GRA2143: Advanced Web Page Design

Practical Exam Preparation & Tips

Why is there a Practical Exam ?

Regardless of how wonderfully you can design a web site, it's important that you understand your proficiency with the software is essential to being successful in the field. It's important that you not only learn how to design and develop a web site for projects, but often times you might be required to "design on demand" for a client or employer. In the industry, time is money, so the better you are at designing under tight deadlines the better prepared you are. Some agencies may also expect you to test prior to even being considered for a position.Therefore, prior to graduation every student is required to complete a competency exam in the Portfolio Review course to demonstrate their proficiency and understanding of design and the technology necessary. Interactive Design students are expected to create a 4 page web site w/ a Flash element in 2 1/2 hours. In Portfolio Review you are withdrawn from the course if you fail to pass the exam with a score of 70% or higher. An exam with identical requirements (but different subject matter) has been implemented into the Advanced Web Design course to better prepare students for the Portfolio Review Competency Exam.

What's expected?

There will be very clear expectations for the exam, you will be provided with detailed guidelines of what is expected of you. It would benefit you to review the general expectations for the exam. Here are the main tasks you should expect to complete:

• Design & create four XHTML pages with the content provided
• Name your XHTML files and images descriptively.
• Your home page must be named "index.html".
• Use all lowercase letters for naming, and avoid special characters and spaces (except for hyphens and underscores, which are OK).
• File optimization. (appropriate file size, file format, & image quality)
• Put your images in an /images/ subfolder to keep your site organized.
• Check all your links and pages to ensure they work correctly before you are done.
• All pages should have descriptive page titles
• All images must have alt tags declared
• Implement anchor links on a minimum of one page.
• Navigational elements must have rollover effects (javascript or CSS)
• The site must demonstrate proper CSS formatting. Effectively use tags, IDs, and classes as necessary.
• Name all CSS rules (NO .style1, .style2, .style3)
• Use of external CSS
• Use of Tables or CSS Positioning
• Create an email link with a predefined subject. (hint: mailto:email@email.com?subject=This is the subject)
• Create external links that open in a new window. (hint: target="_blank")
• Create a flash element. It may be a header, banner, advertisement, etc.
• Your Flash element will be graded on design, use of symbols, organization, use of animation, and implementation into every page of the site.
• Spell check
• You will not be FTP'ing your exam, instead, you will use the teacher's transfer to drop only necessary files.

Do you have any advice to help me succeed on the exam?

By this point in your education you should be fully capable of completing this exam successfully. It's understandable that some students may find exams a bit stressful so here are a few tips to help you succeed:

• Get plenty of rest.
• Arrive to class early to test the computer & software you will be working with.
• You may use your notes & books during the exam. Review the expectations closely, remember, the more time you have to spend trying to figure out how to do something the less time you have to work.
• If you have questions or problems ask. However, if you ask how to use the software or do a specific task your question will not be answered.
• You will not be authorized to use any files previously created from past projects, exercises, etc.
• On exam day review the requirements closely and ensure you meet all objectives. Following instructions is important. Rather than assuming you know what is expected, read and follow the instructions closely.
• Don't forget what you've learned in your previous design classes. Things like color, typography, hierarchy, content organization/layout, etc. should be taken into consideration. This does not have to be an award winning web site, but it should exhibit your understanding of the design fundamentals you have already learned.
• Save time by remembering consistency. In most web design projects you spend the most time on the first page, then "save as" each additional page and change out your content. If you create a new design for each page you will likely not have adequate time to complete this exam.
• As a web/interactive designer, organization is essential during development. Ensure you create an images folder to contain all images, also create a folder for flash elements. Any source files (photoshop, FLA, etc. should be placed in a source folder). If external css or scripts are used, a separate directory should be created for those elements. Also don't forget to use proper naming conventions.
• Ensure you resize and optimize graphics to the most appropriate format. Flash does now support importation of illustrator AI (pdf), and eps files. Remember keep vector work vector in Flash!
• Don't spend too much time on one specific task. If you get stuck in an area move on and come back to it. As you near the end of the time limit review the grading criteria and ensure you have put forth an effort in areas are valued highly in the exam. Often times students hold off on one task, such as the Flash element, which overall, if neglected is valued at 25% of the total exam grade.