Subject
The subject of our topic is to create a visual graphic that shows popularity of web browsers over the years.
Scope
The periods are from 2002-2009 and cover eight different browswers based off of the latest version made during each period. The browsers are IE, Firefox, Chrome, Mozilla, Safari, Opera, Netscape, and AOL.
Destination
It will be an interactive, flash presentation that is user friendly and would ultimately be available for web/graphic designers looking to base their designs off of the most popular form of web browser currently being used for optimum performance of website or graphic designs.
Format
Ours would either be a full-mock .pdf or a interactive flash file. It will be user friendly and update previous information that may have appeared to be boring to those reading and create a more interactive, helpful resource as opposed to boring, dull, and inconsequential.
Resources
Our number one resource is browser statistic information pulled from w3schools. It offers all of the information up to date to the current year - 2009. We will also be researching different websites looking for further information of browser usage for other years to 2000 to hopefully cover the full decade.
Browser Statistics - w3schools.com
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Week 3 Reading Reaction
Summary
In order for designers to be perceived as much more than decorators, we have to thoroughly understand the content of the design.
Future content updating must be planned early in the project. Designers must consider who will be responsible for future content management, how often the content needs to be updated, type of content that needs to be updated, and whether a trained person will be needed to update it.
Before starting designing, we must also consider the final "form factor" of the piece. What is the best format to address the audience? How will budget influence the format? Does the client have a preferred format? How often does the design needs to be updated?
The creative brief is a short document that outlines the important information about a project so that the entire them has a clear sense of the project's background and goals. It should be written by someone who meets with the client so that that person understands the project details very well. To make sure that a creative brief has an accurate content, it must be approved by the client.
A typical creative brief breaks down information into four general categories: client information, project information, project goals and requirements, and project logistics. Although there is no right or wrong way to do a creative brief, what's important is that it needs to capture the critical information so that the people who need it are "on the same page."
A user persona is a brief profile of a typical user that outlines specific personality, attributes, desires, needs, habits, and capabilities. It is a cost-efective and quick way to learn about the users' needs and expectations. For a big project, a series of personas are needed to reflect the wide range of audience.
To create a persona, first we must identify our main audience types. Next, create a short list of specific attributes for that type of audience, such as age, gender, education, profession, geography, lifestyle, interests, or hobbies.
Scenarios help designers identify specific patterns in how users interact with information design. They help us confirm our design satisfies the needs of the target audience.
URLs
In order for designers to be perceived as much more than decorators, we have to thoroughly understand the content of the design.
Future content updating must be planned early in the project. Designers must consider who will be responsible for future content management, how often the content needs to be updated, type of content that needs to be updated, and whether a trained person will be needed to update it.
Before starting designing, we must also consider the final "form factor" of the piece. What is the best format to address the audience? How will budget influence the format? Does the client have a preferred format? How often does the design needs to be updated?
The creative brief is a short document that outlines the important information about a project so that the entire them has a clear sense of the project's background and goals. It should be written by someone who meets with the client so that that person understands the project details very well. To make sure that a creative brief has an accurate content, it must be approved by the client.
A typical creative brief breaks down information into four general categories: client information, project information, project goals and requirements, and project logistics. Although there is no right or wrong way to do a creative brief, what's important is that it needs to capture the critical information so that the people who need it are "on the same page."
A user persona is a brief profile of a typical user that outlines specific personality, attributes, desires, needs, habits, and capabilities. It is a cost-efective and quick way to learn about the users' needs and expectations. For a big project, a series of personas are needed to reflect the wide range of audience.
To create a persona, first we must identify our main audience types. Next, create a short list of specific attributes for that type of audience, such as age, gender, education, profession, geography, lifestyle, interests, or hobbies.
Scenarios help designers identify specific patterns in how users interact with information design. They help us confirm our design satisfies the needs of the target audience.
URLs
- http://www.graphicdesignblog.co.uk/wordpress-as-a-cms-content-management-system/
The reading talks about how future content updating and content management system should be planned early in the project. This is especially true for web design. One of the major problems of truly visually stunning websites, such as flash, is that it is difficult to update the content. There are many solutions for this, but one of the easiest is to use use WordPress as a content management system (CMS). As we all know, WordPress is quite easy to update, so why not use it as a simple CMS? This website discusses this possibility and shows some good looking examples of websites that uses WordPress as their CMS.
