multimedia design principles - chapter 2

2 Designing phase and brainstorming

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this chapter students will be able to: 1. Enumerate interactive design process. 2. Perceive the process of identifying

problems. 3. Explain what facts finding is. 4. Describe idea finding. 5. Enumerate project visualisation process. 6. Explain what an implementation is. 7. Recognize development of the product concept. 8. Enumerate the brainstorming process. 9. Explain the actual way to state the purpose of the project. 10. Determine how to specifying aims. 11. Identify the target user.

o Interactive design process o Problem definition

o Facts finding

o Idea finding

o Project visualization

o Implementation

o Product concept development

o Brainstorming

o Stating purposes

o Specifying aims o Timeline o Flowchart o Storyboard o Specifying target group

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2.1 INTERACTIVE DESIGN PROCESS Based on the diagram below, the interactive design process is divided into two main processes, which are the problem definition and the project implementation. In the problem definition, you have to do fact finding and project visualization.

Problem Definition

Facts Finding

Idea Finding

Project Visualisation

Project Implementation

Interactive Design Process

2.2 PROBLEM DEFINITION The process requires the developer to analyze the project given, by identifying the user’s goals and the project requirements. It can also be used as a guideline to develop an interactive design that is easy to communicate.

Example You were asked to develop a website for your company. So, you have to find all the suitable information such as the company’s corporate profile.

A SESSION FOR DISCUSSION WITH THE CLIENT’S REPRESENTATIVE ENABLES YOU TO IDENTIFY THEIR GOALS AND PROJECT REQUIREMENT.

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2.3 FACTS FINDING After gathering all the information, develop one flowchart to show the project flows. This step is called as fact finding.

Flowchart

2.4 IDEA FINDING To sketch a good design, you have to find an interesting idea. There are three steps in designing a sketch;

1. Thumbnail Sketches: Brief, small, quick drawing hand-sketches. 2. Rough/ semi-comprehensive Sketches: more detailed sketches, with selected main

ideas, based on the thumbnail sketches. 3. Mechanical/ comprehensive: Actual sketches complete with text layout and graphic.

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IDEA FINDING

(Comprehensive)

(Thumbnail Sketches)

(Rough)

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IDEA FINDING

(Comprehensive)


(Rough)

STEP 1 : Thumbnail Sketches

STEP 2 : Rough Sketches

STEP 3 : Comprehensive Sketches

Example of Idea Finding for chocolate wrapper.

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2.5 PROJECT VISUALIZATION The process is continued with the project visualization. This step is used to present the sketches to client before getting the permission to continue to develop the project. This last design will lead you to the final step of problems definition, and project visualization. For project visualization, you have to use storyboard (screen-by-screen flows). The Storyboard will provide guidance for the project development as planned before.

PROJECT VISUALIZATION

Prototype Screen


Rough

(Comprehensive)

Diagram Project Visualization

2.6 IMPLEMENTATION This process will change the sample screen and storyboard to a project that is functional. You have to begin with the prototype development, followed by the Usability Testing to ensure that the prototype is effective and efficient in correcting any programming errors. The final step is the mastering process, which is to duplicate the final file digitally.

Implementation and Product Concept Development

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2.7 PRODUCT CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT Most of the multimedia product starts from ideas or imaginations. Some of the ideas are generated from;

• Unstructured or informal ways, such as in brainstorming session. • Formal ways, such as using several checklists with criteria to evaluate.

2.8 BRAINSTORMING A process to generate useful ideas from a group of designers. Four steps involved in this session:

1. Description 2. Criticism 3. Idea Selection 4. Integrating ideas with multimedia elements.

1. Description

The designer needs to do a lot of research to get information for the project that they are developing. They will generate as much ideas as possible for the purpose.

2. Criticism This session is to discuss about the several designs that have been generated. From the designs, they will identify the weaknesses that should be improved.

3. Idea selection After evaluating each design, choose the best design to implement and to generate more ideas from the chosen design. These ideas are from several aspects such as the chosen graphics, the colours and etc. he easiest way to evaluate the ideas is by creating one table that can show the weaknesses and the strengths of each idea.

4. Integrating ideas with multimedia elements The chosen design should have what it takes to be well presented by using the multimedia elements. If necessary, each idea will be presented using one multimedia element if needed.

A Brainstorming session

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EXAMPLE OF BRAINSTORMING

A Brainstorming session for a chocolate product. DESCRIPTION Company’s background : Nesty Chocolate Bar by Nesty Product Sdn.Bhd. Product advantages : Sweet and Tasty Competitors : Vanhouten Sdn.Bhd. and Cranberry Sdn.Bhd. Promotion strategy : Give sample, token, contest and etc. MARKET Demographic:

• A child is playing in the playground. While playing, she saw one of her friends eating chocolate. The chocolate looks delicious. The child asks his mother to buy the chocolate for her.

Psychographics:

• Age: 6 – 25 years old CRITICISM

Strength:

• Increasing product sales • To have regular customers. • To attract new customers. • Have several flavours.

Weakness: • To compete with other chocolate products • Challenges to sell new product

IDEAS SELECTION

• Promotion (Example: from mass media). • Improve marketing strategy. • Conduct campaigns. • Sponsors for attractive television program.

