GD72 Course Syllabus

GD72 Course Information

Welcome to GD72 -- Principles of Screen Design!

During this 8-week (16-week compressed) online course we will explore a variety of techniques for designing attractive web and mobile pages and students will develop their own designs using Photoshop (InDesign or Illustrator) as the main layout tool.

This course will be taught entirely online. You will read class notes, watch videos and complete assignments on weekly web pages that focus on different web design topics. This gives you a very flexible study schedule, but also requires that you work in a self-disciplined and independent manner.

According to SRJC guidelines, you can expect to dedicate approximately 9 hours a week (3 in completing lectures and weekly reading and 6 hours for homework/project assignments) for a regular full semester 3 unit class (this includes reading/watching lectures and completing assignments/activities). This is the official SRJC formula but may not actually reflect the time you spend on the class. For this compressed version, I have adjusted some assignments and activities to reflect the shorter time frame you have available to complete them. Please be aware that your time commitment might vary depending on whether you have a larger project due and on your skill level in using the software. Make an effort not to fall behind with your assignments. 

If you fall behind with your assignments, please e-mail me before you decide to drop the class. I'm very willing to help you out.

I reserve the right to change the course syllabus and point values for specific assignments and activities at any time. If I do so, I will inform the class promptly via e-mail and on the class website. Therefore it is essential that you keep your current e-mail address on file by updating your SRJC profile in your student cubby any time you make a change to your contact information. 

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Course Learning Outcomes and Objectives:

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate how basic guidelines for typography, color imagery, layout and design can be applied to create attractive and functional web designs.
2. Determine the best solutions for planning, designing, and building responsive web layouts.
3. Create effective user-centered designs that demonstrate an understanding of interface development and accessibility needs.

Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
1.   Describe key steps in brainstorming and planning web designs.
2.   Explain web technology considerations in designing websites including: devices, screen sizes, responsive layouts, and browsers.
3.   Describe the pros and cons of various web development tools including Bootstrap, Dreamweaver, free website tools, and CMS's such as Wordpress.
4.   Analyze various types of websites and their design/interface needs.
5.   Apply the guidelines for usability and interface to create user-centered web layouts.
6.   Demonstrate effective use of graphic design principles (including contrast, alignment, repetition, proximity, negative space, focal point etc.) in web designs.
7.   Use design and fine art techniques including shape, line, value, and texture.
8.   Use grid systems to organize onscreen content.
9.   Apply the basic rules of typography (readability and legibility) and select appropriate fonts for a design.
10. Apply the rules of color theory to color selection and developing a palette.
11. Include creative approaches to the use of photos and graphics in web sites.
12. Describe accessibility issues in web design.

Course Outline:
https://portal.santarosa.edu/SRweb/SR_CourseOutlines.aspx?CVID=25926&Semester=20157

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About Your Instructor

My name is Kathy Thornley and I've been teaching at the JC in the Graphic Design Department since 1988. During the past 25 years I have taught: Typography, QuarkXPress, Advanced QuarkXPress, Introduction to the Internet (for the Computer Studies Department), Multimedia Design, and Animation Design. Currently, I teach Online Resources for Graphic Designers (GD63), Principles of Screen Design (GD72), Beginning Advertising and Page Layout Design (GD54) and an information literacy class: LIR10. I was born and raised in England and still have an accent to prove it (although I'm afraid you can't hear it!). I am a graduate of the Applied Graphics Certificate Program at the JC and also have a Masters Degree in Information Studies from UC Berkeley.

To me, this course is the perfect match for my skills since it combines my experience in graphic design with my knowledge of the online world. I have to admit that I love to browse the World Wide Web in search of creative and innovative web site designs and would do it more if I didn't have to sleep at night! From 1997-2000 I lived in Hong Kong. During that time I taught web design for computer training company and worked as the web coordinator for Hong Kong International School. I designed both their school web site and a site for teachers and staff (CWIS). Should you have questions or concerns about this class, the best way to contact me is via e-mail. I check my e-mail daily (I promise!).

