You do not need to actually build the site but need to build enough pages to represent how the full site would look and function.
• Does it work in Firefox, Safari and Chrome? (If you know it works best in one or another browser, tell me.)
• Check the code using W3.org’s Markup Validation Service. I can tolerate a few issues but the code should be error free.
• Inspect the code as written for irregularities introduced by copying code and making it the basis of your code. It is OK to do some copying, borrowing, and stealing but not OK to rely on that. It is easy to tell if the code has been written or borrowed as all kinds of habits that I do not cover creep in.
• Check all of the older assignments for completeness

I create a preliminary grade based on the above criteria. After having gone though each student’s work I will have a feel for how the class performed as a whole. I go through the work again and adjust each student’s grade on the class curve if need be. I also consider each student’s background and expertise. I may be more gentle with a non-Parsons student when it comes to visual design, for example.

An A requires attention to all of the above criteria. A B means that you completed your work, but were found lacking in execution.

A C is likely if work is missing or incomplete.

A D or F reflects a lot of missing or incomplete work.

Email me if you think that I failed to perform a fair assessment.

If the first assignment was to sell yourself, the final assignment is to sell anything other than yourself. Create a professional looking website that sells something. It can be a product such as jewelry, a service such as a restaurant, or something abstract such as an opinion or issue. Please use existing work from projects you have completed in other classes. That way you have well thought out content.

1. There is a lot of leeway on this assignment. Please use it. Don’t be literal. Selling something allows you can find other websites selling the same thing. You will need to follow the Designing for the Web (7 steps) article and research what you are selling.
2. The criteria is that it look professional.
3. Students do their most creative work when they’re motivated by the work itself. Choose a final project that will motivate you to do your best work.
4. The final project should persuade me (to give you a good grade).
5. Focus on the User’s eXperience and site organization
6. General Formal Proficiency
7. Typographic Proficiency
8. Creative Use of technology
9. Quality of documentation
10. Don’t be shy. Be bold! Be playful! Be emotional! Whatever it takes to grab your audience’s attention. Make them want to come along.
11. I am here to help you realize your final.
    If you have questions, ask me.
12. I am always surprised by the number of students who do not ask me when they are having problems. This happens a lot. The reason, I think, is that the answers can be found in both in the book and on this website. Students think they can figure it out on their own. The problem here is that there is so much information that it’s not always easy to connect up with what you need at that moment. So you get stuck and instead of overcoming your limitations you problem solve within them, which is not the best approach.

    Do not hesitate. Ask me if you have questions. I am here to help!

13. You can also book time at the Learning Center. How to make an appointment. and schedule an appointment.. They can help you understand and overcome the problems you are facing, help you code your final project, and keep you organized and working.
14. The biggest obstacles is procrastination. It will catch up with you. I see it happen every semester. Some of you will have more important things to do and postpone working on the final till the end. The result is always an insufficiently developed final. Post your progress each week so I can follow your work.
15. Come up with a proposal for your final project and create a new work-sheet. Specify what you are going to sell and how you are going to sell it, research how you plan to be successful in selling it, and develop a strategy based on the target audience. This is due next week!
16. You will have the rest of the semester to finish the project. Next week we focus on making your portfolio responsive so that it works in all media. At the same time, you need to research and come up with the topic for your final and be prepared to defend it in class.
17. Homework from here on out is divided into two parts. One part concerns the unit and the other part concerns the final project.

Your final site needs to be close to finished by week 14 for peer review. Do not procrastinate. Make your final a project you can be proud of.