Goals and Storyboard - Homework 3 - CIS 58.51a

This is the most critical assignment in the course. You must have a coherent idea of where you are going in order to get there. Almost certainly you will modify your original ideas as you go along, but the more thought and effort you put in this week and next, the easier your life will be. One good strategy is to start with a simple idea and develop more complexity over time. You will find that it is fairly easy to add more content to your Web pages, but a redesign almost always requires starting from scratch.

Goals – Think carefully about your Web site.

1. What is the goal of your website? Is it to advertise your organization, provide information to customers, educate individuals about a particular topic, provide a service, or just what?
2. Who is the intended audience? Are they potential customers, friends, family?
3. What do you want to tell the reader?
4. Do you want the reader to give you information?
5. How will your presentation on the Web differ from (or be the same as) the current techniques you use to communicate with the public?
6. What materials exist that can be used in the Web site, e.g., brochures, flyers, manuals, database files, TV commercials, or photos? Do the files exist in digital form or are they in print only?
7. List a realistic set of goals that you feel you can accomplish in 8 weeks. You may also want to determine goals for the project in 6 months, 2 years, etc. Be careful not to set unrealistic goals such as scanning 50 photos or creating 20 web pages. A typical beginning site is 3-10 web pages with 2-10 graphics and 5-10 external links.

Storyboard – When you have decided what you are going to do, the next VERY IMPORTANT step is to storyboard your ideas. Literally take a pencil and sketch what you want each page of your Web site to look like. All professionals learn that omitting this step is like going on a road trip without a map. You’ll get somewhere, but you’ll waste a lot of time in the process, and you probably won't have as much fun.

1. What will be on the first (index) page? What is the overall design of this page?
2. Describe each of the second level pages, the ones linked to from the index page.
3. If you plan on having a third level of pages, please indicate what the content will be.

When you turn in this assignment I would like to see your sketches, but that's just not practical in an online environment. Working from your sketches, I would like you to draw those same pictures in words, as best you can. Again, speak in paragraphs for full credit.

Some examples of Goals and Storyboards can be found here.

***If you have trouble using this form, please feel free to send me an e-mail containing your answers to dpearson@santarosa.edu