- A useful and detailed yet easy to understand guide to write a creative brief. It also has a couple examples of user personas in it.How To Write A Creative Brief, by True Digital
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Week 2 Reading Reaction
Summary
Many factors that determine the success of a design piece are unrelated to the formal aspects of design but have everything to do with the context in which the design is created. To create a more effective and smarter solution, designers must understand the internal business structure of the client's organization. It also helps to know more about client's history, client team, and the person who is the ultimate decision maker. To make sure the project runs effectively, even before project work begins, explain and outline the process, team, roles, and timeline.
A large part of the information design planning process centers on the audience. Before deciding on the purpose of a design, it is important to learn the audience needs and goals. Identify all the possible audiences and then prioritize the members of the audience that are most important. Understand the emotional and physical requirements of the audience; what emotional response needs to happen? What is the physical context in which the design will be viewed?
In projects where large amounts of contents need to be developed, such as in books or websites, content organization is critical to help maintain order throughout the life of a project. One of the simplest and most effective technique is using the alphanumeric device. This technique basically utilizes a numbering system and use it to organize and label content from day one throughout the long course of a complicated project.
Since information design mostly communicates its message through written word, it's important to ensure that the language is clear, concise, and meaningful to the readers. Plain language uses plain words economically, its sentence structure is tight, its tone is direct, and is visually appealing. Using plain language does not mean simplifying and reducing complex information, rather, it assures the orderly and clear presentation of complex information to make it as easy as possible to understand for the readers. Online texts must be designed to engage the users to click through to find more information.
Although working with a large amount of source materials is demanding, try to review and analyze carefully all the data you have. The more you know about your client, the better you can solve the design problem you have.
Real World Experience
Related URLs
Many factors that determine the success of a design piece are unrelated to the formal aspects of design but have everything to do with the context in which the design is created. To create a more effective and smarter solution, designers must understand the internal business structure of the client's organization. It also helps to know more about client's history, client team, and the person who is the ultimate decision maker. To make sure the project runs effectively, even before project work begins, explain and outline the process, team, roles, and timeline.
A large part of the information design planning process centers on the audience. Before deciding on the purpose of a design, it is important to learn the audience needs and goals. Identify all the possible audiences and then prioritize the members of the audience that are most important. Understand the emotional and physical requirements of the audience; what emotional response needs to happen? What is the physical context in which the design will be viewed?
In projects where large amounts of contents need to be developed, such as in books or websites, content organization is critical to help maintain order throughout the life of a project. One of the simplest and most effective technique is using the alphanumeric device. This technique basically utilizes a numbering system and use it to organize and label content from day one throughout the long course of a complicated project.
Since information design mostly communicates its message through written word, it's important to ensure that the language is clear, concise, and meaningful to the readers. Plain language uses plain words economically, its sentence structure is tight, its tone is direct, and is visually appealing. Using plain language does not mean simplifying and reducing complex information, rather, it assures the orderly and clear presentation of complex information to make it as easy as possible to understand for the readers. Online texts must be designed to engage the users to click through to find more information.
Although working with a large amount of source materials is demanding, try to review and analyze carefully all the data you have. The more you know about your client, the better you can solve the design problem you have.
Real World Experience
- Every year, my school printed a year book that contains all the information about the events happened in the school during that academic year. The book was divided into five sections based on the five departments that existed in the school: kindergarten, elementary, junior high, senior high, and tourism vocational. I was once asked by the school to design this year book. So basically I had to combine the documents provided by the five different departments into one book. The problem was, each department had a different person who were responsible to collect the data, which means, I was presented with thousands of documents that were organized using five different systems. Even their naming conventions were all totally different. I spent a ridiculous amount of time just reorganizing the documents — and I was not even paid to do that. I then realized how a single systematic and consistent organizing system is crucial in handling information-dense project.
- I was once got a commission to design a booklet for a small business. During the process, my client sent me photographs that they wanted to use but the resolution was too small so I could not use them. I called the guy who sent me the files but he said that he didn't know about that and told me contact another person. But then the other person said that was not his responsibility and sent me to another person. Around ten calls later, somebody finally told me that they didn't have the original files of the photos because they hired a photographer to do all the photos. He said that he was busy and might be able to contact the photographer in the following week. I was annoyed and asked him the photographer's phone number. I called the photographer and got the proper files in about an hour.
Related URLs
- https://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/home/welcomep.html?cmsid=P-2655315&lvl1=home
The book talks about how using plain language is not simply removing complex information, but it rather assures the clear presentation of complex information so that the readers have the best possible chance of understanding it. This website and the majority of its content is a good example of this argument. Investing involves some complex terms and procedures. Charles Schwab's website, however, uses plain language and friendly tone to make the content easier to understand and seems more approachable by a larger audience without eliminating the complex information that it has to communicate.
