Lecture 3 – Overview
Meaning
– Graphic Design
– User Behavior  Design Implications  Design Specifics
– Colors Magazine
Mechanics
– CSS
–
–
–
–
Cascade
External & Internal Style Sheets
Selectors
Predesigned CSS Layouts in DW
– Dreamweaver Demo
– Exercise 1 – Step–by–Step
– CSS Navigation using Lists
– HTML5 & CSS3
– HTML5 Key New Features
– CSS3 Key New Features
© Anselm Spoerri
User Behavior
Scan pages - don't read them
Look for anything = Search Interest
Decide quickly
Choose first “reasonable item”
Muddle through
Don't figure out how things work
Resist forming models
Stick to what works
© Anselm Spoerri
Design Implications
Scan pages - don't read them
• Design for Scanning
Make text short - cut words
• Make page work at a glance
Sufficient left margin,
640x480 = main message
• Create Visual Hierarchy
Look for anything = Search Interest
Decide quickly
Choose first “reasonable item”
• Make obvious what you can do on a page
Muddle through
Don't figure out how things work
Resist forming models
• Don't make users think
Stick to what works
• Repetition & Consistency
• Make obvious what is clickable
Get rid of question marks
Each item = clear purpose
Grid Layout, Easy Navigation, Graphics,
Color Coding, Typography
© Anselm Spoerri
Meaning
Graphic Design
– Education History
– Practical Foundation
– Swiss Design School & Grid System
Sources
– Katherine McCoy, “Education in an Adolescent Profession”
– Josef Mueller-Brockmann, “Grid Systems in graphic design”
© Anselm Spoerri
Brief History of Graphic Design Education
Pre-Modernism
–
–
–
–
Focus on Image Associations
Lack of Formalized Method: early luminaries self-taught
Premium on Creativity: “BIG IDEA”
Learn from “Samples and Examples”
Functional Modernism
– "Swiss School" of Graphic Design
– Based on Bauhaus
– Focus on Formal Purity rather than Content
Post-Modernism
–
–
–
–
–
Influenced by French Literary Theory
Variety of Cultural Contexts and Personal Experiences
Possibility of Multiple Interpretations
Question Rigidity, Minimalism of Graphic Modernism
Subjective, Personal Layers of Meaning & Complexity
© Anselm Spoerri
Communication Model - Sender
Sender
Transmitter
Receiver
Functional Modernism
Post-Modernism
Science
Language
Systematic presentation
of objective information
Audience's response due
to different cultures and
subjective experiences
Design School
Pre-Modernism
Guiding Discipline
Art
Focus on
Personal content and
creativity
© Anselm Spoerri
Communication Model - Transmitter
Sender
Transmitter
Receiver
Functional Modernism
Post-Modernism
Science
Language
Systematic presentation
of objective information
Audience's response due
to different cultures and
subjective experiences
Design School
Pre-Modernism
Guiding Discipline
Art
Focus on
Personal content and
creativity
© Anselm Spoerri
Communication Model - Receiver
Sender
Transmitter
Receiver
Functional Modernism
Post-Modernism
Science
Language
Systematic presentation
of objective information
Audience's response due
to different cultures and
subjective experiences
Design School
Pre-Modernism
Guiding Discipline
Art
Focus on
Personal content and
creativity
© Anselm Spoerri
Communication Model
Sender
Transmitter
Receiver
Functional Modernism
Post-Modernism
Science
Language
Systematic presentation
of objective information
Audience's response due
to different cultures and
subjective experiences
Design School
Pre-Modernism
Guiding Discipline
Art
Focus on
Personal content and
creativity
© Anselm Spoerri
Future of Graphic Design
Digital Communications Design
– Different Design Strategy than Perfectionist Graphic Design
– Less Control, More Conceptual, More Interaction
– Users Co-Creators
Requires Deeper Understanding of the
Communications Process
Combines Art, Science and Language
Needed Expertise
–
–
–
–
–
Multimedia Design: Visual Art, Music, Film
Communications Theory
Cognitive & Perceptual Psychology
Social Sciences & Cultural Anthropology
Computer Science
© Anselm Spoerri
Practical Graphic Design
Graphic Design = Organic Process
– Cultural, Contextual, Personal
– Client & Designer Interaction
Good Design is “Stolen”
– Emulate what speaks to you
Need Practical Foundation
– Functional Swiss Design School
– Grid Systems
© Anselm Spoerri
Swiss Design School
Based on Bauhaus
– Form follows Function
– Minimalism, Universality, Rationality, Abstraction and Structure
Focus on Formal Purity rather than Content
Grid System
– Divide 2-D plane or 3-D space into Smaller Fields
– Intermediate Space so that Captions and Pictures Don’t Touch
© Anselm Spoerri
Grid System – 8 Fields Example
© Anselm Spoerri
Grid System – 8 Fields Example
Swiss Design School
The great Swiss innovators of the 1950s and
1960s can be seen as representing the classic
phase of modernism, the heirs to Bauhaus graphic
design and other early modern European graphic
designers. These Swiss innovators applied the
Bauhaus functionalist ethic to a systematic graphic
Caption Text
method that shared the Bauhaus values of
minimalism, universality, rationality, abstraction
The method, symbolized by the typeface Helvetica,
and structural expressionism. This fresh and
was enthusiastically adopted by several corporate
highly professional graphic design was first
and institutional design groups, including Container
transmitted beyond Switzerland to the rest of
Corporation, Ciba-Geigy, Herman Miller, IBM and
Europe and the U.S. through Swiss design
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Montreal's
magazines and a few books, notably Graphis and
Expo '67 was a feast of Helvetica and systematic
the "Swiss" bibles by Muller-Brockmann, Gertsner,
environmental signage, as well as advanced
Hoffmann and Ruder.
