semiotics // website production // 2.25

in class
more muse tutorials.

how to upload your site to the kcai servers.


if time allows
- desk crits
- continue with muse site production

homework
finalize site production and upload the final to your server space.

prepare for crit.

final crit structure
live websites will be presented on the large monitor, presented from my laptop with a web browser.

each student will have seven minutes max: 2 min for presentation and 5 for peer feedback. order will be random, so be prepared to go at any time you are called.

students will present in front of the class, addressing the following areas:
- how you personally see semiotics as being relevant to graphic design practice (or not, if you don't see the relevance).
- the most significant idea(s) you learned about semiotics – what ideas are impacting your work right now
- how your page is organized and why you organized it that way. explaining the obvious is fine here. it's important to be able to articulate even the simplest ideas clearly.

remember you only have 2 minutes.
remember you need to address the above areas, not spend two minutes on how you made the background blue.

semiotics // website production // 2.20

in class
quickly review design sketches. determine a single direction to pursue.

muse demos

homework

refine design sketches as needed. produce any necessary graphic elements in photoshop at actual size, 72dpi, rgb color mode. save files as follows:
- layered psd files for button graphics with rollover states
- .png files with transparent backgrounds for non-square or shadowed images where the background color needs to show through
- .jpg files for photographic images with no transparency

begin working in muse. set up your sitemap, develop your master page elements (navigation), and start laying out your semiotics page.


resources
lynda.com muse tutorials: you can check out two-week subscriptions to this website from the library. there are over five hours worth of info here.

muse tutorial page on adobe.com. lots of useful info here. 

semiotics // website resources // 2.18

a few sites from last year's junior information architecture class. this will help you get a sense of what's possible with muse.

look at these from the perspective of interaction and technical "how to" – what kinds of animations, rollovers, links, etc, are possible using muse? think about how they apply to what you hope to do.

patrick drake
great "single page" navigational scrolling idea, and a great mix of vertical scrolling details and left/right navigation to view each shirt.

mckenzie marston
great use of expanding/contracting elements (select "roster" > "history"), and a good looking slideshow (select "roster" > "my hall of fame")

ivan alonso
nice subtle image rollovers, plus enlarged view of each object when clicked.

keaton reeder
some static elements, like navigation and background, while other elements are scrolling.

jessica rojas
nice horizontal scrolling. content scrolls while nav and title remain static, or "pinned" in position.

jessi wilson
nice and simple animated gif on the home page. resized rollover images.

collin rausch
nice record cover rollovers and an interesting little record-grid navigation in the lower right corner.

erika goering
the "infographs" section has images that slide open when you click the typography.

abby carr
nothing technically flashy at all. no tricks. just solid structure / layout and strong design sensibility