I'm on my horrible week nine slump and am out of ideas. The more I think about it, the more I hate the actual bathroom stall concept of the app. I really like the idea of having a "what happened last night" journal, but I want to make it something more awesome (and frankly less disgusting) than a bathroom stall. Ugh, it's so frustrating when things seem awesome at one point and then 12 hours later it seems dumb. I'm waiting for my partner to come to class so I'm sitting here trying to figure out how to class this up and appeal to a more broad audience that is maybe a little classier than writing on bathroom stall walls, but like I said, week nine my mind is just fuzz. Grrr. Can I just be the class critique lady instead of doing this project? Thanks for reading!
Okay! I may have just thought of something. A cocktail napkin app. I feel like more people will relate to writing things on a cocktail napkin rather than a bathroom stall wall. Also, I feel like it wont be so secret between friends and it will kind of bring back the old fashioned giving someone your phone number on a napkin. I like this better. I hope my partner does as well. I should start designing, but you know, one step at a time. I can't come up with all my ideas in a few minutes.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
App Design Concept Statement
Our app is called Stall Wall. It's in the realm of social media and is mostly used for fun. It is basically a way of keeping a journal of sorts to log your evenings out so you can remember things that often go forgotten. It is going to have four different features: check-in, text yourself, post to a friends stall and take a photo. These days, Facebook is getting to be huge and everyone is friends with everyone. Parents are also starting to join as well as current and/or potential employers are checking profiles these days so it's really important to keep your profile appropriate.
This app is designed to be kept between close friends and used to keep an account of fun nights or crazy events. This doesn't necessarily mean it is focused towards people who get really drunk all the time and can't remember the happenings the next day, but it can be used for any type of day or night. The check-in feature will allow you to check in at your location based on GPS and will account for the time you checked in and the time you left. If the app is on, it will automatically do this for you. The text yourself feature will allow you to send texts to yourself as reminders in case you feel you might forget something important and you want to remind yourself. You can send texts immediately, for example if someone says something funny and you want to remember the next day or you can set it up so it will send you a text later. The post to a friend's stall feature will allow you to write on a friend's stall to laugh or joke or talk about anything. When you type it out, it will show up as handwriting like on a bathroom stall wall in a bar. Finally, the photo feature will allow you to take a photo and will save it to your evening log, such as the time of the photo, where it was taken, and you can add a caption or title if you want as well.
The main target audience for this app is men and women ages 18 to 29. These are middle to upperclass income people who enjoy spending nights out on the town, going on vacations together, and generally have a tight knit group of friends that share these things together. While this may have similar features to Facebook, this app is more focused towards groups of friends instead of a widespread audience and it takes the main ingredients that makes Facebook interesting and leaves out all the boring parts. Facebook has gotten too big, so this is a great app to use if you want to keep your shenanigans between close friends and want to make a fun account of your events.
This app is designed to be kept between close friends and used to keep an account of fun nights or crazy events. This doesn't necessarily mean it is focused towards people who get really drunk all the time and can't remember the happenings the next day, but it can be used for any type of day or night. The check-in feature will allow you to check in at your location based on GPS and will account for the time you checked in and the time you left. If the app is on, it will automatically do this for you. The text yourself feature will allow you to send texts to yourself as reminders in case you feel you might forget something important and you want to remind yourself. You can send texts immediately, for example if someone says something funny and you want to remember the next day or you can set it up so it will send you a text later. The post to a friend's stall feature will allow you to write on a friend's stall to laugh or joke or talk about anything. When you type it out, it will show up as handwriting like on a bathroom stall wall in a bar. Finally, the photo feature will allow you to take a photo and will save it to your evening log, such as the time of the photo, where it was taken, and you can add a caption or title if you want as well.
The main target audience for this app is men and women ages 18 to 29. These are middle to upperclass income people who enjoy spending nights out on the town, going on vacations together, and generally have a tight knit group of friends that share these things together. While this may have similar features to Facebook, this app is more focused towards groups of friends instead of a widespread audience and it takes the main ingredients that makes Facebook interesting and leaves out all the boring parts. Facebook has gotten too big, so this is a great app to use if you want to keep your shenanigans between close friends and want to make a fun account of your events.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Megasuits Final Design
Avery Mulberg Final Design
Ta da!! Here is the final design presentation for Megasuits.com done by myself and Angela Mulberg. It's pretty awesome.