INTEGRATING IDEAS WITH MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS

• Commercial advertisement for television. • “Billboard”

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2.9 STATING PURPOSES Consider the unique issues and the advantages given by the interactivity in the project, and the ways to produce an interactive document that will best fulfilled the goals of the clients. The unique issues and the advantages will lead the project to a successful level since the customers are able to understand the information that the company was trying to give using interactivity. It will then eliminate customers’ confusions and the project will then be known. The goals and objectives lead unquestionable success to multimedia software development and can be used to evaluate the suitability of the title, before and after developing the project.

2.10 SPECIFYING AIMS Realistic goals will help you to set up a workable timeline and guide you through;

2.10.1 Timeline Timeline is a written document that shows what will be completed, when and by whom. It will help to set a realistic time frame for the development of each task of the interactive document.

1. Timeline (Gantt Chart) 2. Flowchart 3. Storyboard

Example of Timeline (Gantt Chart)

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2.10.2 Flowchart Flowchart is a chart that shows how the project contents are accessed at every interactivity level. There are three types of flowchart;

Example of Flowchart

1) Hierarchy flowchart Content arrangement is based on the important sequence of the topic.

2) Linear flowchart A sequential arrangement, form left to right.

3) Composite / Hybrid flowchart Several flowcharts are presented in one variation of hybrid flowchart.

An example of the structure for hierarchical flowchart

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This chart is normally used for subject matter that has fewer sub-topics on each chapter. User has to go to the main menu before the sub-topic.

An example of linear flowchart

This kind of flowchart is just like a book, which users have to read the information in the interface from one page to another page (from left to right). It means, you have to begin from Chapter 1 before continuing to Chapter 2.

2.10.3 Storyboard Storyboards are sketched after all the contents are ready to be constructed. A good storyboard will help the swift flow of the multimedia development. The Multimedia Designer should be given sufficient time to finish the design based on the storyboard.

An example of storyboard

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2.11 SPECIFYING TARGET GROUP Audience is a group of individuals who received and interpret messages sent from advertisers through mass media. The audience could be made up of household consumers, college students, or business people. Any large group of people can be an audience. A target group / audience is a particular group of consumers singled out by an organization for an advertisements or advertising campaign. These target audience are singled out for advertisements because the advertiser has discovered that audience members like or might like the product category being advertised. Target audiences are always potential audiences because advertisers can never be sure that the message will actually get through to them as intended. Make a research about your target user in several aspects, such as:

1. Culture/ way of life All races have their own lifestyle and culture, in the return of civilization. Examples: attire, food, language, wedding ceremonies, religious ceremonies.

2. Interest

Something that someone enjoys doing it. Example: playing video games, watching VCD and etc.

3. Disabilities The disability to perform part or most of the daily routine. Example: visual impaired, deaf, vocalization, dexterity.

4. The available technology The methodology about the knowledge of IT is important. We are now moving ahead with the various types of new technology. The obvious and the radical change in the technology is the computer.

5. Computer platform

Identify the platform (type of Operating System) to run the multimedia project. Example: Microsoft Windows/Macintosh/ MS-Dos.

6. Interactive environment

An environment where the interactive document will be used. Example: it is quite hard to read the message on the screen of the ATM machine because of the reflection caused by the sunlight.

Figure 2-1

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7. Demographic Example: age, gender, level of education, career, income and others. These will help to identify a suitable image and the technique to design.

2.12 Demographic Demographic is a shorthand term for ‘population characteristic’. Demographics include race, age, income, mobility (in terms of travel time to work or number of vehicles available), educational attainment, home ownership, employment status, and even location. Distributions of values within a demographic variable, and across households, are both of interest, as well as trends over time. Demographics are primarily used in economic and marketing research. Demographic variables Marketers and other social scientists often group populations into categories based on demographic variables. The most frequently used demographic variables are:

• Age • Sex / Gender • Race / Ethnicity • Location of residence • Socioeconomic status (SES) • Religion • Nationality • Occupation • Education • Family size • Marital status • Ownership’s (home, car, pet,

etc) • Language • Mobility • Life cycles (fertility,

mortality, migration) Demographic profiles in marketing Marketers typically combine several variables to define a demographic profile. A demographic profile provides enough information about the typical member of this group to create a mental picture of this hypothetical aggregate. For example, a marketer might speak of the single, female, middle-class, age 18 to 24 demographic. Marketer’s researchers typically have two objectives:

• to determine what segments or subgroups exist in the overall population • to create a clear and complete picture of the characteristics of a typical member of

each of these segments.

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Once these profiles are constructed, they can be used to develop a marketing strategy and marketing plan. Most importantly, we must not prejudice our view of specific situations by setting up expectations about individuals based on generalizations about groups that they belong to. Demographic information is aggregate and probabilistic information about groups, not about specific individuals.

EXAMPLE OF PLANNING AND ANALYSIS

• You are given a project to develop the content of one commercial chocolate advertisement. You are supposed to execute the planning and analysis for the project.

Project : Designing advertisement for commercial purposes. Project Goal : To compete with other chocolate manufacturers.

To conquer the wide market for the product Project Objective: To attract customers to buy the product. Identifying target user Target group : children Age : 7 - 9 years Gender : Boys/Girls

• Use an easy analogy, suitable graphics, clear explanation that is understandable. The chosen color must be attractive and must be suitable for children.

Computer Platform that will be use: Microsoft Window

multimedia design principles - chapter 2

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