In the Tutorial today we viewed a brief video on testing and its importance. I have added this video below.
We then used the ‘Technique for Observing Users” handout to observe and test our prototypes.
Syd’s Interactive Design Blog Week 11 Studio – Categories & Tags
In the studio today we learnt about the value of adding tags and categories to our WordPress Blogs.
Adding categories and especially tags to our blogs allowed other WordPress users to find our blog posts. Some of the tags I used were; Design, Weekly Blog and User Persona.
After this week, all of my blog posts will feature both categories and tags.
Syd’s Interactive Design Blog Week 8 Studio & Tutorial – Logo and Title Review
Below i have attached my logo design Before reviewing :
And After :
I felt the after logo was more sleek and fit in better with the rest of the application.
Syd’s Interactive Design Blog – 5 Logo Principles
An effective logo should follow the 5 following principles :
A logo must be simple. A simple logo design allows for easy recognition and allows the logo to be versatile and memorable. Effective logos feature something unexpected or unique without being overdrawn.
A logo must be memorable. Following closely behind the principle of simplicity is that of memorability. An effective logo design should be memorable and this is achieved by having a simple yet appropriate logo.
A logo must be enduring. An effective logo should endure the test of time. The logo should be ‘future proof’, meaning that it should still be effective in 10, 20, 50+ years time.
A logo must be versatile. An effective logo should be able to work across a variety of mediums and applications.
A logo must be appropriate. How you position the logo should be appropriate for its intended purpose.
Syd’s Interactive Design Blog Week 7 Studio & Tutorial – Ideation map
In the tutorial this week, in groups of 3, we discussed and reviewed the graphic design approaches taken in our screen design.
I was unfortunately having my surgery this week so i was not in class to make my Ideation Map.
Syd’s Interactive Design Blog Week 6 Studio – Screen UI’s with Alternative Layouts
In the studio today we worked on creating 3 variations of user-interfaces for our project. I created these 3 designs for an iOS phone screen – however I am still not decided that I will use this platform.
The 3rd design is an example of a title dropdown menu, i feel these types of menus are quite effective, as the user interactivity is high.
I decided the second design is the one that i felt was most effective, and will progress with.
Design 1 
Design 2 
Design 3
Syd’s Interactive Design Blog Week 5 Tutorial – User Scenarios
This week in the tutorial we created two user scenarios for our projects.
Example User 1 – (Karen Anderson, 31, F)
Karen has just moved from Melbourne to Sydney. It is a 34° day and Karen is planning a picnic at a beach nearby with some friends, who are also from Melbourne. As Karen and her friends are unaware about the best beaches and waterways to go to, she downloads the Sydney Beaches and Waterways app.
- Karen checks the map and sees that she is equally far from Coogee Beach, Clovelly Beach and Bronte Beach, she decides on Bronte. [User Experience]
- Karen taps on Bronte beach to find out more. Karen becomes aware that Bronte beach is an alcohol-free zone, so they do not bring wine on their picnic. [Pollution Control]
- Karen is able to view the transport options to Bronte beach; she decides she will catch the bus, as driving will take a similar amount of time. [Pollution Control]
- Karen has the option to check the weather for today. [User Experience]
- If there is an event(s) scheduled, they will also appear on the app. [User Experience]
- Public facilities such as wheelchair accessible toilets will also appear in app [User Experience]
- Locations and phone numbers of emergency services including life savers and police will be noted [User Experience]
- Small tips such as bin locations, refillable water stations will be given to attempt to further reduce rubbish. [Pollution Control]
Example User 2 – (Steve Loneridge, 56, M)
Steve is a newly retired man who has taken up sailing as a hobby. Steve plans on setting off from one of our local wharfs for a day of sailing and fishing. Steve checks the Sydney Beaches and Waterways app and begins trying to find the closest wharf to him where he can set off with his boat.
- Steve is shown the closest wharf and offered directions. [User Experience]
- He is advised that there is no fishing in this location. [Pollution Control]
- Steve can check the weather and tides for the day from the app to make sure the conditions are fine. [User Experience]
- If he desires, Steve can find locations where he can legally fish, he can also view what fish are and aren’t legally catchable. [User Experience & Pollution Control]
- Emergency services will be noted such as water police and sea rescue groups [User Experience]
Syd’s Interactive Design Blog Week 4 Studio – User Persona Creation
In the studio today we developed User Personas for our Interactive Design work. Using Xtensio we were able to develop accurate and realistic User Personas and create who i thought would be users of my app.
I have shown my two example user personas below.
Syd’s Interactive Design Blog Week 4 Tutorial – Brainstorming & Elaborating
Brainstorming and elaborating on ideas for assessment 2 in pairs, slightly altered my original idea of an Interactive App for Beach and Waterway safety and sustainability, this will be aimed at tourists and also non-locals who maybe unaware how much damage they can be doing to our natural waterways, or alternatively, how easily they could be helping sustain our Beaches and Waterways.
I then created an Artefact Persona and a Brainstorm for the interactive. Below is my Artefact Persona.
Below is my first brainstorm about the interactive design i will produce.
Syd’s Interactive Design Blog Week 3 – User Flow Diagram
Below i have demonstrated the use of a User Flow diagram, based on the creation of toast. I utilised the stock images given to us via vUWS.
Sydney's Digital Interactive Design 