Flowcharts -
Storyboards -
Mood Board -
Flow Chart
15 years ago
Monday, March 16, 2009
Examples of Informational/Instructional Design
Informational/Instructional Design is a way of displaying subject matter in the most understandable manner possible, relevant examples include:
Road Signs -
Directional Signage - Including airport signs, showing map legends. This form of Informational/Instructionsl Design allows users to see the layout of an unfamiliar venue.
Graphs - The most basic and well known form of Informational/Instructional Design, graphs are ways of visually representing large amounts of data.
Examples of Interactive Design
Interactive Design as I explained above can be a term attached to both physical products, and software interfaces, some relevant examples are:
eBay – as explained above eBay is a fine example of both an interactive interface and service, allowing the user to successfully interact with the website, and then arrange to have their goods delivered to their chosen destination.
Photocopiers, computers, and printers – all have various forms of interfaces and modes of input (mostly data).
Remote controls – remote controls have always been seen as product-based interactive devices, but with the development of ‘all-in-one’ remotes ( such as the Harmony by Logitech) they now have interactive interfaces within the remote, allowing the user to select which device to use (TV, DVD, stereo etc).
Automatic checkout machines – I have started to notice the decline in ‘check out’ workers at my local supermarket, they have been replaced by automatic tellers, you can now do all of your supermarket shopping without having to pay an actual person. I actually believe that automatic tellers are more interactive than actual tellers, there are more inputs and outputs and you actually have to respond to the computer interface, instead of the generic, “Hi I’m good thanks,” when the teller asks the all too familiar “Hi, How are you today?”
GPS – these handy devices contain a user-friendly interface and require you to put in your destination, they then tell you exactly where to go so you don’t get lost.
NikeId.com – NikeId.com is an interactive website where users are able to design their own customised shoe. Users are faced with an easy to use shoe design program, allowing them to select, patterns, colours and materials.
eBay – as explained above eBay is a fine example of both an interactive interface and service, allowing the user to successfully interact with the website, and then arrange to have their goods delivered to their chosen destination.
Mobile phones and PDA’s – can be described not only having an interactive interface, but also being an interactive product.
Photocopiers, computers, and printers – all have various forms of interfaces and modes of input (mostly data).
Remote controls – remote controls have always been seen as product-based interactive devices, but with the development of ‘all-in-one’ remotes ( such as the Harmony by Logitech) they now have interactive interfaces within the remote, allowing the user to select which device to use (TV, DVD, stereo etc).
Coffee machines – a very basic example, but a good one, the coffee machine has both an input and an output, also it has a ‘product-based’ user interface.
Ticket machines in car parks – again, similar to the coffee machine, pre-paid parking meters or ticket machines not only have a user-interface that must be easy to use by a very broad target, but also an input and an output.
Automatic Teller Machines (ATM’s) – again similar to the coffee machine, but ATM’s have a huge target to reach.
Automatic checkout machines – I have started to notice the decline in ‘check out’ workers at my local supermarket, they have been replaced by automatic tellers, you can now do all of your supermarket shopping without having to pay an actual person. I actually believe that automatic tellers are more interactive than actual tellers, there are more inputs and outputs and you actually have to respond to the computer interface, instead of the generic, “Hi I’m good thanks,” when the teller asks the all too familiar “Hi, How are you today?”
NikeId.com – NikeId.com is an interactive website where users are able to design their own customised shoe. Users are faced with an easy to use shoe design program, allowing them to select, patterns, colours and materials.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Examples of Web 2.0
Some great examples of web 2.0 are:
Google -
Flickr - is also an excellent of Interactive Design. It allows users to interact by sharing their pictures with others.
Google -
Flickr - is also an excellent of Interactive Design. It allows users to interact by sharing their pictures with others.
eBay - again an excellent example of web 2.0 harnessing the power of Interactive design, users can buy and trade goods with others.
Friday, March 6, 2009
About this blog
Design Students (and designers in general) are faced with many problems: What is the target audience? How will you target them? What typeface are they most likely respond to? How will they read this image? Why do you think this group of people need to be addressed?