- http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/eula/home.mspx
In contrast to the Charles Schwab website, this Microsoft Windows XP End-User License Agreement (EULA) is written using sophisticated language at a level where the majority of its audience can't understand. However, this is not only a problem with Microsoft. In fact, almost all EULA are written using this kind of language. EULAs are important just like what all of them say at the beginning, "IMPORTANT-READ CAREFULLY." But if the consumers have to read them, why do all of them look like they are not meant to be read? Is there any consumer who actually read this stuff?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Project 1 Sketches
The infographic will start with the exterior view of a nuclear reactor building to give a sense of its size and location.
A floating text box will be used to show written explanations of the process.
The interior illustration of the building would fade to show the interior of it.
The create emphasize, the specific part that is being explained by the text box would appear normal while the other parts would fade.Project 1 Proposal
For my first project, I'm planning to create an interactive animated infographic about how the Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor works. The infographic would be published online in HowStuffWorks.com.
Currently, in addition to the verbal explanation, the How Nuclear Power Works article already has a simple pictorial explanation. This diagram, however, only serves as an accompanying visual for the text. It lacks clarity and adequate information to be used on its own.
The interactive infographic that I'm proposing would contain more detailed information and features animation to make it as a self-explanatory infographic that is capable of explaining the entire process by itself. The infographic would also have a more appealing illustration in order to make what seems like a very technical topic to look more fun and more approachable by a wider audience.
The new infographic will have a dimension of 600x400 pixels and published online in this page.
Currently, in addition to the verbal explanation, the How Nuclear Power Works article already has a simple pictorial explanation. This diagram, however, only serves as an accompanying visual for the text. It lacks clarity and adequate information to be used on its own.
The interactive infographic that I'm proposing would contain more detailed information and features animation to make it as a self-explanatory infographic that is capable of explaining the entire process by itself. The infographic would also have a more appealing illustration in order to make what seems like a very technical topic to look more fun and more approachable by a wider audience.
The new infographic will have a dimension of 600x400 pixels and published online in this page.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Week 1 Reading Reaction
Summary
Design is more than a tool to improve the appearance of an object, it is capable doing tremendous impacts in our life. Whether we realize it or not, we rely on design to help us sort through complicated information and complex choices. The term Information Design is relatively new and its definition is still the subject of debate in the design community. The most commonly accepted definition describes the term as "...the translating of complex, unorganized, or unstructured data into valuable, meaningful information."
Effective communication is the essence of information design. In order to be able to communicate effectively, information designers must have a user-centric mindset. Information design is practiced by a variety of professionals and is related to many design disciplines, such as graphic design, information architect, interaction design, and user experience design. There are five general categories of information design: printed matter, information graphics, interactive, environmental, and experimental design.
Being in a world where there is so much information competing for attention, the need for information design is greater today than anytime in the past.Successful information design can make the most complex information looks simple. A good information design must be content-focused, user-centric, and designed with a thorough understanding of the general design principles.
The fact that most people nowadays are predisposed to hating the idea of interacting with direct mail makes it much more difficult to attract people's attention through direct response mails. There are techniques that can be employed to create effective direct mails. These techniques mainly focus on presenting the information as clearly as possible and breaking through the clutter. No matter how attractive the appearance of direct mails are, however, their content is still and should be the main emphasize.
Litigation information graphic design focuses on function first because the more overtly designed anything is, the more manipulated a jury would often feel. The clarity of a litigation graphic is important because it has to be able to tell, teach, and argue its story clearly and concisely in a few seconds.
Information design is beginning to play a key role in helping city officials and citizens to simplify and communicate complex matters so that they can get a clear grasp of the issues more easily. For instance, the dry, bland, and long-winded Philadelphia regional report is transformed to compelling and positive report, making it more accessible to a wider audience. Information design has also helped the officials of the City of South Pasadena simplifying technical and detailed engineering drawings to make it easier for the public to understand. A successful information design can even fix a city's self-image and unify its communities, as what happens in Detroit after the creation the new city map.
Anecdotes
Related URLs
Design is more than a tool to improve the appearance of an object, it is capable doing tremendous impacts in our life. Whether we realize it or not, we rely on design to help us sort through complicated information and complex choices. The term Information Design is relatively new and its definition is still the subject of debate in the design community. The most commonly accepted definition describes the term as "...the translating of complex, unorganized, or unstructured data into valuable, meaningful information."