architecture. Eventually, American corporate culture
Then, in the late 1960s, several professional
embraced "Swiss" school graphic design as the ideal
offices began to practice these ideas to solve the
corporate style. Although "Swiss" graphic design was
needs of large corporate clients in Holland, Great
first adopted in U.S. by professionals in their design
Britain, Canada and the U.S.
practices, soon several leading U.S. graphic design
schools followed suit, going directly to the source.
© Anselm Spoerri
Grid System – 8 Fields Example
Swiss Design School
The great Swiss innovators of the 1950s and
1960s can be seen as representing the classic
phase of modernism, the heirs to Bauhaus graphic
design and other early modern European graphic
designers. These Swiss innovators applied the
Bauhaus functionalist ethic to a systematic graphic
Caption Text
method that shared the Bauhaus values of
minimalism, universality, rationality, abstraction
The method, symbolized by the typeface Helvetica,
and structural expressionism. This fresh and
was enthusiastically adopted by several corporate
highly professional graphic design was first
and institutional design groups, including Container
transmitted beyond Switzerland to the rest of
Corporation, Ciba-Geigy, Herman Miller, IBM and
Europe and the U.S. through Swiss design
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Montreal's
magazines and a few books, notably Graphis and
Expo '67 was a feast of Helvetica and systematic
the "Swiss" bibles by Muller-Brockmann, Gertsner,
environmental signage, as well as advanced
Hoffmann and Ruder.
architecture. Eventually, American corporate culture
Then, in the late 1960s, several professional
embraced "Swiss" school graphic design as the ideal
offices began to practice these ideas to solve the
corporate style. Although "Swiss" graphic design was
needs of large corporate clients in Holland, Great
first adopted in U.S. by professionals in their design
Britain, Canada and the U.S.
practices, soon several leading U.S. graphic design
schools followed suit, going directly to the source.
© Anselm Spoerri
Grid System - Motivation
Solve Visual Problems with Greater Speed
& Confidence
Maintain Consistency
– Title Location
– Navigation Location
– Image Rhythm
Create Visual Hierarchy & Rhythm
Invisible Guiding Hand
Information Presented Clearly & Logically
– Read More Quickly
– Understood Better
– Better Recall
© Anselm Spoerri
Grid Construction
Need to Know How Much Text
and How Many Images to Be Placed
Each Work Raises Many Questions
–
–
–
–
How Many Columns?
White Space and Margins Have Visual Function?
Annotations, Footnotes, Captions?
Large and Small Images? How Many?
Each Work Requires its Own Specific Grid
– Create Small Sketch
– Number of Columns Depends on Type Size
– Wider Columns Need Larger Type Size than Narrow Columns
© Anselm Spoerri
Grid System – 8 Fields
© Anselm Spoerri
Grid System – 8 Fields
© Anselm Spoerri
8 Fields Grid - Image Size Options
© Anselm Spoerri
8 Fields Grid - Image Size Options
© Anselm Spoerri
8 Fields Grid - Image Size Options
© Anselm Spoerri
Grid System – 20 Fields
© Anselm Spoerri
Grid System – 20 Fields
© Anselm Spoerri
20 Fields Grid - Example 1
Swiss Design School
Although "Swiss" graphic design was first
adopted in U.S. by professionals in their
design practices, soon several leading
U.S. graphic design schools followed suit,
going directly to the source. A number of
Swiss teachers and their graduates, from
Armin Hoffman's Basel school in
particular, put down roots in schools
including Philadelphia College of Art,
University of Cincinnati and Yale. (The
Swiss influence seems to have been
particularly strong in U.S. and Canadian
schools; Europeans have often expressed
a certain mystification at this North
American reverence for the Basel
method.) Manfred Maier's book, Basic
Principles of Design, on the Basel
foundation program, was finally available
in the U.S. in 1977, spreading this method
farther. Under the influence of this highly
structured educational method and its
emphasis on the prolonged study of
abstract design and typographic form,
these American schools began to carefully
structure their curricula. Based on
objectivity and rationalism, this
educational system produced a codified
method that was easy to communicate to
students, giving them a foundation for a
visual design process and composition ..