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Communicating with Your Instructor and the Class

Although we'll probably never meet face-to-face during this course, there are several ways we can communicate:

Instructor Contact Information:

Kathy Thornley: kthornley@santarosa.edu (e-mail is the best way to contact me!)  •  Phone (CS Department office): 527–4778

Weekly Class Discussion:

The weekly "Discussion, Discoveries and Questions" Forums act as our "online classroom" for discussing web design topics, posing questions and sharing discoveries/web site designs. You contribute to these forums by clicking on the Weekly Discussion, Discoveries and Questions Forum links under each week. PARTICIPATION IN THESE FORUMS IS A REQUIREMENT FOR THE CLASS. You must post at least ONE message and ONE reply per week during the class -- (your messages/replies are worth 2 points each for a total of 4 points per week). Brief replies do NOT count!! Your posts should be well-written (grammatically-correct)! No texting lingo/spelling allowed!

Individual E-mail:

You are welcome to send me a message or e-mail any time you need to discuss a private concern or individual question. My e-mail address is: Kathy Thornley -- kthornley@santarosa.edu. You can expect a reply to your e-mail within 24 hours (except on weekends) but I usually respond much faster than that. Make sure you put GD72 in the subject line AND the at the top of any message you send me (Canvas does not tell me which class you are in!!). Also remember to sign your name at the bottom of your message!

For general questions (about projects, assignments, deadlines etc.), please use the Class Discussion, Discoveries and Questions Forum. I can answer them for the whole class that way.

Virtual Office Hours:

I will be available for a "virtual office hour" on Wednesdays from 1-3 pm. You can e-mail me at that time and I will try to give you a 'real-time' response. I can also set up a "conference" that will allow us to talk face to face.

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Weekly Lectures and Assignments

Reading/Watching the Weekly Lecture/Video Pages:

You are expected to read completely through the notes on the weekly lecture page and watch any video presentations. In addition, you should visit any links on the page and follow instructions on what to do there. The lecture pages are activated only a weekly basis at noon on Wednesday. Please check the Modules to review the starting and ending dates for each week. I will send out a weekly update message via e-mail with an overview of a particular week's lecture/assignments. It will also indicate when the next week's pages will be activated.

Assignments:

The assignments/activities for each week are listed on the Weekly Schedule. The due date and points for each assignment/activity are clearly identified. Click on the link for each assignment to read detailed instructions on what you are expected to do. Make sure you complete the assignments on time. Assignments are assigned on a Wednesday at noon and are due the following Tuesday night at 11:59pm. Deadlines are clearly marked. 
Note: many weekly assignments are building blocks for the larger projects so it's important to complete them on time.

Late Assignments:

I accept late assignments in this class although it's difficult to manage a large number of students online and keep track of assignments in need of grading. Late assignments may receive NO feedback at all. Getting behind will make it very difficult to complete the larger projects in this class successfully since the smaller assignments are building blocks for projects. The due dates for assignments are clearly marked and are due consistently on the same day/time each week. You should start assignments early in the week to avoid missing a deadline.

Expectations for Written Assignments:

Since this is a college-level course, written assignments (including discussion forums) should have detailed answers and must be completed using full, grammatically-correct sentences without spelling errors. Type your assignments in a word processing program (e.g MS Word) and use a grammar/spell checker if you're not confident about your writing/spelling abilities. Assignments written in "texting" lingo (e.g. "i think these sites r gd") will receive an automatic 50% penalty.

Quizzes:

Quizzes are listed under the Weekly Assignments headings in each weekly Module. All quizzes are multiple choice. The quizzes are set to display only your final score when you submit the quiz and while the quiz is still open. After the quiz closes, you can click on your submission to see your answers and the correct answers to the quiz. They are not timed. Opening up missed quizzes is a hassle so make sure you complete them by the deadline.

