Syllabus: LIS 385T.16

Class: LIS 385T.16 — Information Design.

Instructor: Andrew W. Donoho

Office Phone: +1 (512) 453-6652

Office Hours: Make an Appointment

Class Hours: Saturdays, 9 AM to 12 PM. TBD meetings times for two extra classes.

Lab Hours: To Be Determined. Typically a weekday evening for two hours. Attendance is optional.

Text:

Guide to Web Publishing (Hardcopy) by Phillip Greenspun

Raggett on HTML by Dave Raggett et. al.

Cascading Style Sheets, Second Edition: Designing for the Web by Hakon Wium Lie, Bert Bos

Tools: HoTMetaL Pro 5.0, Academic Price $59.95 + Shipping.

Skills: Ability to use FTP and a WWW Browser on the Internet.

Grading Policy:

10% Class Participation.

10% Web Site Critique

15% Napoleon WWW Project.

20% UT-Cat WWW Project.

45% Semester Project

Standard Lecture Format:

1:45 - Graphic and System Design.
0:45 - Internet, HTML Skills Demo.

Initial Assignment:

Read Vanevar Bush's "As We May Think"

Use the Web to:

Find 5 "Good" Sites.
Find 5 "Bad" Sites.
Describe why you chose each site.
Build an HTML page with links to the sites and your descriptions. Install it on the DDG server.

Lecture Details:

This is a seminar class. Therefore, copies of all slides will be available to the class. It is strongly urged that each student participate in class discussions. A large portion of the knowledge in this class is derived from the processes of creation and critique.

Lecture 1: Overview of Hypertechnologies of Graphics, Sound, Video and Networks. Exposition of the thesis of Nonlinear Access to and the Design of Information. Initial Field Assignment: Perform Simple Actions on the Web. Read "As We May Think" by Vanevar Bush.

Lecture 2: As We May Think: A Discussion of Vannevar Bush's Speculations about the Information Systems of the Future. Discussion of Web Fundamentals. Assignment of Napoleon Web Project.

Lecture 3: Principles of Information Design: Videos from Edward R. Tufte at the Microsoft CD-ROM Conference, Apple Computer: Knowledge Navigator. Elucidate Five Pricipals of Information Design and Norman's Four Principles of Effective Systems. Introduction to WWW/Mosaic. Assignment: Examine and Criticize the UT-CAT system.

Lecture 4: Information Integrity: Describe and Discuss Information Designs for Books, Magazines, Audio Recordings, Network Information Services, Video Services and Cable TV. Define a Methodolgy for Designing Information Screens: Table of Context.

Lecture 5: Open analysis of UT-CAT using Norman's criteria. Napoleon Project Due. Start UT-CAT Assignment.

Lecture 6: Demonstration of Student Work on Napoleon Assignment.

Lecture 7: Problem Specification. An examination of three questions that frame the definition of a "wicked" problem. Examples used from UT-Cat.

Lecture 8: Detailed Examination of Model Definition for UT-Cat. Description of the Basic Needs of the System and Examination of Several Proposed Mappings.

Lecture 9: To Err is Human: A discussion of the causes of error. Perscriptions of how to make "forgiving" systems. Large example and discussion section. UT-CAT Project Due.

Lectures 10-13: TBD Web Topics.

Lecture 14: The Future is Coming. Technology Revolution. What it is and how it will affect information systems of the future. Final Project Due.

January Meeting: Demonstration of Student Projects. Date TBD.