With so many questions being thrown at us, all at once, it is very hard to remember all of the rules that will allow us to answer all of these questions correctly, let alone other pieces of information that we have stored away in our brains. While the questions I have just raised are simple ones, (I am sure that even a first year design student would not have a problem in answering them), what if we were asked other design related questions, and not just basic ones about the target market, but more technical ones?
- Interactive Design, for example, what is it exactly?
- Define Web 2.0.
- In your opinion what is Instructional Design?
How would you be able to answer those questions? Like most designers, I am sure you will find the answers to those questions slightly harder to find. True, we have all looked over the definitions of these terms before, and we may have even jotted them down once in a lecture. But most students I know are more concerned about their flash file and whether or not it will play properly when they present it to the class, or how good their design looks compared to the guy’s who is sitting next to them.
So, after we have scribbled down the real meaning of web 2.0, what happens to it then? It will probably be stored away in our desks, and the academic meaning will be lost until we decide to clean them out in two years. So, therefore I would like to present to you this blog. It is a way of not only helping me remember the definitions of the more complex design meanings, but hopefully it will help you grasp a clearer meaning of the terms too. Enjoy.
With so many questions being thrown at us, all at once, it is very hard to remember all of the rules that will allow us to answer all of these questions correctly, let alone other pieces of information that we have stored away in our brains. While the questions I have just raised are simple ones, (I am sure that even a first year design student would not have a problem in answering them), what if we were asked other design related questions, and not just basic ones about the target market, but more technical ones?
- Interactive Design, for example, what is it exactly?
- Define Web 2.0.
- In your opinion what is Instructional Design?
How would you be able to answer those questions? Like most designers, I am sure you will find the answers to those questions slightly harder to find. True, we have all looked over the definitions of these terms before, and we may have even jotted them down once in a lecture. But most students I know are more concerned about their flash file and whether or not it will play properly when they present it to the class, or how good their design looks compared to the guy’s who is sitting next to them.
So, after we have scribbled down the real meaning of web 2.0, what happens to it then? It will probably be stored away in our desks, and the academic meaning will be lost until we decide to clean them out in two years. So, therefore I would like to present to you this blog. It is a way of not only helping me remember the definitions of the more complex design meanings, but hopefully it will help you grasp a clearer meaning of the terms too. Enjoy.
Monday, March 2, 2009
What is Informational/Instructional Design?
Information Design is the visual representation, look and feel of subject matter, designed for the sole purpose of being displayed in the most cohesive form possible. This can take the form of graphs, illustrations, charts, diagrams or any other graphic representation of information. Instructional Design is the creation of visual tools in order to aid in the learning process, making the absorption of such information as easy as possible. Together Informational/Instructional Design, put simply is the visual appearance of information created with an instructional nature in the most readable and most understandable manner possible.
Instructional/Informational Design refers to the way in which information is displayed, its quality and most importantly its readability. Information/Instructional Design not only comes in the form of graphs, images and charts but also signage. The most important aspect of Informational/Instructional Design is what the end user gets out of it, the designer must always represent the subject matter with the end user in mind, the designer must not only ask, ‘what does the user need to know.’ (Form an informational design point of view). But also how will they go about receiving that information (Instructional point of view).
The Global Development Research Centre. “An Introduction to Instructional Design.”
2009. Accessed 10 March 2009. <http://www.gdrc.org/info-design/instruct/intro.html>
OnlineLearning.com. “What is Information Design?” Ohio University. ND. Accessed
11 March 2009. < http://www.online-learning.com/course_id_2.html>
Culatta, Richard. “Instructional Design.” 2009. Accessed 11 March 2009.
<http://www.instructionaldesign.org/>
Instructional/Informational Design refers to the way in which information is displayed, its quality and most importantly its readability. Information/Instructional Design not only comes in the form of graphs, images and charts but also signage. The most important aspect of Informational/Instructional Design is what the end user gets out of it, the designer must always represent the subject matter with the end user in mind, the designer must not only ask, ‘what does the user need to know.’ (Form an informational design point of view). But also how will they go about receiving that information (Instructional point of view).
