Hello Class!
Does anyone read this besides the teacher?
Well if so, I apologize for not having this up and ready to read for last Tuesday’s class … but! better late than never right?
So last Thursday,
We started off the class with dun, dun, dun … a quiz. Some of us did better than others receiving scores anywhere from 2/10’s to 10/10’s. Although these quizzes may seem mundane and minuscule compared to our project work, it is important to keep in mind that these points add up and will ultimately accumulate to a significant percentage of our final grade. So … with that said, make sure to stay on top of the reading ! Alright, enough of the lecturing.
Next,
We watched a video from Youtube that took a closer look into the mind of the author of one of our books called Don’t Make Me Think, by Steve Krug which can be reviewed here if you so wish :
Even with its cheesy music, and borderline corny visual effects, Mr. Krug offered a lot of useful information and interesting insight to draw on. I imagine this to be especially useful to us as students, but also extremely beneficial for working professionals as well. It was even noted by a fellow Youtuber that Krug is “one of the greatest usability experts”. So, it seems, that we are in good hands guys.
After the video,
As a class, we reviewed the blog from the previous Thursday. Maggie did a great job recapping the class both in linguistics and visuals.
We then presented out moodboards,
and received feedback by both each other and Liina. Some of us need to go back and make major refinements, while others only need to do a little more tweaking. All in all, we did good for our first “design” based project. Liina talked about the importance of craft when it came to printing and mounting.
Basic rule of thumb when it comes to design,
CRAFT = EVERYTHING.
As, we read in our textbook, even the best design will come off weak and unreliable if the craft is not there. So keep this in mind for projects to come 🙂
Here are a few examples of some of the moodboards presented :
Pretty shnazzy right?
*One thing to keep in mind throughout the revision process of our work, is that this is a potential portfolio piece. so of course you want it took look great and professional. So with that said, take the time to master this design and the craft involved in creating not only a visually pleasing piece, but a presentable one as well, and ultimately, a piece you are proud of.
Finally,
after critique and a 15 minute break, we were set free from the firm grasp of lecturing to work on our design for the recipe page of our Cookbook Ipad App. Work time during class is always appreciated, especially (well at least for me) because there are too many distractions at home to keep me from putting %100 of my attention and efforts into work time so when I am forced to work during class I feel much more productive and also get 150 times more accomplished. Plus, the teacher as well as classmates are there to help 😀
Alright,
Have I bored you out of your complete and utter mind? I hope not, because this is all good information to look back on at the end of the semester and be like “Oh so that’s what all those thousands of $$$’s are getting me.”
So for now, farewell my friends. I shall leave you with this ridiculously cute baby hedgehog. Don’t you just want one now!?
} Christina.
Principles of Usability 