Final Video

So here we go, this is it. Hold on to your pants.

Ok we have a problem, turns out my video is a 200 MB file, so its going to a while before I can upload it. But it shall be done!

Made some noise

Not really, i just recorded the audio for my video today.

And no Im not giving you a preview because at the moment it sounds tinny and horrible, which I shall fix.

Photoshop layer problems

I guess there is a problem with photoshop images as you import them into other programs, because the layers have sort of bled into each other. The outer edges of the words have the colours of the layers that were underneith them.

Heres what I mean:

The problem here is that I've spent the last 3 days making these frames so I'm not restarting, and I don't know how to fix it so I guess we're just going to have to grin and bear it.

Developing Frames

Bassically I need to develop each individual frame for my video, here are some of the ones ive come up with

Ive been making the frames in photoshop, its just alot easier to use. I actually understand this program (somewhat).

Cornelia also mentioned that I should try to incorporate some of the app into the video itself, as this is what the whole project is about. So thats what ive tried too do here.

Inspiration

For this project Ive decided to make a Kinetic typography add for my app. Ive fallen down something of a manhole in the sense that i've spent the last few hours JUST looking at kinetic typography videos. Needless to say ive found some pretty awesome ones;

This is a rant by Stephen Fry about language. Its really good at giving the words some shape, and then the zooming out at the end completes it all extremely nicely. Its also extremely interesting and really helps point out how important it is to have a good narrator. I'm going to need to find someone with a cool voice.

This excerpt from V for Vendetta also shows how important a good narrator is. But to such a higher level than the first one.

While a little melodramatic this music video shows how tings other than words can  be used, like logos and such to greatly improve the overall aesthetic of the video.

Storyboard

This is my storyboard for my kinetic typography video, it basically shows a few of the key frames of my video aswell as a script down the side, just encase you couldn't gather that by looking at it.

Corners

I think I might have fallen down a rabbit hole. Just a little bit.
Im currently sitting here a tmy desk, blogging, with 7 tabs open from the UX Movement website. Each one has an article that is find interesting/important/relevant to the current project. This is going to take a while.

The most recent one I read is all to do with corners, Its not just guessing or anything silly like that, this is thoroughly researched and actually extremely logical. It talks about why rounder corners on UI objects are allot easier to process than sharper 90 degree angles.

The article looks at everything from sharper angles making things look brighter and therefore harder to process, to the fact that curves follow the natural movement of the eye easyer. Either way I need to do some serious updating of my designs.

The original article can be found here: http://uxmovement.com/thinking/why-rounded-corners-are-easier-on-the-eyes/

UI colours Pt. 2

COLOUR!!!!!!!!!!!

I KNEW it was important, i just read an article that proves my point. Its got some really interesting stuff.

The more I read it the more comfortable I am with my decisions aswell. Orange is a colour associated with fun and entertainment and i've got it meaning "access granted" or success or other possitive stuff like that. I think im also going to make the actual tags that you can drop orange as apposed to red because I want this app to seem very fun. Then again red is the colour of speed, and this is a travel app soooooo....

Damn! i'll figure it out

The origonal article can be found here: http://uxmovement.com/content/the-dominant-colors-of-common-website-qualities/

Loading Bars

Its not particularly drastic or important stuff, but I read an extremely interesting article about loading bars on UX Movement.

The article focused on how the motion of the progress bar, be it moving lights or the progression of the bar itself, affects our perception of time 0.o This is extremely interesting because it is a perfect example of something that the designer can do that doesn't necessarily affect the overall application itself, or add a new feature but still changes the experience for the user in a POSITIVE way. Because that's what we're doing right? Creating User experiences.

The original article can be found here: http://uxmovement.com/buttons/how-to-make-progress-bars-feel-faster-to-users/

Paper Prototypes and Wire-Frame

These are the Images I had today to present to class:

Having this in my hands made mea realize something about the way it works though, to do with the size of the menus.

They are all the exact same, while at the beginning i thought this would be a good thing, as it gives the app a sense of uniformity. I thought that this would help keep the user from getting confused as it keeps it simple, but I think it may do the opposite. There's not a sense of hierarchy, and the user doesn't have really know what are the key features and what is more important.