This classic modernist graphic aesthetic
is distinctly different from the
predominantly semantic imagery of the
"big idea". It stresses the grammar of
design and is rather neutral to content.
Regrettably, this language of structural
geometry has often resulted in a
sameness of form that is more the look
of function than truly communicative
function-- an emphasis on formal purity
rather than content. As this aesthetic
spread, however, a number of
Europeans, particularly in conjunction
with the Ulm school in West Germany,
began to apply semiotics to visual
communications problems. Related
explorations in the science of signs
were taking place in structuralist
philosophy, linguistics, literature and
film theory. Other efforts to develop
scientific design processes through
communication theory and computer
design method began in Great Britain
and at the Illinois Institute of
Technology during this period. Although
the Swiss never embraced these
communication theories, some of the
sounder graphic design schools outside
Switzerland have gradually begun to
incorporate theory into their curricula …
© Anselm Spoerri
20 Fields Grid - Example 2
Swiss Design School
Poster Designs by
Josef Muller-Brockmann
Caption describing the poster
designs. When they were created.
Who the client was and their
effectiveness.
Although "Swiss" graphic design was first
adopted in U.S. by professionals in their
design practices, soon several leading
U.S. graphic design schools followed suit,
going directly to the source. A number of
Swiss teachers and their graduates, from
Armin Hoffman's Basel school in
particular, put down roots in schools
including Philadelphia College of Art,
University of Cincinnati and Yale.
(The Swiss influence seems to have been
particularly strong in U.S. and Canadian
schools; Europeans have often expressed
a certain mystification at this North
American reverence for the Basel
method.) Manfred Maier's book, Basic
Principles of Design, on the Basel
foundation program, was finally available
in the U.S. in 1977, spreading this method
farther.
Under the influence of this highly
structured educational method and its
emphasis on the prolonged study of
abstract design and typographic form,
these American schools began to carefully
structure their curricula. Based on
objectivity and rationalism, this
educational system produced a codified
method that was easy to communicate to
students, giving them a foundation for a
visual design process and composition
that went far beyond the superficial
emulation of their heroes.
This classic modernist graphic aesthetic is
distinctly different from the predominantly
semantic imagery of the "big idea". It
stresses the grammar of design and is
rather neutral to content.
© Anselm Spoerri
20 Fields Grid - Example 2a
Swiss Design School
Poster Designs by
Josef Muller-Brockmann
Caption describing the poster
designs. When they were created.
Who the client was and their
effectiveness.
Although "Swiss" graphic design was first
adopted in U.S. by professionals in their
design practices, soon several leading
U.S. graphic design schools followed suit,
going directly to the source. A number of
Swiss teachers and their graduates, from
Armin Hoffman's Basel school in
particular, put down roots in schools
including Philadelphia College of Art,
University of Cincinnati and Yale.
(The Swiss influence seems to have been
particularly strong in U.S. and Canadian
schools; Europeans have often expressed
a certain mystification at this North
American reverence for the Basel
method.) Manfred Maier's book, Basic
Principles of Design, on the Basel
foundation program, was finally available
in the U.S. in 1977, spreading this method
farther.
Under the influence of this highly
structured educational method and its
emphasis on the prolonged study of
abstract design and typographic form,
these American schools began to carefully
structure their curricula. Based on
objectivity and rationalism, this
educational system produced a codified
method that was easy to communicate to
students, giving them a foundation for a
visual design process and composition
that went far beyond the superficial
emulation of their heroes.
This classic modernist graphic aesthetic is
distinctly different from the predominantly
semantic imagery of the "big idea". It
stresses the grammar of design and is
rather neutral to content.
© Anselm Spoerri
Grid System – Heuristics
One Column
– Little Freedom for Pictures in Small, Medium and Large Size
Two Columns
– Text can go in First Column
– Illustrations, Images in the Second Column
– Text and Images can be Placed in Same Column
Three Columns
– Variety of Ways of Placing Text and Graphics
Four Columns
– If a lot of Text or Images Need to be Placed
– Statistics with Copious Figures and Graphs
– Can be Subdivided into 8 or 16 columns
© Anselm Spoerri
Typography
Good Typography depends on Visual Contrast
– between one font and another
– between text blocks and the surrounding empty space.
 Read by recognizing overall shape of words
Avoid all-uppercase headlines
 monotonous rectangles
 few distinctive shapes to catch reader's eye
 Legibility depends on the tops of words
Choice of uppercase or lowercase letters can have dramatic effect on legibility.
Use Downstyle (capitalize only the first letter, and any proper nouns)
for your headlines and subheads
© Anselm Spoerri
Typography
(cont.)
Readability - how easy it is to read a lot of text
– Serif Typeface Better if a Lot of Text
– Type Size: 10 – 14pt
– Line Length
– Leading or Space between Lines
Legibility
- how easy it is to recognize short bursts of text
– Sans Serif Typeface is Easier to Read on Screen
7 - 10 Words Per Line
– Overlong or Overshort Lines Tire
Column Width Proportional to Type Size
Bold and italic used for small blocks of text
– If you make everything bold, then nothing stands out
– If you cram every page with dense text, users see a wall of gray
Enough Contrast between Type and Background
© Anselm Spoerri
Typography
(cont.)
