Intro to Coding for Designers teaches foundational skills in web development with HTML and CSS. Over six weeks, you will create web pages as a form of creative expression using the code editor as a design tool. In hands-on workshops, you will respond to creative prompts by coding on the web—and participate in discussions surrounding internet history. Expect weekly classes where you will interact with like-minded individuals and participate in an activity-driven learning environment.

This class is for you if you are interested in learning new skills in programming and using code as a creative medium. Each week you be guided by readings to participate in discussions about life on the internet, web design, and apply skills learned to build a personal webzine.

Zoom recordings will be provided each week for registered students.

Learning Outcomes

- Learn foundational skills in HTML and CSS
- Build a webzine
- A deeper understanding of the internet, its history, and possible futures

6 Weeks
Wednesdays 5 – 8pm EST
July 20 – August 24, 2022

Artwork by Meech Boakye

Alexa Ann Bonomo (she/her) is an interactive artist and designer, and lecturer at the University of California, Davis. She has presented her work at various exhibitions and conferences including the Exploratorium, Gray Area Foundation of the Arts, The Manetti Shrem Museum, and International Symposium for Electronic Arts. Her design practice consists of interdisciplinary processes within new media, computation, and psychology. Alexa turns marks, pixels, and computer memory left behind and uses them as an artistic medium to reveal substance and personal meaning that is normally left unrevealed and forgotten.

Week 1: Intros
HTML Foundations. Learn about the handmade web and zines. Introduction to using a code editor as design tools. First creative prompt.

Week 2: Styles
Apply styles with CSS. Second creative prompt.

Week 3: Layout
Create layouts that work on various devices. Third creative prompt.

Week 4: Imagery and Type
Display imagery dynamically, learn typography for the web. Fourth creative prompt.

Week 5: Interaction
Implement interactions that engage the audience. Discuss empathetic media and narrative storytelling. Fifth creative prompt.

Week 6: Refinement
Polish up code, add animations and transitions. Compile a final webzine and share.

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:

• 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. Applications are due July 11, 2022 and recipients will be notified July 14, 2022. Apply here.