Ta da!! Here is the final design presentation for Megasuits.com done by myself and Angela Mulberg. It's pretty awesome.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Week 7 Reading
Wahoo! The last chapter.
Chapter 12 is about making good decisions. They talk a lot about guidelines for asking for information on a website. The author gives three guidelines: only make the user provide what you need to complete the transaction, don't ask for a lot of optional information and who the user the value they'll receive in exhange for the information. The author also discussed "sizzle" and basically said to keep it to a minimum because it is counterproductive. Most people on the web don't want to be engaged, they're just there to get something done and sizzle just gets in their way.
Even with all this advice, you should never say never. Certainly any good design can work in some circumstance, but don't use them unless a) you know what you're doing, b) you have a good reason and c) you'll test it to make sure you did it right.
OMG, the same thing by the same guy:
http://roachpost.com/2010/03/06/steve-krug-adding-sizzle-to-your-web-site/
Beacon Tech wants you to add sizzle:
http://blog.beacontechnologies.com/top-10-ways-beacon-can-add-sizzle-to-your-website/
How to design the perfect form:
http://webdesigntuts.com/web-design/how-to-design-the-perfect-form/
Chapter 12 is about making good decisions. They talk a lot about guidelines for asking for information on a website. The author gives three guidelines: only make the user provide what you need to complete the transaction, don't ask for a lot of optional information and who the user the value they'll receive in exhange for the information. The author also discussed "sizzle" and basically said to keep it to a minimum because it is counterproductive. Most people on the web don't want to be engaged, they're just there to get something done and sizzle just gets in their way.
Even with all this advice, you should never say never. Certainly any good design can work in some circumstance, but don't use them unless a) you know what you're doing, b) you have a good reason and c) you'll test it to make sure you did it right.
OMG, the same thing by the same guy:
http://roachpost.com/2010/03/06/steve-krug-adding-sizzle-to-your-web-site/
Beacon Tech wants you to add sizzle:
http://blog.beacontechnologies.com/top-10-ways-beacon-can-add-sizzle-to-your-website/
How to design the perfect form:
http://webdesigntuts.com/web-design/how-to-design-the-perfect-form/
Megasuits Redesign Progress
Megasuit Redesign Presentation
Here is our progress for the Megasuits website redesign. Angela took care of the concept statement and the site lo-fis, I took care of the mood board/logo and the checkout lo-fis.
Here is our progress for the Megasuits website redesign. Angela took care of the concept statement and the site lo-fis, I took care of the mood board/logo and the checkout lo-fis.
Week 6 Reading
Chapter 10 talks about the common courtesy of usability. The author refers to the reservoir of good will. If users are treated badly at a website, they'll probably leave and not only not want to use your site in the future, but they'll probably think less of your organization. The reservoir is idiosyncratic, meaning some people are patient, some aren't, some are trusting, some aren't. You can't always count on a large reserve. It is also situational depending on a users time frame. You can refill the reservoir by doing things that improve usability, but sometimes one single mistake can empty it and you're done for.
Things that diminish goodwill include: hiding information that we want, asking us for information they don't need, lying, taking too much time away from us, or if your site looks ameteur. Things that increase goodwill include: making things you know we want to see obvious, telling us what we want to know, know what questions we are likely to have and answer them, be comforting, make it easy to recover from errors, and be apologetic.
Chapter eleven talks about accessibility. Designers and developers are responsible for doing something about this since they are the ones who build the sites. Designers and developers fear more work and a compromised design. Accessibility can seem like one more thing to fit in and it will force them to design sites that are less appealing. If something is confusing on your site, it's probably going to confuse those who have accessibility issues. The way to fix this is to test often and continually smooth out parts that confuse everyone. The way to learn how to make anything is to watch people use it. It's also a good idea to add appropriate text to every image, make forms work with screen readers, create a "skip to main content" link at the beginning of each page, and make all content accesible by keyboard.
