KBD_Discussion

KBD Index | PACT Analysis | Scope | P1 Envision | Moodboard | Process Work | Resources | P3 Process | P3 User Testing | P4 Refined Prototype

=** GROUP K.B.D DISCUSSION PAGE **= 3005 DESIGN & SYSTEMS BRITTANY, DASHA AND KITTY

K- I uploaded a new file with my edits onto Dropbox because the other files haven't been able to sync. Just open KITTY'S_Usertestingreport.ind and copy all the information under my section into the Final report with all your information. I split up my Users onto individual pages cuz there wasn't enough room, so make sure you get all 3 of them!

Sorry for the late update. Let me know through text when this is done or if there are any problems!! I'll be at school at 12pm to give my consent forms.

B - Check out the dropbox for the indesign file that Kitty and I worked on. It is all up to date and the content is mostly there, otherwise just cut and paste from the word document. You could add an appendix in the same style with screenshots of the site. **My individual content is already in there so don't upload it from the wiki** :) I'll be on msn so we can go over anything else.

D - Hey. So i saw the user test report in the drop box. Just a few questions concerning your colour coding... the blue is to be written out and the red is individual... yet the decide framework answers the 'blue' methodologies and objectives sections... should i compile each of our decides to make one official group 'objective' or include the three separate ones?

The reports contents as follows: - cover page - long title - table of contents - perhaps some screen shots of our prototype for reference. - the groups project brief - objectives - methodologies - individual DECIDE frameworks. - individual test scripts and individual results. (off wiki) - group analysis of results (feedback and refinement) - general conclusion - consent forms (i think perfect bound with the rest of the report works best, so they don't fall out of a pocket)

[Week 9] B: I think that was just the hotlinks Courses link. I just clicked a bunch of things and didn't get redirected anywhere. Just test them all I guess and change any that need fixing. Also: I created a P4 - Reiteration folder on the Dropbox for the "FINAL" website (make changes NOT intended for user testing here)

K: I remember clicking on some that got to an error page

B: **I think he just doesn't want them to go anywhere. Currently, our non-working links remain on the current page when clicked, so I think that's ok?**

TASKS:
Kitty: Dasha: Brittany:
 * resize banner & add additional disciplines (time-based, multi-media)
 * change quicklinks toolbar (simply text at bottom)
 * change color backgrounds (color code)
 * create searchbar image and put in main navigation area
 * extend the navigation to edges and determine whether color-coding of second level nav is possible
 * work on branding/identity/logo
 * create degree requirements page (for user test)
 * change the news/events slider - larger main image, smaller thumbnails
 * restructure / add more images to main content
 * create sculpture course page (for user test)

K: Just a reminder of what David brought up in class, we need to take out all the non-working links in our site. Just have them as text.

[Week 8]

UPDATE! B: So this is an update mainly for Dasha, but just so we all know whats going on... I linked our Prototype file located in the Digital Locker to the wiki under P2 Prototype. I also added a sort of rationale for the various elements of the site and included a list of the working links. We are going to add a few things to the site in order to create a better user testing experience and also to spice it up before we show it to the VA Guys next week. This is what Kitty and I identified as areas to work on and who will work on what:

Me: I will continue adding and formatting the faculty pages so that the entire faculty section is fleshed out and working. I will also experiment with a "scrolling" news and events box in place of the static front page content. (See link in coding resources under Sliding Information)

Kitty: Will work on the scrolling images, adding more interactivity (highlight on hover, etc). Also working on lightboxing for implementation in gallery (and in scrolling images?).
 * Did you also want to add the background randomizer code?*

Dasha: Work on completing the Undergrad section of our website so that all the links and information there is fleshed out.
 * Note:** We decided that for the Undergrad Drawing Courses Page, it would be better laid out if we put the general drawing description on the left hand side (currently on the right) and across from it had an image which takes up the same amount of space. The course descriptions would then follow underneath,(with the heading course listings or something like that) and taking up both columns.

Also: Kitty and I worked on test scripts. These are what we identified as test scripts: COURSES & FACULTY BIO CONTENT You are interested in COURSE @*&$(*%&(#, but it is past the enrollment date. You must contact the professor himself via email to request enrollment. Find this information. INTUITIVENESS/UNDERSTANDABILITY OF MAIN NAV HEADINGS You are a third year student planning your schedule for the following year. You need to find out how many course credits are required per year to be considered a full time student. Where would you go to find this information? CONTENT/LAYOUT/NAV You want to speak to someone regarding the Graduate Program. Locate this information on the website.

