Trooper93's Blog

Activity 2: Assignments and Workshop Items

trooper93 — Sun, 31 May 2009 05:03:56 +0000

Assignment 1 (Creative Report) materials:

Assignment 2 (Powerpoint) materials

Workshop Activity 1: Self portrait photoshop edit:

Workshop Activity 2: Road Signs:

roadsign EDIT good

Activity : Powerpoint Redesign

trooper93 — Sun, 31 May 2009 04:34:18 +0000

There are a number of changes I have made to my original powerpoint presentation.

The first change I made was on the second slide. I added a clipart animation depicting two cartoon men holding a graph arrow. I positioned then so that they were standing on the graph already present in the powerpoint. The idea behind this was an emphasis on play. It made the statistical graph less dry, with more of a humorous tinge to it.

Next, I added more colour to slide three. I coloured four bars red, yellow, green and blue respectively. The purpose of this was symphony. By adding more colours, placing them in the order they appear on the spectrum, I was drawing together isolated pieces of information that would have otherwise appeared very anaytical.

Slide number seven employs the use of story. I took away the dot points to add more of a narrative structure. The tree in the background already implies a wider narrative structure.

Slide number ten makes use of empathy. The frog was placed underneath the caption to prompt an emotional response from the audience.

To communicate design, I added some decoration relevant to the topic on slide nine.

In order to communicate meaning, I emphasized certain words with bold, italics or underlining. Slide 6 is just one example of this.

Assignment 4 powerpoint edit

Week 13 Activity 1: Websites

trooper93 — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:14:58 +0000

There are four types of web credibility: Presumed, reputed, surface, and earned. I have found an example for each one.

The first example is the home page of the Rotary Club’s website. I believe this is an example of presumed credibility. The Rotary Club is well known for its community service. Therefore, the club’s website would be assumed to be a credible source.

Next is an example of reputed credibility. This is the homepage of Risdall Advertising Agency’s homepage. As can be seen in the snapshot, it has won a prestigious web award. For this reason, it is an example of refuted credibility.

PedEgg’s homepage is an example of surface credibility. Any credibility that a foot grater might have is debatable, however the layout of the site is well designed. It’s an ideal layout for grabbing the attention of potential customers. The site has surface credibility.

Finally, we have an example of established credibility. I chose the Internet Movie Database website, because it has a solid reputation for reliable information on all the latest films.

Critical Reading and Writing Qu. 3: Future of Credibility

trooper93 — Sat, 30 May 2009 16:47:17 +0000

People’s view of web credibility has changed over the years, and is continuing to change. There are many factors which could affect potential web credibility in the future. Here are some of them:

High interactivity: The more interactive a sight is in the future, the more popular and therefore more credible it will be. The Psychology of the Internet uses the growing use of webcam as an example of this (Wallace, p. 252).

Growing web audience: As people become more internet aware, they may look for the growth of a site’s audience as proof of its genuine content. This attribute is already considered an online sign of success (‘Web Credibility: The Basics’, n.d.).

Advanced graphics: In a world where digital graphics are becoming more and more refined, an advanced graphic design scheme will be vital for creating an air of credibility. Those who lag behind in design risk being viewed as behind customer demand, and also less technically competent.

Multimedia: Successful sites in the future will harbour a wide range of different media. This may include video, audio, commenting and picture sharing.

Critical Reading and Writing Qu. 2: Wikipedia

trooper93 — Sat, 30 May 2009 16:32:40 +0000

In university life, Wikipedia is usually not accepted as a reliable online source. We can find many reasons for this.

Wikipedia is an online encyclopaedia that is completely free and open to everybody. This means that literally anybody can log onto the website and add something to the encyclopaedia. The downside of this is that much of the content on Wikipedia doesn’t necessarily come from a reliable source. Some Wikipedia articles can even be incredibly biased.

Many of the authors on Wikipedia don’t have any apparent form of web credibility. Furthermore, it is hard to establish any form of web credibility on a Wikipedia article, as you are unable to customise pages to make them more visually appealing. Most of the time, Wikipedia posts are also completely anonymous. This means certain traits found to be exhibited by reliable web sources by the Week 13 reading cannot be found on Wikipedia. Such traits include a show of credentials and contact details. There is also no guarantee that the external links on Wikipedia articles are reliable either (Fogg, B.J., Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do).

Another reason for Wikipedia being regarded as a dubious source is the fact that it has the potential to take away the incentive for serious web browsing. Instead, the student may be tempted to go straight to a second-rate information source like Wikipedia.

It is for these reasons that Wikipedia is regarded as an unreliable source when it comes to web research.

Critical Reading and Writing Qu 1: Discussion

trooper93 — Sat, 30 May 2009 16:20:19 +0000

Credibility is a vital attribute in the evaluation of website that one wishes to use as sources. It is therefore very important that we evaluate the credibility of websites on the internet. As it is put in The Psychology of the Internet, “The enormous collection of materials on the net varies considerably in quality and accuracy, and we should use, and encourage in others, critical thinking about the nature of the sources” (Wallace, P., p. 245).

In Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do, B. J. Fogg mentions two main types of web credibility. They are trustworthiness and expertise (pp. 123-124). Trustworthiness depends on the strength of the argument being put across. Expertise is determined by the titles held by the web page authors (ie how ‘professional’ they are). The most reliable websites will have a high level of both expertise and trustworthiness.

It is important for students to be able to effectively evaluate a website’s credibility. This is especially true since according to one site, most people judge a web page on its superficial graphic design instead of taking a good look at its content (“How Do People Evaluate a Website’s Credibility?”, n.d.). Sometimes it can be hard to judge whether a website’s claims are true or not, as “…cyberspace really is a level playing field” (Edwards, P and Edwards, S., Making Money In Cyberspace, p. 10).

