TA09+Website

= Project Webpage  =
 * Deadline: ****  Tuesday, May 13  **


 * Note: this is an optional, extra credit team assignment. It's worth approximately half the points of a normal TA. **

= Assignment Overview = In this extra credit team assignment, your goal is to create a website for your project based on the IxD and visual design principles we learned in class (//e.g.,// regarding grids, fonts, colors, visibility, responsiveness, feedback, etc). This website should serve three purposes: first, as a functional repository to host your team assignment deliverables; second, as a manifestation of some of your learnings in class; and third, as an external portfolio that you may want to point people to in the future to demonstrate your work in this class (//e.g.,// to friends, family, or even potential employers). Note: you do not have to share this website URL publicly nor do you have to link this website from your Wiki page. If you want to keep the website private (and simply use it to fulfill this assignment), just email me and Matt the url before the deadline. It's completely up to you and your team members about whether this website is public facing. If you do want it to be indexable/findable, then link to your website on your project team Wiki page.

= Requirements = At a minimum, your website should include:
 * A one sentence mission statement
 * A short description of the motivation and purpose for your application
 * Links to the various deliverables in class (//e.g.,// documents, presentations, videos, etc.). Do not forget to link the new deliverables: final write-up and final video.
 * A small “about us” section that describes who you are, your degree program, and your primary roles on the project.
 * If relevant, a link to your interactive prototype

In addition to the list above, you might also want to include a section on differentiating your application from competing products, a section highlighting the various inspirations for the project, and/or a section enumerating the tools used to create your mockups and prototypes throughout the semester. It is up to you on how you design the information architecture of the website (//e.g.,// the number of individual pages, content embedding, etc.).

Note that a creative, visually appealing, and well-designed website (see, for example, [|getOut] or [|StoneSoup] ) will earn more points than a bland, pedestrian website such as [|Fitter] or [|Foodwatch]. Remember, as you look at these websites, that these projects are based on a different version of this class taught at UW and may have had different requirements.

Ideally, you website would look more like a product site than a school project site. Orient your site to appeal to your potential user base and to convince them that they should use your application. Again, refer to the two well-designed examples above.

Note: you are welcome to use/remix CSS templates or web frameworks with themes (like Wordpress). However, you must indicate why you used such an approach and provide a critique/analysis of the visual design.

= Report = In order to receive extra credit, you must submit a short report by the last class period (May 13). At the top of the report, please include a title (centered and bold) followed by the names of each team member. For each person listed, describe their primary role/accomplishments on //this// assignment. The report should be roughly one page of text (not counting figures/tables etc.).

Section 1: Work Process
Describe your work process including: How did you approach the design of the website? What websites did you look at before deciding on your particular design? What were the hardest decisions/things to accomplish? How did you implement the website and why?

Section 2: Description/Critique of Design
Describe the IxD and visual design of your website. Explain and justify your design choices. Include at least one screenshot of the website with a link. What font type did you use? What color scheme? Again, justify these design decisions.