CLASS 3 | May 9th
Welcome to Class #3.
Agenda for today:
• Engament exercise
• Show and Tell: Pam
• Review of Assignment #1
• Need to Know Survey Share
• Research my way…
• Terms and descriptions
• Assignment # 2 brief
• Review of Assignment #1
• Need to Know Survey Share
After reviewing your answers to the survey, I thought it valuable to introduce you to some epically innovative, progressive and hugely successful designers of our time. Here are some great resources to explore, that focus on your interests in visual design through the experiences and stories told by these leading designers, which offer some insight and perspective to satiate your needs until we get to the topics in class.
Ellen Lupton: Design Your Life talk
WEBSITE
Like Knows Like website
Stefan Sagmiester: Why I Design talk
Today we are looking at Research and Analysis and how we need to learn about our audiences, their contexts and the markets we are designing for, before we head into idea development, to create effective design outcomes.
• Research My Way Exercise (Image of group mind maps here)
• Terms and Descriptions
There are a few key terms that you need to know to familiarize yourself with this stage of the design process. These terms are reiterated in your reading for this week.
Firstly, there are several types of research. The most broadly definitive are:
Primary Research:
Gathering material that does not already exists. You go out and find this information through interviewing, observing, putting yourself into the experiences and documenting your findings.
Secondary Research:
Gathering material that already exists. Searching online, consulting books, exploring published work that includes articles, books, newspapers and archives of materials.
As we are doing our research, we need to take into careful account WHO we are designing for and the context (WHERE) your audience is located and how this effects their perceptions, beliefs, interests and culture.
Audience:
Are the people you are designing for. The group of humans whom will see, interact, experience and connect with your design.
Contextualization:
The process of placing something within the environment and interrelated systems that make up the world. We contextualize audiences and problems to better understand all the factors involved in communicating clearly and effectively.
Context: The specific environment of a person, place or problem/challenge that includes specific systems, beliefs, traditions and cultures
Customer Profiling:
The process of creating a series of parameters or a set of information that defines the desires, trends or interests of a demographic so that designs can be pitched or marketed.
Market Research:
The process of collecting and collating data from interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, observations, comments and insights from the public regarding a concern, problem or a possible solution. Can also explore the effectiveness of an audience/market experience or use of a product, service or communication.
Market: a group of users/audiences that have similar identified needs or desires, or a problem that requires a solution.
Through your Assignment #2, you will become familiar with these terms and their value in visual design.
TO DO’s | For Next class Due 1pm Thursday May 11th
• Assignment #2: (Title it: Your name | Assignment #2)
Look around you and find an example of visual design that you feel is a successful and effective. It must be something you can physically bring into class, or share a photo of…it must be a piece you have identified and chosen. It cannot be found on the web.
Include a photo of it in your blog post and accompany it with the answer to this question: (100words+)
1) Who is the audience this piece was designed for? Describe them/create a profile for them: age, gender, location, language, interest, beliefs, preferences, hobbies etc.
• Reading: Read the pages in this PDF of “Graphic Design School. The principals and practice of graphic design”.
We will discuss this reading in the next class so come prepared to share your thoughts.