Brooke Forrest Infograph

Brooke Forrest is a senior journalism major at KSU

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Final Exercise Reflection

I know this wasn’t our planned final project but I thought the icon’s project was actually really helpful and fun. It was an interesting challenge to make something we’ve never had to make before and have to make sure it can visually convey a message without too much complication. I just wish we had a bit more time with it. Honestly, I would’ve felt a bit more ‘ready’ or ‘finished’ if I had a been able to make it to the final critique. I’m really upset I couldn’t. I do have to say though because I couldn’t make it I sent the icons to several people with no list of what they were. I was surprised how many people understood what most were with no problem. The icons that didn’t translate well I took people’s advice and made changes based on that and then asked them again. It was also very helpful to have the online emailed critique. I felt like I was in a far better place after that. All in all, it was also a nice exercise in feeling more confident with Illustrator. I’ve never used it before this class and I feel so much better with it. 

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Final Icons for Exercise 1

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Changes: 1 - Delayed indefinitely 

I asked several different people what they thought each icon was without telling them what any of the options were. One of the ones that people were confused on was this. 

Some guessed clock, some guessed ‘what time is it?’, two guessed delay or unsure time. After the slight changes, the majority of those I polled found it clearer. 

I also added the ‘hand options’, the people I asked were split it if was a helpful addition or not. So I chose to not include it (especially considering it isn’t the cleanest hand). 

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Changes: 2 - How to Tie a Tie

I asked several different people what they thought each icon was without telling them what any of the options were. One of the ones that people were confused on was this. 

Several guessed tie but weren’t sure what else it was supposed to mean, one guessed how to tie a tie and one thought it was a cross

After I made it larger and included a full collar and cleaned up the question mark some those I polled found it much clearer

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Changes: 1 - Building Unsafe

I asked several different people what they thought each icon was without telling them what any of the options were. One of the ones that people were confused on was this. Some of the guesses were close (caution house, dangerous, building alert, caution building but one guessed don’t be loud in the house) After I changed the colors that person said it was far more readable. 

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Final exercise: Take 1

Here are the mockups for my final icons. They all need a bit more refining and perhaps some changes for better clarity. But a few I think are reading pretty effectively. I am going to ask several friends to get their opinions on the icons and factor that into my final work since I was unable to attend the final critique. 

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thumbnails/drafts for project 4: Icons

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Blog: Elevator Icons

Elevators and their floor numbers and letters convey a lot of information to the user. It is a very widely well known graphic. In this particular image, we are looking at the upper panel of numbers and letters. They correspond to the six floors, the ground level (G), and (L) which is likely the lobby level. The light alerts the user of what floor the elevator is currently on. With the light, you can not only tell where you currently are but also where you are going. If you see the light travel to a higher number you know you are going up if you see the light going to a smaller number you know you are going down and if the light is still then you are not moving.  The information is embedded in the numbered and lettered tiles which are organized in a row that gives the order of floors and through the light tells your place and direction of travel. The information is important because it helps the user know their location and where they are traveling to. Most elevators are completely closed off boxes, you cannot tell where you are without the lights and code of floors and floor order and direction telling you where you are. This is a lot of information to convey in just a few numbers and letters presented in a specific row and selected by a light. It is depicting several measures in one scale. The information is an important method of letting people know their location and where they are traveling and how far along they are. Though this is just the upper panel of an elevator the full panel where you select your floor options offers a similar wide range of information and control through just a few icons, letters, or numbers. The pair together allows you to travel quickly in a building and hopefully accurately through selecting the correct floor and waiting till you reach your destination which you can track via the upper panel.

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Project 3 - Reflection

I think I learned a lot from project three. I was really interesting to create and utilize a persona as a way of working through your design and figure out who you are really designing for. I also feel a bit more well versed in photoshop.  

Though I think personas can be really helpful in design. I’m not sure it added much help for my design. I think my problem is sorta universal and anyone with a basic knowledge of computers, a want to make change in gov., and probably of voting age could be the target for this site. I did keep the persona in. mind while designing but I do think it would’ve been more beneficial for other project ideas. 

The website wasn’t too complicated to create. I wish I would’ve been able to think about the way it needs to be represented throughout to really look like a site. I often feel like that took a bit away from my design because I’m not actually coding this so while I think it looks like a real site it’s more customizable aspects don’t feel as clickable/fillable and real. The mockup was pretty simple too. A website probably benefits the least from a mockup. Though it is the simplest to do and can help make things look a bit more real you are already looking at it on a screen so it doesn’t add much to the creative process. 

I think this is a really interesting and useful project. I just wish we had a bit more time for it and creative options. I know we ran out of time but I’m not sure this is the perfect photoshop project. I do want to learn photoshop and I’m glad we used it in this class I think some of these projects would’ve been better created in other platforms. Plus I think it would be nice to have a bit more time in the front half to plan for possible formats the project can take and more than one critique. All in all, this was a really cool project I just wish I wasn’t sick throughout it so I could’ve maybe felt like I had a better chance of seeing this through to the best possible version. 

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Project 3: Mockups

Here are two versions of a mockup for my lobbying website. The first image is the front/opening page of the site and the second is what selecting to view specific reps looks like. 

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Final Project 3: 

Here are. the alternative pages for certain clicked options. So for the. first one you select what reps you wanna know about and then ultimately decide to contact. 

For your script, the script template changes slightly if you select different types of contact. 

Lastly, the download page offers the downloads for the template you just created. 

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Final Project 3: Main Slides/Pages

This is a website to help you lobby your rep. The starting pages have been edited and cleaned up and slightly modified through text/color/background image. The final slides are newer. They deal with the actual creation of your lobbying script. With just a few basic pieces of information, you provide it can be put into a personalized script that you either use on the phone, in a letter or in person. 

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Persona Redo/Final

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Project 3: In progress

Here are the main images for the contact your rep website. I will still be tweaking (and possibly adding) icons/words to the sides. But these are the general basis. I will also be adding the final pages (script and final page/now what). I would like to play with color more (potentially) but for now, I do like the use of background images. I have to fix the icons for mail but I will add them shortly. 

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PROJECT UPDATE FOR CRITIQUE

All the main pages, (Other option pages not seen are final ‘scripts’)

Some pieces of information can still be added. I just want to make sure these basic ideas are functional before I place more content. 

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Project 3: Goal Statement

The goal of this project will be to help people who are new to politics better understand how to get politically engaged. By making it a simple customizable step-by-step design people can easily get started in actually contacting their representatives about issues that matter to them. It is the simple way of actually doing something politically instead of just reposting a political meme. 

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PROJECT 3: GOAL STATEMENT (REDO)

The goal of this project will be to help people get politically engaged more conveniently and effectively through a simple how-to style website. 

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Loose drafts of web site pages

Page 1: Opening page with headline / small subhead explaining project / text box for entering your address and zip code (to find your specific reps)

Page 2: Options for contact: [In a political button style] Icons represent contact by: phone, by mail, and in-person

Page 3: Steps for by phone contact

Page 4: Steps for by mail contact

Page 5: Steps for in person contact

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(Not yet created but possible addition pages)

Page 6: Final ‘script’ for lobbying your rep

Page 7: Other ways of lobby (super simple clean graphics for other ways of making change in government including voting, sending emails and attending protests)

Possible page: An early page listing your main reps for contact and who to contact for what