Week 1 Outside of Class

Homework for next class:
No homework due.

We will be talking about our reading assignments from last class' homework.
We will also have our blogs checked and if we have receipts for our ordered books.

Week 1B

Began class with a Micro Group Project.
We were to create a series of four icons to symbolize the theme of a specific movie of our choosing. Our group decided to choose Cinderella.

For our icons, we chose to use:

• Cleaning Supplies / Bucket, Broom.
• Pumpkin Carriage.
• Castle.
• Glass Slipper.

We believed that these objects best portrayed the Cinderella story.

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I chose to do the Pumpkin Carriage.

My sketch:

When I made the image in Illustrator, I also began work on the cleaning supplies.

Finished design:

All of our finished designs:

Week 1A

First day of class.
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Went over syllabus and class guidelines.
Some important notes for class:

• Two Books to Order:
• Type on Screen: Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Developers, and Students - Ellen Lupton
• Basics Interactive Design: Interface Design: An Introduction to Visual Communication - David Wood
• Attend Two Events:
• Interdisciplinary Interaction Design Conference - Sat, November 22nd
• One off campus of our choosing.

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Homework for next class:

• Create a Process Blog - Google Blogger (laurenm27.blogspot.com).
• Readings:
• Hicksdesign - Spotify Icon Set: 
• In this article, the author talks about his experience in designing a full set of icons for a program called Spotify. His first step was the "discovery phase", as he calls it, which consisted of selecting a few icons and building upon them using key components such as size, format and file naming. The most important part was to think about the logo for Spotify and the typeface that was used as well. One challenge that they had was trying to create two different icons for CD's and Vinyls, which both use the same type of shapes: two circles within a square. They also looked to other music metaphors such as a setlist, or a cassette, and also a backstage pass. Each of these are paired to a specific task of the music player, such as: playlist, profile, etc. The next part is to think about the size of an icon. There are four main sizes: 16, 24, 32, and 64px. They needed to create icons that were recognizable but also would be able to scale to a smaller size. Some neat ideas that they threw around to use as icons were the busts or guitars for different genres. The ideas were thrown out, but they created a fun twist to the classic designs. The project is still ongoing.

• UX Booth - "An Icon is Worth 1,000 Words":
• In this article, the author begins by explaining testing for different icons, such as the popular hamburger icon. The hamburger icon tested highly compared to other nav icons, especially when paired with words such as "menu". Unfortunately, these kinds of tests are not quick and they don't always provide a clear answer. An example of reworking icons is Google. They are the largest company to have recently updated their application icons to make more use of them. The most simplistic icons help avoid the learning curve and guide users more quickly to their destination. Another aspect of icon design is also the use of wording. Many designers found that just icons are not the most effective communication tools. When paired with phrases or key words, they can help a user better understand the type of icon. An example is the use of wording next to icons on important paperwork. A large "X" will usually also have the word "signature" accompanying it. Some factors that can help decide whether or not to use a word are: applications used by multiple cultures, less tech-savvy users, or apps with very few actions/buttons. 

• Order the two required books as soon as possible - Done. Amazon.