Projects
There are a total of 5 projects for this course. All of the projects build skills that will be necessary for me to display a site about a historical topic on the web. These requirements are:
CSS Assignment
The CSS assignment is set up to teach the skills of designing and publishing a web site. The requirement is:
Part 1
Using an example from “McFly” at Project Seven, one of the examples from StyleMaster (if you purchased it), or other publicly available template, create a web page that includes your content. The page should contain a header, nav, content area, and footer. Once you have finished, revise the template, making, at a minimum, the following changes:
- replace the header graphic with one of your own as a background image
- alter the color scheme
- change the font
- float an image
- add a list
- add a new DIV with its own CSS style
- validation badges for XHTML and CSS 5
Part 2
Create a standards-compliant, XHTML/CSS home page for your portfolio that includes a header, footer, content area, and nav. Concentrate on creating a solid layout and visual identity for your portfolio site. You might want to discuss the process for Parts 1 and 2 in your blog.
Typography
The goals of this assignment are to acquire skills in word processing conventions, CSS and use typography as art and as information.
For this assignment, create a web page that includes (or takes into account) the following:
- title
- navigation
- subheads
- leading
- line length
- margins/padding
- a pull quote
- a rule
- an image
- endnotes
- a block quotation
Because this assignment is meant to underpin your final web project, it would be a good idea to think about your project’s time period or subject and look for fonts that can contribute to the “look and feel” as well as the “legibility and readability” your project. One “page” of the project should be added to your web portfolio.
Image
The web is a visual medium. The use of images in telling a narrative of a historical event or person will enhance the users experiences. This prouject teaches skills in the correct use or imaging software.
The narrative should be an account of the steps that you took to achieve the effects. Note that combining techniques in a single image is perfectly acceptable. For this assignment, create a web page that includes the following:
- a cropped & resized image
- a restored photograph
- a hand-colored photograph
- a vignetted photograph
- a matted engraving
- a “before & after” of two examples
One “page” of the project should be added to your web portfolio.
Design
This project will attempt to teach skills of design to me, someone with an admitted deficiency in the design gene. The requirement is to:
Choose a historical period or topic and develop a web page design appropriate to the period. For example, if you elect to do a colonial site, the fonts, layout, illustrations, colors, and layout should reflect the colonial period. In other words, compose a web page that integrates a design theme into its typography, composition, color, and layout so that it enhances the presentation of the historical content and creates a visual identity for a prospective site. The assignment should also implement correct typography and layout strategies. Once you have finished, add the page to your class web portfolio.
Final Project
The overarching goal for the major project is the creation of a modest, reasonably sophisticated history web site. The requirements are:
- The content should be solid and engaging.
- The site should be clear in its purpose and potential audience.
- The site should demonstrate standards-based, accessible design, including a print style sheet. In other words, the site should have passed validation tests for both its XHTML and CSS.
- The site’s design should also reflect knowledge of typography, layout, color, and graphic design.
- There should be some effort make toward interactivity or online community building.