The Global Development Research Centre. “An Introduction to Instructional Design.”
2009. Accessed 10 March 2009. <http://www.gdrc.org/info-design/instruct/intro.html>
OnlineLearning.com. “What is Information Design?” Ohio University. ND. Accessed
11 March 2009. < http://www.online-learning.com/course_id_2.html>
Culatta, Richard. “Instructional Design.” 2009. Accessed 11 March 2009.
<http://www.instructionaldesign.org/>
What is Interactive Design?
For something to be interactive (and the something I am referring to, could be either a physical product or an interface; for example a web page) the user must be able to work with the product or system (or interact with it) to get a result. Interactive Design, in a modern context, most commonly takes the form of different types of software in various electronic devices, however it can also refer to products and services. (eBay for example is not only an example of web 2.0, but also of Interactive Design, in both a product and software interface sense. The user must first put certain details into the system in the form of a product search; the user is then given a response to this search. eBay is also a service, as after the user has interacted with the interface, they are able to obtain the object they were searching for).
The ‘interaction’ of a product refers to the behaviour of its response to the input of the user. The main aim of Interactive Design is to increase the usability of an interface/make the task as easy as possible for the user. This is often achieved through (in the case of web/software applications) the designers understanding of the needs of the target audience, and their ability to meet those needs, to do this the designer often has to focus on how the system responds to the users experience.
For Interactive Design to be successful the designer must be aware of the aspects of their design that will trigger an emotional response in the user, positive responses are needed and will help make the user feel at ease when using the system/product. Methods that can help trigger these emotions can take the form of; (in software applications) sound, animation, response, dynamic icons, or basically any kind of feedback.
Rogers, Yvonne, Sharp, Helen and Jenny Preece. “Interaction Design:
Beyond human-computer interaction.” John Wiley and sons.
2007. Accessed 10th March 2009 <http://www.id-book.com/chapter1.htm>
Marion, Craig. “What is Interaction Design and What Does It Mean to Information
Designers?” 1999. Accessed 10th March 2009
<http://mysite.verizon.net/resnx4g7/PCD/WhatIsInteraction Design.html>
The ‘interaction’ of a product refers to the behaviour of its response to the input of the user. The main aim of Interactive Design is to increase the usability of an interface/make the task as easy as possible for the user. This is often achieved through (in the case of web/software applications) the designers understanding of the needs of the target audience, and their ability to meet those needs, to do this the designer often has to focus on how the system responds to the users experience.
For Interactive Design to be successful the designer must be aware of the aspects of their design that will trigger an emotional response in the user, positive responses are needed and will help make the user feel at ease when using the system/product. Methods that can help trigger these emotions can take the form of; (in software applications) sound, animation, response, dynamic icons, or basically any kind of feedback.
Rogers, Yvonne, Sharp, Helen and Jenny Preece. “Interaction Design:
Beyond human-computer interaction.” John Wiley and sons.
2007. Accessed 10th March 2009 <http://www.id-book.com/chapter1.htm>
Marion, Craig. “What is Interaction Design and What Does It Mean to Information
Designers?” 1999. Accessed 10th March 2009
<http://mysite.verizon.net/resnx4g7/PCD/WhatIsInteraction Design.html>
What is Web 2.0?
The easiest way of understanding web 2.0 is to first look at the basic meanings of the term. Web 2.0 refers a more interactive generation of the World Wide Web, (or Internet) services, and by this I mean services that encourage information sharing online through services like social networking sites, trading sites and basically any page where content, or information can be shared between users. The way that I like to look at interactive sites is that by sharing content with others you can actually recognise that there are actually other real people out there on the Internet, rather than a system of networks and codes supplying you with an endless supply of information. Web 2.0 is the name given to a group of web applications that are more user-interactive than original web applications.
O’Reilly, Tim. “What Is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software”. O’Reilly Media Inc, 2005. <http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005 /09/30/what-is-web-20.html>
O’Reilly, Tim. “What Is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software”. O’Reilly Media Inc, 2005. <http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005 /09/30/what-is-web-20.html>
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