Intro to usability:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html
Intro to web accessibility:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/accessibility.php
Usability is good management:
http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2003/nt_2003_04_07_usability.htm
Things that diminish goodwill include: hiding information that we want, asking us for information they don't need, lying, taking too much time away from us, or if your site looks ameteur. Things that increase goodwill include: making things you know we want to see obvious, telling us what we want to know, know what questions we are likely to have and answer them, be comforting, make it easy to recover from errors, and be apologetic.
Chapter eleven talks about accessibility. Designers and developers are responsible for doing something about this since they are the ones who build the sites. Designers and developers fear more work and a compromised design. Accessibility can seem like one more thing to fit in and it will force them to design sites that are less appealing. If something is confusing on your site, it's probably going to confuse those who have accessibility issues. The way to fix this is to test often and continually smooth out parts that confuse everyone. The way to learn how to make anything is to watch people use it. It's also a good idea to add appropriate text to every image, make forms work with screen readers, create a "skip to main content" link at the beginning of each page, and make all content accesible by keyboard.
Intro to usability:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html
Intro to web accessibility:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/accessibility.php
Usability is good management:
http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2003/nt_2003_04_07_usability.htm
Week 5 Reading
In chapter eight, we learn that most arguments are a waste of time. Duh. But also it lets us know how to avoid them. Most web design teams spend a lot of time rehashing the same issues over and over. This is because what we like as web users always differs from other users. If we believe everyone is like us, it will create a gridlock in any web design meeting. Instead of trying to find something that everyone likes, the group usually will try to determine what most users like to figure out the persona of the average web user. The problem is, there is not average user. Instead of asking questions like "do most people like pulldown menus?" you should ask "does this pulldown menu with these items, etc. work for people who are most likely going to use this site?" You have to think creatively as a group in order to answer these questions and come up with a solution that fits.
Chapter nine discusses usability testing (I just wrote tasting, that sounds more fun). The important thing to remember is that focus groups is not usability testing. In a focus group, people sit around a table and react to ideas. Usability testing is on user at a time being shown something and asked to figure it out or do a typical task. Testing one user is 100% better than testing none. The point of testing is to inform your judgement. You're trying to make improvements to your site, not to prove that it works somehow. Testing provides invaluable input which will make it easier to choose with greater confidence. It's not something you do once. You must test, fix and test again.
An ideal number of testers is three to four people per round. The first three are likely to encounter nearly all the problems and using three users helps ensure you will definitely do another round. A lower number of users allows you time to test and debrief on the same day in order to fix the problems quicker.
It's important to review the results right away do decide what to do next. First you must review the problems and decide which ones should be fixed, then problem solve and figure out how to fix them. When fixing the problems, try to solve anything new and remove any surprises. It's important to give your group plenty of time to test and fix so at least a month ahead of the release date is good to start testing.
This is the perfect web design team:
http://www.myintervals.com/blog/2008/03/10/how-to-assemble-a-web-design-team-based-on-the-a-team/
A simple problem solving article:
http://webdesign.about.com/od/webdesignbasics/a/aa062007.htm
Twelve tips for team building:
http://humanresources.about.com/od/involvementteams/a/twelve_tip_team.htm
Chapter nine discusses usability testing (I just wrote tasting, that sounds more fun). The important thing to remember is that focus groups is not usability testing. In a focus group, people sit around a table and react to ideas. Usability testing is on user at a time being shown something and asked to figure it out or do a typical task. Testing one user is 100% better than testing none. The point of testing is to inform your judgement. You're trying to make improvements to your site, not to prove that it works somehow. Testing provides invaluable input which will make it easier to choose with greater confidence. It's not something you do once. You must test, fix and test again.
An ideal number of testers is three to four people per round. The first three are likely to encounter nearly all the problems and using three users helps ensure you will definitely do another round. A lower number of users allows you time to test and debrief on the same day in order to fix the problems quicker.
It's important to review the results right away do decide what to do next. First you must review the problems and decide which ones should be fixed, then problem solve and figure out how to fix them. When fixing the problems, try to solve anything new and remove any surprises. It's important to give your group plenty of time to test and fix so at least a month ahead of the release date is good to start testing.
