Your group has been selected to create the first annual International Web Design Awards or IWDA. This award is primarily focused on the design of web pages. While it will not be your job to judge content, you will evaluate how web design helps to deliver, in an effective way, content. Your group will have to create criteria to judge good web design.

Your tasks involve research, design and judgment. If you are to successfully judge web design, you must learn about good and bad design. While design is always subjective, there are generally accepted rules and standards. Your task is to research web design, create a tool to judge good web design, create and implement the IWDA (International Web Design Awards).

Step 1: Study web design Using the following resources, collect 15 good web design tips/rules and 5 bad design tips. Your collection will be passed in and must include the following: your name, web tip/rule, title, author of the book or web page, URL (if web site), and a few sentences describing the "rule."

Resources for web design.

Print Resources (see reference / credits section for more details)

Creating Killer Web Sites

The Non-Designer's Design Book

Web Design Workshop


Web sites

http://www.killersites.com/
http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/
http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/design/site_building/
http://www.wpdfd.com/
http://www.pawluk.com/pages/sitedesign.html

There is value in the study of bad web design.

http://www.users.nac.net/falken/annoying/main.html
http://budugllydesign.com/
http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/
http://jeffglover.com/sucky.html

Many examples of web page can be found by category at http://www.coolhomepages.com/ .

Step 2: Design a tool to evaluate web pages / sites

Students will be asked to define good web design. The definition of good design will be based on experts in the web design field. Your rubric should be based on the research you have done in step 1. Create a rubric to evaluate web page nominations. . See http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ for examples of rubric construction.

Step 3: Take nominations for web pages / sites

Ask your parents, teachers, classmates, friends, family to nominate web pages for your award. You should create a simple form to help with the nomination process. This form should explain that this award is based on design. A great web site may have wonderful content but have poor design.

Step 4: Create an award ceremony for your class to view. Using the rubric you have developed, score all web page nominations. Calculate the results of the judges and announce the web site/page winner. Create an award symbol and send the award winners e-mail informing them of winning the award. In the letter you should include very clear and specific reasons (from your rubric) explaining why they won.

Web Quest Boundaries
All sites must be "PG13" rated. Sites should have educational value. If you choose to judge sites with Flash or other multimedia web application,s you must have a separate multimedia category. All correspondence must be reviewed by the teacher.

Web Design Research Rubric

Web Site Award Ceremony Rubric

Books

Siegel, David. Creating Killer Web Sites. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hyden Books, 1997.

Williams, Robin, Johnand Tollett, and Dave Rohr. Web Design Workshop. Berkeley California: Peachpit Press, 2002.

---. The Non-Designer's Design Book. Berkeley California: Peachpit Press, 1994.

Software:

Macromedia Dreamweaver and Fireworks

Eye Candy plug-ins

Special thanks to:

Marjorie Modena, Newman, Needham Public Schools, Needham Massachusetts.

Fran Fleming, English Dept., Needham High School, Needham, Massachusetts.

Contact

Please e-mail me if you wish to use this webquest at jim_modena@needham.k12.ma.us