vfowler blog: choose life

Colour, colour on the wall

By Vernon Fowler on June 29, 2009

Use colour schemes on the Digital Colour Wheel.

Research these questions from the 3 websites listed below, posting your answers next to each question.

Color Theory, a brief tutorial (Ford 2004): http://colortheory.liquisoft.com/
Colours on the Web (Johansson 2002): http://www.colorsontheweb.com/; http://www.colorsontheweb.com/colorterms.asp; http://www.colorsontheweb.com/colortheory.asp
Do It Yourself Design Center: Digital Color Wheel (Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute 2005): http://www.paintquality.com/color/; http://www.paintquality.com/color/colorwheel.html

What colour model does your computer use? RGB
Where can you see more colours, in print or on screen? Unfortunately, CMYK cannot reproduce the same amount of colors as RGB can, which is why yellow-greens sometimes look a bit muddy when printed.
What are primary colours? Red, Yellow, Blue. These 3 colours are the base colours for every other colour on the colour wheel.
What are the primary colours for print? CMYK. This is the method used by printers the world over, and is also a clever way of mixing paints.
What are the primary colours for on screen? RGB. Remember, this color method is only used with light sources; it does not apply to printing.
Which colour model is additive? RGB. Any color source that emits the light itself… is built up of tiny red, green and blue dots. This color system is commonly referred to as the Additive Color System.
Which is colour model is subtractive? CMYK. The subtractive colour system is what comes to play when the color does not emit any light of its own, but reflects light from its surroundings. In the subtractive colour system, you get black when all colours are mixed.

In your own words, define the following:

Hue – What we usually refer to as colours. Red, green, blue, orange, and yellow are all examples of hues.
Value – A measure of how much white (or black) is in a colour. A brighter colour has a higher value than a darker colour. To check the difference in value, you can examine the corresponding greyscale versions of colours.
Saturation – Richness or intensity of colour. Completely de-saturated colours are shades of grey.
Tint and shade – Variations on an original colour. Take blue for example. Tints, created by adding white, would be lighter blues. Shades, created by adding black, would be darker blues.

What is the difference between each of these colour schemes?:

Analogous: Pairs of adjacent colours on the colour wheel, such as red and orange. The have very little contrast between them. Useful for serene designs.
Complimentary: Pairs of colours opposite each other on the colour wheel, red and green for example. They have the maximum contrast between them. Useful for making elements stand out.
Split Complimentary: 3 colours made up of one colour, and the pair of colours adjacent to the compliment of the original (on the colour wheel). For instance, starting with violet you would need to add the two colours adjacent to yellow, i.e. yellow-green and yellow-orange.
Tetrad: Four colours with none adjacent each other on the colour wheel.
Triad: Three equally spaced colours on the wheel. There must be a 120 degree arc between each colour, such as blue – red – yellow.

What are these color schemes used for?
To aid in colour selections that are appropriate for designs to convey the desired messages / emotions.

Posted in Art | Tagged Design, NED12, WWW | Leave a response

Critique of 3 inspiring websites

By Vernon Fowler on June 28, 2009

How do you hold a self-critique?

Part I: The Project

Restate the goal or aim of the project – in your OWN words. Do this to make sure you understand the problem you are setting out to solve.
Did you fulfil the goal you were supposed to achieve? Did you miss the point of the original problem you were trying to solve?
Is your solution appropriate for the audience or purpose of the project you are working on? For example, are your colours childish or corporate?
Is your solution appropriately executed?
Are you using a suitable visual hierarchy of information? Will your audience know where to look first, second, and third?
Does your solution communicate the intended message to your audience appropriately? You can ask people to tell you what message they are interpreting from your design.

Part II: The Process

Did you do any research? If so, how did you use it? Should you have done more?
How many thumbnail sketches and roughs did you do before you created your comp? How much time did you really think about the problem?
Did you experiment outside of your comfort zone? Or did you stick to your area of strength?
Did you make any false assumptions about what you could or couldn’t do? Or did you take a positive approach that you could do anything if you really tried? It is very important to experiment and build your confidence in designing. Try flipping, stretching, skewing, speckling, etc.
Did you really allow yourself to become involved in this problem you were solving? Did you use your imagination and feelings? Were your feelings personal or removed?
Were you too judgemental? Did you give yourself a chance to be creative? Were you patient with the project and yourself? Don’t be so hard on yourself that it makes you afraid to take chances.
Did you take chances? Were your solutions innovative? Did you dare to be different? Or did you do what most people would do? One way of determining this is to compare your solution to others? How many other people reached the same conclusions?