[ Week 7 ] K: Sweet, I think your edit looks great Brit. We should work with your files.
 * Something bugs me about the repeated background. Should we make the image larger so it doesn't tile?
 * Also, which logo do you guys like? I think I like 4. We'll have to push everything down if we add it in at the top.
 * Update: While I'm working on the scrolling image bar.. Do you want the space separation between the images like you have in your 'scrolly.gif'?

B: The logos look great! Also in the dropbox there is a folder called "FACULTY" which has my working files for the faculty pages. I have changed the main nav so that the type reflects the type in the body of the website and also edited the quicklinks type so that it is also the same. And I changed the content boxes so there are now 3 (right: third level nav/content1, middle:content2, left:content3)If you want to copy these changes to your files or use my files to work from that's cool.

K: Uploaded logo files under 'Logos'. Illustrator file for resizing and editing.

B: There is now a double scroll. One inside the browser on the web page itself and the regular browser one!?

K: Girls, I fixed the scroll.

K: Hey girls, I uploaded the Illustrator file of our layout with hotkeys.


 * It's under KBD> New Layout Files > Site Visuals > VAprocess_3_withhotkeys.ai

Take a look and see what needs to be added/changed. I added an icon for Directory and I wrote some thoughts on how to go about the interactivity of the links, you can locate it in the file under one of the layers. There's also some other versions I placed under the 'processwork...' layer in the file. You can use some vectors from there if you want to change anything.

When it's decided upon, either you guys or I can create slices to incorporate into the coding.

K : Thanks for the update. Sounds good! You can tile backgrounds in CSS too. But it makes more sense to put it in the html now for sure since we're changing them from page to page. hehe. I'll get working on the other stuff you emailed me about. I'll send you some versions in the next couple of days.

[ Week 6 ]

B: So we worked on the wireframe that you (Kitty) developed a bit in class. We changed some of the specifications for containers 1 and 2 in order to make the site content centre itself equally when the browser is resized. Also we changed the way the background image was linked, this way it is directly linked in the html file only, inside the body. This means that there is no white border around it (since there is no container) and also allows for the possibility of tiling, etc if we decided its necessary. Dasha and I will develop the framework further on Monday during reading week. See the email I sent you for more detailed information on what to do now :)

K:
 * Dasha, what's your email again?
 * Please send emails to this address from now on : jieya.ma@gmail.com, Thanks!

I uploaded the basic wireframe files under CSS_HTML. There's 3 files that we will be working with. Pretty self-explanatory :
 * 1) index.html
 * 2)layout.css
 * 3)type.css

I'll send out an email as well. The wireframe is not exact in proportions but I'll fix later when my dropbox syncs with the new layout.ai file from Dasha. (I'm at the HK airport right now 4:11PM HK time so I don't think I can work on it till tomorrow)

B: So in terms of how we will ensure we do not write over files we are working on or erase changes other people have made to the files in the drop box I think this is how we should operate: 1. Email other group members before you are about to work on a file. 2. Everyone checks email before making changes/saving over a file in the drop box. 3. Once you have made changes to the file and saved it to the drop box send an email that says you are done working on the file for now and listing the changes you have made.
 * Also a good idea to keep a personal back up in case changes you make get written over by mistake. Hopefully this system works out ok. If you have any other suggestions or a more successful way to do this feel free to change/add! :)

TO DO: Kitty: work on basic wire frame structure Dasha: work on VA logo and upload visual style Illustrator file(s) to dropbox Me: work on image corrections and selection and fleshing out the visuals for a page of each section

D: Hey, thank you for the update. Download DropBox: check.

K: Hey Dasha, David told us about this app. that we can download and share our files with each other. Supposed to be super fast and you can access it straight from your desktop etc. Here's the [|link]. Also, check out the updated template in the P2 Process work page, and access our group folder in the Digi Locker: Course Groups > 3005Mw10 > Group 2 > KBD_P2
 * And to update you on what we did today, we just did some coding from scratch. You can view the CSS and HTML files under the KBD_P2 folder in the Digital Locker. I assume we'll probably work with dropbox for the most part. I'm going to be playing about with the code some more tonight and hopefully by tomorrow we can start putting in visuals and fancy it up.
 * See you girls at 4pm Wednesday before Internship!

[ Week 5 ]

D: Check out our wiki-rational and change as you see fit. :) I'm doing one page as a rational and one page as the rough sketches and process work, please add.

K: Dasha, are you putting up the Process work?

K: Hey guys, I just added in some navigation to our group pages and changed this page to "discussion". This way we can use the "process work" page to put up scans and visuals of our process work. What do you think?