Text = Graphic
– Only Way to Control Appearance
Type Displayed in Relation to Browser's Default Font & Size
– No way to know browser defaults
Standard Default = Times New Roman
Arial (PC) and Geneva (Mac) Always Installed
Verdana is Available on Both (newer Macs)
Rules
– "Paragraph" & "Normal" in browser's default font & size
– Heading size in relation to default browser typesize
– Special text displayed smaller or larger than browser typesize
Specify Font in CSS/HTML: Generally Overrides Default
© Anselm Spoerri
User Behavior  Design Implications  Design Specifics
Scan pages - don't read them
• Design for Scanning
Make text short - cut words
• Make page work at a glance
Sufficient left margin,
640x480 = main message
• Create Visual Hierarchy
Look for anything = Search Interest
Decide quickly
Choose first “reasonable item”
• Make obvious what you can do
• Make obvious what is clickable
Muddle through
Don't figure out how things work
Resist forming models
• Don't make users think
Get rid of question marks
Each item = clear purpose
1 Use Grid System
• Maintain Consistency
Helps you decide: location of primary & secondary
navigation; location and sizes of images;
location of headlines, main text, annotations etc.
• Create Visual Hierarchy & Rhythm
• Present Information Clearly & Logically
Users can read info more quickly.
Facilitates understanding and recall.
• Invisible Hand guiding users and creating
sense of place
Stick to what works
• Repetition & Consistency
Grid Layout, Easy Navigation,
Graphics, Color Coding, Typography
© Anselm Spoerri
User Behavior  Design Implications  Design Specifics
Scan pages - don't read them
• Design for Scanning
Make text short - cut words
• Make page work at a glance
Sufficient left margin,
640x480 = main message
• Create Visual Hierarchy
Look for anything = Search Interest
Decide quickly
Choose first “reasonable item”
• Make obvious what you can do
• Make obvious what is clickable
Muddle through
Don't figure out how things work
Resist forming models
• Don't make users think
Get rid of question marks
Each item = clear purpose
Stick to what works
• Repetition & Consistency
Grid Layout, Easy Navigation,
Graphics, Color Coding, Typography
2 Create Visual Hierarchy & Guide Eye
• Important Things = Visually Prominent
(More Important = Larger / Sharp Contrast)
Use headlines to guide the eye
• Visual Contrast
Use sharp changes in size (headline), light intensity
(bold), color, texture, motion to create contrast.
• Proximity: related things spatially close
Spatial separation = conceptual separation.
Don't mix alignment styles.
• Use Grouping & Nesting to Increase
Information Density
(Short-term Memory = 3-7)
Use bounding shapes.
© Anselm Spoerri
User Behavior  Design Implications  Design Specifics
Scan pages - don't read them
• Design for Scanning
Make text short - cut words
• Make page work at a glance
Sufficient left margin,
640x480 = main message
• Create Visual Hierarchy
Look for anything = Search Interest
Decide quickly
Choose first “reasonable item”
• Make obvious what you can do
• Make obvious what is clickable
Muddle through
Don't figure out how things work
Resist forming models
• Don't make users think
Get rid of question marks
Each item = clear purpose
Stick to what works
• Repetition & Consistency
Grid Layout, Easy Navigation,
Graphics, Color Coding, Typography
3 Typography Heuristics
• Sans Serif type is easier to read on screen
• Type size 10 -14 points
• 7 - 10 words per line
• Column width proportional to type size
• Bold and italic for small blocks of text
• Enough contrast between type & background
© Anselm Spoerri
User Behavior  Design Implications  Design Specifics
Scan pages - don't read them
• Design for Scanning
Make text short - cut words
1 Use Grid System
•
• Make page work at a glance
Sufficient left margin,
640x480 = main message
• Create Visual Hierarchy
Look for anything = Search Interest
Decide quickly
Choose first “reasonable item”
• Make obvious what you can do
• Make obvious what is clickable
Muddle through
Don't figure out how things work
Resist forming models
•
•
•
Maintain Consistency
Helps you decide: location of primary & secondary navigation;
location and sizes of images;
location of headlines, main text, annotations etc.
Create Visual Hierarchy & Rhythm
Present Information Clearly & Logically
Users can read info more quickly.
Facilitates understanding and recall.
Invisible Hand guiding users and creating sense of place
2 Create Visual Hierarchy & Guide Eye
•
•
• Don't make users think
Get rid of question marks
Each item = clear purpose
•
Stick to what works
• Repetition & Consistency
Grid Layout, Easy Navigation,
Graphics, Color Coding, Typography
•
Important Things = Visually Prominent
(More Important = Larger / Sharp Contrast)
Use headlines to guide the eye
Visual Contrast
Use sharp changes in size (headline), light intensity (bold),
color, texture, motion to create contrast.