This is the perfect web design team:
http://www.myintervals.com/blog/2008/03/10/how-to-assemble-a-web-design-team-based-on-the-a-team/
A simple problem solving article:
http://webdesign.about.com/od/webdesignbasics/a/aa062007.htm
Twelve tips for team building:
http://humanresources.about.com/od/involvementteams/a/twelve_tip_team.htm
Week 4 Reading
Chapter seven talks about the difficulties of designing a homepage. As quickly and clearly as possible, the homepage needs to answer four questions: what is this?, what can I do here?, what do they have here?, and why should I be here and not somewhere else? These questions must be answered with very little effort.
Some guidelines to designing a homepage include: use as much space as necessary but don't use any more space than necessary, don't use a mission statement as a welcome blurb, and test and test again. Taglines can always be an efficient way to get a message across without a lenghthy explanation. Good taglines should be clear and informative and convey differentiation and a clear benefit. Bad taglines sound generic.
Lots of designers are now using pulldown menus to save space, however they cause a number of other problems. For examples, you have to seek them out and they're hard to scan which doesn't make certain things obvious to the user right away.
Ten most violated homepage design guidelines:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20031110.html
Homepage Design:
http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2007/08/home-page-design.php
How to design an effective homepage:
http://www.vanseodesign.com/web-design/home-page-design/
Some guidelines to designing a homepage include: use as much space as necessary but don't use any more space than necessary, don't use a mission statement as a welcome blurb, and test and test again. Taglines can always be an efficient way to get a message across without a lenghthy explanation. Good taglines should be clear and informative and convey differentiation and a clear benefit. Bad taglines sound generic.
Lots of designers are now using pulldown menus to save space, however they cause a number of other problems. For examples, you have to seek them out and they're hard to scan which doesn't make certain things obvious to the user right away.
Ten most violated homepage design guidelines:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20031110.html
Homepage Design:
http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2007/08/home-page-design.php
How to design an effective homepage:
http://www.vanseodesign.com/web-design/home-page-design/
Week 3 Reading
Chapter six is all about designing navigation. They state a basic fact: people wont use your website if they can't find their way around it. In most cases, a decision needs to be made whether to ask first or browse first. A website doesn't have a live person who can tell you where things are, which is why it's good to include a search box that gives appropriate answers.
If you choose to browse, typically you'd look at the homepage and click on the section that seems right, then click on a subsection and hopefully find what you want. However, if after a few clicks the user can't find what they want, they'll leave and look somewhere else.
There are three main purposes for navigation: to help us find what we're looking for, to tell us where we are and because it gives us something to hold on to. Navigation can put ground under our feet. There are also some other equally important functions that are often overlooked: it tells us what's here, it tells us how to use the site and it gives us confidence in the people who built it.
Seven steps to easy web nav:
http://www.smartisans.com/articles/web_navigation.aspx
Effective web nav:
http://webdesign.about.com/cs/webnavigation/a/aaeffectivenav.htm
Four bad web designs:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/bad-design.html
If you choose to browse, typically you'd look at the homepage and click on the section that seems right, then click on a subsection and hopefully find what you want. However, if after a few clicks the user can't find what they want, they'll leave and look somewhere else.
There are three main purposes for navigation: to help us find what we're looking for, to tell us where we are and because it gives us something to hold on to. Navigation can put ground under our feet. There are also some other equally important functions that are often overlooked: it tells us what's here, it tells us how to use the site and it gives us confidence in the people who built it.
Seven steps to easy web nav:
http://www.smartisans.com/articles/web_navigation.aspx
Effective web nav:
http://webdesign.about.com/cs/webnavigation/a/aaeffectivenav.htm
Four bad web designs:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/bad-design.html
Week 2 Reading
In chapter three, we learn about designing for billboards and that most audiences are more likely to scan rather than read. It's important to create a clear visual hierarcy and break up the pages so if the audience is going to scan, they'll at least absorb the most important information. It is also important to know your conventions so when you're creating a design, your audience can find what they're looking for faster and wont lose interest. Especially in web design, it's important for users to be able to navigate a web page even if they don't totally understand everything. Web conventions are there for a reason, so if you're not going to use them, you better make sure to replace it with something equally clear or that it adds something of value. Other important factors of web page design include making clickable things very obvious and cutting down on the noise. Even something as easy as lightening line weight can help with a design.
