Intro to Coding for Designers teaches foundational web development with HTML and CSS. Over six weeks, you will create a website using the code editor as a design tool. In hands-on workshops, you will gain a deeper understanding of the handmade web. Expect lively weekend classes, a group of like-minded peers and an activity-driven learning environment.

To guide our study, we’ll ask questions like, What is the role of default design in web development? What are designers better at coding, compared to non-designers? How can we design a website directly in the browser? How will our design practice improve by becoming a double threat—a designer who can also code?

Students will learn foundational web development and gain the ability to code static webpages from scratch. Students will learn to create fluid websites that are responsive by default.

Megumi is a designer and educator from the Bay Area. Currently, they are researching digital gardens, data privacy, and sustainable web permaculture . In a previous life, they were a UX Designer and Product Manager in Silicon Valley. Megumi studied at UC Berkeley and California College of the Arts.

Week 1: Intros
HTML Foundations. Introduction to the web browser and code editor as design tools.

Week 2: Styles
Apply styles with CSS. Un-learn pixel-based thinking and design a system of constraints.

Week 3: Layouts
Create fluid layouts and control the flow of content with minimal code.

Week 4: Customization
Break out of linear layout constraints, paying attention to accessibility and browser compatibility.

Week 5: Typography
Harness the power of variable fonts. Customize features such as ligatures, stylistic sets, and tabular numbers.

Week 6: Polishing
Add final flair, including transitions and animations. Share the final project—a completely handmade website.

Rediscovering the Small Web
“You really only need two things: a web host and HTML (and basic CSS for formatting). And you don’t need to make it “user-centered”; much like the early webmasters on Geocities carving out their own corner of the web, you can express yourself any way you want. It's the difference between product and art.”

A Handmade Web

“I evoke the term ‘handmade web’ in order to make a correlation between handmade web pages and handmade print materials, such as zines, pamphlets, and artists books.”

We are offering a number of free, need-based scholarships to this course.

Index scholarships are designed to benefit underrepresented groups, BIPOC members of our community, and those for whom the class price is not accessible. These need-based scholarships will go to the candidates who best demonstrate why they should be chosen for the free spot to our class based on the following criteria:

The selected applicants:

• Belong to groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the graphic design and creative industries
• Do not have jobs that would pay for these courses as professional development
• Cannot independently afford the class at list price
• Share our value of intentional community

The number of selected applicants chosen is subject to the discretion of Index and the instructor, but every course will select at least one.