DAT203: Interface for interactive kiosk part II: the pages

Designed with ease of use in mind, the interface is inspired by mobile tablet devices, namely the iPad, and also, some of the principles of the Metro interface used in the upcoming Windows 8 operating system, which is optimised for use on touchscreens. In addition, some pages use a concertina design, where the contents are displayed once the menu item is pressed, and information is expanded below. When the item is pressed again, the information retracts, and other menu items are displayed once again. Here are the pages from the interactive kiosk:

The map's overlays are provided by the Urban API, which provides information about where the points of interest are, your location, and zones, such as pedestrianised areas.

The Travel Information page is split into 3 different colour schemes: green for buses, red for rail, and blue for ferries. Data would provided via a central source, or a dynamic source, e.g. rail information would be provided by the station and National Rail, whilst bus information would be provided by real-time GPS tracking.

 Here, the Early History section is expanded. Although the user can go back to the History menu by pressing the header, the user can also advance to the next section by pressing the button on the bottom right-hand corner, and vice versa.

The Tourist Information Page, like the Travel Information, is split into different colour schemes.

The colour of the day highs and night lows vary according to the temperature: hottest is brighter, coldest is darker.

DAT203: Interface for interactive kiosk

Whilst we were planning on how we're going to implement the interface, the idea we had was to design the interface like a tablet computer. Tablet computers like the iPad, for example, is known for its usage of icons laid out like a grid, which makes it perfect for the environment and context the kiosks are going to be used in.

Because of this, I had to design the interface with large and easy-to-read text, in case of people with visual impairments, as large icons are regarded as being easy to understand, even if only part of the icon can be seen, and also, with metaphors, which helps people, even those that may not speak English very well, still understand the basic meaning of each section of the kiosk interface:

The weather, news, information, events and the time are updated in real time, meaning that whenever each is updated, it will be reflected in the kiosk. Also, the weather icon will be dynamic, which will update according to the weather, like for example: when it's clear and sunny, the weather icon will display just that. Transport information will be picked up from each respective source; bus information will displayed real-time, train information will be relayed from National Rail, and ferry times will be relayed from the main ferry port.

DAT204: background and asset design for Blue November HTML5 canvas game groupwork

As part of our groupwork for HTML5 canvas game development, I was commissioned by the team to design a background for the game, Blue November (link: http://giantkiwi.co.uk/sites/aotbn/). I've designed the background using Adobe Illustrator, and made use of Bézier curves to emulate the waves, as our game takes place in the sea:

In addition, I've also vectorised an existing asset that will be used in the game's introduction page. Because the carrier needed to be simplified, I've toned down the details:

DAT203: How not to design a website, and the future of the iPad

In today's practical, we've had to pick two of the world's worst-designed websites, and we managed to come up with these examples: alexchiu.com and the official Space Jam film website at www2.warnerbros.com/spacejam/movie/jam.htm. alexchiu.com featured a rather inconsistent design theme, a profusion of formatting and spelling errors, and a heavy reliance on animated GIFs to add emphasis on links and certain titles. Also, we found out that when we click on a different language, the design of the website is completely different, rather than having the same design throughout, which is supposed to be the convention no matter what language is used.

Although the official Space Jam website was designed sometime in October or early November 1996 (which was approximately about a month or two before CSS existed, and before CSS became the norm), it featured many bad design features. The website used repeating backgrounds, inconsistent text, frames as title bars (which can cause confusion as the user cannot tell whether or not the logo at the top left actually is the button that returns to the home page of the website),  usage of the frame as a menu bar, and clashing colour schemes in certain pages, thereby rendering the text hard to read. We also found validation errors and spelling mistakes after we ran the Space Jam website through an online validator, so, even though it is almost an online 'museum' page, someone at Warner Brothers didn't really pay attention to ensuring that the website at least complies with W3C standards at the time and didn't think about the many little spelling errors that the website had. Even some of Disney's older websites had more of a consistent theme, at least.

