Spring 2018

TR 10:30-11:45

English 3183 Instructor: Dr. Will Kurlinkus

E-Mail: wkurlinkus@gmail.com
Authoring in the Information Age Office: Cate Center 338
Office Hours: 12-1:00-3 TR

Overview Materials
In English 3183, you will gain the skills necessary to be technologically ! Notebook
literate in the 21st Century. But, in doing so, you will be constantly ! Readings made available online
challenging what technological literacy means and, thus, constantly ! Headphones
exploring the idea that technology is both a set of things, a set of skills, ! AA Batteries
and a set of values. Thus, while we will be learning and teaching one ! Storage device (preferably an
another technical skills (Photoshop, web design, video editing), we will external hard drive)
also be exploring and teaching each other socio-technical skills and
values.
Assignments
Goals
1. Web: 20%
! Understand and apply fundamental rhetorical and design principles 2. Video: 20%
for analyzing, planning, creating digital media texts for public
consumption. 3. Image: 20%
! Use and critically examine numerous digital capture and editing 4. Speculative: 20%
technologies, e.g., digital audio recorders, digital video cameras;
5. Final: 10%
Photoshop, web design, and Premiere.
6. Participation, Homework,
Presentations.: 10%
Attendance, Participation, Late Work
Attendance is vital to your ability to understand course material. Each Tips
unexcused absence after two in a unit will result in the lowering of your
unit grade by a full letter. Six unexcused absences will automatically result 1. Attend All Classes
in failing the course. There will be an attendance sheet passed around
each day of class. It is your responsibility to sign it each day. Late 2. Ask Questions
submission of a final assignment will result in the deduction of 1/2 of a 3. Come to Office Hours
letter grade for each day late. Skipping a review presentation will,
similarly, result in a ½ grade deduction. 4. Listen
5. Take Studio Time Seriously
6. Imagine the texts you produce in
Access this class as writing samples for a
future career.
Students requiring academic accommodation should contact the Disability
Resource Center for assistance at http://www.ou.edu/drc/home.html Any
student who has a disability that may prevent him or her from fully
demonstrating his or her abilities should contact me personally ASAP so
we can discuss accommodations to ensure full educational opportunities.

Authoring in the Information Age 1



Introduction
T 1.16 Intro to Class

R 1.18 Introduction to Design Studies
1. Donald Norman: The Design of Everyday Things, Chapter 1
2. Bill Gaver et al: “Design: Cultural Probes”
3. Barbara Faga: “Ground Zero”
4. Sarah Bernard: “How the Pill Bottle Was Remade—Sensibly and Beautifully”
• In Class: Document Design using Canva and Adobe Spark

Unit 1: Web Design for Clients

T 1.23 Introduction to Web Design Theory
1. Steve Krug. Don't Make Me Think 1
2. Grace Smith. “Top 5 Web Design Mistakes that Small Businesses Make”
3. Dmitry Fadeyev. “9 Common Usability Mistakes in Web Design”
4. W3Schools HTML. “Introduction to Quotations.” http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_intro.asp
• In Class: HTML
Homework Due: Choose a small business to design your website for.

R 1.25 Introduction to Client Work and Design Briefs
1. Steve Krug. Don't Make Me Think 2
2. Mike Monteiro. Design is a Job. Selections.
3. Dan Brown. “Chapter 9: Design Briefs.”
4. W3Schools CSS: “Introduction to Height and Width.” http://www.w3schools.com/css/css_intro.asp
• In Class: CSS
Homework Due: Begin mocking up your website layout using pen and paper.

T 1.30 Introduction to Competitor Analysis
1. Cameron Chapman. “15 Common Mistakes in E-Commerce Design”
2. Vitaly Friedman. 10 Principles Of Good Website Design”
3. Dan Brown. “Chapter 10. Competitive Reviews.”
4. W3Schools CSS. “Box Model to Align.” http://www.w3schools.com/css/css_intro.asp
• In Class: CSS2
Homework Due: Turn in your design brief.

R 2.1 Introduction to Design Presentations
1. Dan Brown. “Chapter 8. Deliverable Basics.”
2. Design Presentations. https://99designs.com/blog/tips/5-tips-on-how-to-prepare-a-design-
presentation/
3. W3Schools CSS. “Combinators to Website Layout.” http://www.w3schools.com/css/css_intro.asp
• In Class: More Web Design
Homework Due: Lay out your website using HTML and CSS.

T 2.6 Studio Day

R. 2.8 Draft Presentation

T 2.13 Studio Day

Unit 2: Video Design for Clients
R 2.15 Premiere 1: Video Essays
1. Kevin B Lee. “What Makes a Video Essay Great.” https://vimeo.com/199577445

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2. Dave Coplin. “Reimagining Work.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G11t6XAIce0
3. Matthew Cheney. “What is Composition.”
https://vimeo.com/groups/audiovisualcy/videos/105050530
4. Tony Zhou. “Edgar Wright. How to do Visual Comedy. ” https://vimeo.com/96558506
5. Dan Pink. “On Persuasion.” https://www.thersa.org/discover/videos/rsa-shorts/2014/04/Dan-
Pink-on-Persuasion
6. Scout Tayfoya.“The Unloved. The Village.” https://vimeo.com/105104456
7. UNC TV. “Here are 3 things you may not know about hibernation.”

