This course builds on the basic aspects of HTML, web design, and multimedia programming that are presented in ICSA 320 & 330 (330 is not required for students who took 320 prior to 1991; it is a prerequisite or corequisite for students who took 320 from 1991 on). It provides an overview of web design concepts, including usability, accessibility, information design, and graphic design in the context of the web. It also provides an introduction to important and emerging web site technologies. Note: Students who took ICSA 535 prior to 1991 cannot take ICSA 409 for credit; they can, however, take the newly revised version of ICSA 535.
Important note regarding prerequisite knowledge: As of fall 1991, the curriculum for 320 was changed to include significant basic HTML coding and use of UNIX in a command-line environment. If you took 320 prior to 1991, or had 320 waived, I will expect you to bring yourself up to speed on those topics. You should be familiar with basic HTML coding (using text editors!), use of Photoshop and Fireworks, and basic design principles for the web, as well as UNIX commands for creating, deleting, renaming, and changing permissions for files and directories. I recommend the Visual Quickstart books on HTML and UNIX as a good reference for these topics, along with the Non-Designer's Web Book. All of those books have been required texts in the 320 course. If you don't feel comfortable teaching yourself this material quickly, I strongly suggest that you defer taking this course until such time as you have acquired the prerequisite knowledge, either by retaking 320 in its current form, or working on your own to master the material. In addition, in this course I assume that you have basic programming skills--the language is not important, but the understanding of programming concepts is. A 2 course programming sequence is listed in the prerequisites because it is impossible to create high-quality web sites without a good understanding of programming.
Last modified: 30 Nov 2008 12:14:01 PM