Forum Participation/Discussion:

You are expected to post your discussions, questions, responses to questions, favorite discoveries, comments etc. to the Class Discussion, Discoveries and Questions Forums on a weekly basis. Participation is required and you need to post at least ONE (relevant) on-topic contribution and ONE response or additional contribution per week during the course. Note: You need to post messages/reply by the weekly deadline each week!

Forum participation is worth 4 points per week. I usually post a discussion topic but students can also opt to post their own topics. Suggestions for postings: response to the discussion topic of the week, link to a nicely designed web site/Flash site with your comments (and a screen shot), link to a good graphic design resource page, link to a recent tutorial for graphics software (e.g. Photoshop), question regarding an information need or graphic design problem, etc. Simplistic messages or ones that "just agree" will not count! The forum links are under each week.

Design Projects:

In addition to the shorter weekly online assignments, you will work on several design projects. Specific details about each of these projects will be provided as the course progresses. Many of the shorter weekly assignments contribute directly to the main projects. 

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Participation and Attendance

You "attend" class each week by reading the Weekly Lecture Pages, completing the assignments on time and participating in the forums/discussions. Canvas keeps a student log of your activities that shows the extent of your activities on the class Canvas site. 

According to SRJC attendance policy:

  • Students are expected to attend (participate) in all sessions of an online course.
  • Students may be dropped from any class when their absences exceed 10% of the total hours of class time.

Link to SRJC attendance policy online: https://de.santarosa.edu/sites/de.santarosa.edu/files/8.1.5P.pdf

If you fail to attend (participate) in the class for an entire week without contacting me in any way (or responding to my attempts to contact you), you may well be dropped from the class. However, it is ultimately the student's responsibility to drop a class.

Participation is essential to an online class. You participate by raising good questions, sharing tips and discoveries, recommending web sites, and contributing to the discussions on our class forum. If you do not put in the hours required by this course (at least 9 hours per week), it will be very obvious from the quality of your participation.

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Grading

My philosophy about grading is that "every student starts with an A grade." It is up to you what happens to it during the course. Your final grade will be based on the points accumulated from your participation and all the work completed during the class. Grading: >90% = A, 80%-89.9% = B, 70%-79.9% = C, 60%-69.9% = D, <60% = F.  You should use the Canvas Grades page to keep track of your progress in this class. A grading rubric is generally attached to each assignment so you can see what my grading criteria is and what is expected.

Important Note about the Canvas Grades page! All ungraded assignments will show a 0 grade. Please do not assume that you have received 0 for assignments you have submitted. The number will change when I actually grade the assignment. You should be able to check the status of an assignment to make sure you've submitted it.

This class can be taken for a Grade or Pass/No Pass. Make sure you know whether a grade in this class is necessary for any certificate you are pursuing. To check your grades please click on the Grades link in the Canvas sidebar.

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Hardware/software Requirements

To take this class you should have access to the following:

  • Internet Connection: You will need a fast Internet connection particularly to view the online videos.
  • Web Browser: Chrome is the browser recommended for optimal working in Canvas. If you choose to use a different browser, make sure it's a recent update.
  • Internet Plug-ins/extensions: Make sure you have commonly-used Internet plug-ins installed with your browser. These might include: Acrobat Reader and Adobe Flash Player. 
  • E-mail Account: Use just ONE e-mail account that you check frequently. Make sure the e-mail account does not get so full that messages are bounced. Do not change e-mail accounts in mid-course unless it's absolutely necessary!
  • E-mail Software: Be sure that you understand how to use your e-mail software (either an online e-mail account or on your home computer)
  • Relatively powerful computer: either a PC running a recent version of Windows or Mac OS.
  • Software: You should have access to Photoshop (can be an older version) either on your home computer or in the lab. Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office (or equivalent) software (Word and Powerpoint) may also be used.
  • Good Computer Karma!!

