evaluation

The aim of the Final Authorship & Interaction project brief was to refer to the essay question “Explain and critique the idea of ‘the birth of the reader’ put forward by Roland Barthes using a range of design works of your choice as examples, making use of other writers work to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of the concept” and to create a design outcome that showed a deeper understanding of the relationship between theory and practice surrounding the theme Data Gathering & Display Remix (The post-Structuralist Author).

Through careful documentation, investigation, analysis of ideas and analysis of design practice, together with digital technologies, I will create prototypes based on gathered data on a the popularity of tattoos, which broadens my thinking and demonstrates what I have learnt throughout the module.

What were the Resources needed for this Module/Project?

For this Project, I used a Hot Glue account to document my research and design process. Through exploratory and development work, I have shown how by exploring and applying knowledge on Data Gathering, I have created my own design outcome using media appropriate to the content and the needs of the audience, in relation to the themes and ideas within this module.

What were my initial sources of inspiration?

The topic that I wanted to research into and to gather data on, was how over recent years, tattoos have become more acceptable and seen as a fashion accessory/ statement.

First, I conducted a survey in Camden at the London Roundhouse where the “ Black Veil Brides” gig was happening on Saturday the 14th December. I handed out 150 questionnaires randomly to people queuing at the door, to gather data on tattoos, before the concert began.

Having obtained my results, I researched into how data can be visualised. I began by researching into Lev Manovich, who questions, “ What is visualisation?” and whether data art should be called visualisation at all. Manovich shows how it is possible to preserve data in its original form, but to use techniques to reorganise the data into a new visual representation.

For further inspiration, I looked at another way of visualising data, such as artists who use pins and threads as methods of recording data. I discovered Katie Lewis, a conceptual artist who used pins, thread and pencil to mark data from aspects of her life. I particularly liked how this artwork represents the accumulation of data over time. This process displays strict rules on how data is collected, documented, and transformed into visually displayed art form for the purpose of gaining knowledge.

Another source of inspiration came from researching an exhibition called " Data Dimension", which collated art, design and technology, showing ways to make data visible.

I looked at Nathalie Miebach’s work "A Duet of Blizzards and Hurricane Noel II". I particularly liked how Miebach used pins, dots, threads and flags to show the gathered data, taken from a number of weather stations and satellites to show a visualisation of Hurricane Noel, which claimed 116 lives in 2007, in the Caribbean.

Developing and Analysing my Prototypes:

Having researched into different ways of visualising data, I wanted to use a similar approach to display the results I obtained from my tattoo survey. I first began to draw a plan of how I would like to display my results visually as an Infographic.

I chose to focus on Gender, Age, Type of Tattoo and if the Tattoo had a Meaning, as the main data for my Infographic. I decided to colour code the data and the amount of lines would represent the number of each category. Each line was the same length (12cm) to represent 1 person in the category.

I next researched into wireframes. I began by looking at a basic Flow Chart. A Flow Chart/ Site Map is a simple structure that is used in many websites. It shows a simple structure to follow when putting together a website.

I also learnt that a wireframe is a visual representation, a skeletal framework of content layout in a website design. It helps with organising and simplifying all the content and the various elements within a website.

Development

How well did I develop my ideas ?

I began my design process by creating some basic drawings of possible wireframes to show the structure of my webpages, the kinds of information I wanted to display and the range of functions I would have available. I developed 2 Prototypes, one of which I would take to Final Outcome.

Prototype 1 showed a detailed drawn wireframe of a Homepage and the 4 pages that this website would link to- (Data Gathering, Type of Tattoo, Popular Body Parts and Any Regrets). For this Prototype, I would use a black and red logo with the letter "T" for Tattoos and the icons for the navigation would be placed on the left hand side bar. I would keep this colour scheme and layout for all the pages of this website for uniformity. Each page would consist of text and images relevant to the subject and there would be links on the images that the user could click on to visit other websites.

For Prototype 2, I drew another detailed wireframe of a Homepage and the 2 pages that this website would link to- (Data Gathering and Types of Tattoo). For this Prototype, I would use a colour scheme of black and silver, with a small letter "T" for Tattoos as the logo, and the icons for the navigation would be placed at the top of the page. I would keep this colour scheme and layout for all the pages of this website for uniformity. Each page would consist of text, you tube videos and images relevant to the subject and there would be links on the images that the user could click on to visit other websites. I would also include a blog, where visitors to the site could make comments and give feedback.

On reflection, I preferred Prototype 1, as I thought that this wirefame was easy to follow, with a strong and clear message throughout the pages. The content was interesting and the colour scheme was effective. Most importantly, the site was easy to navigate and the structure and layout was clear, professional and suitable to the theme of Tattoos.

To help me design my webpages, I chose to use Dreamweaver, an Adobe web development application originally created by Macromedia.
To begin with, on Dreamweaver I created a new HTML page. Dreamweaver allows 3 different views- split (code & layout), code (code only) and Design (layout only).I set up a file with folders, making sure that file names didn't contain spaces.

Next I created a layout with 1 column fixed, left side bar with a header and footer. Then I imported a black and red logo for the header and added icons for navigation on the left side bar. This was followed by adding text, making sure when I added the text, I was in the split view, so I could see the codes and design. Then I added relevant images to my webpage and floated them to the left and right, so the text would wrap around it. I also inserted links on the images that would link to other websites.

To create my next page I saved my original page again, so it would duplicate so I would have 2 pages with the same layout. Next I inserted a hyperlink on the homepage to link to page 1(Data Gathering) and a hyperlink on Data Gathering, which would link back to the Homepage. Then I added relevant images to my webpage and floated them to the left and right, so the text would wrap around it. I also inserted my Infographic on Tattoo Data and tabular results, which I linked to an Infographic Website.

In addition, I inserted links on the images that would link to other websites. I designed my webpages by using codes, showing the properties- paragraphs, the floated images and the style, which helped me with my development.

In which areas could I have done more and why?

As a whole, I believe that I focused on all the required elements necessary to produce my design outcome. By gathering data, creating an Infographic, together with exploring and drawing wireframes and using Dreamweaver, I have created a Homepage and Page 1(Data Gathering) as webpages, that are easy to follow, with a strong and clear message throughout. The content is interesting and the colour scheme is effective. Most importantly, the site is easy to navigate, the structure and layout is clear, professional and suitable to the theme of Tattoos.

I could have experimented more with Dreamweaver, to get an even better understanding of the codes used to create a Website. This would have improved my design ideas, improving my potential for Web Design.

Furthermore, if I had more time, I could have made further references into ideas underlying this module, making references to a wider cultural context, as well as applying further aspects of my experience in the module to date. In addition, I could have engaged in more studio practice to help develop my design ideas. Above all, I could have extended my reading to a more detailed based research to support my development. All of these additional tools would have helped enhance a better visual, documented and communicated final design outcome.

I am sure that like me, you can see the importance of this content and how having a deeper understanding of the relationship between the theory and practice of this subject, has given me a greater knowledge together with the power to create Authorship & Interaction through a designers’ perspective.