Proximity: related things spatially close.
Spatial separation = conceptual separation.
Don't mix alignment styles.
Use Grouping & Nesting to Increase Information Density
(Short-term Memory = 3-7)
Use bounding shapes.
3 Typography Heuristics
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sans Serif type is easier to read on screen
Type size 10 -14 points
7 - 10 words per line
Column width proportional to type size
Bold and italic used for small blocks of text
Enough contrast between type and background
© Anselm Spoerri
Requirements for Web Pages
Web Page needs to easily answer
• What can I do here?
 Layout Presents Info Clearly & Logically
Facilitates Understanding & Recall
• Where do I start?
 Visual Hierarchy Guides Eye to Important Things
Web Navigation needs to easily answer
• What site is this?
 Site ID – logo, image, text
• What page am I on?
 Page name
• Major sections of site?
 Primary Navigation
Top Row or Left Column
Simple text hyperlinks, icons, rollovers, image-maps, pull-downs
• Options at this level?
 Secondary Navigation
Below Top Line or Left Column
 Expanding / Nesting Hierarchies
Static or Dynamic Outlines
• Where I am?
Go higher or home?
 Color Coding, Breadcrumbs
Primary / Secondary Navigation
© Anselm Spoerri
Colors Magazine
© Anselm Spoerri
Color Magazine
© Anselm Spoerri
Colors Magazine – 1
© Anselm Spoerri
Colors Magazine – 2
© Anselm Spoerri
Colors Magazine – 3
© Anselm Spoerri
Colors Magazine – 4
© Anselm Spoerri
Colors Magazine – 5
© Anselm Spoerri
Colors Magazine – 6
© Anselm Spoerri
Colors Magazine – 7
© Anselm Spoerri
Colors Magazine – 8
© Anselm Spoerri
Colors Magazine – 9
© Anselm Spoerri
Colors Magazine – 10
© Anselm Spoerri
Mechanics – CSS: Cascade
Cascade: Inheritance, Specificity and Location.
Inheritance
• Html = Hierarchical Structure of the content
Elements are contained / appear with other elements (h1 resides inside a table).
• Many properties, but not all, inherited by descendants
of elements
h1 is blue and has red border … blue is inherited but not red border by elements
residing inside h1 element.
• Inherited rules are considered the most general of all
and are overruled by any other rule.
Specificity
• The more specific the selector, the stronger the rule
h1 with class X rule will overrule h1 rule.
• The id attribute is considered the most specific.
© Anselm Spoerri
Mechanics – CSS: Cascade
Cascade: Inheritance, Specificity and Location.
Location
•
Rules that appear later have more weight.
•
You can declare a rule to be more important than others by
adding !important at the end of the rule.
Summary
In the absence of a rule, many styles are inherited from
parent element to child. With two competing rules, the
more specific the rule, the more weight or importance
it has – regardless of its location. With two rules of equal
specificity, the one that appears later wins.
Some CSS properties allow you to specify the URL of another
file: if it is a relative URL, then it needs to relative to the
external style sheet.
© Anselm Spoerri
Mechanics – CSS: External & Internal Style Sheets
Linking to External Style Sheet
•
Dreamweaver places <link …/> code inside <head> tag.
•
Linking to several external style sheets: the later ones take
precedence over earlier ones (location principle).
Creating Internal Style Sheet
•
<style type=”text/css”> … </style>
which can be exported in Dreamweaver.
Internal style sheet overrides external style sheets if and
only if style tag comes after link tag.
Applying styles locally is not recommended.
To view other designer’s CSS code: view source code of Web
page and look at internal style sheet and load URLs for external
style sheets.
© Anselm Spoerri
Mechanics – CSS: Selectors
Selector
determines which elements the formatting will be applied to.
Declarations define the formatting.
Constructing Complex Selectors
that apply formatting based on:
• type or name of element (e.g. tag)
h1 {color: red;}
• context element is found
h1 em {color: red;}
h1.news {color: red;}
div#gaudi p = any p element that is contained in the div whose id is equal to gaudi
• class (.name) or id (#name) of an element
em.news {color: red;}
div#gaudi {color: red;}
• pseudo-class
a:link {color: red;}
[only link tag “a” is supported in all current browsers]
• certain attributes and values of element
div[attribute(=value)] {color: red;}
© Anselm Spoerri
Mechanics – CSS: Selectors
(cont.)
Selecting Part of Element
• tag:first-line
• tag:first-letter
Selecting Link Element based on their State
 Navigation Structure
Since a link can be in more than one state at a time,
it is important to define rules in following order:
1.
a:link
2.
a:visited
3.
a:focus
4.
a:hover
5.
a:active
 LVFHA
Specifying Groups of Elements: h1, h2 {color: red;}
© Anselm Spoerri
Mechanics – CSS: Selectors Summary
Combining Selectors
1. Define Context
2. Spell out Element’s Name
3. Specify Class or Id of desired element
4. Specify Pseudo-class or Pseudo-element
5. Specify Attributes and Values
div.works p em:first-letter {color: red;}
© Anselm Spoerri
Mechanics – Predesigned CSS Layouts in DW
Select File > New.
