6.1: Planning…
Lesson 6 brings the class into the final stretch! I start off by looking back at my class experiences in design and blogging, then draw blueprints for my final project and blog. I also take a final look into Designing for Emotions by Aarron Walter and reflect on the concepts in the book as a whole.
Blog Plans
This particular domain has been my spare internet space for a while. I’ve used it for other personal projects I felt shouldn’t be integrated with my main domain—now accessible via the Portfolio and About & Contact links in my sidebar—or in this case, I wasn’t sure how I wanted to integrate it. I haven’t entirely settled on how I want to add a blog to that domain, though I imagine a nice RSS feed will be involved. I might create a new landing page which displays recent blog posts with my portfolio, but too much information might just distract from the primary goal of the site: displaying my work. I’ll probably explore other big designers’ personal portfolios and suggestions for guidance on blogging.
Wrapping it Up
To tie everything together, we’ve been asked to compose one final project called our Summary of Learning, where we read through our blog posts and recount our story in a video, infographic, direct mailer, or comic. Of course, we’re all wondering how I plan on conquering my Summary of Learning… and by “we,” I mean “me.”
After dwelling on the options, I’ve come up with my personal favorite ideas. I’ve actually not had a chance to design an infographic, so the idea appeals to me as a way to expand my portfolio and skill set. I’m not really into the direct mailer or comics, unless I actually hand illustrated a 2- or 3-page comic—which isn’t entirely in the digital spirit of the class. The videos feel like the richest option, especially after reviewing video work from last semester’s students, including the beautifully filmed What I Learned in Publications by Matt Woods and thoughtful reflections in Emily Coatney’s Summary of Learning. If I make a video, I wouldn’t be comfortable filming it, considering my lack of resources and knowledge about post-production. I’d most likely create a light Adobe After Effects typographic video similar to the Kinetic Typography Channel—work intensive but satisfying.
No matter how I tackle it, I hope it helps future PR Pubs students on their way forward. I would love to teach someday, but since it’s not going to happen for a while, the least I could do is leave something cool behind.
Designing for Emotions: Book Overview
I actually wrote some lengthy, off topic thoughts on the book before publishing this post, but I’ll try to sum up those thoughts in shorter form.
I believe that it’s fantastic that more sites and companies are adopting effective, interesting design practices to craft positive experiences for users of all types, and I’d love to speak to Aarron Walter further about his design decisions with MailChimp someday. Great user experiences are all about making decisions simple and clean for the user, while also, hopefully, evoking some sort of long term, memorable moment that brings users back when they need something again. I don’t know how long it will be until college students don’t remember ye olden days of dial up and Web 1.0, but it’s worth noting how much progress user-centric design has made since the days of beeps, boops, and screeches. It’s essential to continue on the road of great user interfaces and experiences.
Still, Walter does not address what I consider a dark, or grey, side of design. As a visual communicator, I have to ask myself how I’m willing to use the power to influence, to compel, to seduce a user. I am not a fan of lying to people. I am, likewise, not a fan of concealing the truth. A positive design experience can, by the merit of its quality and efficiency, cover up or misdirect me from some things I’d rather know about up front. I believe, as a designer, I must take care to understand what I’m compelling a user to do, and I must decide if I believe it’s not necessarily the correct, but the ethical decision. Anyone looking into a career in design should consider what types of companies they feel comfortable working for, and what types of projects suit them best. Stick to your guns. Just because you can convince a person to do something doesn’t mean you should or have to.
I honestly don’t know if I’m comfortable doing design or creating experiences that sell common consumer products, especially if I don’t believe they contribute something worthwhile to a person’s life. I’m not going to tell anyone else they can’t, either, but I will tell people to consider their stance on it. Design is powerful—don’t use that power if you’re not comfortable with its results.
Regardless of my odd rant, I’d like to reaffirm that I appreciate the book. If you’re interested in modern user experience design, Aarron Walter’s Designing for Emotion is certainly worth the modest e-book price tag of $9.00 USD at A Book Apart. If you don’t have it already, check it out here, and take a look at the other books on the site! It’s full of books aimed at designers who work on web design and worth investing a few bucks into.
Written for PR Publications course at the University of Oklahoma, Lesson 6.1
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