Week 3 Preliminary Crit

Please God

First Home Page Mock Up

Week 2 Reading

As we learn more about designing interfaces we learn more about the average human population’s tolerance and aptitude with an interface. Krug, narrows down the immediacies of what should be the first things a user sees.

1.     A visual hierarchy on every page.

2.     Conventionalism 

3.     Definable areas

4.     Obvious clickability

5.     And minimum noise.

The hierarchy of a page portrays the relationships between the different subjects on the page. For example, variation in size relationships prominently show was is more important on a page: the bigger it is the more important it appears on a page. Even changing the density, color, negative space, or position on a page can move the viewer’s eye along the map that you create with a visual hierarchy.

Another way to create relationships among different groupings is grouping the similar groups and nesting an array of portals to compliment each other. Like a picture relating to it’s written description: similar to a newspaper.

Conventionalism is a tool for designers to make landmarks easy to find- because viewers have found it there before. Or, it is so similar to what they already know that they can assume that it is the same sort of thing that doesn’t need an explanation. They reassure familiarity in a new place for a viewer. This is a helpful tool even though designers don’t like to use them- almost afraid that they’ll being doing the same old thing and not creating a new, better design. The rule of thumb for dilemmas like that for designers: use what works unless you know you have a better idea.

Definable areas of an interface allows viewers to ignore the unnecessary parts that don’t apply to his/her needs.

Keeping the background noise and information that bottoms the hierarchy scale not only doesn’t overwhelm the reader, but it allows the clickable areas of a website to be more communicative and visible.

After starting in Chapter 4, I realize I like how Krug explains it’s not how many clicks it takes to get to page, but how hard it is to get there- how much brainpower it requires. It is also described as the “scent of information”- the ability to apply multiple mindless clicks to get to exactly where you’re going.

In the words of Krug in his 3^rd law of usability: “Get rid of half the words on each page, then get rid of half of what’s left.” I thought to myself, ‘Yes. This is what most websites need. I’m tired of reading fluff.’ And the sub-topic of this law: “Happy talk must die.” I just about popped a lid. And it’s pretty much self-explanatory. 

Concept Statement

Note: All initial questions are answered within concept statement.
I want my portfolio site to be a reflection of who I am. My family and friends would be the ones who could most closely see the visual reflection of myself in the site. First and foremost, I would invite them to take a gander at my site and post feedback. A vast amount of work and an accurate depiction of my personality within the interface will be the main things my family and friends would want to receive out of the site; my portfolio as a whole (interface and showcase) should be understood by those who know me personally. Even though my family and friends would be the ones that would enjoy my portfolio for the mere thought and being of it, it is the future employers and clients that I want persuade that my style and my personality will work collectively with their existing operations. I want to not only promote my work as a designer, but my diversity and aptitude. Not only do I want a strong group of work in my portfolio, but also a vast spread of technical skill and style. The assets I have chosen to compliment my portfolio were chosen based on the concept of unpredictability. As individual photos, they might be confusing as to how they would visual depict my personality. But, as a whole they are intended to sum up the entirety of the quirks and intricacies that make up a being. I intend to use my assets and visual media to work as a composite unit. Square layout and square imaging portray more than just their surface visual appeal. I use squares as a way to form unity; a union of similarities can come to make a larger sum. My personality is also a bit square. I am comfortable in my own box but I prove that I have the creativity and the drive to break out and think outside my box through my portfolio.
List the assets you need to persuade the user: Which  projects   
- Red Chair Identity
- Red Chair Website Redesign
- Smokey Robinson CD Packaging
- 2012 Olympic Games Wayfinding App
- El Diablo Café Identity

I only have 5 I would want to showcase in my portfolio
What projects which do not exist yet will you want to show? I don’t know yet.
What categories will you depict in your mockup?
- Identity Design
- Package Design
- Interactive Media
- Illustration
- Poster Deign

Portfolio Website Mood Board

All Photo Credit due to Getty Images 

Background: Brianna Holt is a designer without a particular focus yet. While she is most interested in identity, layout, and package design, nailing down a particular forte has not been established yet. Her old soul, love for rare intricacies, and optimistic personality is what fuels her through the design world.

Target Audience: Potential clients and employers.

Objectives:

- Showcase the portfolio of Brianna Holt

- A glimpse of the style and twist Brianna puts to design projects

Obstacles: Creating a memorable and original portfolio that captures the eye of employers and future clients.

Key Benefits: All showcased work will be in one central place as well as create a credibility of design sense and professionalism.

Tone: Rich with color on a clean, white background. Simple and elegant design described as inviting.

Creative Considerations: Create a visual personality description of Brianna Holt.

Week 1 Reading

Usually when we have weekly reading assignments for a class, I dread them more than any other thing I have to do that day. Even if I have to do things that (by a normal standard) are much harder and more tedious to do; for example, 9.5 times out of 10 I’d rather be a victim of a plane crash that read my boring texts books. However, this book surprised me. Just after reading the introduction, I was excited to see where this author/designer would take me. Unlike most writers, this guy understood the average reader’s attention span and emotional attachment to textbook reading.

            Chapter One elaborated on the topic of “usability”- and the number one rule to easy usability for any consumer was “self-explanatory”. Even though that this was a fact that I was aware of, I had never had it presented to me in such simple terms. Steve Krug used many different examples of self-explanatory options versus options that required thought. What made these examples so easy to understand-- self-explanatory—was how the concept of self-explanation didn’t just apply to websites, but any situation where the consumer as actively looking for information. Obvious > Puzzling.

            Chapter Two had me chuckling to myself most of the time while I was reading. It reminded me of a comedy show titled “How we really use the web”. First the comedian will describe an event or circumstance 99.9% of the audience has experience in their everyday life. Then the comedian goes into the step-by-step process of searching for something you’re looking for on the World Wide Web. Somehow, we as the audience think it is hysterically funny that we all do the same things when looking for something on the Internet. Somehow it only becomes a funny experience when someone else points out the details of what make our process so in sync with everyone else’s. Krug does an excellent job of embracing the facts of the user/interface relationship and how to avoid the “muddling” we endure with the not-so-user-friendly websites.

Portfolio Websites:

http://www.katiegroth.com/gallery.php

http://www.shelleyneves.us/

http://calebsdesign.com/