INFM 700 Information Architecture (Spring 2008)
Design Project 1: Craig's List
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In this project you will
redesign Craig's List,
Washington, D.C. Note that there are separate sites for different
locations—you will specifically focus on the site for DC area.
In this assignment, I will be referring to various elements of the Web
site's main page:
- Top-level links: links on the left edge of the interface ("post
to classifieds", "event calendar", "avoid scams & fraud", etc.)
- Top-level categories: main categories such as "community",
"personals", "discussion forums", "housing", etc.
- Second-level categories: categories underneath main categories,
such as "activities" under "community", "strictly platonic" under
"personals", etc.
- Location links: links to sites for other locations, on the right
hand side of the interface.
The deliverable for this project is a Web site prototype.
Wireframes are sufficient, but appropriate graphic design can
certainly enhance the presentation (note that the current site does
not use any graphics). I expect appropriate use of CSS.
You will do the following:
- Design a new overall organization system for the site,
implemented as one or more Web pages (but preserve the current top-
and second-level categories). These pages must contain all elements
currently present: top-level links, top-level categories,
second-level categories, and location links. In the current
interface, all these elements are arranged on a single page. You
may wish to revisit this design choice, as various elements could
certainly be spread across multiple pages. (Obviously, there are
tradeoffs, but part of your task is to weigh the different
options.)
- For two second-level categories from different
top-level categories, design and build a set of Web pages that
organizes the classified ads and helps a user navigate through them.
Currently, clicking on a second-level category link brings the user
to a page that has a list of ads enumerated in reverse chronological
order. Using the chess analogy discussed in class, the main page
can be viewed as the "opening", the ads themselves can be viewed as
the "end game". The current design, however, does not offer much of
a "middle game". The Web pages you design should provide navigation
aids for this "middle game", for example, to support browsing. For
each second-level category, you must illustrate the design with at
least 10 actual ads.
- Provide any additional documentation that you believe will help
me understand your design and the choices you have made. There are
no specific requirements on organization or length of these pages.
This design project is to be completed individually. You may
collaborate on design if you wish, but I expect distinct sites from
each student. Be aware that the difference between collaboration and
plagiarism is fuzzy. Obviously, discussing ideas is fine, and copying
another's HTML code is plagiarism—but most situations are not so
clear. When in doubt, ask me! If you do collaborate with someone
else, I expect you to note so prominently somewhere in your
deliverable (i.e., "I had several discussions with John about the
overall organizational scheme...").
Grading
This design project is due on March 10, 2008 at 6pm. Delivery of
the project will occur over email: you will send me an email with a
URL to the Web site prototype. I will post links to everyone's design
project on this page so that you may learn from each other. I expect
all design projects to be delivered on time; for every 24-hour period
that the design project is late, I will deduct 20% from the grade.
The components of the grade for this project are as follows (a
total of 20 points):
- 6 points: Overall organization system of the site (roughly
corresponding to the first bullet)
- 10 points, 5 points for each second level category: Organization
and navigation for the second-level categories (roughly corresponding
to the second bullet)
- 4 points: Layout, design, and structure of individual Web
pages
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This page, first created: 14 Jan 2008; last updated:
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