Evaluating Your Designs (Reflection #2)

Great job bloggers!  We have seen some amazing designs and themes emerging from all of you.  Now, the last step in the Design Phase is to create your reflection #2 blog post where you will evaluate the different design mock-ups that you came up with.

Step 1.  Write your 4-5 paragraph reflection:

• What theme has emerged from your designs? 
  How does this theme relate to or represent you?
• For each blog template mock-up:
• explain the choices you made 
• compare how this design measures up to:
•  your design specifications (from your Reflection #1)
• functional blog requirements (your sketch)
• aesthetic design elements (color, photo, graphic design)
  
•  Select your final design and justify your choice by validating against your specifications and other design options.
 

Step 2.  Add your screen capture images from your Picasa Web Album into the relevant paragraphs of your reflection.


Be sure to use the task specific rubric #2 to guide you as you write your reflection.

To earn a 5 – 6, make sure:

• You have included a complex and detailed reflection.
• You have done an excellent job justifying and comparing your designs with the specifications.

Remember:

• Your reflection should include at least 4-5 paragraphs.
• Your reflection should be published on your blog.
• You reflection should include only answers, not the questions.
• Each paragraph should be written so the reader can understand the question (without including the question).
• You are writing for an audience that may not be in our class, make sure to describe things so that anyone could understand.

Due Dates:

• 8-01:  Nov. 26 (M)
• 8-02:  Nov. 28 (W)
• 8-03:  Nov. 28 (W)

The Aesthetics...Creating Your Mock-Up Designs

Here's the fun part!  How can we create aesthetically pleasing designs by incorporating a variety of design elements?  We will focus on answering this question over the next few classes and in the end have a number of design mock-ups to select from.


STEP 1. The Color Wheel

• a. Create Mock-up #1 applying elements of the color wheel discussed in class (hue, shade, tint, color relationships: monochromatic, analogous, complimentary, etc.) to your background.
• b. Refer to your Color Wheel worksheet notes taken from the Color Wheel Video Explanation
• c. To edit background:  Template --> Customize --> Background (select a color theme) or Advanced (to customize each section of your blog)
• d. Take a screen capture of this design #1 and upload to your Picasa Web Album.
• e.  Add a caption with brief explanation of your color choice.

STEP 2. Photographs 

• a. Create Mock-up #2 applying a photograph to your background that uses rule of thirds.

• b. To edit background:  Template --> Customize --> Background --> Background Image (look through gallery of photograph categories OR take and upload your own photo).
• c. Take a screen capture of this design #2 and upload to your Picasa Web Album.
• e.  Add a caption with brief explanation of your photograph choice.

STEP 3. Graphic Design  

• a. Create Mock-up #3 applying graphic design elements discussed in class (color relationship, line, vector-shape,stroke-outline, patterns.
• b. To edit background:  Template --> Customize --> Background --> Background Image (look through gallery* with graphic designs or create/upload your own.)
• c. * Suggested graphic design categories include:  Abstract, Patterns, Technology, Textures & Transparent.
• d. Take a screen capture of this design #3 and upload to your Picasa Web Album.
• e.  Add a caption with brief explanation of your graphic design choice.

Be sure to use the task specific rubric #1 to guide you in this design phase.

To earn a 5 – 6, make sure:

• You have generated THREE or more thoughtfully created template mock-ups through screen captures.
• All mock-ups demonstrate good blog design using the basic design elements and principles.
• All mock-ups clearly reflect your personality, theme and design specifications of your blog.

Remember:

• Each of your designs should display insight into your theme.  Some ideas discussed:  Star Wars, Sports, Hawaiian, Nature, etc.
• Take a look at your mind map.  Are there any themes that you could tap into from there?

Time to Design! How Will Our Blog Function?

Well, here we go!  We've spent time understanding what makes a good blog and have identified the criteria we'll use to measure its success.  Now, we are ready to formulate our designs!

First step is to determine how your blogs will function.  What will be the features on your blog and where will they go?  As you answer these questions, think about a theme that may be emerging in your design.


STEP 1.  Sketch out your FUNCTIONAL design layout incorporating the minimum elements we discussed in class:

Minimum Functional Blog Requirements:

• Appropriate Blog URL, Title and Description
  What is the best possible URL, title, description to best match your blog theme?

• Navigation/Menu Bar
  Where will your menu be located on your page? What will be included in your menu?  What order will you place each menu item?
  
  
• Appropriate and Functional Gadgets/Widgets
  What widgets will be included?  Where will you place them and in what order? Remember to ask yourself what purpose will the widget serve?

• Author Bio Page
  How will you incorporate your bio/About Me information?  Will you include as part of your menu?  Design in a separate page?
• Optional: Banner
  This is an optional element.  If you include, sketch out an idea of the design.

STEP 2.  Refer back to your Investigate Reflection at the FIVE criteria you identified. Are there any other requirements you identified here that you may need to include in your functional layout?
 
• Example (discussed in class):  If one criteria you identified was the ability to search your blog, this would be an additional requirement that you need to include in your sketch.

Be sure to use the task specific rubric #1 to guide you in this design phase.

To earn a 5 – 6, make sure:

• Your sketch includes the minimum functional blog requirements.
• Your sketch incorporates the criteria that you identified in your reflection.

Remember:

• You should begin to see a theme emerging as you formulate your functional sketch.
• When sketching, be intentional about what goes onto your sketch and where they get placed.  Everything should have a reason.

Drafting the Future

This post will explain what the next steps are in this process and especially point to breaking the blog into the functional vs. the aesthetic aspects of the blog.  What should our blog do?  How will it do that?  How will it allow people to interact with the content, quickly and easily?  What kind of structure needs to be in place?  How will people find what they're looking for?  How will it meet our specifications?

Welcome Back Big Fish!

Welcome back to school 8th graders!  Mrs. Okumura and I are truly excited to be able work with such a talented and hard working group of designers!

This will be our class blog for Design Tech.  It's the place you'll go to find out what's going on in class, where to go to get help and what's expected of you.  It will be our way of communicating to all of you and your parents about our units of work (assignments and deadlines), upcoming events (activities) and much more.

I know that were going to learn a lot this year - all while having a great time!  If you have any questions or comments, please let us know! See you all soon!