So here I go practising these critique methods on 3 inspiring designs within the Communication Arts – Webpicks http://www.commarts.com/webpicks/

Photographer Fredrik Clement

A screenshot of Fredrik Clement's photography website.

http://www.fredrikclement.com/ Instead of hiding them behind a complex interface, the developer of this minimal site placed the images front-and-center in a gratifying full-screen display.

As a photographer’s portfolio, this website does a fantastic job in how it shows the photos unobstructed by interface elements and completely full-screen. A thumbnail film strip appears at the bottom edge of the screen, and contact information slides into view overlaying the top half when the pointer approaches. Left and right sides will preview adjacent images and they’ll slide into view when clicked. It is a simple and highly effective approach to the goal of such a project, and a most appropriate design for the intended audience.

Storyville Coffee Company

A screenshot of the 'Storyville' website.

http://www.storyville.com/ This site introduces a new, available-only-on-the-Internet, coffee bean retailer. Storyville, equally passionate about perfectly roasted beans and independent artists, conveys its obsession with both in a collective, interactive experience. The continuity of the design aesthetic makes it a flawless brand experience from start to finish.

Visually gorgeous, the site is a highly polished sales project that appeals to coffee drinkers chained to their broadband internet – more customers than you might think. The transition animations, photography and videos, simple and clean layouts, colour scheme, and shop facility all blend together to cohesively complete the experience for caffeine consumers.

USHMM: Propaganda

A screenshot of 'United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Propaganda Exhibit'

http://www.ushmm.org/propaganda/ In January 2009, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum opened a special exhibition titled State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda, that examines how the Nazis used propaganda to sway millions with their vision for a new Germany. Reflecting the museum’s efforts to keep the Holocaust and its lessons a topic of public discourse, it encourages people to think about how to recognize and respond to propaganda, to understand the potential consequences of it and provokes discussion about responding to hate speech and propaganda today.
Instead of presenting the exhibition in précis, the Web site is a further exploration of themes. It invites interaction with select content enabling visitors to explore the subject, its legacy and its implications in today’s world.
The materials are presented in a range of formats (artifacts, books, documents, moving images, sound recordings, etcetera) and logically organised into themes, a timeline, an artifacts gallery and resources, making it interesting and easy to find important information. The online forums and polls make a perfect platform for interactive expression. As an educational resource, the lessons and exercises are well referenced. The principle of exploring, as defined in the site’s by-line, allows users to move through the material at their own pace. The cohesive red, white, and black colours together with muted colour drawings, paintings and posters, and black and white video footage, are all excellently combined, enhancing the mood and feel for the target users. The only drawback I can find is that some secondary navigation items are elusive and / or buried. The video gallery, for example, contains a lot more than just 1 video, but it is accessed via a link on the front page titled Watch video about the exhibition.

And now for 3 less glamorous online designs, and why I think they’re poor… Continue reading “Critique of 3 inspiring websites”

Posted in Art | Tagged coffee, Design, NED12, WWW | Leave a response

From first encounters to the daily grind

By Vernon Fowler on June 16, 2009

Commenting on my own experience of the Internet, I would have to say I’ve come along way. It seems a lot like comparing chimpanzees to Albert Einstein, with so many facets of change in simple routine habits. What was once an exciting frontier, seems to have moulded into the omnipresent.

Humble beginnings

How did you first encounter, hear or read about it?
Apple IIe green square cursor Actually… I think it was back in high school when we did Computer Studies in Year 9 or 10. I can’t recall the teacher’s name but I remember his appearance. I’m sure he mentioned that it was quite powerful and we would be able to do some great stuff. This notion went down like a lead balloon as we stared at the screens of Apple IIe computers with a flashing green square cursor. I was definitely more interested in databases in those days – they seemed to store vast amounts of data and the fat controller would have the power.

When and how did you first ‘go online’ and what did you think of it?
Since I can’t remember exactly how and when I went online, I’ll describe my earliest memories. It was definitely all about email, Hotmail to be precise. Back then, in late 1996, it wasn’t owned by Microsoft and we looked at the messages through IE 1, 2 & 3, and sometimes Netscape Navigator – before we even knew there’d be browser wars.