Predesigned CSS layouts available via in the Layout column:
•
Fixed
Column width is specified in pixels. The column does not resize based on the
size of the browser or the site visitor’s text settings.
•
Elastic (not available in CS5)
Column width is specified in a unit of measurement (ems) relative to the size of
the text. The design adapts if the site visitor changes text settings, but
does not change based on the size of the browser window.
•
Liquid
Column width is specified as a percentage of the site visitor’s browser width.
The design adapts if the site visitor makes the browser wider or narrower,
but does not change based on the site visitor’s text settings.
•
Hybrid (not available in CS5)
Columns are a combination of any of the previous three options.
For example, in the two-column hybrid, the right sidebar layout has a liquid
main column that scales to the size of the browser, and an elastic column on
the right that scales to the size of the site visitor’s text settings.
© Anselm Spoerri
Mechanics – Predesigned CSS Layouts in DW
(cont.)
Need to select location for the layout’s CSS:
• Add To Head
Adds CSS for the layout to the head of the page you’re creating.
• Create New File
Adds CSS for the layout to a new external CSS file and attaches the new
style sheet to the page you’re creating.
• Link To Existing File
Lets you specify an existing CSS file that already contains the CSS rules
needed for the layout.
This option is particularly useful when you want to use the same CSS
layout (the CSS rules for which are contained in a single file) across
multiple documents.
© Anselm Spoerri
Dreamweaver - Exercise 1 Step–by–step
1 Set up Local / Remote Site
2 Select Predefined CSS Layout
3 Initialize DW and Create External CSS file
– Files Names = lowercase; Title Web Pages; Move CSS to external file
4 Create Simple Navigation Structure
–
–
–
–
–
–
Customize CSS of predefined design and Add Classes
Specify Navigation Categories
Create CSS code for different states of hyperlinks (LVFHA)
Create Simple Animated Effect
Establish Navigation Hyperlinks & Create Files for different categories
Create “You are Here” Indicator for each page
5 Create & Style Content Structure and Add Text
– Add div to contain h2 for question and p for answer and style content
6 Capture, Edit & Insert Screenshots
– Use Fireworks to edit screenshots
– Insert Image in Dreamweaver file
7 Upload Files to Remote Site
© Anselm Spoerri
Dreamweaver – Set up Local / Remote Site
Local Folders
– Create folder “mpcourse” (if does not exist)
– Open “mpcourse” folder
– Create folders “ex1” … “ex5” (if do not exist)
Launch Dreamweaver
Creating Folders in Dreamweaver
(local or remote)
– Site > Site View
– Select Folder (into which you want to insert a folder)
– File > New Folder
public_html folder
– Contains all files that can be viewed by Internet Browser
© Anselm Spoerri
Step 1 – Set up Local / Remote Site in CS5 / CS6 / CC
– Site > New Site
– Select “Site”
– Site > Site Name = “MPcourse” for this demo
– Site > Local Site Folder = “MPcourse” in “My Documents”
– Select “Servers" Category in New Site Dialog
– Click on + (Add new server)
– Specify Server Name
– Select “SFTP" in pull-down “Connect using” menu
– SFTP Host =“eden.rutgers.edu”
– Login = “yourusername”
– Password = “yourpassword”
– Root Directory = “public_html”
Test and if successful Save
– Connect to Server
– Select "Connect to Remote" icon
– Transfer files to server
– Manually
– File : drop onto file
OR drop into folder that contains file you want to up/download
– Folders: drop into folder that contains folder you want to up/download
© Anselm Spoerri
Step 2 – Select Predefined Layout
Will use 1 column flexible layout
(Download: Week 3 > Files > Step-by-Step files)
If you want to create new page in DW and use predefined layout
1. File > New
2. Blank Page = HTML
3. Page Layout = none | 2 columns fixed | 3 columns fixed
4. DocType = HTML5
5. Layout CSS = Add to Head
(will later export CSS into linked external css file)
6. Click Create
© Anselm Spoerri
Step 3 – Initialize DW and Create External CSS file
Initialize Dreamweaver
– View > select “Split” with “Live” option selected
– Windows > select “Insert”, “Properties” and “CSS Designer”
Filename = lowercase and no spaces
Title Page
Modify > Page Properties
– Page font = sans serif type, such as Verdana, Ariel, Helvetica
– Size = 100% or 10 – 14 px
(usually)
– Text color = black
– Background color = White
– Margin fields: set all to zero (if you don’t want any margins)
Export CSS into Linked External CSS file
• Create External Style Sheet: click + in Sources in CSS Designer panel
• Name style sheet “mystyles.css” and save in same folder as web page
• Select & Cut all CSS rules in head of page and Paste into mystyles.css
© Anselm Spoerri
Step 4a – Customize CSS
Customize CSS
Remove background for header and footer
(using CSS Designer Panel)
Change font size and padding in header
Create CSS Rule for h1 and h2 in main
Create CSS Classes for Navigation Structure
.naviUP { color: Black; text-decoration: underline;
padding: 10px; background-color: HoneyDew; }
.naviDOWN { color: White; text-decoration: underline;
padding: 10px; background-color: Blue;}
Create Simple Navigation Structure
Place Cursor inside header and create <nav> element inside of header
Create CSS rule for nav and specify padding-top
Type “Summary | Audience | Task | Navigation | Functionality”
Place each navigation category inside span tag: <span>text</span>
Apply class=naviUP to each navigation category name (i.e. span tag)
(you need to do this before linking word to hyperlink !)
