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Assignment 1: Web archaeology

Due: Monday, July 20, 2026

Exploring the ruins and fringes of the web

We’re going to spend some time exploring different corners of the internet, then make something with what we find. The web of today, the one that is mainstream, is a little boring, so we’ll explore the ruins and the fringes instead.

Remember that dev-notes need to be submitted every day, with updates on thoughts and progress for that day.

You will find today’s devnotes submission link here.

Start with the ruins. The Internet Archive Wayback Machine lets you see old versions of websites. Pick a year that interests you and search for random things. Maybe it is websites you already know of right now. What did Apple.com look like 20 years ago? How did your current favorite websites evolve in their visual aesthetic over time?

You can also explore The GeoCities Archive, which has thousands of personal homepages from the late 90s and early 2000s. One Terabyte of Kilobyte Age just shows you random screenshots from that era.

Then look at what’s happening now. Use Marginalia Search to find small, non-commercial sites about topics you care about (search for a keyword and play with the filters on the sides. What do you end up with when you select ‘Vintage’? What about ‘Small web’?). When you find a personal site you like, look for links or blogs that they refer you to.

Follow whatever interests you. If you see something that makes you curious, click on it. The goal is to get a sense of how many different ways people use this medium.

There is no mandated number of websites to visit but I would want you to explore at least 10-15 from each “era” or type. The whole point here is to see that the web contains a lot more variety than you might expect if you mostly stick to the same few platforms.

Make a mood board

Take screenshots of things that catch your attention for any reason. Put them together in whatever tool you prefer. This could be a Figma artboard, a Miro board, a Google doc with images, or you could print stuff out and make a physical collage. Don’t worry about organizing it or making it look professional. Just collect things that seem worth remembering. We’ll come back to this board in Week 2 when you design your own site.

Also tonight: finish your installs

Check the requirements page. By tomorrow you need VS Code, GitHub Desktop, and accounts on GitHub, Netlify, and Figma. Day 2 starts with all of us building!

This is by no means a prescriptive list, it is to get you started. I welcome you to add anything else you find!

The ruins:

Current small web:

Webrings:

Assignment Status

Status
Not Started
Due Date
Monday, July 20, 2026
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