Not only was I one of those geeks who knew what the HTML means in HoTMaiL, but I also quickly aspired from building the RMIT Outdoor Pursuits Club’s members and equipment database, to crafting the first incarnation of their website.

The sky and today’s limits

How do you use it nowadays?
It might be quicker to define what we don’t do on the internet these days. Today’s communications come in a variety of forms such as Skype video calls to my brother on the other side of the globe. Socialising via Facebook and other networking is a small part of my online life. I took a quick spin on Second Life, but found it too time consuming and interfering with my real life. Photo (and to a lesser extent video) sharing are my regular online gigs. Blogging is something I started to do as a diary, a journal method, (which doubled as a script for a trilogy of films) and it has also evolved into my noting and recording space for things like my studies. Banking, bill payments, clocking payroll timesheets, some shopping, a little entertainment, research, education (both giving and receiving), weather forecasts, navigation and travel arrangements, calendaring and scheduling… They’re all online for me now. Have I missed anything – probably.
a pervasive internet
Do you think of it as different or part of your everyday life?
Clearly, the internet is a big part of my day to day living. In fact, so pervasive is it, I’m constantly on the lookout for tools and practices to better manage my online life.

Posted in Technology | Tagged NET12, NET12 portfolio | Leave a response

Google + Schwarzenegger terminating textbooks together

By Vernon Fowler on June 15, 2009

According to a news article on ABC News (PDF Calif. to Dump Printed Text..), Governor Schwarzennegger is trying to trim the state’s budget gap with a cheaper alternative to the traditional high school textbooks. California has a US$24.3 billion budget shortfall to face. How much is a billion? If we wanted to pay down a billion dollars of the US debt, paying one dollar a second, it would take 31 years, 259 days, 1 hour, 46 minutes, and 40 seconds. Now multiply that by 24 and you get roughly 761 years! This is just a single state’s deficit, and The Age reported that Arnold refused to increase taxes in order to fill the void. The former actor’s plan to save money pivots around phasing out hardcopy school textbooks in favour of learning over the internet.

While the Terminator star plays with the politics, let’s look at some aspects of information access and learning over the internet. I went back to the books (and blogs) and since then, most of my learning is via each university’s implementation of the Blackboard application, and readings which are scanned into the institution’s online library. Limited (so far) study resources can also be found within Google Books, such as this title on focus groups.

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

http://www.google.com/corporate/

Upon reading the CNET News article Google’s digital book future hangs in the balance, one quickly finds that Google stands to make huge sums of money from advertising, book search, institutional subscriptions for access, and selling PDF copies of books. Did anyone check if Arnold has any investment in Google? If you’re also concerned over the legal issues, check out the groundbreaking agreement between authors, publishers and Google Books.

Posted in Books, Digital, Education, Technology | Tagged law | 1 Response

Distribution methods

By Vernon Fowler on June 8, 2009

Distribution of a multimedia project should have been one of the very first matters considered during the initial concept stages. The matters of distribution can have some very simple as well as complicated reasons for choosing one method over another. There are many contributing factors to determine the right delivery method:

Target user group
Client’s wishes and expectations
Product’s limits and limitations
Interactivity
Expertise

So far, common forms of distribution are:

Optical discs: CD-ROMs, DVDs, etcetera…
Intranet: a high speed internal network
Internet: a mass distribution medium
Hardware or embedded application: embedded devices that are not normally associated with computer interfaces, i.e. organisers, kiosks, mobile phones, and etcetera.

Traditional distribution models

Traditionally companies that make consumer goods that are purchased in retail stores, sell their products to a wholesaler, which in turn sells to the retailers.

Alternative distribution models

Given the highly competitive nature of the consumer multimedia market and the difficulty of obtaining retail shelf space, several other models are being used.

Intranet versus Internet delivery

Intranets are secure, 10 to 100 times faster than an average internet connection, only require 1 copy to serve many users, and the quality is very high (presentations and corporate events can be telecast throughout the organisation).

Some examples utilizing an intranet delivery include corporate orientations, Computer Based Learning (CBL), presentations broadcasting, video conferencing, internal video services (VOD), and interactive information systems (customer information stations and POS systems).