T 2.20 Premiere 2: Professional Interviews
1. The Slanted Lens. “How to Shoot a Documentary Style Interview”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoRSdlMiD7s
2. Film Riot. “Visual Storytelling 101.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWQQgZh9EyE
3. D4Darious. “How I Shoot My B Roll.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRzgDxzvq5I
4. B&H. “How to Shoot an Interview.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=13&v=FElRjwAeiRw
5. Linked In Learning. “Tips on Shooting an Interview with One Camera”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=13&v=FElRjwAeiRw

R 2.22 Premiere 3: Mini Documentaries
1. Elaine McMillion Sheldon. Explore and Watch at least 3 Clips from http://hollowdocumentary.com
2. Choose 4 articles from http://www.indiewire.com/2014/12/attention-documentary-filmmakers-
heres-all-the-advice-youll-ever-need-67065/
3. Adam Roffman. “The Collection.” https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2018/01/03/the-collection/
4. Choose 2 other films from: https://www.shortoftheweek.com/channels/documentary/

[DUE]: Web Design

T 2.27 Studio Day

R 3.1 Studio Day

T 3.6 Final Design Presentations

R 3.8 Final Design Presentations

Unit 3: Visual Designs for Clients

T 3.13 Introduction to Canva for Page Layouts

1. Leon Shore. “A Designer's Checklist For Designing Awesome Multi-Page Layouts.”
https://www.canva.com/learn/multi-page-layout/
2. Newscred. “The Power of Visual Storytelling.” http://visualstorytelling.newscred.com/p/1
3. Ernesto Olivares. “10 Simple Rules of Visual Storytelling”. https://medium.com/visual-stories/10-
simple-rules-of-visual-storytelling-4ee868498447
4. Tracy Tonuu. Examine 3 Reports. “40 Examples of Beautiful Annual Report Design.”
https://www.columnfivemedia.com/best-examples-of-beautiful-annual-report-design
5. Carey Dunne. Look at 2 Photo Essays: http://www.fastcodesign.com/3039881/exposure/the-24-
best-photo-essays-of-2014
• In-Class: 2 Page Canva Layout

R 3.15 Introduction to Visual Rhetoric for Poster Design
1. Karen DeFelice. “25 Ways to Design an Awesome Poster.” https://www.canva.com/learn/25-ways-
to-design-an-awesome-poster-and-create-a-buzz-for-your-next-event/
2. Steve Bradley. “Compositional, Symmetrical, and Asymmetrical.”
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/06/29/design-principles-compositional-balance-
symmetry-asymmetry/

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3. Steve Bradley. “Dominance, Focal Points, and Hierarchy.”
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/02/27/design-principles-dominance-focal-points-
hierarchy/
4. Jacob Crass. “Negative Space.” http://layersmagazine.com/negative-space.html
5. Guest Contributor. “10 Essential Poster Design Tips for Beginners”
http://www.howdesign.com/design-creativity/ten-poster-design-tips/
• In-Class: PhotoShop Day 1.

[DUE]: Video Design

T 3.20 No Class—Spring Break
R 3.22 No Class—Spring Break

T 3.27 Literary Info-Graphics
1. “Info-Graphic Design.” https://www.canva.com/learn/how-to-design-infographics/
2. Look at 5 Info-graphics at: http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design-tips/information-
graphics-1232836
3. Josh Smith. “10 Tips to Designing an Amazing Infographic.”
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1670019/10-steps-to-designing-an-amazing-infographic
4. Tiffany Farrant-Gonzalez and Jarred Romley. “10 Steps to Creating the Perfect Infographic.”
http://www.creativebloq.com/design/10-steps-creating-perfect-infographic-3145672
• In-Class: PhotoShop Day 2.

R 3.29 Quick Color Theory
1. Cameron Chapman. “The Meaning of Color.”
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/28/color-theory-for-designers-part-1-the-meaning-
of-color/
2. Cameron Chapman. “Concepts and Terminology”
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/02/02/color-theory-for-designers-part-2-understanding-
concepts-and-terminology/
3. Cameron Chapman. “Creating Your Own Color Palettes.”
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/02/08/color-theory-for-designer-part-3-creating-your-
own-color-palettes/
• In-Class: Make Two Posters.

T. 4.3 Studio Time

R 4.5 Visual Design Presentations: 2-page layout, 1 literature info-graphic, 2 course posters

Unit 4: Speculative Design
T 4.10 Intro to Speculative Design
1. Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby. Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming.
Selections.
2. Read two selections from DesignsOn: https://designson.ideo.com

[DUE]: Visual Design

R 4.12 Researching Design Problems
1. Tim Brown. Change by Design. Selections.
3. Keren Amit Bigio. “A Day In The Life Of The Design Researcher”: https://www.ideo.com/blog/a-day-
in-the-life-of-a-design-researcher
4. Matt Cooper-Wright. https://medium.com/design-research-methods/12-design-research-methods-
to-get-inspired-by-users-cae4789a094b

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T 4.17 Futurism (Afro-futurism, dystopian-ism, utopianism)
1. “This is the Future.” This American Life: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/623/we-are-in-the-future
2. Priscilla Frank. “Your Brief and Far-Out Guide to Afrofuturism”
“https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/your-far-out-guide-to-afrofuturism-and-black-
magic_us_5711403fe4b0060ccda34a37”
3. Octavia Butler. “Blood Child.”

R 4.19 Studio Time

T 4.24 Speculative Design Presentations

Unit 5: Final Design Packages
R 4.26 Studio Day

T 5.1 Final Presentations

[DUE]: Speculative Design

R. 5.3 Final Presentations

Final Report Due: Midnight by Exam Day