1. 22-3375-03: WEBSITE DESIGN 1
Fall 2012 | Thurs 6:00 – 9:50 pm | Wabash Building, Room 921
3 Credit Hours
INSTRUCTOR: Shawn Calvert, shawncalvert@gmail.com
Course Description
Course, intended for Art and Design as well as Photography majors, covers Web site design topics.
Studies include hypertext, graphic style information, graphic file formats, digital imaging, and
basic computer-user interface issues. Course assignments include design and execution of HTML
documents and graphics and completion of a written thesis.
Pre-Enrollment Criteria
22-2330 Introduction to Graphic Design
— and
22-2170 History of Communication Design,
— or
22-2170 History of Communication Design
— and
22-2612 Introduction to Visual Communications
If this course is required by your major or if you are taking this course as a pre-requisite
for another course, you need to earn a C or better to pass the course. If you earn a C- or
below you will be required to retake the course.
Course Objectives
This syllabus is subject to change at any time during the semester. You will be notified of any
changes or will be issued a new syllabus.
first class
Thursday, September 6
last day to add a class
Monday, September 10
last day to withdraw
Monday, October 29
last class
Thursday, December 13
Columbia College Chicago
600 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60605
Art + Design Department
623 S. Wabash
Suite 721
Chicago, IL 60605
312.369.7380

2.  | web design 1
COURSE DETAILS
Text
No textbook is assigned. Readings will be online or posted
in Moodle.
Materials
n a personal domain and hosting service
n storage media of choice (external harddrives, flashdrives,
network locker, etc)
Course Fee
A+D courses (2–4 credits) have a $40.00 instructional
resource fee that supports the curriculum of the
department.
Students with Disabilities Statement
Columbia College Chicago seeks to maintain a supportive
academic environment for students with disabilities.
Students who self-identify as having a disability should
present their documentation to the Services for Students
with Disabilities (SSD) office. After the documentation
has been reviewed by the SSD office, a Columbia College
accommodation letter will be provided to the student.
Students are encouraged to present their Columbia
accommodation letters to each instructor at the beginning
of the semester so that accommodations can be arranged
in a timely manner by the College, the department, or the
faculty member, as appropriate. Accommodations will
begin at the time the letter is presented. Students with
disabilities who do not have accommodation letters should
visit the office of Services for Students with Disabilities,
Room 304 of the 623 S. Wabash building (312-369-8296).
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is one of the most cherished principles
of the Columbia community. You must adhere to this
principle: by understanding the nature of plagiarism and
by not plagiarizing materials; by refraining from the use of
unauthorized aids on tests and examinations; by turning
in assignments which are products of your own efforts and
research; and by refusing to give or receive information
on tests and examinations to or from other students. If
you violate these principles of simple honesty, you risk
embarrassment, course failure, and disciplinary action. It is
simply not worth it.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCES
Attendance is required in all Art + Design classes. In each
class, attendance is tied to specific learning outcomes and
to course grades. Any absence will affect your ability to
complete coursework successfully. There are no excused
absences. More than three absences is cause for failure.
Here are some examples of the ways in which attendance
connects with learning outcomes:
1 Students critique and evaluate each other’s work
in class and it is essential for your progress and learning
experience to be present to do so. Critiquing develops
analytical skill and communication proficiency.
2 Students frequently collaborate on projects and
in-class exercises, and learning these skills requires
you to be present.
3 Participating in class discussions and critiques
helps you develop skill in self-expression and
verbal/rhetorical abilities
Tardiness and early departure will also be considered a
violation of the absence policy. Attendance will be taken
at the start of each class. Being late to class twice (15
minutes or more), or leaving before the end of class twice
(or instructor dismissal), will equal an absence. While I
appreciate being informed if you are arriving late or leaving
early, the attendance mark is automatic nonetheless. Class
will not dismiss earlier than 9:20, so if you leave before
then, you will receive and early departure. Attendance will
be recorded in Moodle after each class; it is the student’s
responsibility to keep track of their attendance record.
EXPECTATIONS
To do well in this course, plan on an average of at least 6–8
hours of work per week outside of class. The speed in which
you gain useful skills in web design will directly correlate
with your drive to work through and figure out challenging
html/css/js problems, as well as the ability to identify areas
for growth and pursue self-training.
Arrive at class on time, with your work posted and ready to
present. There will be two 15-minute breaks per class. While
in class, you are expected to work on class projects; internet
usage should be limited to class-related research.
You are expected to be an enthusiastic participant in this
class and take ownership of your work and development
as a creative professional. The function of critiques is not
only to receive feedback on your work, but to build essential
skills of presentation, negotiation, and persuasion.

