This course is an introduction to computing and the use of digital media in the design process. Computing is changing the way professionals approach the design process. Landscape architects primarily use computers in two ways. First, as tools for the visualization, analysis, and communication of patterns. We may analyze the patterns by eye or with numbers, but in both cases we want to know what these patterns mean to us as designers. Once we can visualize the way patterns change in space and over time, we can propose design forms that alter or support those patterns. The second way Landscape Architects use computers is to communicate their ideas concerning form and pattern in new and unprecedented ways. Web communication is providing the design community with a powerful "digital voice". It has changed the way designers communicate with clients, and has helped to negate the problem of physical distance. Computing will continue to change the profession of Landscape Architecture and that is why we encourage the use of digital tools in our curriculum.

This course introduces software that will help you visualize patterns over time and space, which we call representation. We also introduce software to help you communicate with the public, clients, and other professionals. We call these activities presentation. Our goal in this course is to give you access to new tools you can use for both representation and presentation. There are other packages you should know about, like AutoCAD and GIS software. These will be covered in other courses, because it takes more time to learn them. But the software you learn here will provide you with the tools you need to learn those more complex packages more quickly and easily.

An ancillary goal of this course is to help you develop two other skills that underlie good computer use. The first of these is learning to orient yourself in cyberspace, or learning to recognize the way that directory structures act like digital filing systems living behind the computer's desktop. If you always know where you are, you won't have to worry about losing your files (or your mind) in cyberspace.
The second is troubleshooting, or knowing what to do when you get stuck working on a computer. If you can troubleshoot, you can teach yourself anything. Learning good troubleshooting skills is critical, because software is always changing; if you're not a lifelong learner when it comes to computing, you won't be able to benefit as much from computers professionally. To become a good troubleshooter, you have to remember some common strategies for solving software problems (and sometimes hardware problems!) while you're working at a computer. Make it a habit to remember how you solved a problem last time; it makes life a lot easier when the problem occurs again - and can make you invaluable in a digital office setting!

This course is designed as a "self-study" course, in which you teach yourself by going through a series of tutorials. That allows each of you to move at your own pace while you learn the critical computing skills you'll need as a 21st-century landscape architect.

"Self-study" is different from other styles of learning and teaching. Most importantly, all self-study courses have one thing in common: throughout the course, you are responsible for (1) managing your own time and (2) finding extra help when you need it, by talking to the TA's or Prof. Kristina Hill. Managing your time means making time to work through these tutorials, experimenting with the tools available in the software packages we discuss, and completing the assignments on time at the end of each tutorial.

In addition to providing the tutorials on this website, here's what we've done to try and help you learn:

1. Come to help sessions and ask questions in person. The course TA's will hold office hours to help you with your software questions, either one-on-one or in small groups. The hours are MW 8:30 - 9:50.

2. You can ask questions via email, by sending them to Craig and Erik at the course email address: larc440@u.washington.edu.

3. You can arrange for extra help, outside the established TA hours, by contacting either Prof. Kristina Hill or Craig Skipton.

We'll begin the course by introducing you to the only application whose products are chiefly non-digital. Pagemaker is a package that makes it easier to do complex layouts using text and images, especially for reports and presentation boards.

Web sites have become increasingly important to designers in 2 ways: first, we often use them as public relations tools that help explain what's happening with a project to people who live in the area or care about the site. Second, we use them increasingly to communicate among firms and with clients. This "web-based collaboration" will be a big part of professional life in coming years.

We're designing the fishbowl in the landscape architecture studio as a place to experiment with these communication techniques. International firms like George Hargreaves Associates are already using this technique to work with clients on complex projects (see www.hargreaves.com). While you're getting your degree, it's a good idea to learn about the Web and Web-based collaboration so that you can bring those skills to your professional career.

This quarter we will explore basic HTML editing, as well as, taking advantage of more intuitive web creation software such as, Claris Home Page and Macromedia Dreamweaver.

The spaces we design, however, usually exist in 3-dimensional space. This tutorial introduces the use of one particular modeling package to represent forms in 3D space. Form-Z is like Illustrator and AutoCAD in that it allows you to manipulate objects - not just images of objects. It also allows you to manipulate landforms, and that's where it will become a powerful tool for 3D visualization and design.