In chapter four, we learn about how users like mindless activity and when they're searching for something on a web page, they usually don't want to think about it. There are two ways to play it; you can either use the rule that it shouldn't take more than three clicks to get somewhere or, if it takes more, it should be very simple. Think of it like playing Twenty Question, it's a mindless choice. When creating links, make it as clear as possible. For example, if someone wants to buy something for their home office, make it clear where they can find something if you have a link for home and for office.
Chapter five teaches us to omit words. Writing should be concise and should not containt unnecessary words. On most web pages, a lot of the words are just taking up space. One thing to eliminate from web pages is instructions. No one is going to read them because they want to be able to navigate the page without them. Don't use a lot of words when few will get your point across.
Here is a very similar article that reinforces these topics:
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/uibook/chapters/fog0000000062.html
Here is an article about someone "writing without words":
http://designmind.frogdesign.com/articles/numbers/writing-without-words.html#/images/dm/numbers/writingwithoutwords_01.gif
Here is a website with various webpage designs without words:
http://webwithoutwords.com/
In chapter four, we learn about how users like mindless activity and when they're searching for something on a web page, they usually don't want to think about it. There are two ways to play it; you can either use the rule that it shouldn't take more than three clicks to get somewhere or, if it takes more, it should be very simple. Think of it like playing Twenty Question, it's a mindless choice. When creating links, make it as clear as possible. For example, if someone wants to buy something for their home office, make it clear where they can find something if you have a link for home and for office.
Chapter five teaches us to omit words. Writing should be concise and should not containt unnecessary words. On most web pages, a lot of the words are just taking up space. One thing to eliminate from web pages is instructions. No one is going to read them because they want to be able to navigate the page without them. Don't use a lot of words when few will get your point across.
Here is a very similar article that reinforces these topics:
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/uibook/chapters/fog0000000062.html
Here is an article about someone "writing without words":
http://designmind.frogdesign.com/articles/numbers/writing-without-words.html#/images/dm/numbers/writingwithoutwords_01.gif
Here is a website with various webpage designs without words:
http://webwithoutwords.com/
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Megasuits Concept Statement
The main users that would visit Megasuits.com would be men with middle income that need suits, but can’t go to the higher end department stores to purchase them at full price. Right now, the website design speaks to a very cheap audience and doesn’t put forth the feeling of classy as a suit website should. I feel the website should be designed as though you’re buying a high end department store suit at a lower price rather than buying a cheap, knock off suit that won’t last long and won’t look as good.
Initial thoughts are the website is too busy. There should not be so many photos of suits, it is way too overwhelming. There are two navigation bars that seem to be the same, only one has sub-navigation. There is also a flash banner ad at the top of the page that distracts from everything else and the logo is not even big enough to over shadow it. At first glance, it looks like there are two search bars at the top of the page, but in fact one of them is a search bar and one of them is to sign up for a membership. These need to be more distinct so users know which one they want to use. There is nothing classy about the color choices either.
Basic improvements can be made such as creating one simple navigation bar with the ability to roll over and see the sub-navigation. This will clean up a lot of the business. Also, instead of having a homepage with multiple photos of suits, the site will include a slideshow that will be the main focus to highlight new suits, sales, etc. The flash banner has to go and everything they’re trying to highlight there will instead be in the slideshow. The search bar will be made more obvious and the membership bar will be placed in a different spot, possibly next to the sign in link, so it’s clearer to the user which function is which. Finally, as you get to the secondary pages, it’s important to know what pages you’re on, so making sure there is some kind of highlight to know where you are and a clear path back to the homepage is very important and will be included.
Initial thoughts are the website is too busy. There should not be so many photos of suits, it is way too overwhelming. There are two navigation bars that seem to be the same, only one has sub-navigation. There is also a flash banner ad at the top of the page that distracts from everything else and the logo is not even big enough to over shadow it. At first glance, it looks like there are two search bars at the top of the page, but in fact one of them is a search bar and one of them is to sign up for a membership. These need to be more distinct so users know which one they want to use. There is nothing classy about the color choices either.
