Design for Journalists II

Final Class 👋

2017-05-11T00:00:00+00:00

Final projects:

Week 15

2017-05-04T00:00:00+00:00

Bots, VR, AR, AI

Final Project

Your final project is due on Wednesday, May 10, by midnight. Please don’t wait until the due date to contact me with technical or other questions.

Some resources for storytelling tools:

Course survey

Please complete the course surey on Canvas in the next week.

Week 14

2017-04-27T00:00:00+00:00

Guest speakers:

Lindsay Crouse, producer, Op-Docs
Larry Buchanan, graphics editor
Talya Minsberg, social editor

Week 13

2017-04-20T00:00:00+00:00

Guest Instructors

Alexis Sypek and Nate Foulds, user researchers at The New York Times.

Week 12

2017-04-13T00:00:00+00:00

Assignment: Prep for Week 13

Find 3 examples of compelling social media posts that tease a story (e.g. on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat). Take screenshots or save links to them so you can discuss in class.

Also, create a social promo for your midterm project — how would you frame the story and what visuals might you use to illustrate it? You can design a promo for any social platform (use the actual platform or Photoshop to mock it up).

Due Wednesday, April 19

Exercise: Timeline or StoryMap

Build an interactive timeline or interactive map with TimelineJS or StoryMap from the Knight Lab and publish your page to GitHub Pages. Try overriding the existing CSS rules to apply your own styles and build out other details on the page (like a headline and other explanatory text).

Use research and reporting material from your final project, though you are not required to implement this exercise into your final project it may be a useful component.

Due Wednesday, April 26.

Critique: Interactivity

Select one of the stories below to critique — focus on the role of interactive components that require the reader to interact with the story.

Before next class, submit a critique that generally answers the following questions about each piece (fewer than 300 words).

Substance: What story was this project attempting to tell? Was it successful? Was the narrative compelling? What scenes or characters most resonated?
Form: What decisions did the authors make about what to show and how to sequence the story? Were they effective? Was the interaction intuitive? Did the experience ask too much of the reader?

Deadline: Submit your critiques on Canvas by midnight on Wednesday, April 26.

Week 11

2017-04-06T00:00:00+00:00

Today’s Guest

Troy Griggs is a graphics editor at The New York Times. Most recently, he worked at The Guardian as a special projects editor for Guardian Visuals.

Final Project

You will be telling the story of your block. The aim, similar to the midterm, is to design an experience that weaves together different types of storytelling devices and embraces the possibilities of digital to create something richer than text alone could provide. Consider:

The story: There are so many ways to tell this story. What’s the best? Is the story of your block a story of the people who live there — maybe even one individual? The workers? What about its history? Its future? Is it a block in transition? Is there conflict or unity? What communities exist? Pick your targets, this project isn’t intended to be encyclopedic or exhaustive. Don’t attempt to cram a little bit of all these dimensions into a single interactive narrative. Ask yourself: What are the most compelling stories around me?
The experience: What types of multimedia might best tell this story? You don’t need to decide anything now, but as you report and brainstorm consider the potential of maps, audio, video, photography, 360° panoramas, data visualization, animation, illustration, quizzes or any of the building blocks we’ve seen or discussed.

First deadline: Start reporting and researching. Talk to your neighbors. Go into businesses, churches or organizations. Dig into census data, city records and news archives. By next Wednesday, upload an initial pitch that outlines possible approaches and points of focus.

(The final will be due on May 11. Other notes, which will be detailed in subsequent weeks: You will be expected to hand-code this project and host it on Github, instead of relying on a platform like Medium or The Atavist. Grading criteria will be similar to the midterm. You will be evaluated on both the quality of the story and experience.)

Critique: The Story of a Place

Select one of the stories below to critique — focus on how different storytelling devices helped tell the story of a place.

Before next class, submit a critique that generally answers the following questions about each piece (fewer than 300 words).

Substance: What story was this project attempting to tell? Was it successful? Was the narrative compelling? What scenes or characters most resonated?
Form: What decisions did the authors make about what to show and how to sequence the story? Were they effective? Was integrating multiple mediums effective? Was it intuitive? Did the experience ask too much of the reader?

Deadline: Submit your critiques on Canvas by midnight on Wednesday, April 12.

Week 10

2017-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

Exercise

Build a page that highlights your guide to NYC, centered on an interactive map but consider how to create impact and character through the surrounding elements and presentation. Embrace typography and illustration (if you can’t draw, considering using simple iconography from The Noun Project).

Requirements:

Embed a robust, interactive map using Google MyMap
Consider how to frame your page, introduce the map and provide additional insights and commentary for how to use the guide.
Upload a fully working version of the page to Github Pages and submit a link by Wednesday night.

Weekly Critique:

Select one of the stories below to critique — focus on the use of typography, illustration and the general art direction as it impacts the story.

Before next class, submit a critique that generally answers the following questions about each piece (fewer than 300 words).

Substance: What story was this project attempting to tell? Was it successful? Was the narrative compelling? What scenes or characters most resonated?
Form: How did elements of color, illustration, typography or composition add or subtract to the experience? Compare the experience on a desktop or laptop computer and a phone and highlight any differences and explain if one version was stronger.

🏄 Spring Break 🌞

2017-03-23T00:00:00+00:00

Week 8: Midterm Due

2017-03-16T00:00:00+00:00

Midterm Projects

Life After Lang — Ritika and KC
Notable Arts on Campus — Penelope and Chloe
How Local is Local — Tyler and Allie
The New School Commencement — Taylor and Jennifer

Week 7

2017-03-09T00:00:00+00:00

Guest speaker: Alicia DeSantis, deputy culture editor, The New York Times.

Mid-course survey

Please let me know how you think the course is going and what, if anything, could be improved in the final eight weeks (responses are anonymous): https://goo.gl/forms/hdT4xXCMZpIBnWLZ2

Midterm: Final Deadline

The midterm project accounts for 20% of your total grade for the class. You must submit the final URL to Canvas by Wednesday, March 15. Late assignments will automatically receive a lower grade. Be prepared to present your project in class and offer constructive criticism to your peers.

Projects will be evaluated on the following criteria:

Reporting and storytelling — Did this story surface new facts and make a complex issue more understandable? Was the substance and structure of the story compelling and coherent?
Use of multimedia — How well was this story designed? Were alternative storytelling devices well integrated? Did the use of video, data, visuals and other mediums add or distract to the overall package? Did the story show vs. tell (i.e. did you rely on text and prose when a visual element would have worked better)?
Polish and creativity — Did your project push the envelope technically, visually and/or journalistically? Did you fix all technical or design bugs (be sure to test your project on a variety of computers and phones)? Avoid grammatical, spelling and accuracy errors? Is the story strong enough to be published by The Free Press or WNYC?