English 408C: The Rhetoric of Web Design

Fall 2001

Instructor: Neil Randall

HH 224, ext 3397

nrandall@watarts.uwaterloo.ca

Office times: Tuesday 10:00-1:30

Wednesday 2:00-3:00

Class times: 292: Tuesday 10:00-11:20 (EL 208), Thursday 10:30-12:20 (EL 106)

392B: Wednesday 4:00-6:50, AL 211

408B: Tuesday 7:00-9:50, AL 211

408C: Tuesday 4:00-6:50, AL 208

Texts

1. Krug, Steve and Roger Black. Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability. Que, 2000 (ISBN 0789723107).

2. Castro, Elizabeth. HTML 4 for the World Wide Web: Visual Quickstart Guide. Peachpit Press, 2000 (ISBN 0201354934).

2. Kress, Gunther and Theo van Leeuwen. Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. Routledge, 1996 (ISBN 0415106001).

3. Chandler, Daniel. Semiotics for Beginners <http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/semiotic.html>.

Recommended Text

Fowler, H. Ramsay, et al. The Little, Brown Handbook. 3rd Canadian edition. Toronto, 2001.

Schedule (subject to changes)

Sept 11: Introductions

Sept 18: Rhetorical/semiotic analysis of Web pages and sites - intro

Sept 25: Rhetorical/semiotic analysis; HTML 1

Oct 2: Graphical design considerations; workshop on graphical design

Oct 9: Textual design; workshop on textual design; HTML 2

Oct 16: Interactivity design; workshop on interactivity design

Oct 23: K/vL 1 – TBA; resultant analysis of Web pages

Oct 30: K/vL 2 – TBA; resultant analysis; HTML 3 Assignment #1 due (40%)

Nov 6: K/vL 3 – TBA; resultant analysis

Nov 13: Krug 1 – Web usability

Nov 20: Krug 2 – Web usability analysis – Assignment #2 due (40%)

Nov 27: Presentation of group Web sites (20%)

Assignments

40% - Individual site design and justification

Design a Web site consisting of at least three separate sections and nine separate pages (i.e., nine separate URLs), on a topic entirely of your choice. Include a 1000-word rhetorical/semiotic justification of the site, drawing theory from the materials discussed and read during the first half of the course, and hyperlinking this document to the site itself. Submit the URL for the site (not the documents themselves) via email to the instructor.

40% - Comparative critique of three Web sites

3000-word essay comparing three Web sites on one topic. Apply theory specifically from KvL, Chandler, and Krug, in order to conclude the rhetorical effectiveness of each site individually and the three sites comparably. Mount the essay on the Web, linking to the specific sections of the analyzed sites. Submit the URL for the essay via email to the instructor.

20% - Group Web site

Each five-member group will design a Web site of at least 20 pages (i.e., 20 separate URLs), divided into sections as determined by the group according to the theoretical perspectives outlined in the readings and the class discussions. Each group will present its site to the class on November 27, justifying the choices during the presentation. There is no separate written component for this assignment, but you will be graded according to the strength of the design from the perspective of the theories and techniques examined throughout the course.