A credible website will more than likely be visually appealing. However, in order to be considered credible, the website should display other specific traits, including third party evidence for its claims and a dedication to answering the questions of visitors to the site (“Web Credibility: The Basics, n.d.).

These are just some examples of how a website’s credibility might be measured.

REFERENCE LIST:

Edwards, P. and Edwards, S. (1998) Making Money in Cyberspace. New York, NY: Penguin Putnam Inc.

Fogg, B.J. (2003). Credibility and the World Wide Web. In Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do (pp. 122-125). Amsterdam: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.

Fogg, B.J. (2003). Credibility and the World Wide Web. In Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do (pp. 147-181). Amsterdam: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.

How Do People Evaluate a Web Site’s Credibility? [n.d.]. Retrieved May, 2009, from the Webwatch website: http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/dynamic/web-credibility-reports-evaluate-abstract.cfm

Wallace, P. (1999). The Psychology of the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Web Credibility: The Basics. [n.d.]. Retrieved May, 2009, from the Webcredible website: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-credibility/basics.shtml

Week 12 Activity:

trooper93 — Sat, 30 May 2009 16:05:56 +0000

This is a CD rack. It satisfies the design principle of performance load because. It arranges CDs in an orderly fashion, making individual titles easier to locate.

This draw also satisfies the performance load principle. It has three separate compartments for the easy organisation of different items.

This poster utilises the performance load principle as well. It makes use of the red areas to divide the poster up into sections. The main headings in black are no longer than a line each. Each section is striking in its own right, but easy to digest. The overall message of the poster is effectively communicated.

Critical Reading and Writing Qu. 3: Design and Psychology

trooper93 — Sat, 30 May 2009 15:32:37 +0000

Visual design conventions – chunking included – all have a basis in psychology.

A book called Cognitive Process Instruction discusses one such psychological idea that can be related to graphic design. It introduces the idea of the ‘condition-action unit’. “…the human mind has stored an immense number of these condition-action units. Whenever the current situation satisfies one of the conditions stored in memory, the corresponding action is implemented” (Clement and Lockhead, p. 111).

Certain graphic designs could be said to present a condition which prompts an action. The mind associates certain colours, shapes or layouts with certain appealing ideas.

Another psychology book entitled Patterns of Thinking discusses graphic organisers. It uses the context of a classroom to explain that these so-called graphic organisers are physical representations of abstract concepts in the form of charts. These graphic organisers make it easier for the child to learn (Clarke, p.36). Likewise, a successful design will allow the viewer to absorb a number of ideas through visual conventions as well as words.

Both of these examples demonstrate a psychological basis for visual design.

Critical Reading and Writing Qu. 2: Definition

trooper93 — Sat, 30 May 2009 15:18:40 +0000

The reading for Week 12 made mention of a process known as ‘chunking’. There is much to be said about this chunking process. It is a very effective technique employed in graphic design and visual communication.

One internet site, the Chambers website, discusses the chunking principle in great detail. It states that information should be clumped into ‘small digestible units’. Furthermore, each of these units should contain no more than nine pieces of information (“Chunking Principle”, n.d.).

It suggests that research initiatives have discovered that the human brain has a ‘chunking limit’ of ‘seven plus or minus two items of information at a time’ (“Chunking Principle”, n.d.).

But how can all of this be drawn back to graphic design. Modern day graphic designers frequently employ the chunking principle. This is especially true in the case of web design. Most people, when visiting the internet, are just ‘surfing’ the net. They take one glance at a website before quickly moving to the next. For this reason, websites must be designed so that they capture the viewer’s attention immediately. Chunking is one of the most effective ways of doing this.

Information on web pages can be chunked by dividing information up into small, manageable-looking paragraphs, for example. The information may be divided according to subject matter. If the web page is dealing with somewhat denser topics, it would be a good idea to divide the information further into sub-categories. Such an innovation also allows for more time to go into a more in depth analysis of these complex topics.

These are the most common ways to make use of chunking in graphic design.

Critical Reading and Writing Qu. 1: Summary

trooper93 — Sat, 30 May 2009 15:08:42 +0000

The reading we were required to do for Week 12 was on performance load, and more specifically the act of ‘chunking’ information for ‘effective communication’ (Chunking Principle, n.d.).

Apparently, the more mental and physical strain that’s put into a task, the greater the chance of the initiator of the task encountering error. Likewise if less strain in involved in performing a task, less is the chance of error.

Two types of performance load exist. They are cognitive load and kinematic load.

The cognitive load is the amount of information that must be remembered. Cognitive load is reduced by the use of visual aids to help recall information. This process is also known as recognition over recall. ‘People are better at recognizing things they have previously experienced than recalling those things from memory’ (‘Recognition Over Recall’, n.d.).

Kinematic load is the second variety. This simply refers to the ‘amount of force’ and ‘number of movements’ needed to accomplish a goal (Lidwell, W. et. al., p. 148).

I thought that the reading was very comprehensive. I agree with its statement that designs should seek to minimise performance load.

REFERENCE LIST(Applies to all Week 12 Portfolio items) :

Chunking Principle. [n.d.]. Retreieved May, 2009, from the Chambers website: http://www.chambers.com.au/glossary/chunk.htm

Clarke, J.H. (1990). Patterns of Thinking: Integrating Learning Skills in Content Teaching. Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.

Clement, J., and Lochhead, J. (Ed.). (1978). Cognitive Process Instruction. Philadelphia: The Franklin Institute Press.

Recognition Over Recall. [n.d.]. Retrieved May, 2009, from the Soulsoup website: http://incsub.org/soulsoup/?p=29

Lidwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2003). Performance Load. In Universal Principles of Design (pp. 148-149). Massachusetts: Rockport.