A hands-on workshop with user experience expert, Donna Maurer, and CSS expert, Russ Weakley.
Over two full days you will build detailed websites layouts from the ground up - starting with page layout, navigation and form design; and ending with clean markup and elegant styling using XHTML/CSS.
Day 1: Planning and designing the user experience
Donna Maurer
On day one you will plan and design a website - focusing on the user experience: designing the navigation, page layout and forms.
You will:
- learn techniques to understand your users, and prepare user scenarios
- understand your content with content analysis methods
- create an effective and usable site structure (information architecture)
- design a range of navigation methods
- create page layouts for content, home, index and special pages
- design simple forms
For each step, Donna will outline the fundamentals and show examples from small and large website projects. But most of the time will be hands-on - you work on your own project, ask questions and discuss with the group.
Day 2: Building beautiful sites using CSS
Russ Weakley
On day two you will build your website from the ground up - starting with structural markup, adding accessible markup and then styling your layout using CSS.
You will learn:
- how to create well structured, accessible markup
- the basics of CSS including rule sets, selectors, shorthand rules, inheritance and the cascade
- how to structure efficient CSS files
- how to create a full CSS layout from a flat graphic mockup
- about a range of common layout issues, why they occur and how to overcome them
- how to deal with browser issues including specific browsers such as IE5, IE6 and IE7
- how to create a resolution dependent layout
- how to create CSS for printing and hand held devices
Who should attend?
Web managers, web designers, web developers and bloggers who:
- are interested in designing user-focused websites
- have a basic understanding of CSS and want to learn more
Do you need a laptop?
- Day 1: Planning and designing the user experience - no laptop required
- Day 2: Building beautiful sites using CSS - laptop recommended
Can you come to Day 1 or Day 2 only?
Yes, while there is an overall theme running through the two day workshops (day two will build templates that are based on principles outlined in day 1), you can definitely attend just Day 1 or Day 2 without issues.
Start and end times?
| Start | Finish | Item |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00am | 10:30am | Session 1 |
| 10:30am | 11:00am | Break |
| 11:00am | 12:30pm | Session 2 |
| 12:30pm | 1:30pm | Lunch |
| 1:30pm | 3:00pm | Session 3 |
| 3:00pm | 3:30pm | Break |
| 3:30pm | 5:00pm | Sesion 4 |
Costs
| Item | Cost (inc GST) |
|---|---|
| Day 1: Planning and designing the user experience | $550 |
| Day 2: Building beautiful sites using CSS | $550 |
| Day 1 and Day 2 | $950 |
- Ticket prices include morning and afternoon tea and lunch
- All attendees receive a workshop handbook and CD containing workshop sample code.
- 10% discount for all WIPA members (contact us to find out more)
- 10% discount for purchases of 5 or more tickets (in one transaction)
About Donna Maurer
Donna Maurer is a freelance information architect, mentor, writer and trainer. She has 8 years experience working in-house and as a consultant doing strategic and tactical design. She has designed large intranets & websites, ecommerce & search systems, business applications, design patterns and a CMS.
Donna is an experienced speaker who has taught workshops and presented sessions at local and international conferences, on information architecture, interaction design and whatever else crosses her mind.
She spends her (little) remaining time on the board of IAI and writing a book on card sorting. Sometimes she even gets time to weave and sew.
About Russ Weakley
Russ Weakley is a standards-based web designer, developer and trainer from Max Design who has worked in the web industry for 10 years.
Russ co-chairs the Web Standards Group. Russ has also produced a series of widely acclaimed CSS-based tutorials including Listamatic, Listamatic2, Listutorial, Floatutorial, Selectutorial.
Russ wrote his first book, "Teach Yourself CSS in 10 Minutes" in 2006 and has completed highly successful CSS workshops around Australia as well as in New Zealand, USA and Singapore.
Feedback from previous workshops
Really enjoyed the course. Worth waiting for!
Good mix of technical and general information.
Engaging and super useful!
Very comprehensive. Can't wait to put it into practice
All very useful - especially styling forms and creating dynamic layouts.
The workshop was above my expectations with very good presentations and good explanations - and a readiness to answer any questions.
Exactly what I needed. Put the pieces of the CSS puzzle together for me. Marvellous!
Further information
Please contact Max Design for further information.