If you do not have a computer at home, you can access the Internet from most of the JC labs. To make use of a lab you must have a valid student ID card.
http://it.santarosa.edu/labs/

You can obtain an e-mail account either by signing up for a JC Student account or by getting a free online account through Gmail or similar service (Yahoo accounts have had some issues in the past so I recommend you avoid them!). For more information on JC Student E-mail Accounts please visit: https://it.santarosa.edu/student/support/email

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Online and Course Preparedness

This course is entirely Internet-based so you should feel relatively comfortable using your computer (software and hardware) and should be prepared to work independently. To participate in this class online you need to:

  • Have a single, consistent, reliable e-mail that you check frequently!
  • Know how to send and receive e-mail. You'll be sending a lot of e-mail messages to me and your classmates. Be sure you understand how to read your mail and how to send mail to me. Use the same e-mail account for the entire class and make sure it does not become full of messages.
  • Feel comfortable navigating the World Wide Web.
  • Know the basics of using Photoshop including drawing shapes, creating type, working with photos and setting canvas and image sizes.

If you need reassurance that you are ready to take an online class, please check the following page: https://de.santarosa.edu/new-online-learning.

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Textbook and Materials

Beairddesign3_large_3d.pngThere is one required textbook for this class: The Principles of Beautiful Web Design by Jason Beaird. 3rd edition. 2014. ISBN-13: 978-0-9922794-4-8. There is a copy of this book at the Reserve Desk in Doyle Library. You can read it in the library for a 2-hour loan period: http://library.santarosa.edu/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=248007

No materials are required except for the hardware/software requirements listed above.

 

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Student Expectations and Resources

This 17 week section will be taught entirely online. The online format offers you flexibility in scheduling however it requires extra self-discipline and motivation.

You will need to schedule 3 "lecture" hours per week to read the lecture pages, explore links, practice using tools and techniques, and participate in the forum discussions. This is equivalent to scheduled class time if we were in a face-to-face environment. In addition you must schedule about 6 hours to complete homework assignments and activities (this may vary considerably from one week to the next and according to your skill level).

Students must abide by the SRJC Student Conduct Standards. These Conduct standards also apply to acts of Academic Dishonesty. Any act of academic dishonesty, either intentional or unintentional, will result in a grade of "F" on that assignment. You should read the following information about students' rights and responsibilities: https://studentlife.santarosa.edu/rights-and-responsibilities

If you need disability-related accommodations for this class -- such as a notetaker, test-taking services, etc. -- please provide me with the Authorization for Academic Accommodations (AAA letter) from the Disability Resources Department (DRD) as soon as possible. You may also e-mail me about your accommodations. If you have not received authorization from DRD, it is recommended that you contact them directly. DRD is located in Analy Village (707-527-4278) on the Santa Rosa campus, and Jacobs Room 101/Call Room 690A on the Petaluma Campus.

If you have a health-related concern, you can contact SRJC Student Health Services: https://shs.santarosa.edu/

All students enrolled in any credit course in the Sonoma County Junior College District are eligible to access services funded by the Health Fee. Professional visits and select supplies are provided free of charge. Cost of care obtained at other healthcare facilities, however, is the student's financial responsibility.

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Important Dates

Please pay close attention to the dates to drop and withdraw from this class!

https://portal.santarosa.edu/SRWeb/SR_SectionDates.aspx?Section=5296&Semester=20183

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Tips For Enjoying This Class

PARTICIPATE!

Get involved in class discussions and surf the web until you drop!

BE ADVENTUROUS!

Explore places you've never been before and try things that might be technically challenging.

USE YOUR INITIATIVE!

With an online class you're pretty much on your own on the technical front. Remember to check your computer manuals and online support/tutorials before you contact me. I may not be able to help you solve problems with your home computer.

COOPERATE!

You create a great class atmosphere when you work cooperatively with your fellow students and with me. Your classmates will appreciate hearing your constructive comments during mailing list discussions. In addition, I like to receive constructive and positive feedback about how the class is going. If there's a problem I'd like to hear about it. You never know... maybe I can even fix it!

DON'T GET BEHIND!

Stay up to date with your reading, surfing and assignments! Resist the urge to procrastinate!