Basic improvements can be made such as creating one simple navigation bar with the ability to roll over and see the sub-navigation. This will clean up a lot of the business. Also, instead of having a homepage with multiple photos of suits, the site will include a slideshow that will be the main focus to highlight new suits, sales, etc. The flash banner has to go and everything they’re trying to highlight there will instead be in the slideshow. The search bar will be made more obvious and the membership bar will be placed in a different spot, possibly next to the sign in link, so it’s clearer to the user which function is which. Finally, as you get to the secondary pages, it’s important to know what pages you’re on, so making sure there is some kind of highlight to know where you are and a clear path back to the homepage is very important and will be included.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Concept Statement Project
Create a list of all users that may visit your site (not from the WWW but those you’d invite):
Potential employers, current employers, friends, family
What will each of those users want to see in order to enjoy their visit to your site?:
I think the majority of the viewers who visit my site will be interested in seeing my portfolio pieces so that should be the main focus of the site.
Name your intended audience (the person(s) you need to persuade.):
My intended audience would be potential employers. My site will need to persuade employers that I am a great fit for their company and that I am skilled in the various areas of graphic design. The site itself should also reflect my abilities in graphic design and be easy to navigate so attention will not be lost.
. Describe what you need to inform and persuade them of:
Promote my: self and my work.
Goals of the site are: to display my work in an interesting and different way to various audiences. My main focus will be on my portfolio and showing my skills in graphic design.
My ultimate message/philosophy (about who you are): that I'm a fun person, but who takes their work very seriously and works hard to design the best of my ability and with a wide range of abilities.
What is the story you are telling?: The artistic theme of my website is based around playing cards. I chose this because I have always been drawn to the design of a playing card and I love using them in my designs whenever appropriate. It appeals to me as well because they are one of the earliest forms of design and coincide with my life as playing cards were very prominent in my childhood as I used to play cards with my family a lot.
. Write a 200 word concept statement based on the user, your persuasion, navigation and the assets.
The goal of my portfolio website is to display my work in a fun way that is different and not like anything that has been done. I believe the use of the playing cards will be a fun way to show my work because it is interactive and portrays my fun side, while still including elements of design and makes for a nice layout. It also keeps the navigation to the minimum since I can use the four different suits to display the different areas of my site. I want the website to be something that will keep attention and that people will want to spend time perusing for awhile. I want it to be easy to navigate and fun to use. The navigation should be simple as there will be four main areas to navigate: portfolio, resume, blog and contact me. The only two that will have further navigation will be portfolio and resume. This increases the ease of use. I'm putting my portfolio first because that should be the main focus of my site. Under portfolio there will be four navigations as well: illustration, identity, print and web. Each of these sections will have my strongest work in the area so as to show my wide variety of skills depending on who (or which potential employer) is looking for. It will show that I am able to design for many different aspects. My resume section will feature my readable resume online as well as be downloadable in pdf and word format for employers. My contact me page will go to a link that users will be able to click to send me an email and my blog page will go directly to my blog. My site will be simple, but strong.
. List the assets you need to persuade the user: Which 7 projects?: The assets I will need to persuade my users will be a fun interface matched with displaying my best work. At this point, I'm not sure which seven projects will be my strongest, but I definitely want to include a variety to show my range. I think I would like to include parts of my identity project where I created a brand. My strongest pieces from that are the advertising designs. I would also like to include a couple illustrations from previous courses.
. What projects which do not exist yet will you want to show?: I will definitely want to show a multi-page document to show I can do layouts of important documents.
. What categories will you depict in your mockup?: I'm including illustration, identity, print and web in my mock-up. I believe I can provide strong pieces for each category.
Potential employers, current employers, friends, family
What will each of those users want to see in order to enjoy their visit to your site?:
I think the majority of the viewers who visit my site will be interested in seeing my portfolio pieces so that should be the main focus of the site.
Name your intended audience (the person(s) you need to persuade.):
My intended audience would be potential employers. My site will need to persuade employers that I am a great fit for their company and that I am skilled in the various areas of graphic design. The site itself should also reflect my abilities in graphic design and be easy to navigate so attention will not be lost.
. Describe what you need to inform and persuade them of:
Promote my: self and my work.
Goals of the site are: to display my work in an interesting and different way to various audiences. My main focus will be on my portfolio and showing my skills in graphic design.
