Graphic Design Project

SpiderMath Game Cover

Design Document

Annotation

Context and Conditions

This design was constructed in MIT 511: Multimedia Design & Development under the direction of Dr. Florence Martin in Fall 2007. The purpose of the assignment was to develop a graphic design based on a real or hypothetical video game. I chose to create a cover for a ficticious game called “Spidermath.”

Scope

I designed my game cover attending to other principles of design such as the use of perspective, contrast, clarity, color, repetition, layout, motivation, realism and technical usability. The print design was developed using Adobe Fireworks, my first true graphic design using layering, image altering and other more advanced features of graphic design software.

Role

I served as both designer and developer for this project. In order to complete it within the allotted time, I also served as my own project manager.

Reflection

I was quite pleased with the product of my design, although it will never be truly used in the real world. This experience opened my eyes to the world of graphic design and, since this assignment, I have enjoyed discovering new features of Adobe Fireworks that I have used in recent projects. One issue that could arise is copyright and ownership of the images used in my design. I started the process by gather images from the Web (Google image search); I’m sure I violated a number of copyright laws in copying and deconstructing these images without concern for legal issues. If I had been designing for any other reason than my own learning, I would have attended to this issue. I also wouldn’t have used the heavily copyrighted Spiderman as my subject. I did, however, add the Marvel logo in an attempt to solve this problem. In the scope of this course, this project was our time to “play.”

Job Aid Design Project

Job Aid: Navigating the Digication Online Community

Design Document

Annotation

Context and Conditions

This job aid was constructed in MIT 511: Multimedia Design & Development under the direction of Dr. Florence Martin in Fall 2007. The purpose of the assignment was to develop a job aid. I chose to develop a job aid instructing users on the Digication Online Learning Community, a free website for educators and students that offers a platform for creating learning communities and basic online courses (text resources, links and discussion boards only). The job aid was developed using Adobe Captivate.

Scope

The design of the job aid was based on a task analysis of the process of navigating the Digication online learning community. To develop the graphics and animation, screenshots were taken using SnagIt and demonstrations were recorded using Captivate. Menus were created to allow users to “jump” to different topics within the system, depending on their needs. Each section included a discussion of the task and a live demonstration. An audio script was also written that was imported into the Captivate program and attached to animation events. Mayer’s principles for Multimedia Learning were the guiding influence on the design of this job aid. The main principles I was sure to adhere were the principles of redundancy, temporal and spatial contiguity. In addition, I was sure to design attending to other principles of design such as the use of color, contrast, repetition, legibility, navigational help, organization and the use of visuals. The module was exported as a Flash movie and used in the “Web-Enhanced Classroom” unit developed for MIT 512: Computer Applications in Education.

Role

I served as both designer and developer for this project. In order to complete it within the allotted time, I also served as my own project manager.

Reflection

For me, the design and development of this job aid was adequate, although there were some elements that, following a formative evaluation, I would definitely change. The audio in the main menu is simply redundant and somewhat annoying. The demonstrations, partially due to a compatibility problem with the version of Captivate and Windows Vista, are not timing correctly. Through the process of revision, these elements would be corrected. I did, however, enjoy the opportunity to develop a more extensive Captivate video than I had previously done and found that the use of a menu is quite effective in developing an electronic job aid. I also valued the ability to integrate this job aid into another project that I was developing using a web page. This successful integration enhanced both projects, making the job aid practical and the web-based unit an integration of technologies.

Print Design Project

Scene Design Textbook Re-design

Design Document

Annotation

Context and Conditions

This publication was constructed in MIT 511: Multimedia Design & Development under the direction of Dr. Florence Martin in Fall 2007. The purpose of the assignment was to develop a print re-design from an existing artifact. I chose to develop a print design using a textbook from my undergraduate studies in Theatre Arts – a scene and lighting design textbook.

Scope

Mayer’s principles for Multimedia Learning were the guiding influence on the design of this publication. The main principles I was sure to adhere were the principles of multimedia and spatial contiguity. In addition, I was sure to design attending to other principles of design such as the use of layout, alignment, typography, color, contrast, proximity, alignment and the use of visuals. The print design was developed using Microsoft Publisher.

Role

I served as both designer and developer for this project. In order to complete it within the allotted time, I also served as my own project manager.

Reflection

I was quite pleased with the product of my redesign, although my main point of concern was the re-design of the graphical elements. Feedback from the professor indicated that they were still not easy to follow. I feel that my experience with graphic design software since completing this process would make a significant difference if I were to redesign this publication. This was my first project in Multimedia Design and Development and, I feel that subsequent projects yielded much more professional-looking results. This is, perhaps, due to my increased understanding of the multimedia learning principles, design principles and my comfort with development software.