© Anselm Spoerri
Step 4b – Create CSS for Navigation Hyperlinks
Create CSS code to control Navigation Links (LVFHA)
Since a link can be in more than one state at a time,
it is important to define rules in following order:
.naviUP a:link { color: Black; padding: 5px;}
.naviUP a:visited { color: Black; }
.naviUP a:focus { color: Red; }
.naviUP a:hover { color: Red; background-color: Yellow; }
.naviUP a:active { color: Red; }
.naviDOWN a:link { color: White; padding: 5px;}
.naviDOWN a:visited { color: White; }
.naviDOWN a:focus { color: Red; }
.naviDOWN a:hover { color: Red; background-color: Yellow; }
.naviDOWN a:active { color: Red; }
Create Simple Animated Effect for .naviUP and .naviDOWN
Open CSS Animations panel (Window > CSS Animations)
Click + and specify Target Rule and Transition = hover
Duration = 0.5 and Timing Function = ease
Click + to specify property to animate: padding-top = 20px;
Specify where to save to CSS rule.
© Anselm Spoerri
Step 4c – Create Navigation Structure & Other Pages
Create Navigation Hyperlinks
Select category text (e.g. “Summary”)
In “Link” slot in Property Inspector, type file name (same as category
text and all lower case) that you want to link to and make sure to add
“.html” at the end of file name.
Target field = leave blank (page loads in same browser window)
Repeat for all the categories for the Navigation Structure
Create Files for All the Categories
Use File > Save As and name appropriately
(same name as entered in hyperlink slot)
Create “You are Here” Indicator
Change class of category text from naviUP to naviDOWN
Make sure that not word, but whole span is selected !
© Anselm Spoerri
Step 5 – Structure Page & Add Text
Question & Answer Pairs
– Create div with class=“QandA” inside main
– Inside div, create h2 headline with class=“question” and p paragraph
with class=“answer”
– Specify CSS rule for .QandA: rounded border, padding, margin
– Specify CSS rule for .question: font size, bold, padding, margin
– Specify CSS rule for .answer: font size, bold, padding, margin
Create Text
– Place Cursor inside QandA div and appropriate child element to
enter text and Type
Format Text
using Property Inspector or CSS Designer panel
© Anselm Spoerri
Step 6a – Capture, Edit Screenshots
Capture Screenshot
– Whole Screen = Press "Prt Sc Sys Rq" in top row of keyboard
– Selected Application = Press "Alt" + "Prt Sc Sys Rq" keys
Launch Fireworks
– Start > Programs > Macromedia > Fireworks
Edit Screenshot
– Open new file in in Fireworks
“File > New File” (and set image area to 1000 x 1000 pixels)
– “Edit > Paste" from Clipboard into Fireworks
– Select “Cropping Tool” in Fireworks
– Select area of interest
– Double-click to make cropping final
– Save “cropped area” as a separate file using “File > Export”
and in dialog select “Images Only” and save in “ex1” folder
© Anselm Spoerri
Step 6b – Insert Screenshots
Insert Screenshot
– Select Location in Dreamweaver file to insert screenshot
– “Insert > Image”
or click “Image Icon” in “Common” option in Insert window
– Select image file (in “ex1” folder) to insert
– Specify alternate text
(shown if image can not be displayed)
Reduce Size of Image
in Dreamweaver
– Select image
– Select image corner handle, while holding down SHIFT key,
and drag to desired size
– Image dimensions will be displayed in bold in Property Inspector
to indicate displayed size not equal actual size
© Anselm Spoerri
Step 7 – Upload Files to Remote Site
Make Site Files visible
– Window > Files (if window is not visible)
– Click “Expand/Collapse” icon
to see both Local and Remote files
Connect to Remote Server
– Select "Connect to remote host " icon
Transfer Files to Remote Site
– Manually “Drag & Drop” “ex1” folder to Remote Server
(remember to drop “ex1” folder into “mpcourse” folder
and not into “ex1” folder on remote server)
© Anselm Spoerri
CSS – Navigation Bar using Lists and CSS
Navigation = Lists of Links
example
<ul>
<li><a href="home.html">Home</a></li>
<li class="here"><a href=“features.html">Features</a></li>
</ul>
CSS property - display: block; and
Hyperlink States:
float: left;
and
clear: both;
a:link | a:visited | a:focus | a:hover | a:active
© Anselm Spoerri
CSS – Navigation Bar using Lists and CSS
(cont.)