My ultimate message/philosophy (about who you are): that I'm a fun person, but who takes their work very seriously and works hard to design the best of my ability and with a wide range of abilities.
What is the story you are telling?: The artistic theme of my website is based around playing cards. I chose this because I have always been drawn to the design of a playing card and I love using them in my designs whenever appropriate. It appeals to me as well because they are one of the earliest forms of design and coincide with my life as playing cards were very prominent in my childhood as I used to play cards with my family a lot.
. Write a 200 word concept statement based on the user, your persuasion, navigation and the assets.
The goal of my portfolio website is to display my work in a fun way that is different and not like anything that has been done. I believe the use of the playing cards will be a fun way to show my work because it is interactive and portrays my fun side, while still including elements of design and makes for a nice layout. It also keeps the navigation to the minimum since I can use the four different suits to display the different areas of my site. I want the website to be something that will keep attention and that people will want to spend time perusing for awhile. I want it to be easy to navigate and fun to use. The navigation should be simple as there will be four main areas to navigate: portfolio, resume, blog and contact me. The only two that will have further navigation will be portfolio and resume. This increases the ease of use. I'm putting my portfolio first because that should be the main focus of my site. Under portfolio there will be four navigations as well: illustration, identity, print and web. Each of these sections will have my strongest work in the area so as to show my wide variety of skills depending on who (or which potential employer) is looking for. It will show that I am able to design for many different aspects. My resume section will feature my readable resume online as well as be downloadable in pdf and word format for employers. My contact me page will go to a link that users will be able to click to send me an email and my blog page will go directly to my blog. My site will be simple, but strong.
. List the assets you need to persuade the user: Which 7 projects?: The assets I will need to persuade my users will be a fun interface matched with displaying my best work. At this point, I'm not sure which seven projects will be my strongest, but I definitely want to include a variety to show my range. I think I would like to include parts of my identity project where I created a brand. My strongest pieces from that are the advertising designs. I would also like to include a couple illustrations from previous courses.
. What projects which do not exist yet will you want to show?: I will definitely want to show a multi-page document to show I can do layouts of important documents.
. What categories will you depict in your mockup?: I'm including illustration, identity, print and web in my mock-up. I believe I can provide strong pieces for each category.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Reading Summary: Week 1
The first two chapters of "Don't Make Me Think!" cover the essential rules of usability of the web. It talks about the main points of how we use the web and what to do/not do when designing a website.
In chapter one, the author tells us what to consider when designing a website that people will have ease using and enjoy using. Basics are nothing important should be more than two clicks away, think in the language of the user, consistency, but most importantly don't make the user think. Web pages should be obvious and self explanatory. If people have to think to use them, then they will probably not use it at all if there are other options. It's a good idea to use simple words that are clear to the user as well as icons that are recognizable as clickable or not.
In the second chapter, the author explains how we really use the web. A key point is that no one really reads websites, we just scan them. It is important to know this so designers can remember to use key words that will attract the attention of the eye and hopefully it will be what the user is looking for. Users also don't choose the most optimal choices. Instead the "satisfice" and choose the first reasonable option. This is because users are usually in a hurry and there really isn't much consequence if they do something wrong. It doesn't take a whole lot to back up and guess again. Users also don't figure out how things work, they usually push through and learn as they go. We don't like to read instructions. But once we find something that works, we stick to it.
In chapter one, the author tells us what to consider when designing a website that people will have ease using and enjoy using. Basics are nothing important should be more than two clicks away, think in the language of the user, consistency, but most importantly don't make the user think. Web pages should be obvious and self explanatory. If people have to think to use them, then they will probably not use it at all if there are other options. It's a good idea to use simple words that are clear to the user as well as icons that are recognizable as clickable or not.
In the second chapter, the author explains how we really use the web. A key point is that no one really reads websites, we just scan them. It is important to know this so designers can remember to use key words that will attract the attention of the eye and hopefully it will be what the user is looking for. Users also don't choose the most optimal choices. Instead the "satisfice" and choose the first reasonable option. This is because users are usually in a hurry and there really isn't much consequence if they do something wrong. It doesn't take a whole lot to back up and guess again. Users also don't figure out how things work, they usually push through and learn as they go. We don't like to read instructions. But once we find something that works, we stick to it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)