[ Week 4 ]

D: Looks great!! Ew, some of my yellow boxes need to be fixed. lol :S

>> K: I re-uploaded it cause I put in some numbers for the "3 ways to navigate..." K: Here's a PDF of the final. I made some changes. Open it up in whatever and see if you want it that way, if not, just change it or let me know and I'll change it.

D: Edit as you wish. I left all of them unsized so you can choose the scale for the smaller ones. Also, the red for the rollovers didn't quite work so I used yellow instead. :P - Proof read Billy. I'll come early.

[ Week 3 ]

B- So I have decided to post up what our project scope is on the wiki. I think it will be easier to focus if we have something concrete, even if it changes. I have written it as I understood it from our discussions in class, but feel free, of course to change, add or remove any part of it. :)

K- Alright, no prob. Just focus on whatever you need to do before class since I'm not sure if B is going to get this tonight. I'd say we should just meet during class time. We'll work it out then. :)

D: I like the idea of "picking a grouping of content from the VA site and basically reorganizing it". It sounds like a good place to start, basically redo the exercise we did in class but maybe a little more in-depth. And depending on what we have there and the time left over, we can branch off further and add the cherries and icing. - I'm trying to fit a few things/meetings in before class but I will definitely be at TEL, so if you're there at 11... holler.

K-
 * response to B - Yeah I think it's really important we still design with what the client wants in mind, and try to convince them to further their ideas with our proposal. The gallery is a definite must have as well! After all, it is a 'visual' field and the site should be visually compelling. How we lay that out doesn't have to be the conventional thumbnails format... we could find a way to incorporate it into the overall look and feel of the whole site (somewhat like the YSDN site, which uses 'student-work' as the major visual element)
 * response to D - But I agree with the work-overload... all the amazing ideas we have might just be too much for the time frame of the class...
 * So you guys talked about abandoning our "current students"-scope? I'm not sure what Gelb is looking for but in terms of being client-oriented, the most straight forward way would be to pick a grouping of content from the VA site and basically reorganizing it, instead of developing new ideas like we have been doing so far.
 * Or, we could try to achieve both, with the latter being more of a 'cherry-on-top' kind of thing.
 * I can meet up earlier tomorrow, how about 11?

D: Hey guys, cleaned up a bit hope you don't mind. :D
 * Can I suggest that we post recent replies and posts up rather then down, a bit like a blog, so it's easier to see the current discussion and posts?
 * Our previous ideas of a career/job section, a marketplace, and inspirational locations are great but thinking about it now, perhaps we are digging ourselves a grave of work-overload? We can always suggest it as possible features, yet the 'so called client' seems to be more interested in the organization and structuring of the content they already have.
 * I personally really liked abandoning the "current vs perspective" students organization method and splitting the site into (general) STUDENTS - ADMISSIONS instead. (+ the alumni, faculty and other resources...)
 * Perhaps we come to class earlier to discuss in person?

[ Week 2 ]

B- What areas are we interested in focusing on in terms of our scope (within Current Students)? I like the idea of a student gallery, maps of facilities and course handbook/information. Also for Kitty: Dasha and I discussed the idea of having "quicklinks" for frequently visited site content. This could include a static navigation bar separate from the main site navigation. What do you think?

K- I think that's a good idea. It would definitely be helpful for quick finds. What are we going to put in the navigation? I just checked out the Rough Draft! It ooks good! I see there are some changes and stuff, what did Gelb say last class?

B- The navigation, for quicklinks could be things like Handbook, Contact Info, etc? The main navigation we have sorted out yet. We were thinking something along the lines of Students, Alumni, Faculty, Contact Info, & Resources. Any suggestions or changes you can see, feel free to make suggestions. Last class Gelb mentioned about sorting out the information architecture so that the information is broad at the top and gets much narrower. Also, our scope needs to narrow down further. We need to choose some specific areas under current students to consider. Do you have any preferences?

K- I really liked our idea of current students and resources - on campus (inspiration locations) and off campus (data bases, city-related etc). As well as career/job opportunities, and the student "marketplace" idea. I think all these options go hand in hand in helping students further their studies by relating it to real life situations.

B- I agree. Those sounds like good areas to focus on. I also think (if not too many other groups are doing it) that showcasing a gallery of student work is an important aspect of the site for current students and prospective ones as well. I think that some of our scope has to be within what the VA indicated on their site. It seems that they want to stick with what they already have to ensure it is easily implemented. So I think that a lot of our ideas could be put under other categories to accommodate that. Essentially, like new twists on what they already have? For example, the on campus inspiration locations can be included under resources, and with galleries, etc (from the VA Info Architecture). Does that make sense? What do you think?