Unlike an intranet, internet connection speeds will vary based on the type of connection as well as geographic location. Using the web as your delivery platform has a lot of advantages, but also requires meeting a lot of parameters and compromises. The benefits are: a potentially global audience, purchasing is easily carried out, product support can be facilitated with patches and updates, and product evaluation is also possible with demo versions of the product to try before you buy.

Some applications use the internet as a delivery platform. For example, streaming media in real time, Flash, and Java web-related applications, all rely on a constant internet connection.

Although there are many methods for delivering web multimedia, we recommend using stable technology that works for the great majority of client machines. You risk losing your audience if they have to jump through hoops to access your content.

http://www.webstyleguide.com/wsg3/12-multimedia/index.html

Content management

Content management is a system of organizing the delivery, storage and access rights of all the media components of an internet or intranet delivery system.

By the system administrator or broadcast administrator, content management is used to set-up and manage scheduled content or on-demand programs, channels, recordings, and file transfers among various media servers. This can include the setting up of group profiles or individual profiles, in other words allowing only certain groups or individuals to view certain media.

Embedded devices

Typically these devices have no keyboard or limited input capabilities, and somewhat limited display capabilities and data storage. They are usually dedicated to performing certain functions or tasks only, and include mobile devices (personal organisers and mobile phones), home devices (appliances, home automation systems, home theatre systems, home security), automotive (GPS, in-car entertainment systems), and industry systems (information kiosks, ATMs, and cash registers).

Due to advancements in computer memory and CPU miniaturization, devices now have the capabilities to provide levels of interactivity and intelligence previously unheard of. We are also seeing not only the breakdown of input and output limitations, but also a merge of delivery methods, in devices such as the iPhone.

Embedded devices traditionally perform dedicated functions, and are designed with a specific embedded software application. The end user cannot modify such closed systems. We see embedded systems everywhere – at the cash registers, in industrial controllers, at home in our digital set top box. They are usually simple to use, sturdy, fast and reliable. Unfortunately updates or upgrades contribute to the problems of a throw-away society and are costly in both time and money. Hence the reason developers attempt to future-proof systems as much as possible.

The choices of delivery methods to best deliver products are constantly increasing. Choosing the right method is not always your choice. The best safe guard is to know right from the conceptual stage, what delivery method(s) you and your team will be designing for.

Posted in Digital, Photo and Video, Technology | Tagged CIM21, communication, WWW | Leave a response

Promotion

By Vernon Fowler on June 7, 2009

Selling the product you have made, whether that be to a client, to a customer, or to an audience, is crucial. A fantastic product marketed terribly is worthless. First impressions do count. Often the quality of your product will be judged by the quality of its presentation, so put your heart into it!

Making a fantastic product is great. Making packaging and promotional material is the next step.

Target the audience

As you start to decide the packaging, stay focused on these things:

If you keep focused on who you are designing for, then it is a lot easier to come to a concept without forcing it.
Do some research. Look specifically at the packaging and the promotional material for products targeted at the same audience bracket. http://creativedepart.com/category/packaging/ is just one place to start that research. Try to appreciate what elements others have used to good effect. Be critical of stupid design moves. Put yourself into the demographic of the product’s target group and assess it how they would.
Ask around. Basically, get a feel for the current market.
Use graphics, fonts, and language that are relevant for the demographic the product is aiming at… Compare the different demographics being aimed at on the packaging of these 2 racing games:

Ratings

Just like movies, video games are governed by a ratings system.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings are designed to provide concise and impartial information about the content in computer and video games so consumers, especially parents, can make an informed purchase decision.

The process

Make quite a few possible package designs, and then cull them. If the design is incongruous with the rest of the project, file it with all the others sacrificed. Choose the 1 design that best fits the criteria – classy, attention-grabbing, effective, and informative. Remember, the purpose is to sell this product.

Layout

This final design stage is so important, regardless of how mundane the project may seem after your months of hard yakka. Package layout is comprised of fonts, copy, and graphics.
Text layout is vital – this is the text that is going to convince a client/customer that the cool box they just picked up is actually worth buying/trying.

On the front, on the back

See Packaging and the Premiere for the list of vital elements to include on the front and on the back of the packaging.

Fonts

Be consistent and use the same highlight fonts on the packaging as those in the actual product. Check back in Multimedia Fundamentals for the typography links. Legible and scannable are rather crucial qualities, and a secondary font should be used for body text.

