Final Project

Overview | Topics & Tips | Models | Final Reqs

The Extreme Oil site we use the first day of class exemplifies the qualities desired in a Final Project:

Narrow enough so that tons of info isn't easily available elsewhere — and a small site can cover it.
Researchable and multifaceted, so the author can devise a unique perspective with original content & varied options for users to explore.
Designed well, so users can immediately understand, browse, and learn something new about the topic.

Starting out, one key is narrowing. For example, if you're considering jazz or John Coltrane, refine that: not the whole Swing Era, but a key year; not Coltrane overall, just his first recordings. Narrowing is crucial because you want to create a unique user-experience — not just reiterate info anyone could find on Google. Obviously, then, a second key is creating original content — projects can't primarily reorganize materials from other sources.

Overall, projects will amount to about a 15-page paper. You'll build content through Draft Page assignments, starting with a Links page and Feature, which you'll then assemble and revise as a Midterm Prototype, and then revise further for the Final.

Topics & Tips

Three kinds of projects predominate in this course:

Subject centered, like Extreme Oil — other examples have included sites about a Snowboard design-team, paintball guns, & 1950s stand-up comedy.
Technique or technology centered, eg about Apache or digital photgraphy.
Group centered, eg for a vegetarian club or a folk music organization.

Again, the key is finding a narrow niche and creating original content:

for a tech-centered site, can you create your own tutorials and reviews — comparing and contrasting with what's already out there, rather than just reiterating others' info?
If you're doing a group-oriented project, is there something you can orginally research, eg a legal or safety or historical issue that your users should know better?

In almost all cases, narrow and researchable aspects are out there, and the first subpages we build, the Links and Feature help find them. The Links Page helps you survey the field and find what's not yet well covered; the Feature requires that you dig past intro-level matters and find a deeper look at something specific, beyond what most people would know or could easily find.

As you consider possible topics, consider what subissue might be ideal for an in-depth feature or tutorial — remembering that your whole site should amount to about a 15-page paper. Then, as you begin the Links page, see what info's already there, or what's dissatisfying and how you could go further.

In most cases, the subissue you think would make just a good feature topic, e.g., the guns of paintball (as part of general paintball site) or the medical aspects of fraternity hazing (as part of a frat-site) ends up the topic for your whole project. You need such focus to make compelling content.

Models

A great place to browse for models of the kind of site you could build for this class is PBS — look for the "Explore" pulldown menu on the upper right and poke around. Other places to look include Coolhomepages Very Clean and Stylegala Gallery.

But the best thing to do is simply to browse the web for content related to what you want to build. You want to be aware of the conventions followed by other sites in your topic area are using, and see what areas those sites aren't covering well — and thinnk about the ways those sites aren't serving the needs of some users, or users like you.

Final Requirements

Due your final day of regular classes, the Final Project should meet the criteria outlined in this Final Checklist and should include

Hard copy burned on CD (which will be viewed only if Eden crashes).
Online version stored and functioning properly on your Eden webspace, and with original content amounting to that of a 15-page term paper.
Homepage, Links page, Feature, Tutorial, Visual page, plus 2 other pages, and bibliography.