Final Project - J4502-SS19/class GitHub Wiki

Overview

The final draft of your site should incorporate all the feedback you've gotten up to this point and should be publication-ready. Rob should be able to take your templates and push them to the web the same day as you turn this in.

Due date

This assignment is due during our class final time, TBA. Attendance at the final is mandatory. You may only be excused from the final due to another scheduled final at the same time.

Points possible

250, divided between an individual (150 points) and a group (100 points) grade. Every member of the group gets the same group grade; each member will get their own individual grade.

What should you build?

This is the final version of your project, so it should include all the types of pages you'll need to have on your final site (one example of each unique page is fine). This is meant to be a complete product (immediately publishable). Your type, grids, space, color and other design elements should be final. Interactive elements should be working, and the site should work well both on mobile and on desktop views. There should be only one external stylesheet for your pages (see Rob for exceptions).

What to turn in

Your finished site, published on Github Pages. Your whole group will present the site to the classes.

The presentation

For your presentation, think about where you started — defining your audience and goals for the site. We'll have people from outside the classes at the presentations, so present with that in mind. It is more formal than the class presentations where you've just shown your site. We'll want you to show both versions of your site (mobile and desktop), but we will also want to understand the context, the content, the design philosophy and final execution of your work. You can use a Power Point/Keynote/Google slides in addition to your site.

Requirements:

  • All positioning and styling are to be done in one external css file, not in the html. Tables should be used only if you have an actual table, not for layout. Make sure every page has a title.

  • Include a one-page statement about the decisions you made. If you decide to ignore some portion of your feedback from earlier drafts, defend that decision in your statement. Explain what story you're trying to tell, and how you're telling it through the design and organization of your site. Be sure to include content-based reasons for your design decisions.

Grading (group):

  • Introduction (10) Is the topic clear without having to read too much? Do I get a clear picture of what kind of story this is, so I can make an informed decision about whether I want to dive in? Do I feel invited in? Does the the display type reflect the tone of the content? If one of the designer's jobs is to sell the content, are you selling it?

  • Organization (10) How did you choose to separate your content into smaller chapters? Do the parts of the project work where they are? Does each section tell its own part of the story? Could each section stand on its own, if I were to click there first or land there on a search? Does each section feel like it's worth my time? Did you showcase each kind of media well? And each kind of information well? Did you think critically about whether the parts of the story work well together, and about how to highlight the most interesting parts of the package?

  • Navigation (10) Is the navigation intuitive and consistent? Can I tell where I am, where I want to go, and where I've been? Do I as the user have control over how I work my way through the story?

  • Design (60) Do you have a color palette that is used consistently and reflects the mood of the project? Did you establish typographic styles that are used consistently? Do you have typographic hierarchy that helps me figure out what purpose each piece of type serves? Is the type all legible? Does the site feel intentionally designed, with no default type or styles? Does the design enhance the content rather than distract from it?

  • The Back End (10) Did you style using only CSS, keeping all styling, including positioning, out of the html? Did you use one external stylesheet for the whole site? Does every page have a title? Does your site render acceptably on various phone sizes?

Total: 100 points possible

Note: Assignments not turned in by deadline will drop a letter grade for each day late.

Grading (individual):

  • Github and Slack (50): Did you participate in discussions about group work? Were you active in the decision-making process? Were you respectful of other group members' ideas, though, feedback, and time? Did you push code to Github, or at least contribute in the group that was pushing code?

  • Self evaluation (50): What did you individually contribute to your group? How did you negotiate scheduling conflicts, differences of opinion, merge conflicts and the other inevitable group work issues that happen?

  • Peer evaluation (50): How did your group members respond to your work? What did they have to say about your contributions?

Total: 150 points possible

Total: 250 points possible for final grade

tl;dr:

This is your final project, you should read the above carefully. Worth 250 points, 25 percent of your semester grade.