Remove Bullets, Eliminate Padding and Margins
#navi ul {
list-style-type: none;
padding: 0px;
margin: 0px;
overflow: hidden; }
Display Link as Block (area of link clickable) and Constrain Width
#navi a {
display: block;
width: 100px; }
Horizontal Navigation
Use floated <li> method for uniform look
#navi li { float: left; }
You are Here Indicator
#navi li.here a { text & background properties }
and want CSS rules for different states of hyperlink
© Anselm Spoerri
CSS – Navigation Bar and States of Link Element
Selecting Link Element based on their State
 Navigation Structure
Since a link can be in more than one state at a time,
it is important to define rules in following order:
1.
a:link
2.
a:visited
3.
a:focus
4.
a:hover
5.
a:active
 LVFHA
a:link, a:visited { color: #FFF; }
a:focus, a:hover, a:active { color: #000; }
#navi a:link, #navi a:visited { color: #FFF; }
#navi a:focus, #navi a:hover, #navi a:active { color: #000; }
© Anselm Spoerri
HTML5 – Intro
Why HTML5?
–
–
–
–
–
Reduce the need for external plugins (like Flash)
Better error handling
More markup to replace scripting
HTML5 should be device independent
Based on HTML, CSS, DOM, and JavaScript
What is HTML5
‒
HTML5 specification – http://dev.w3.org/html5/spec/
‒ Officially Working Draft
| “living standard”
Browser Support for HTML5
– HTML5 not yet official standard, no browser provides full HTML5 support.
– But all major browsers continue to add support for new HTML5 features.
– Understanding & implementing features is what matters.
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HTML5 – New Capabilities
http://www.w3schools.com/html/html5_intro.asp
Video specifies standard way to embed video (no plug-in)
Audio specifies standard way to embed audio (no plug-in)
Drag and Drop any element can be draggable
what to drag | where to drop | do the drop
Canvas used to draw graphics, on the fly, on web page
SVG supported Scalable Vector Graphics to draw shapes
Geolocation can determine user's position with permission
Web Storage better local storage within browser than cookies
Web Workers JavaScript runs in background without
affecting page performance
Server-Sent Events page gets automatic updates from server
© Anselm Spoerri
HTML5 – DOCTYPE | charset | lang | CSS & JavaScript links
‒ HTML5 DOCTYPE: <!DOCTYPE html>
‒ not case sensitive | version dropped
‒ all browsers recognize shortened DOCTYPE & render in strict mode
and deprecated elements will not work
‒ Specify Character Set: <meta charset="UTF-8" />
‒ Specify Language: <html lang="en">
<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head><meta charset="utf-8" />
‒ Script and Link Declarations: type attribute optional
<link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css" />
<script src="scripts.js"></script>
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HTML5 – New Elements
New Media Elements
<audio>
<video>
<source>
<embed>
<track>
sound content
video or movie
multiple media resources for <video> and <audio>
container for external application or interactive content (a plug-in)
text tracks for <video> and <audio>
New Form Elements
–
New form controls, like calendar, date, time, email, url, search
New Semantic / Structural Elements
‒
header, nav, aside, section, article and footer
‒
Focus on your content and consider semantics of each element
‒
Use div if you need containing element strictly for style purposes
‒
Some older browsers treat new elements like inline elements
header, footer, nav, article, aside, section { display: block; }
© Anselm Spoerri
HTML5 – New Semantic / Structural Elements
‒ header element
‒ Used to contain headline(s) for a page and/or section.
‒ Can contain logos and navigational aids.
‒ nav element
‒ Contains major navigation links.
‒ Often contained by header.
‒ aside element
‒ Contains related information, such as sidebar or pull-quotes.
‒ section element
‒ Contains content that is related or grouped thematically.
‒ Only if its content has own self-contained outline (h1,… h6).
‒ Do not use simply for styling purposes – use divs and spans instead.
‒ article element
‒ Stand-alone content such as a blog entry.
‒ footer element
‒ Contains information about a page and/or section.
© Anselm Spoerri
HTML5 – Element Flowchart
http://html5doctor.com/happy-1st-birthday-us/#flowchart
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CSS3 – Intro
http://www.w3schools.com/css3/default.asp
CSS3 backwards compatible, don’t have to change existing designs.
Borders Rounded, add shadow and use image as border.
Backgrounds new background properties and greater control.
Text Effects new features such as text-shadow or word-wrap.
Fonts can use font you like by including font file on server.
2D Transforms move, scale, turn, spin and stretch elements.
3D Transforms format elements using 3D transforms.
Transitions add effect when changing from one style to another, such
as on mouseover or mouseout events.
Animations specify CSS style inside @keyframes rule and animation
will gradually change from the current style to the new style.
Multiple Columns can create multiple columns for laying out text.
User Interface user can resize elements and other features supported.
© Anselm Spoerri