Fall 23
GDES 308: Web Design
(Also known as Handmade Web)
Tuesdays + Thursdays 5:30–8:50p (ET)
Online
Aidan Quinlan
quinlanak@vcu.edu
“I evoke the term ‘handmade web’ to suggest
slowness and smallness as forms of resistance.”
— J. R. Carpenter
Overview
The hand has become increasingly less present in the web as we know it today. Websites are automated or built from templates, and the knowledge of how to make a website is relegated to a select few. It has only gotten easier to learn and make on the web, but the idea and perceived requirements for a website have become so convoluted and arcane that many avoid the subject. This course seeks to dispel these ideas and will emphasize the hand-quality of websites by developing an understanding of the best practices, language, history, and present context of the web. We will examine the space of the web at large and explore and challenge what a website is and can be with the hopes of reclaiming an important creative space.
The websites we’ll make may be small, but their hearts will be big.
The first part of the class will be technically focused. It will be comprised of a series of lessons, readings, workshops, and small projects to develop familiarity and confidence with the language of the web. We’ll focus on the basic languages of web development: HTML, CSS, and a little Javascript. This class is designed for students with no programming experience at all, but should be useful to any skill level. The second part of class will be focused on a larger project website.
Philosophy
This class will place heavy emphasis on the hand, craft, and care of your design and code. We’ll learn how to borrow and learn from the code of others, but we’ll strive to understand how to code it ourselves. This class will question much of what is commonly understood about the web and technology in general.
Some questions we’ll consider:
- Is tech always the answer? (“There’s an app for that”...)
- Why put something on the web?
- What are the qualities unique and inherent to the web and how can we harness and respond to these qualities in our work?
- How can we exist with more care online? What can we do to make the world wide web a nicer place?
When it comes to evaluation in this class, I am less interested in “polish” and whether or not something satisfies the desires of the design industry, and more interested in the effort, care, and development of a personal process. We all work and learn in different ways and at different speeds and my greatest hope is that this class offers time, space, and guidance to explore web design in whatever way is most valuable to you.
A Note On Instruction
I try to keep the class open and flexible so that you can explore web design in whatever way interests you the most — and there are many pathways and possibilities when it comes to the web. Because of this, a good portion of the class is driven by your own initiative.
I dislike being a manager or figure of authority and I will try to give you as much space as you need. I try to situate myself as a guide, an assistant, and a peer. If you have any questions, encounter problems, or just need some guidance, feedback, or a chat, please ask me — I am here and always happy to help!
Goals
The primary goal of this class is to demystify and remove the barrier for entry into web development and programming. Any and all questions are welcome. I won't know every answer, but we can work together to find one (and there are always many when it comes to coding). Learning how to search is the coder’s greatest tool.
By the end of the class you will:
- Have a working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and basic Javascript
- Understand the design principles particular to the web and dynamic media
- Have a basic understanding of web publishing
- Have an understanding of the history and present context of the web
Homepages
Early in the semester we will set up individual Homepage websites to house all products of this class (projects, writing, anything else…). We will host them using Github Pages. You can design and organize this however you like, as long as all content required in this class is accessible and easily found. You will turn projects in by publishing them to your Homepage.
More details can be found here.
Journals
For assigned readings I will ask you to respond to the reading with a short journal entry that you will upload to your Homepage. A few sentences is all that is required, but feel free to write and add however much you would like — this is your space after all!
If you would rather not write, feel free to respond in whatever way you would like. Maybe it's a drawing, a small webpage, a meme, or something else!
There will be some time for reading discussions, but class time will largely be reserved for work, review, and activities. However, these readings will help facilitate a common understanding about the history and present context of the web. Ideally, they will also serve as inspiration for you (as they have for me).
A small heads up: ChatGPT and other similar tools are really easy to spot when they're being used. While our journal entries are a small part of our class, they're an important component for developing a personal voice and perspective for our practices. There's a time and place for automated tools, but for this class let's try to keep the hand in Handmade Web.
Class Collection
The class collection is an are.na channel for collecting and sharing websites and web related resources with the class. Engagement with the class collection is optional but strongly encouraged! Over time this will become a shared resource of inspiration, reference, and information for our class, the future handmade web classes, and for any wanderer who comes across the collection. The collection can be found here. A link to the channel is also found in the sidebar of this site, marked as ✶✶.
Projects
During the first half of the class we will work on a series of smaller projects to practice and experiment with designing for the web. We will work on these as if they were workshop projects, keeping them small, messy, and experimental.
Final Project
The final project will take up the last six weeks of the class. It can be anything you like: a project you’ve had in mind for some time; an extension of your practice or an even larger project outside of this class. What is important is the craft, care, and concept of the project. It will be graded on these qualities. It should be unique, personal, and a world of its own.
Grading
40% — Participation
40% — Process
20% — Execution
In this class, I'm most interested in your engagement with the class materials and the development of a personal process. I think grades (particularly in an art class) are archaic and are often used punitively. I don't enjoy evaluating in this way, but it must be done... For the sake of transparency, here is a breakdown of my expectations for particular grade levels:
| A |
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| B |
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| C/D |
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| F |
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However, these are just guidelines and not law. I try to be as accomodating as possible. Should something happen, just communicate with me and we can find a way forward.
Materials
This class will require a computer, a text-editor (something like VS Code or Brackets), and a browser (Chrome or Firefox). I would also suggest a sketchbook for much encouraged off-screen thinking, note-taking, sketching, and journaling.
More details can be found in the Encyclopedia.
Online
This class will take place entirely online. Unless stated otherwise, we’ll regularly meet (synchronously) during the scheduled class times using Zoom.
We can consider this a feature rather than a hinderance for learning web design as we’ll inhabit and communicate within the environment that we’ll be designing and making for!
While I won’t ever require it, having your camera on during our class meetings is greatly appreciated! It helps foster a sense of community and presence in our class. It also helps me maintain energy and enthusiasm during our discussions and workshops. To me, a wall of blank screens is a frightening, debilitating thing. It makes me feel like a youtuber or streamer (something I very much don't want to be) — it’s important to me that this class still functions and feels like a classroom!
Class Discord
As this class will take place online, we’ll be using a Discord server to centralize communication and announcements for the class. The Discord will also serve as a space for feedback and comments during feedback sessions.
Attendance/Presence
The standard VCU attendance policy states that student absences during the semester are not expected to exceed the number of times the class meets in one week (2). More than 6 absences without communicating with me beforehand will result in a failing grade.
My primary concerns in this class, however, are your wellbeing and education. If you are unable to attend or need help/accommodation please communicate this with me as soon as you can and we can work together to find a solution!
VCU Policies and Resources
Students should visit http://go.vcu.edu/syllabus and review all syllabus statement information. The full university syllabus statement includes information on safety, registration, the VCU Honor Code, student conduct, withdrawal and more.
Acknowledgements
This syllabus and class’s foundation have a number of sources to thank:
- Laurel Schwulst — Laurel’s published syllabi and class portals served as my own unbidden introduction to web design. Much of the pacing and tone of this class is modeled after her approach.
- Mindy Seu — Mindy’s classes and workshops have also greatly helped expand my thought around teaching interaction classes.
- Roy McKelvey — Roy encouraged me to take on this class during my second year of the MFA at VCU. His syllabus served as the initial organizational structure of this class and his ongoing support and guidance has been an invaluable element of this class’s existence and wellbeing.