Now, on to a different subject. We had a debate about how the hypothetical iPad 5 would evolve, and how it would eventually render conventional computers (desktops and laptops) obsolete. There is evidence that mobile devices are starting to overtake conventional computers in terms of sales, and with the proliferation of cloud computing, it could eventually replace the need to sync the device with a conventional computer. According to the IDC, an independent technology research firm (source: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9199918/In_historic_shift_smartphones_tablets_to_overtake_PCs), they are, indeed, outnumbering conventional computers, and even though they are already ahead of performance, the evolution of mobile technology is starting to make mobile devices outperform desktops and laptops in terms of speed, and eventually, they would be just as fast that even the most graphically-intense task could one day be performed on mobile devices such as the hypothetical iPad 5, or even its successor.

Apple: RIP Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Today has been the saddest day in the world of technology and IDAT. We have lost someone who revolutionised the technology world, paved way for innovation and established a fraternity that many dedicated enthusiasts like me have become part of. Without him, where would Apple be now? Where would IDAT be? Where would the creative industries be? Apple has created some of the world's best products that changed the world forever, most of all, it all started with the Macintosh in 1984. It changed desktop computing forever, because it brought the GUI to the fore, and established a role model that many competitors would later build upon. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he introduced the computer that would change computers forever like what the Macintosh did in 1984, but this time, with features that were never seen before on existing computers that were on the market. In 1998, the iMac was born. The following year introduced the iBook, then subsequent years saw both iMac and iBook evolve, and then the PowerBook got the same design treatment afterwards. As the 21st century came, so did more products that changed the world. In 2001, the iPod forever changed the digital player market, and became the benchmark for other MP3 players, and in 2007, the iPhone was introduced. This then paved way for smartphones to become more mainstream, and brought capacitive touchscreen technology to the fore. Then in 2010, the iPad started off a new revolution that also lead to touchscreen tablets becoming more mainstream. Had it not been for Steve Jobs, Apple would have not existed to this present day, and Michael Dell's comment about shutting it down and 'returning money to investors' would have become true. Nonetheless, even competitors, especially Microsoft and Samsung, who Apple are fighting against in legal battles, are remembering the legacy that Steve Jobs left. In addition, the animation company he helped found also felt his legacy, and Disney, who owns Pixar, and who also featured Jobs in their board of directors, has remembered him very fondly. In their films, there would often be indirect references to Apple and their products, and most notable, the film Wall-E featured references to Apple in the form of the startup sound and the design of Eve, which was designed by Apple's Industrial Design leader, Jonathan Ive.

He will be forever remembered for many products, ideas and inspiration that defined a generation, and most of all, every generation will remember him the most for being one of the founders that founded one of the best companies in the world, Apple Inc. Shall he rest in peace, and shall his legacy continue eternally.

IDAT 107: Know what standards you'd need to go for, not veer off course! And also, about the originality of design

As the marks for my last two assignments came back, I now know about the true meaning of a design theme, like for instance, I know know that the true meaning of a web 2.0 logo is something that is completely lower-case, mine didn't feel that way. Although at least I did something modern, maybe I was a bit too vague about the definition (at least in terms of what trends are being done in the world of web 2.0). It's like saying that if something calls for a Disney theme, I'd have to include something that is Disney. I saw an example of compliance in the shape of an electricity pylon that is within the limits of Walt Disney World; the designers knew that the juxtaposition of WDW with the highway meant that they should captivate it, so they designed it in the shape of the silhouette of Mickey Mouse, which in terms of when doing something Disney in specifications, it always ticks all the boxes!

In addition to standards, originality also has to be considered too. During the 3D design part of the coursework, drawing teapots similar to the famous Utah teapot isn't what many consider in the world to be something that is original, because the idea has already been taken, even though my object originally called for something that resembles some kind of teapot (but with a barrel instead of a spout, and a lot more added to it), I had to take it into account that just that isn't going to get me the high esprit-de-corps of originality, so what I decided to do, is create a more surrealistic object, that captivates the spirit of famous surrealists Salvador Dalí and René Magritte, whilst at the same time takes it to a whole new level, kind of like thinking about the windmills of Don Quijote, but making it more literal, and illustrative of one of my favourite design themes, especially since I've done works of something similar at school, I became enamoured of it, and decided to use it to effect in order to have something that I at least have savoir faire in, rather than vaguely presume that it is surrealisim, as it was demonstrated in the digital signature.