Syllabus Background

About Sean
Classes

Hypermedia Production

x About Sean
About text

Reach me at sean.r.cohen at gmail.com
You'll find out more, calm down.

x Hypermedia Production Classes

  • Class 6
  • Class 5
  • Class 4
  • Class 3
  • Class 2
  • Class 1

Class 6

  • In Class
    • Lecture: usability, affordance, 90% of what is intuitive is actually just familiar
    • Just another note from Alexander's The Timeless Way of Building
      "Everyone knows how beautiful a room is when it has a bay window in it, or a window seat, or a special ledge next to the window, or a small alcove which is entirely glassed. The feeling that rooms with these kinds of places in them are especially beautiful is not merely whimsy. It has a fundamental organic reason behind it.
      "When you are in a living room for any length of time, two of the many forces acting on you are the following:
      1. You have a tendency to go towards the light. People are phototropic, biologically, so that it is often comfortable to place yourself where the light is.
      2. If you are in the room for any length of time, you probably want to sit down, and make yourself comfortable.
      "In a room which has at least one window that is a 'place' -- you can give in to both forces: you can resolve the conflict for yourself.
      "In short, you can be comfortable."
    • If we have time, watch this: Bangle on cars

  • Assignment

Class 5

  • In Class

  • Assignment
    • Read: critiques, winfriendsinshort
    • Every week someone(s) will be chosen to REDO this page completely. As it gets bigger and longer it will be harder to do, but your skills will also have improved. Who will it be this time? Decide amongst yourselves and tell me. SOMEONE MUST DO IT - who?

      • To do for next week:
      • Watch and copy his code and DO EXACTLY what he does. Really.
      • Then think of something you can do with css and jquery and show us.It can be simple - it SHOULD be simple. Really.

Class 4

  • In Class
    • First, I advise that you come to class. This is my advice and not the word form on high because clearly I am not there and I would expect that no one else should care. You should show up because it is important to get to know and learn how to work with your class, your team, your friends.
    • Second, you can come to the classroom, and that might be a good place to start, and maybe you can watch the first two items. below, but then I advise that you print out or have local copies on laptops of your work, and walk off to tapas teatro, a bar or some other place that is close. If none of that works for you, consider going over to the student building and finding a quiet place to talk. My advice is not to stay any later than 9:30. In order to make this happen, someone should take charge and help everyone decide.
    • Lets begin withsomething cheerful: angry erotic sheep
    • Watch: creativity, the fear of being wrong, and multimedia (this is funny and informative, I have assigned it before - bear with it)
    • Discuss your work with each other. Really. Just do it like we do it in class. let everyone see your work, tell them what you were thinking and then ask them for a response.
    • Small reading: Design for emotion
    • Watch:freaks

  • Assignment
    • Sign up for facebook and connect with each other and with me.
    • Every week someone(s) will be chosen to REDO this page completely. As it gets bigger and longer it will be harder to do, but your skills will also have improved. Who will it be this time? Decide amongst yourselves and tell me. SOMEONE MUST DO IT - who?
    • Watch:the last lecture - this is really an hour long sermon on diligence and sincerity. How can it relate to us and to what we do?

      • To do for next week:
      • get in the same 3-person groups.
      • 1 different person will be the project manager and information architect.
      • 1 different person will be the designer.
      • 1 different person will be the producer/coder/cleanup crew.
      • download and read ALL ABOUT the blueprint css system or the YAML system. use one of these systems for this project.
      • You need to make a small prototype site that is very design-heavy.
      • The topic MUST be personal, non-profit, humanitarian or of intimate conceern forat least one person in your group - it would be best of all three memebers of the group were invested in this.. PLEASE ASK ME ABOUT THIS on our blog.

Class 3

  • In Class

  • Assignment
    • Sign up for facebook and connect with each other and with me.
    • Every week someone(s) will be chosen to REDO this page completely. As it gets bigger and longer it will be harder to do, but your skills will also have improved. Who will it be this time? Decide amongst yourselves and tell me. SOMEONE MUST DO IT - who?
    • Watch:the last lecture - this is really an hour long sermon on diligence and sincerity. How can it relate to us and to what we do?

      • To do for next week:
      • get in the same 3-person groups.
      • 1 different person will be the project manager and information architect.
      • 1 different person will be the designer.
      • 1 different person will be the producer/coder/cleanup crew.
      • download and read ALL ABOUT the 960 grid system.
      • You need to make a small prototype site that is very design-heavy.
      • The topic MUST be work or degree-related for one person in your group. PLEASE ASK ME ABOUT THIS.

Class 2

  • In Class
    • Lets look at what you've done.
    • Sketching, drafts, prototyping - what are they and why do we do it?
    • Reinvigorate your work, some pointers (stolen from Jason Womack):
      • Walk around.
        Anywhere will do. You can walk around your office. Visit a floor you haven't been to before. Or maybe you have time to go around the block or visit that park down the street. It's all about looking for something positive you have never seen. Taking time to smell the roses may be just a cliche, but those roses could be anything. A restaurant you've never seen. A friend's cubicle. Some kids playing ball. Life is going on in the world around you. You just need to notice.
      • Set an alarm and work on just one thing for that period of time.
        Maybe it's just 5, 10 or 20 minutes. Maybe it's two minutes. But at the end of the time, you will notice what's it's like to experience real focus. And if you complete the task, you have something to anchor your day around. You've gotten at least one thing really done.
      • Open up a best-selling business or self-help book to a random page and read for five minutes. Let you mind apply whatever your reading to whatever you are working on. There is bound to be inspiration for a great idea or a new way of doing things.
      • Contact someone you admire.
        If the internet has done anything, it has flattened the world and enabled us to contact people we respect in many different areas'your business, entertainment, politics or writing. Like an author? Find their web site and drop them an email. Make a list of all the people you want to meet someday and see how many of them you can find on the web. You'd be surprised how many respond.
      • In short, here are some things that will get you going again:
        • Appreciation of your surroundings.
        • The accomplishment of a job done well.
        • Connection with others
    • watch: edward de bono, where the hell is matt, how the hell did matt, daniel pink

  • Assignment
    • Sign up for rescuetime.
    • Every week someone(s) will be chosen to REDO this page completely. As it gets bigger and longer it will be harder to do, but your skills will also have improved. Who will it be this time?
    • what is interaction design? gillian smith comments.
    • Read:nokia's design manifesto, all about chrome
    • Watch: bass on titles (why am I making you watch this? how is it relevant?)

      • To do for next week:
      • get in 3-person groups.
      • 1 person will be the project manager and information architect.
      • 1 person will be the designer.
      • 1 person will be the producer/coder/cleanup crew.
      • choose one of the following pages/articles: The future of the desktop, experience design manifesto
      • Make a small, at least 3 page, site using tables.

Class 1

  • In Class
    • Getting to know you.
    • What are your expectations?
    • Some suggestions.
    • How I see my job - more coach, less an authority.
    • watch: flagpole, Dweck, Brand,

  • Assignment
    • Send me your email address with a subjectline: HYPERMEDIA PRODUCTION - YOURNAME. send it to sean.r.cohen at gmail.com
    • Every week someone will be chosen to REDO this page completely. As it gets bigger and longer it will be harder to do, but your skills will also have improved. Who will it be this time?
    • After I have received ALL emails from you I will send out invitations so you can post on our blog. Posting weekly is mandatory and is considered part of class participation.
    • Watch: Aurora

      • To do for next week:
    • Make your own Telescopic text. Here is mine.