The Spring 2026 version of IAT-235Information Design
Course overview
Important information for an overview of Information Design.
Announcements
Class-wide announcements made over the term.
Projects and exercises
Course-work for the term.
Projects
Longer and more complex work.
P1: Clarity
- Individual project.
- From January 8 to January 29.
- Worth 10% of final grade.
P2: Wireframes
- Group project.
- From January 29 to February 26.
- Worth 25% of final grade.
P3: HTML/CSS
- Individual project.
- From February 26 to March 11.
- Worth 20% of final grade.
P4: Design and Develop
- Group project.
- From March 12 to April 9.
- Worth 25% of final grade.
Exercises
Sketching and code exercises to practice design and development.
Balance and Hierarchy Sketch
- From January 8 to January 14.
Frames Sketch
- From January 15 to January 21.
Grids Sketch
- From January 22 to January 28.
HTML Exercise
- From February 5 to February 11.
CSS Exercise
- From February 12 to February 25.
CSS Layout Exercise
- From February 26 to March 4.
Git Exercise
- From March 5 to March 11.
Questions
- From March 12 to March 18.
Design System Exercise
- From March 26 to March 25.
Survey
- From April 2 to April 9.
Code tutorials
Course code tutorial files and links to live 'playgrounds' for completed tutorials.
HTML Tutorial
Introduction to HTML.
CSS Tutorial
Introduction to CSS.
Layout Tutorial
Introduction to CSS grids.
Lectures
All lectures slides for Spring 2026.
Developing Process (January 8)
An introduction to the course and thinking about an information and user experience design process.
Structuring Content (January 15)
Thinking about layout and structure to direct movement through content.
Critique Week (January 22)
Week for providing feedback on P1.
Bare Bones (January 29)
An introduction to interaction design and wireframing.
Semantics, Accessibility and Markup (February 5)
This week we will introduce HTML and how proper use can mean more accessible websites.
Accessible styling (February 12)
An introduction to responsive web design and styling your HTML with CSS.
Build Responsively (February 26)
Focusing on the building of responsive web layouts and an introduction to your final project.
Coding, coding, coding (March 5)
Time to work on HTML/CSS in the classroom.
Code review (March 12)
A week to sit down and discuss coding project submissions.
Technical Questions (March 19)
A lecture for answering any lingering questions you have about the final project, HTML, or CSS.
Support and Critiques (March 26)
Time for support and critiques on P4.
Support and Critiques (Part 2) (April 2)
Time for support and critiques on P4.
Final Project Critiques (April 9)
Final critiques and things to think about leaving the course.