3. web design 1 | 
GRADES
Your work will be evaluated by the following criteria:
1 following instructions accurately and meeting deadlines,
2 appropriateness of solution to project design brief,
3 a demonstrated understanding and implementation of
html/css use and technique,
4 craftsmanship and attention to detail, and
5 presentation.
There will be something due each week that will affect your
grade. It is your responsibility to keep track of when your
work is due and to ensure that you are clear on expectations
before starting your projects.
All grades will be posted through Moodle.
Grade Breakdown
Two projects — 100pts each
Exercises — 10pts each
Blog postings — 10pts each
Two quizzes — 25pts each
GRADE DESCRIPTION GRADE AVG
A excellent 96-100
A- 91-95
B+ 88-90
B above average 84-87
B- 80-83
C+ 77-79
C average 73-76
C- 70-72
D below average 60-69
F failure below 60
FX failure for non-attendance
P pass
I Incomplete (not given)
R course repeated
W withdrawal
COURSEWORK
Blog Postings
You will maintain a personal blog for the course in which
you will has assigned post subjects, as well as use for
posting work for class review.
Exercises
Throughout the course, we will have around 5-7 in-class
exercises that will be graded on a credit/no-credit basis.
The exercises are intended to build specific skills that will be
needed for projects, or to reinforce topics and/or design
techniques. You will be given time to complete exercises
in class.
Projects
We will have two larger projects: an online ad campaign
and a personal portfolio (for yourself or someone else).
Late Work
All work will be due at specific dates as outlined in the
course schedule, and will be due at the beginning of class.
Exercises If you do not complete the work in-class or are
absent, then exercises must be completed before the
beginning of the next class (i.e., within one week). Late
exercises will not be accepted for credit (not negotiable).
Project drafts/work-in-progress All in-progress project
work must be turned in on the date specified. Missed
work will count a full letter off the final project grade. All
in-progress work is posted in Moodle, so class attendance
is not required to the ability to turn in work.
Project finals If your project final is one week late, your
project will drop 1 full grade, two weeks late, your project
will drop 2 grades. Project finals will not be accepted after
two weeks. Please don’t miss class because you haven’t
finished your work.

4. CLASS NEWS AND UPDATES
I will be contacting you via email (through the Moodle
News Forum) with reminders, changes or any other
pertinent information. Please check your email at least
24hrs before class or more often. It is your responsibility to
manage your mailbox so that lines of communication are open
and available.
I will also be posting up-to-date project handouts,
presentation pdfs, and the syllabus/calendar with any
updates in Moodle or on the class website.
CONTACTING THE INSTRUCTOR
The best way to contact me is through email; I do check
my Columbia address a few times a week (scalvert@
colum.edu, but can be reached faster at my gmail account
(shawncalvert@gmail.com). If the issue is an emergency,
please call my cell phone: 773-332-0448. I am only on
campus during class hours, but will be available for student
meetings during breaks or after class.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Moodle
All news items, grades, quizzes and some resources will be
posted in Moodle.
Moodle is a new learning management system (LMS) at
Columbia that is available as an alternative to Oasis. To
enter the Moodle site, go to moodle.colum.edu, log in with
your Oasis ID, and you should see our class under “My
Courses.” On the course site landing page, you will find
all of the same information that you would normally find
in Oasis; grades, attendance records, handouts, etc, but in a
more user-friendly interface.
shawncalvert.com/webdesign-1
All project worksheets, presentations, class notes, and other
resources will be posted at this URL.
 | web design 1

5. web design 1 | 
COURSE SCHEDULE
9/6 Introductions
Exercise 1 Personal questionnaire with photo
for next week
Blog post Site analysis
Sign up for hosting, set up nameservers
9/13 HTML pt 1
Blog post present to class
Tutorials
for next week
Blog post Site analysis
Exercise 2 Markup exercises
9/20 HTML pt 2
Blog post Present to class
Tutorials
for next week
Blog post Site analysis
Exercise 3 Markup exercises
9/27 CSS pt 1: Typography
Blog post Present to class
Tutorials
for next week
Blog post Reading response
Exercise 4 Type element styling
10/04 CSS pt 2: Layout
Exercise 4 Class review
Tutorials
for next week
Blog post Site analysis
Exercise 5 Layout experiments
10/11 Site Planning
Exercise 5 Class review
Quiz 1
Tutorials
for next week
Blog post Site analysis
Project 1 Site mockups
10/18 Images and Backgrounds
Project 1 Class review
Tutorials
for next week
Project 1 Design revisions

6.  | web design 1
10/25 CSS pt 3: Navigation & Links
Project 1 Class review
Tutorials
for next week
Blog post Reading response
Project 1 Site markup & banner ads
11/1 Designing Interactions/Usability Standards
Project 1 Class review
In-class project lab
for next week
Project 1 Final
11/8 Crit/Review
Project 1 final crit
for next week
Project 2 Sitemap & wireframes
11/15 Introduction to Javascript
Project 2 Class review
Tutorials
after the break
Blog post Site analysis
Project 2 Site mockups
11/22 No Class
11/29 Integrating Media: Video, Audio, Slideshows, Flash
Project 2 Class review
In-class project lab
Tutorials
for next week
Blog post Site analysis
Project 2 Site markup
12/6 Tips & Tricks
Project 2 Class review
In-class project lab
for next week
Project 2 Final
12/13 Final
Project 2 Final crit
Quiz 2