The think in the tank : An interactive infographic idea (II)
The prototype for the infographic as depicted, I found I couldn’t build it so then I attempted to use the bar graph method as depicted in the tutorials but unfortunately, I couldn’t work around it either. I’ve finally have a grasp in HTML and CSS but Flash appears to be a totally different ball game and it seems I might have to spend more time on it to properly utilise it. In the end, I still decided to go ahead with what I’ve thought up because I think it’s a bit more interesting than setting up bar graphs with buttons and for an infographic to be engaging, there should be a little bit more levels of interaction involved.
The idea for the infographic I have does have its shortcomings. It’s still more of a draught really. For example, the slider button I depicted could really need an overhaul (something with a good 10mm diameter could do good), some buttons could really use a good resize and more.
Features I’d further add to it are some animations and sound FX and other aesthetics. Also, a sort of a gaming experience is an interesting element to add within the design. Initially, I’ve contemplated over that idea but after some considerations, I’ve concluded that it isn’t essential and a bit excessive and it might mutate to something like Tweet Land (http://vimeo.com/22179399) and also because it is an infographic after all and might probably be more of a distraction than an enhancement but that doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be any game elements at all in fact, there should be but in my opinion, only kept at a minimal level. I believe that there must always be an element of ‘human’ in technology. The previous posts have covered how I think this infographic should function but this is more on the ‘extras’ side than ‘essential functions’ I believe.
For me, I‘d probably add a rather playful sort of interface where it is possible to toy around with each regional interface (in order to activate infographic, one needs to activate it viaas noted previously) where a bit of physics and some animations come into play say for example when region A knocks into region B, there will be some sparks or sprites or whatever that’s fitting going on and the force of that collision transfers the kinetic energy onto the other ball and reacts accordingly. So in a way, this infographic will still function as some sort of a decorative art if it isn’t in use. If this were to be further developed, it will definitely require further testing.
One last thing I’d like to add is, from what I experienced, I think it’s better if future students are equipped with the knowledge in programming before taking on this subject. No doubt, one must have powerful ideation skills but without the technical ability to properly implement it, it will always fail. I’ve heard about it, read about it, I’ve seen it happen and in fact, I’ve experienced it before myself. In my case, I was able to dream up an idea and I try to show you what it is about but unable to produce a prototype which is somewhat frustrating. It was pretty difficult for me to follow as I had no prior knowledge in programming at all. The tutorials were great but it didn’t help much in my understanding of the medium. I think I know the concepts of it but still, a thorough understanding and a firm grasp of the medium is, I believe, an essential thing to have. In the end, naturally, students without the knowledge in coding would just grab from the tutorials and just give a tiny bit of a tweak and call it a day. Honestly, I don’t think it’s going to do much good this way and believe that it’s not a particularly healthy way to learn. So, if students possess an understanding in coding, it’d be easier to explore the subject more on a deeper level instead of focusing on how to pass.
So, that is all and thanks for reading.