Project 2 - Travel Site
Specification
Overview
Tourism is a key source of income for any state and Washington is no exception. The tourism
industry in Washington generates nearly $2 billion in tax revenue for state and local
governments per year. With an increasing percentage of travel decisions and arrangements
being made online, having an attractive, intuitive and useful website to attract visitors is key to a
state’s financial health.
Details
Design Requirements
You will be creating a website to attract visitors to the state of Washington. To entice visitors to
our state and help make their visit enjoyable, your site will need to include at least the following
information:
History and facts about the state of Washington
Information about the state geography and the various regions that comprise it (Puget
Sound, Olympic Peninsula, Tri-Cities, Central Valley, San Juan Islands, etc.)
Reasons for people to visit Washington, including notable attractions and events
Travel information (both how to reach Washington and how to get around once you’re
here)
Places to stay, eat, shop, etc.
The State Tourism Board is hoping to attract new visitors from all over the country and the
world, so your audience will be quite varied; make sure your site will be useful to anyone who
visits it. Also, don’t forget that you are representing the entire state! You may be less familiar
with the central and eastern parts of the state than you are with the Puget Sound area. That
means you’ll need to do some research.
Lastly, the Tourism Board wants the site to promote and support local businesses and
establishments, so you should provide a link to the website of any business or organization you
mention.
Implementation Details
Your site will need to be attractive, easy to use, and well-organized. You will also need to have a
minimum of three separate pages on your site and intuitive ways to navigate among them. Each
page should have a distinct purpose and design, but should also clearly be part of the larger
overall site. Your site should also have a clear, attractive color scheme—use the tools we have
discussed in class to help with this. You will want to include images and/or photographs on your
site, but remember not to use anything that is copyrighted! (Most of what you find on Bing or
Google Image Search will not be safe to use.) Use the resources you have been shown to find
free-to-use imagery: https://morguefile.com/ or https://openclipart.org/.
You must conform to all technical guidelines and standards we have discussed in class. You
should organize the various files that make up your site into folders (main, styles, images) and all
your code (both HTML and CSS) must validate using https://validator.w3.org/. In addition, your
code should be clean and easy to read, including proper nesting and indentation, good use of
blank lines, and comments where appropriate.
Project Phases
Phase 1 - The Proposal
As we’ve discussed in class, web designers do not start writing code right away. There are
several phases of planning and design that must take place before any code is written. These
include researching relevant data, sketching the page and site layout, choosing a color scheme,
and generally developing a cohesive vision for the site as a whole. For Phase I of your project,
you will develop a proposal to discuss with your “client”. This proposal should include, at a
minimum:
A description of how the pages of the site will be split up and organized (“sitemap”)
Wireframe sketches of all the pages
A color scheme
Some sample information, data, and images that will appear on each page (do not include
this on the wireframe sketches)
A narrative of how and why you designed the site the way you did
In addition, you should provide options to your client, in case they don’t like your primary
design. You may develop one particular design to focus on, but you should have other options
(wireframes, color scheme, etc.) available.
Once your proposal has been completed, you will “present” your proposal to a classmate, who
will pose as the client. You should describe how your site will look and feel and why you made
the decisions you made. Your partner will provide you feedback on your design ideas, and then
you will switch roles and your partner will present his or her design to you. Keep your feedback
constructive and act professional in these discussions. Your goal is not to prove your superiority
or make your partner’s site look like yours, but to help each other improve your designs.
Phase 2 – Mock-Up Site
After presenting your proposal, you will respond to your partner’s feedback and develop your
site. Keep in mind the iterative design process we have discussed in class. You should not
attempt to build the entire site at once. Code one chunk at a time, evaluate, make changes, and
then move on when you are satisfied. You will likely have both your code (in Notepad++) and
your site (in a browser) open at all times, and you should be constantly refreshing the browser
to see how your latest changes look. Keep in mind that an idea that seemed effective during the
design phase might not work well in practice. Don’t be afraid to go back to the drawing board if
you find yourself needing a new approach.
You will want to start by focusing on the presentation and not the content. For your checkpoint
in Phase II, you will be required to demonstrate the “look and feel” of your site. You should use
minimal placeholder content. This will allow you to evaluate your design without being
distracted by the specifics of the information or images you choose to include on the site.
Remember, your site will need to be effective even when the content changes.
Phase 3 – Final Site
Now you will add in all the content and images. Be sure to review the rubric to make sure you
include all the important items you will be graded on.
Checkpoints
Phase 1 – Proposal
Thursday, March 15, 2017 (10 points)
Have a complete proposal ready to present to a partner.
Phase 2 – Mock-Up Site
Wednesday, March 22, 2017 (10 points)
Create a mock-up demonstrating the “look and feel” of your site with minimal placeholder
content.
Phase 3 – Final Site
Final Due Date
Monday, March 27, 2017 (25 points)
All required program elements are implemented and functional with full content.
Project 2 - Travel Site
Rubric
Phase 1 – Proposal
Proposal describes site organization and structure 1 points
Proposal includes wireframe sketches 2 points
Proposal includes a color scheme 1 points
Proposal includes sample information and/or images 1 points
Proposal provides options for client 1 points
Proposal describes rationale for design choices 2 points
Student provides useful feedback to presentation partner 2 points
Phase 1 Total 10 points
Phase 2 – Mock-Up Site
HTML and CSS code validate 2 points
Code is well-written and easy to read 2 points
Site file structure conforms to guidelines 1 points
HTML/CSS elements are used effectively and as intended 1 points
Site consists of at least 3 separate pages 1 points
Site is well-organized and easy to navigate 1 points
Site has a clear and attractive design 1 points
Site makes effective use of colors and imagery 1 points
Phase 2 Total 10 points
Phase 3 – Final Site
Design
Site includes interesting and relevant information about Washington 2 points
Site describes the various regions of Washington 2 points
Site highlights things to see and do in Washington 2 points
Site provides useful travel information 1 points
Site includes recommendations for lodging, dining, shopping, etc. 1 points
Site links to mentioned businesses, organizations, events, etc. 2 points
Site represents Washington as a whole, not a particular region 1 points
Site appeals to a wide range of visitors 1 points
Site design shows thoughtfulness, creativity, and effort 3 points
Design Total 15 points
Implementation
HTML and CSS code validate 2 points
Code is well-written and easy to read 2 points
Site file structure conforms to guidelines 1 points
HTML/CSS elements are used effectively and as intended 1 points
Site consists of at least 3 separate pages 1 points
Site is well-organized and easy to navigate 2 points
Site makes effective use of colors and imagery 1 points
Implementation Total 10 points
Phase 3 Total (Design Total + Implementation Total) 25 points