The "Change navigation type" menu doesn't need to be as big as it is, hell it doesn't even need writing in it. All it does it change the map position from NSEW to the direction that the user is facing.

Minor things like that are going to be what changes this UI from being good to amazing and it these tiny details that im going to have to crack down on and pay allot of attention to.

UX Movement

Most of the research i've been doing hasn't been visual, or in images. Its been web blogs and stuff.

Ive  found a really cool blog called UX Movement (http://uxmovement.com) which has a huge amount of articles about UI design and the UX of the audience.

I'll blog the ones I find interesting or useful.

UI Colors

Color is extremely important to a UI, its what conveys the whole tone of the experience. With my minimalist design i have decided to go with a very grey user interface, as it keeps a very relaxed, calm sterile invronment.

Im going to have some color though. Orange will demonstrate something being selected and white for something that cant be selected, or failed to be selected.

Creating a UI

I love the idea of UI design, its something that I find so fascinating. In fact, last semester when we did the stop motion film for DSDN 101 I came up with an idea that revolved around a pair of augmented reality glasses, which allowed me the chance to design a UI of my own. This was probably the most entertaining part of the entire project (because god knows it wasn't photo shopping over 400 frames individually, scumbag Photoshop)

I also love apps, seriously. My AppStore account purchase history is impressive (both IOS and android mofo). However the UI design and UX of some of these apps is pretty disgusting, music player on Sony Android anybody? No thank you. Scumbag Sony.

For me it boiled down to the fact that if you (as the UI designer) put hurdles between the user and the content they want to access, you have failed. Of course It’s not possible to have no hurdles between a person and their content, at least not until computers can read our minds. So then it boils down to putting as few hurdles in their way as possible. While still making it in a style that is eye catching but not tacky, cool and current but won’t date, and interesting or compelling enough to keep someone’s attention. All of this needs to happen with the mind-set that while the consumer is a complete moron (as you need to account for the lowest common denominator) nothing is ever EVER his fault.

Bring it on.

8 Images

200 Words

You hold in your hand the Pride Vice, an object designed to test your threshold of pain. The point of it is to fit on your hand, in the fleshy part between your thumb and the rest of your hand and be squeezed. Why? You may ask, to test your sense of inner pride. This object is designed to let people try and hurt themselves to no end except to be better than everyone else, they receive nothing in return for their pain except a validating number. One that others will have to beat as they try to do better, putting themselves through MORE pain just so that they could be ”better” than you and get a higher number.

To perform correctly, place the flesh between your thumb and the rest of your hand in the “jaw” of the object with the gears facing upwards, make sure the point coming down (or the “tooth”) from the top is placed on the first bit of flesh you can find in that area (not just skin, the small muscle). This tendon is very sensitive which is why we are using it, it’s harder to keep going. The movements are very minor but if you pay attention to the green gears you will get your score, it’s the number to the far left.

Construction 4

Today I made the finishing touches on the object.
I put the gears in their final places.

I added the point in the jaw of the object, the thing that will hurt them.

I then sanded down each individual part and then spray painted all of the wooden pieces but left the gears green as I wanted them to stand out.

Construction 3

Today I stuck the two major parts together forming the overall form of the object, everything from here on is very minimal comparatively

I then went and cut chunks out of the two parts.
the first was to make room for the gears in the largest part, as they would be housed in it.

The second was to give the fingers room for when they squeezed the device, so that they could comfortably pull it together.

Construction 2

Today I created the palm rest for the base piece

This piece was then stuck onto the base piece, forming the major part of the object.

Construction

I started with this piece of untreated pine which is my base material

I then started cutting the first pieces for the body and drilling the holes for the  bolt to allow movement

Presentation

My experience involves the sense of pain, and how people will put themselves through it. I'm making a device that will slowly tighten, and the idea is to put it on the nerve between your thumb and palm (the Adductor Pollicis muscle) the idea is that the person will be putting themselves through pain with a final 'score' this will introduce a competitive part to the experience. People will try to one-up each other by getting a higher score and subsequently putting themselves through more pain just to satisfy that little voice in the back of their head telling them to do better than the previous person. There isn't a prize or any kind of definitive 'victory' except the ego boost received from being able to take more pain than someone else. There is going to be some way that the device records how much pain has been taken in the past, providing even more motivation for a person to 'win'.

This is my final storyboard: