Recommended Texts
- Design of Everyday Things (ebook, AMZN)
Don Norman. Basic Books (2013) ISBN-10: 0465050654 - Designing for the Digital Age (AMZN)
Kim Goodwin. Wiley (2009) ISBN-10: 0470229101 - Designing The Obvious (AMZN)
Robert Hoekman, Jr. New Riders (2011) ISBN-10: 032145345X - Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (3rd Edition, AMZN)
Steve Krug. New Riders (2014). ISBN-10: 0321965515 - HTML & CSS (Visual QuickStart Guide Series), 8th Edition (AMZN)
Elizabeth Castro and Bruce Hyslop. Peachpit Press (2013) ISBN-10: 0321928830
Weekly Readings and Videos: still in development
Please read prior to class. There will be specific assignments each week related to the reading/videos; some will be individual assignments and some will be completed in twos or threes.
Week 1
Reference: Web Design: The Complete Reference, Chapter 1
Week 2 – foundations
- 10 proven ways to build a website that customers will love
- Web design glossary (this will be on your quiz)
- Don Norman on Three Ways Good Design Makes You Happy (video)
After reading/watching — post in Lesson 2 Forum (Moodle). What insights (Ah-ha!) did you take-away? What points do you want to focus on in your design work?
Week 3 – UX/aesthetics
- HCI Design (overview)
- Usability of Public Websites (pdf on DropBox; book chapter)
- What is user experience design?
- Why user-centered design is not enough
After reading/watching — post in Lesson 3 Forum (Moodle). Which reading had you nodding your head, and why? Which caused you to think, “not so fast”, and why? Now, which bits do you want to incorporate into your web design practice?
Week 4 – Design principles
- 101 things I learned in interaction design school
- Visual design basics
- Visual design principles for the web
- YouTube: Design principles for a better mobile web
After reading/watching — post in Lesson 4 Forum (Moodle). Find two or three examples from the video and link them to one of the readings. It will be helpful to note the video timestamps (such as 26:50) for your examples.
Week 5 – Personas
- How to breathe life into personas
- Personas
- Reference: Personas
- The Redesign of the Design Process
- YouTube: How to make personas that work
After reading/watching — post in Lesson 5 Forum (Moodle). Find two or three examples, using both the video and the readings, that will help you develop your personas for this project. It will be helpful to note the video timestamp (such as 26:50) for your examples.
Week 6 – Photoshop, Competitive analysis
- 7 Ingredients Of A Successful UX Strategy
- Competitive Usability Analysis: Learning From The Competition (NNGroup)
- How to conduct competitive research (Inc.)
- YouTube: Basic usability tips
- Inspiration (optional) YouTube: Creative confidence
After reading/watching — post in Lesson 6 Forum (Moodle). Thinking about competitor sites, which of these do they do best? Which usability points resonate the most with you, and how might you incorporate this insight into your competitive analysis and design planning (we need the video timestamp)?
Week 7 – IA/wireframes
After reading/watching — post in Lesson 7 Forum (Moodle).
Week 8 – Legalities
- Creative Commons: About the licenses
- Who really owns your photos in social media?
- TED Talk (video) : Laws that choke creativity
After reading/watching — post in Lesson 8 Forum (Moodle).
Web Design & Production Foundations 
2 thoughts on “Readings”