March 28:: Reading Response & Concepts

My initial concept for P3 is focused on Parks, Gray's Lake in specific.

I'm planning on making a booklet of some sort for this project, since a Brochure-type thing isn't quite large enough to hold all the information I want to include.

Some plans:

- Redesign & include a new Gray's Lake map with directions on how to get there (from the interstate possibly, since it's an accessible & understood route to start with?)
- Nail down the format (Was between Booklet & Brochure, but leaning more towards Booklet for the sake of the information that needs to be included)
- Take Photographs of Gray's lake in various locations to use in the booklet
- Decide on how many pages to work with for the booklet & how big it should be, as well as how it will be bound
- Decide on how to format (Have 4 options so far that are being mapped out in InDesign)

1. Ages of Park Attendees & Activities tailored to those age groups (may not work, since majority of the park activities specify that they are for all age groups)
2. Seasons in which certain activities will be held (Tricky since activities are held certain days & not every day, or even every week)
3. Days of the week when activities are held (also may not work since some activities are 'x week of x month, such as 'the last saturday of June')
4. Months in which activities are held (again some events are pretty specific to a certain weekend during the month, so would be tricky to organize this way)

The activities are Gray's Lake are tricky to work with, organization wise, so I think I have my work cut out for me with a layout format.

Pages of booklet currently planned:

Cover

Table of Contents (probably necessary considering the information that will be included, but maybe not. Too early to tell)
Amenities Page?
Various Sections based on how the booklet will be organized (Ages, Seasons, Days, or Months etc.)
Map (2 spreads?) w/ directions on how to get to Gray's Lake
Contact Information to Des Moines Parks & Recreation (Possibly directly to whomever is in charge of Gray's Lake specifically, if there is such a person)

-----

Definitions:

Audience- The audience in terms of Graphic Design is who interacts with your design; it is important to design with the audience in mind, so that the end result is straightforward and easy to follow.

Context- The meaning behind a design; context is important to consider in all aspects of a design to make sure meaning isn't being misinterpreted. Some examples would be color choices, word choices, logo choices etc. You wouldn't want a blue or green burger as a logo at a food place for example, since that isn't exactly what an audience would think of when they think 'burger'.

Content- Content covers all the elements included in a design. Mostly it applies to text, but images can be included in 'content' as well.

Media- Plural of 'Medium' and usually refers to a design technique or mixing of multiple design techniques; examples would be 'Digital Media' (Photoshop, Illustrator etc), 'Mixed Media' (Paint & Photographs, Photographs & Cloth, Clay & Wood etc).


Reading Response Questions:

1. What does the acronym SLIP stand for? In your own words, paraphrase the four steps that Maeda outlines.

Sort- Write down whatever needs to be done or sorted on slips, and move then around into groupings that make sense. (Shorts & Jeans would be together for example, as would Blouses and T-Shirts)

Label- Give each group a relevant nickname; if no name can be decided on, then a code can be used, such as a Letter, Number or Color. (Jeans & Shorts would be 'Pants' and T-Shirts & Blouses would simply be 'Shirts')

Integrate- When groups seem to be similar in significant ways, merge them. The fewer groups the better.

Prioritize- Group highest priority items into a single group to make sure they have the most attention. Think of the 'focus' group as the 'top 20%' to focus on, things that either need a LOT of work or need to be finished more quickly.


2. What one sentence in this reading most resonates with you? Why?

"Squint at the world. You will see more, by seeing less." - Last page of the reading

It's more a phrase than a single sentence, but it effected me nonetheless. Like I've stated before in many of my projects I've had a Drake, I have a problem with overcomplicating everything I do. I always feel a design needs to be more complex to be unique, or to be more eye catching, which more often than not isn't the case. I think that's why this phrase resonates with me. It's something I struggle with on every project in every class. Simplicity is often the best route to take, for understanding, but also for (as the reading says) gestalt. Not every design calls for complexity.