Colours

Again, consistency is the name of the game. Besides, if using modern design software, you can save quite some effort and literally just re-hash existing artwork and palettes. However, other packages of the same genre will all be sitting on the market shelves alongside each other. So it may pay to add a classy, contrasting colour. Check Multimedia Fundamentals for the colour links.

Writing copy language and aesthetics

The language you use will either sell your product, or lose a user’s interest. Marketing departments should determine and prioritise the most important parts of the product, and the copy should reflect these important features. Sometimes it might help to use short words, but it is always best to avoid industry jargon and genre specific language. Use exciting language that briefly explains the purpose, features, and highlights.

Text should be large and clear, and restricted to designated areas on the box. Keep the blurb brief and in a compact space. Use bullets to visually distinguish between points.

Graphics

Primarily derived from sketches and the product, artwork must be consistently themed. Only a few screen shots are needed on the back. What actually makes a good graphic depends on the genre and target user group. A children’s game cover graphic would misrepresent an adult game, and vice versa. A good graphic also encapsulates the themes and characters of the product without necessarily reflecting the actual content. Cover designs of a variety of games all show a number of similarities and common concepts: a prominent title, and one central graphic feature.

Cross-marketing mediums

The important thing with cross-marketing is identifying the most effective mediums to use for promotion. Cross advertising a product for middle-aged business men in a drum’n'bass zine may not be the most effective method of advertising. Again, it comes back to being able to assess your audience – to know what other information mediums they access, and utilize those. Other potential information mediums are the web, radio, print, and any genre specific mediums.

Web marketing

Creating a parallel website is a great way of cross-promotion. Keep it consistent. Use the same fonts/colors/graphics as the actual product and the box. Include lots more information – reviews, in-depth discussion of plot, and etcetera.

The website for Grand Theft Auto IV (http://www.rockstargames.com/IV) mirrors the colours and artwork from the actual game itself. The website also features news (pictured right), radio stations, merchandise, updates, subscription, game information and other features.

Print marketing

Get reviewed. Advertise in relevant magazines (gaming, etcetera). Remember to use big headings and graphics in advertising material, and only provide basic information (website/distributor and genre).

Posted in Art, Technology | Tagged CIM21, communication, law | 1 Response

Issues in Multimedia

By Vernon Fowler on June 7, 2009

Most nations follow the Berne copyright convention, i.e. the author / designer doesn’t have to state that the material is protected. Thus, absolutely nothing is public domain unless the owner explicitly states it.

Copyright and how to breach it!

It is simple: ask the author / owner and get their permission before you publish their material. Failure to do so is a breach of copyright, unless allowed under the fair use doctrine.

Fair use is a doctrine in United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as use for scholarship or review. It provides for the legal, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author’s work under a four-factor balancing test.

To determine whether your intended use meets the criteria of the four-factor balancing test, purpose of use (1), nature of work (2), relative amount (3), and market effect (4), refer to my post from August last year, © copyright versus fair use.

Educational fair use

motion media – up to 10% or 3 minutes, whichever is less.
text – up to 10% or 1,000 words, whichever is less.
music – up to 10% or 30 seconds.
illustrations, cartoons and photographs – no more than 5 images from a single artist.

Commercial fair use

Terms in copyright

Intellectual Property (IP): Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce.
Trademark: A trade mark can be a word, phrase, letter, number, sound, smell, shape, logo, picture, aspect of packaging or a combination of these. It is used to distinguish the goods and services of one trader from those of another.
Royalties: The owner of the rights will usually get payments (in the form of royalties) in return for use of the property.
Public Domain: The public domain is a range of abstract materials—commonly referred to as intellectual property—which are not owned or controlled by anyone. The term indicates that these materials are therefore “public property”, and available for anyone to use for any purpose.
Fair Use: Certain allowances of limited use of copyright material, without permission from the rights holder.
Derivative work: A derivative work pertaining to copyright law, is an expressive creation that includes major, copyright-protected elements of an original, previously created first work.
Right to Publicity: The Right of Publicity can be defined simply as the right of an individual to control the commercial use of his or her name, image, likeness or other unequivocal aspects of one’s identity.

IP law for multimedia

There are four major intellectual property laws that are important for multimedia developers.

