TJ,+Rob,+Amy

P1 Envision | P2 Prototype | P3 User Test toc

Phase One: Envision | January 26, 2010 Rob Wootten Thushjanthan Sivagurunathan Amy Lin **
 * Design & Systems | York University Visual Arts Project

=PACT Analysis= = = Current Department of Visual Arts Website [] =People= **Physical Differences**

The website should be functional in different levels to support a wide range of users including, but not limited to: Psychological Differences // **Mental Models** //
 * Prospective Students: Students interested in the Visual Arts program at York University.
 * Current Students
 * Alumni Students
 * Prospective Student's Parents, Family
 * Administrators/Facilitators: The Visual Arts Department must have a process of maintaining the website.
 * Teaching Faculty
 * Infrequent Users
 * People with poor navigation skills
 * Individuals that are generally not familiar with web interfaces
 * Frequent Users
 * Users that demand an efficient interface
 * Users that expect updates and alerts //(external connection ei, facebook group)//
 * People with short attention spans

=**Activity**=
 * Student Handbook: Degree requirements, offered course and their descriptions
 * Student based work on gallery
 * Facilities and when they are available
 * Faculty biography
 * Available collections for educational purposes
 * Important dates, events, lectures, speakers
 * Contact information and where to find the department

=**Context**= //Physical Environment// There is always going to be screen resolution constraint, so it should always fit within the standard size. We should be considerate of computer capabilities across various platforms. Some may have lower bandwidth, thus causing the site to load slowly, causing inconvenience. Everyone should be able to access it regardless of what computer they are using.

//Social Context// It should present itself as an institution and should not display itself as unprofessional (example: random music, something out of place).

//Organizational Context// Places in which the website will be used are campus, at home, somewhere with an access of a computer and internet.

= = =**Technology**= The website has some aspects of interactive technology present such as hyperlinks and frames. However, as demanded by the client, there is room for further implementation of interactive technologies. This can be achieved through the placement of interactive enhancements such as:
 * Screen transitions (e.g. fade in)
 * Video
 * Personal login and logout system
 * Interactive menu bars (e.g. mini galleries, testimonials of alumni)

= = =**Group Scope/Ideas**=
 * With the department of Visual Arts being a dynamic community full of potential, we would like to focus on the people. Have lots of visuals to show that, and allow future students to see what coming to York University would be like. The Visual Arts website needs a lot more heavy graphics. We would like to showcase students' works of all levels and all areas within the department, as well as show our facilities and the teaching staff/students using those facilities.


 * For current and prospective students, course descriptions are also an important part of the department's website as students are trying to get a heads up of what will be expected in each course they will take and are interested in. What will be the adventures and projects that will be in the course will also be informative.


 * Keeping the website with easy navigation, and to the point. Have an overall visual frame, where the external and internal frame fits all together. This will ultimately make the users not leave the site, which holds a constant togetherness via the overall visual vocabulary. Nobody wants to look through a website not knowing where to go with information overload. The key to importance is to be able to make the website user friendly. We should focus on the importance of making it for people, and to inspire people!

= =

=Benchmark Studies= The following websites are inspirational websites we would like to further explore and consider.  TED.COM The TED website interface allowed users to check off on the side which themes they are most interested in and according to the users choice, the subjects will show in the levels of visual hierarchy. Each size emphasize the visual for that particular chosen theme.

OCAD.CA Ontario College of Art and Design also had the look of a gallery based style. Visual Arts really is about showcasing students work, facilities, and we would like to implement that with our visuals by maintaining the importance of our students, faculty, and of the many possibilities of coming in to York.

YSDN The past website had students work in accordance to the course names. It helped many current students in understanding what will be the outcome projects of a particular course they would want to take in the future.

Typography Served "Fresh works from leading professionals". We all liked the grid like gallery. Simplistic in terms of navigation and lets the brilliant and colourful works shine through against a black background. Visual Box Visual Box is an art direction, motion graphics and screening portfolio made to be visually appealing. They have one goal in mind. They've got little text, and as you hover over the navigation bars, it reveals details of that particular project. It's a very effective and functional solution, and much more appealing than just having a list of links.

[|Design Meltdown] Design Meltdown is an excellent resource for examples of good web design. Although Design Meltdown's website design is questionable, a large majority of the links showcased on the website are visually rich and inspiring.

Music - Design Agency Manchester

=**Categorization of Courses**= Painting Sculpture Time-Based Art Print Media Photography Drawing

Theory (?) Stone Carving 3-Dimensional Construction

Three states.... 1. department (photography, sculpture... ) 2. courses found in the department 3. course projects and descriptions

Index (home) page and one section. Some consistency. Not having to design the whole website. - global navigation - local navigation

= = =Initial Categorization=

= = =**Initial Sketches & Wireframes**=



= = =Information Architecture=



= = =System Map= == = = = = = =

= =

=**Moodboard**= We are also taking into consideration the Visual Identity of the website. As well as organizing and structuring the information of the Visual Arts Department, it is important to maintain a consistent look throughout their web presence. = =

= =

=Photography= The points below are the types of photographic images that we need to capture in order to target Perspective Students. It is essential for students to imagine themselves inside the work environment. //Painting student working at York University//
 * Student life
 * Process Work & Final Presentation
 * Use of Facilities