Mall Information Design

Stating that I am not a fan of the Mall is an understatement. None the less, I made my way there to do the Christmas shopping. Due to the snow fall I was unable to take a decent picture of the main entrance. I have borrowed the following picture from the website.

The first aspect of the mall design is the contrast of colors displayed by each venue. The average  shopper may not take note of this characteristic. The presence of a well thought out information design piece might go unnoticed. However, imagine the impact if this main entrance was painted with a universal solid color. These clean and organized mall entrances would suddenly be a massive cluster of confusing doors.The color contrast gives the shopper a clear understanding for where each entrance is and what venue they will encounter when they walk through the door. This effective design allows for easy identification. This information design also has an impact on the activity in the parking lot. Vehicles can head to their parking spot immediately after locating their entrance of choice. If store identification was difficult, vehicles would likely linger longer as the driver tries to determine the correct entrance. Not only do the stores display excellent use of contrasting color, each store has a unique look and feel to them. The Bar Louie provides a simple large sign. It is no more than white on black with a large image of a glass. The sign by its self is nothing special. However, when considering the surrounding this simple sign becomes very  effective. The brick behind the sign provides an excellent backdrop for the shadow of the sun. It fits perfect with the bars black and white theme that can be seen throughout the sitting area. Each item by itself does not stick out. Everything together on the other hand provides a powerful attention grabber. Looking at this entrance from a distance tells me that the information designers did an excellent job putting all these pieces together. I do have one recommendation though for consideration. The focus point for shoppers is most defiantly in the upward direction. All the store signs are high up as are the decorative windows, awnings, exquisite roof tops. The directional arrows seem to be the only piece that is below eye level. These arrows are painted on the road itself. I imagine a number of people make the mistake of turning the wrong way. I know I made that mistake just the other day when I visited. The arrows were covered in snow and I was not looking down anyways.  These directional signs should be relocated and redesigned. Perhaps a sign at eye level would be more effective.

Color Theory

As I continue to research various applications of instructional design I find myself focusing on color. Color might seem straight forward and simplistic on the surface. Once I started to dig into color theory I realize that it can be quite involved. I have located a nice resource online addressing color theory as it pertains to web design (An Introduction to Color Theory for Web Designers). This site touches on a number of important factors to consider. A few aspects to consider is complementation, contrast, and effective color schemes. They also offer case studies and tools to help the design process. It is pointed out that there are a number of reading materials available written for those that want to dig down deep in the weeds of color theory. This article certainly opens up my eyes to the influence that color has on information design. 

Adobe Kuler is offered as a useful application that can assist with color design and implantation. Kuler is a powerful and useful tool to help the user understand and visualize how colors complement and contrast with each other. It is worth taking a look at. Another tool that I use on my blog are the basic themes offered by the blog hosting site. Developing a theme from scratch is a daunting and challenging task. Thankfully there are basic themes that are made available for easy use. My blog focuses on disseminating information as it pertains to information design. For this reason, I have chosen a predesigned theme that offers simplicity. The colors complement each other and there is also well designed color contrast incorporated. The text boxes are white with blue headlines and black content. Some of the other designed offered where to flashy and exciting. I did not want to make my color scheme take away from what I am trying to accomplish with the content that is being offered.

3D virtual world tools

3D virtual world tools

There are limitless tool options for the design and presentation of information. For the purposes of this post, I would like to focus in on 3D virtual world tools. The reason for my interest in this specific discipline is due to availability of these tools to the general public. 3D environments used to be reserved for futuristic dialogues. 3D worlds started to emerge in the mainstream in the form of movies, games and other applications.  Today, this technology is accessible to anyone with a computer and internet connection. There are dozens (if not hundreds) of 3D virtual tools available and many of which are free to try or use. The application of these tools are limited only to ones imagination. 3D is often thought about as it pertains to the movies or games. 3D worlds are not only great for entertainment but it can also be used to disseminate information or as a training resource. The appealing aspect of virtual environments is that it is a fantastic way to disseminated vast amount of information to the end user. Instead of the typical two-dimensional presentation, the viewer can be engrossed in an enriched virtual world. I expect we will continue to see an increase of virtual environments on line and a steady decrease for the use of bi-dimensional space. Element energy drink offers a fantastic example of 3D technology applied to a website. The site can be located at www.embraceyourelement.com and its worth a look.

I have yet to be able to incorporate this technology into my blog. I do however have some ideas that I would like to put to the test. I envision a transformation from web pages to web buildings. The homepage would represent a lobby. This lobby would be the start of the journey into the building and it would be the navigation starting point. From this point the user would navigate the building in search of the information that they are seeking out. The focus would be an organized and understandable method of disseminating information. I feel that the 2D environments are highly limited and they are only effective because the viewers have been conditioned to accept them. A 3D environment would require less conditioning and the search for information would not be much different than searching a house for an object.

 

Information Design Process.

There are four steps to the information design process. It is important to note that these steps are not concrete and this is simply a guideline. The first step pertains to information gathering. Before the project can be considered one must define the scope, identify the target audience, and develop a fundamental understanding for the substance.  The client needs to be intricately involved with this process. Scope pertains to recognizing specific deliverables, boundaries, and requirements for the project. It is critical that the components of the scope are well defined. The target audience is the specific group within the market which our product will me aimed at. Everything contained within this first step defines the foundation for which the rest of the project will be build on. Matters such as scope creep, scope changes, or incorrectly identifying the target audience will disrupt any venture.

Step two is The Creative Brief. Page 50 of the Information Design Workbook defines this brief as a document that "outlines the pertinent information about the project so that the entire team has a clear sense of the project's background and goals. This short document serves as a unambiguous plan to help guide the design process. This will assist with keeping the project on track. The creative brief will also serve to assist the members of the team that were not part of the first step and for those personal that join the team later on in the development process. Baer points out on page 53 of the Information Design Workbook that the client should be involved with the creative brief approval and sign off. This is to ensure that the brief is aligned with the clients expectations for the design project.

Step three is the Persona and Scenario phase of the project. This is where the target audience comes into play. The idea here is to create a persona not focused on the whole target audience, but instead spotlight specific individuals within that audience. This approach allows the design team to ensure that user expectations and needs are being met.  There are many ways to develop these scenarios. Page 60 of the workbook points out that a truly effective approach is to have the design team work directly with the client. The client often times understands the end user better than the design team does. In turn, the design team will "ask valuable questions and even question certain client assumptions" (Baer 60). Successful implementation of personas or scenarios will help define the project and to identify any gaps that exist in the design process.

Step four is the prototype stage. Trial products will be developed for testing. Prototypes come in many forms, shapes, and sizes. They can be complete workups or even something made from paper or cardboard. They are models that will represent the end product or perhaps just a portion or segment of the end product. Prototypes are used for experimental evaluation before the final product is developed. There are numerous testing techniques, processes, and methods that can be used. Live user testing can be performed and surveys can be conducted. There are countless possibilities in rearguards to testing and it really depends on the specific project. Regardless of the form of prototype used and level of testing conducted, it is critical that any issues be identified in this stage of development. Once a final product comes online, it will be detrimental to have to go back and correct problems.

I only have four steps listed here that make up the information design process. However, I am suggesting that a fifth phase be considered. I call this step the maintenance step.  Information is ever changing as are the needs of the audience. Rarely are things static in the world of information design. The maintenance stage will ensure periodic checks for project effectiveness. Perhaps a meeting with the designer and the client every so often to evaluate the products success would be appropriate.

Dervin

Dervin crafts a clear and logical methodology pertaining to information design. She has labeled her approach "Sense Making" as it is the underling focus. Information can only be useful if it can be understood. Information can only be understood by those that possess the tools that allow them to comprehend the information. Information varies over time, culture, and person to person. "Information is an instrument of power imposed in discourse on those without power" (Dervin 37). These are a few of Dervin's concepts incorporated in her theory. A significant advantage to this approach is that there is no such thing as a universal absolute truth when it comes to information design. The same approach will not work for all people and it will not work perpetually over time. Information design is ever changing, and requires constant vigilance. Information design evolves as society and develops. These varying concepts is a chief advantage to Dervin's Sense Making methodology. Unfortunately, there is an underling problem that lingers with Dervin's theory. There can never be a "correct" approach. There are only relatively correct approaches that will work most of the time for most people. Even then, the effectiveness will likely fade over time. The disadvantage here is that framework or architecture needs to be redesigned often to keep up with the varying needs of the target audience.

Take this Blog for example. Today the visual design meets my needs and suits the target audience. Tomorrow that might not be the case though. If there is any change in the target audience, this blog will require a review on its effectiveness. The tricky part is determining if there was a change and what impact that will have on my design. If my children started readying this site, I may want to change the language so they can more easily understand my thought process. If my audience spread to viewers outside of this class, I might want to give some additional background information on the scope and intent of this site. I will have to keep a close eye on who is viewing this site and decide if I am implementing an effective information design strategy.

What is Information Design?

Whether we are driving around town, grocery shopping, or surfing the web; we are relentlessly bombarded with information. Information design is the discipline that provides a framework for developers/designers to organize, develop, and portray information in an effective manor in order to achieve a specified objective. 

Consider a small bedroom cluttered with an enormous amount of personal effects. It is critical that the bedroom is organized, and clean. Similar items should be put next to each other so they are easy to find such as change in a pile or in a piggy bank. We wouldn't want our pennies scattered around on the floor. Blankets belong on the bed, clothes are placed in drawers, and so on. If we tossed everything on the floor you would never be able to find what you're looking for or even navigate around the room.

Information Design is similar to the small room full of effects. There seems to always be an abundance of information and to small of a space to display it. Organization, cleanliness, and ease of navigation are some of the basics of information design. There are also target audiences to consider, optimization, readability, and simplification. These are just a few of the factors encompassing information design.