Copyright law, which protects original “works of authorship.”
Patent law, which protects new, useful, and “non-obvious” inventions and processes.
Trademark law, which protects words, names, and symbols used by manufacturers and businesses to identify their goods and services.
Trade secret law, which protects valuable information not generally known, that has been kept secret by its owner.

Copyright protects written material, artistic works, musical works, dramatic works, computer programs, and compilations. Due to the fact that most commercial websites are created by multiple authors, copyright on websites is unclear. Materials and media used on a website may belong to other authors.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is an international organization dedicated to helping to ensure that the rights of creators and owners of intellectual property are protected worldwide and that inventors and authors are, thus, recognized and rewarded for their ingenuity.

IP Australia For guiding information on copyright issues relating to multimedia, check White SW Computer Law’s article http://www.computerlaw.com.au/mm.html and visit http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au for IP in Australia.

Derivative work – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.).: Retrieved June 8, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Derivative_work&oldid=291297720
Fair use. (2009, June 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.: Retrieved 01:33, June 7, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fair_use&oldid=294890938
c=AU; co=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Department of Innovation, I. (n.d.). IP Australia : Trade Marks > What is a trade mark?: Retrieved June 8, 2009, from http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/trademarks/what_index.shtml
Personality rights – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.).: Retrieved June 8, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Personality_rights&oldid=294882627
Public domain – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.).: Retrieved June 8, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Public_domain&oldid=294991227
What is Intellectual Property? (n.d.).: Retrieved June 8, 2009, from http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/

Posted in Digital, Technology | Tagged Australia, CIM21, law | Leave a response

Development Agreement

By Vernon Fowler on June 7, 2009

All phases have pre-determined deliverables, milestones,and timelines. The approval of deliverables by the client signals the end of the phase. A signed contract specifying the product design, cost, schedule, copyright, etcetera, are what make up a development agreement. After the discovery phase, the prize is the contract. The Functional Specification is the deliverable at completion of the design phase.

Functional Specifications

The audience for the functional specification is the team of professionals who will make the product: producer, director, researchers, artists, engineers, sound designers, quality assurance testers, marketing and sales staff. It is the job of the functional specification to break the client’s broad ideas into detailed descriptions of what it does, how it is used, and what it looks like. The specification doesn’t say anything about how it is implemented, but it does include all the interactions from a user’s perspective. Creating this blueprint saves time and money as it is easier and cheaper to change a Word document or PowerPoint presentation than to re-program an entire application if the client suddenly recalls another feature the product simply must have. The spec also operates as an agreement between the client and developer – after approval from both parties, additional changes have to be negotiated. This saves the developer a lot of work, and creates a more trustworthy deadline.

A functional spec should answer:

What is the application going to do?
What it is going to look like?
What happens when a user clicks on a certain button?
How do the individual elements of the application work together?

A developer needs to ask:

What is the application supposed to be?
What is it supposed to do?
Who is the target audience?
Are there metrics? Does the application have to meet a certain revenue?
Does the application have previous versions? What was good and bad about them?
Testing – when, where, who, how?

Contents of the spec

The writer needs to be a person whose discipline is design and user-interface, and is a skilled and detailed writer. Familiarity with user experience issues is a definite plus. The writer has to visualize how the different features work, how a user might use each feature, and how navigation through the information will be done. This has to be written down in the greatest detail, and be in balance with current technological limitations and business demands. The contents of the spec include:

Executive summary
Global conventions
Node map
Node-by-node descriptions
Screen layouts
Action/Animation descriptions

Things still to do:
# Create a graphic design specification based on your first assignment
# Create a storyboard based on your first assignment

Posted in Technology | Tagged CIM21, communication | Leave a response

Packaging and the Premiere

By Vernon Fowler on June 6, 2009

Packaging

Poor packaging can lead to poor sales and interest from intended users. Generally most multimedia products are packaged as CD-ROMs inside a shrink-wrapped box approximately 9 inches wide by 10.5 inches tall and 1.5 inches deep.