Effective communication is the essence of information design. In order to be able to communicate effectively, information designers must have a user-centric mindset. Information design is practiced by a variety of professionals and is related to many design disciplines, such as graphic design, information architect, interaction design, and user experience design. There are five general categories of information design: printed matter, information graphics, interactive, environmental, and experimental design.
Being in a world where there is so much information competing for attention, the need for information design is greater today than anytime in the past.Successful information design can make the most complex information looks simple. A good information design must be content-focused, user-centric, and designed with a thorough understanding of the general design principles.
The fact that most people nowadays are predisposed to hating the idea of interacting with direct mail makes it much more difficult to attract people's attention through direct response mails. There are techniques that can be employed to create effective direct mails. These techniques mainly focus on presenting the information as clearly as possible and breaking through the clutter. No matter how attractive the appearance of direct mails are, however, their content is still and should be the main emphasize.
Litigation information graphic design focuses on function first because the more overtly designed anything is, the more manipulated a jury would often feel. The clarity of a litigation graphic is important because it has to be able to tell, teach, and argue its story clearly and concisely in a few seconds.
Information design is beginning to play a key role in helping city officials and citizens to simplify and communicate complex matters so that they can get a clear grasp of the issues more easily. For instance, the dry, bland, and long-winded Philadelphia regional report is transformed to compelling and positive report, making it more accessible to a wider audience. Information design has also helped the officials of the City of South Pasadena simplifying technical and detailed engineering drawings to make it easier for the public to understand. A successful information design can even fix a city's self-image and unify its communities, as what happens in Detroit after the creation the new city map.
Anecdotes
- Last year I bought a futon at IKEA. Like most of its products, you have to assembly it yourself. I would not have any complaint against that if they provided me with a proper assembly instruction. Instead of a well-explained and detailed instruction, it came with a short wordless diagram with vague black and white technical drawings of parts that should be joined together. Probably they decided not to use any words to avoid any language problems because the product is sold in different parts of the world. But really, is it that hard or expensive to customize each instruction to have verbal explanations in the language appropriate to where it is going to be sold? Or at least try to improve it with better design, probably use color coding, or maybe photographs. IKEA's products are nicely designed, why can't their assembly instructions be as effective?
- If you have ever bought any food through one of the fast food chain restaurant drive-throughs, then you must have seen the wall of menu that supposedly placed to help you. However, I think most buyers never even bother trying to read what is written on them. There are just too many information put onto the menus. The information is also organized in a very confusing way that makes it so difficult to understand, especially when there is a long line of impatient customers behind you. Drive-through systems are invented to serve food quickly to the consumers. Having to decode the menu before ordering is totally against the original concept of drive-through.
Related URLs
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/7802077@N05/3987062475/in/pool-123signs
In the book's preface, the writer talks about how design can confuse and mislead. This traffic sign is a perfect example of his argument. There is nothing wrong with the visual design of each of the three signs; the symbols are legible and the colors are used properly in accordance to each of their different meanings. In fact, if each of the signs is used separately, there wouldn't be any problem. But since they are used together, they create confusion, mainly because the top sign and the one in the middle have two contrasting messages. For the designer, this arrangement of signs might makes sense, but certainly not for the general audience. That's why, just like what the book mentions, designers must also have a user-centric mindset.
- http://www.havenworks.com/
The books says that information design can be found in every website I've ever visited. In my opinion, however, information design is not exist in this website – or maybe it does, it's just extremely poorly done. No matter how hard I try, I can't figure out the system used to organize the tremendous amount of information in the site. But because of that, this website can serve as an example to show the importance of information design. No matter how good and plentiful information you have on your website, it would be useless if you don't present it clearly. Another thing that I find interesting is the statement by the site designer about the website: "HavenWorks.com has been an Aesthetically Challenged News Website Since 1998 ... Aesthetically HavenWorks was meant more as a Mondrian, we apologize that it comes off more like a Jackson Pollock."
Project 1: Visual Explanation
Possible stories for my first project:
Great infographics:
- http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-power.htm
Create an animated infographic for HowStuffWorks.com about the process of PWR Nuclear Reactor. - http://www.spaceneedle.com/
Create an interactive diagram of the Space Needle for SpaceNeedle.com. - http://www.wga.hu/html/v/velazque/09/0901vela.html
Create an interactive infographic explaining the painting The Fable of Arachne by Diego Velázquez for the Web Gallery of Art.
Great infographics:
- http://www.bellona.org/ccs/Tema/introductionToCcs
An interactive presentation about the Carbon Capture and Storage technology. - http://www.mdgmonitor.org/map.cfm?goal=&indicator=&cd=
An interactive map showing the progress of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
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