Fundamentals of Web Development

Prepares students to confidently build projects with front-end web development tools.

Web development technologies are increasingly important tools in a designer’s kit, aiding in every aspect of the design process from research to presentation. There is no platform as universal and distributed as the world wide web and mastering its complementary software languages and tools provides designers tremendous design expressiveness and broad reach to diverse audiences across the planet.

In this course, students learn the theory and practice of front-end web design. Theoretical content will primarily focus on website design, with a heavy emphasis on developing sites that conform to standards and are responsive to the needs of practical applications and multiple devices. Hands-on work will help develop technical skills, working with HTML, CSS, Javascript, and other web client technologies. Students will learn to use a standard toolset and to follow generally accepted best practices. The course includes weekly web-programming assignments and a semester project.

Special attention throughout the course will be paid to designing and developing for all users and devices. Discussions about best practices for digital accessibility and related technologies like screen readers and assisted input devices will be reinforced and revisited throughout the course.

Learning Objectives

• Learn and apply fundamental principles of web design theory and practice
• Gain an understanding of web technologies and architectures
• Develop mastery of HTML and CSS
• Become proficient with a suite of web development tools
• Practice teamwork and professional skills

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the seminar, students should be able to envision, evaluate, and communicate interaction design ideas within a web-based environment using industry-standard tools.

Format & Grading

Each class time will be divided into lecture and workshop time. Lectures consist of interactive work to master a new concept through doing. Weekly additional homework exercises will task students with applying and mastering the coding principles covered in all previous weeks.

Enrollment Restrictions

No prerequisites. This course is open to all Institute of Design students