Your product is only as saleable as its wrapper. Packaging needs to entice as well as inform, while remaining true to the essence of your product or service.

http://www.media-schmedia.com/print_zman_games.asp

Front

Vital elements to be included on the front of the product packaging are:

An eye catching graphic
Clearly visible title
Logo of the publisher
Logo of the developer
Genre of the product should be obvious
The intended target age of the users
The platform and operating system the product runs on
Any slogans and product blurbs

Back

Information on the back of the box can be more technical and descriptive of the product. Items on the back of the packaging include:

Details of the minimum system requirements required to run the product
Contact information, such as address, phone, email, website
Copyright notices
Barcode with inventory control number
Screen shots to give customers an idea of the look and feel of the product
Blurb and highlight points
Information about other products by the developer (cross selling)

CD-ROM and slip cover insert

Avoid cluttering the CD-ROM face with too much information. Space is limited, and it isn’t helping to sell the product. Best keep it brief but attractive. A slip cover insert can contain some promotional as well as instructional information. It might have the product key or a serial number for installation purposes.
More on packaging in Promotion…

Premiere

The premiere of your product is as much a marketing event as a release from all the hard work done on the project. Some things to consider for a successful product launch are:

Draft a premiere plan, at least a month prior the big event. Studio 1151 has a premiere plan form.
Organize invitations and remember to invite:
- Key stakeholders
- Project investors
- Media representatives (for publicity)
Organize marketing materials, including handouts, banners, balloons, etcetera.
Organize refreshments, entertainment, waiters, etcerea, and have speeches written and rehearsed before the event.

Posted in Art, Technology | Tagged CIM21, communication, Design | 2 Responses

Post-Production

By Vernon Fowler on June 5, 2009

Despite the development phase being complete, the project isn’t quite finished. Does the product really work? Does the intended user group like it? Carrying out a tryout of the product with a test user group should be done, before making changes based upon their feedback. Post-production includes conducting surveys, focus groups, and archiving.

Again, Studio 1151 has another great guide, this time on how to do an audience test run. The purpose of running a survey or a focus group is to facilitate testing on the product from people external to the studio. A survey is better if you are pushed for time to gather and analyze feedback, while a focus group will provide a much higher level of detail.

Conducting surveys

One form of testing the product is to conduct a survey based on pre-release copies of it. In addition to asking for specific comments and suggestions for improving the product, the survey might ask the selected group of people, questions such as these:

The purpose of the program was clear.
The program directions were clear.
The program helped me learn about _____ .
The program was easy to use.
The program worked smoothly.
The program kept my interest.
The visuals were appropriate.
The visuals helped me learn.
The audio was appropriate.
The audio helped me learn.
The sequence of instruction was appropriate.
The amount of information was appropriate.
The amount of interaction was appropriate.
The pace of the program was about right.
The accompanying documentation was helpful.

Focus groups

Unlike a survey, a focus group can give you more specific information, at the expense of taking more time to both gather information and analyze it. You want to elicit as much information as possible, so you can take care of any issues or fix any problems which may prevent the audience from getting the most out of the product. The same items asked about in the survey format can be used, simply by re-wording them into open ended questions.

How clear was the purpose of the program?
OR
What do you think was the purpose of the program?
How clear were the directions for using the program?
What was/were the main learning objective/s of the program?
OR
What do you think you were supposed to learn from this program?
What, if any, problems did you encounter as you used the program?
What did you think about the amount of information included in the program?

Archiving

Archiving of all materials used in the development of the product, is vitally important for several reasons:

The product may require modification after release.
Sequels may require some of the same assets as the previous.
Many products need localized versions to be built.
Business or legal disagreements may arise, demanding a review of letters, memos and other documentation.
People’s memories are fallible to age, forgetfulness, alcohol, and team members may leave the company taking their part of the project with them.

So, a list of what needs to be archived includes:

All concept documents, including drawings, sketches, node maps and meeting notes.
All meeting agendas and follow-up memos.
All correspondence to the client.
The proposal and bid.
Letter of intent and development agreement.
Initial and final version of the functional specification.
Copies of all expenditures, including receipts, invoices etc…
Subcontracting agreements.
Copyright, licenses and permissions.
Copies of weekly status reports.
Video tapes, photo’s, audio tapes, etc…
All versions, Alpha, Beta etc…
Source codes and other computer related media.

How important is the data? Possible risks to the data consist of hardware failure, software failure, file system corruption, accidental deletion, virus infection, theft, sabotage, and natural disaster. Disaster recovery refers to the process of restoring a system after a disaster, such as a hardware failure. A disaster recovery plan would entail not only securing completed products and assets, but also ensuring systems and business processes have contingencies in case of an emergency. See a list of sample plans, outlines and other plan writing resources on the website of the Disaster Recovery Journal.

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