Now, after learning about what makes an effective and aesthetically pleasing graphic design, I hope to take this knowledge and apply it to my Multimedia Montage Project (MMP). For the upcoming MMP, I plan on incorporating what I learned about what makes a great design in my final composition that will be composed of all of the information. For my project, I wanted to focus on the idea of technology integrated formative assessments, which I hope to research/learn about and comprise into a valuable resources for teachers. Keeping this in mind, I would ideally aim to create either a website or PD that is not cluttered/busy but streamlined.
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This interview and the readings for this week made me realize that I previously didn't quite understand the reasoning behind my visual literacy. When I view different products of graphic design, I can tell when there is too much going on which makes me wonder "what is the point of this?" but when I look at a better design that is easy to read and understand I don't normally think about how or why the creator made it like that. I suppose this means that I am not entirely visually literate as I never took the time to analyze designs but instead just take in the message it was communicating to me.
I believe that this knowledge of great design components will affect my teaching of visual/multimedia literacy because it will give me the opportunity to ask my future students why is this design good or bad? What makes a design good (or bad) and how can it be improved? What is the message this design is trying to portray? These are questions that can definitely provoke student thinking and get them to really analyze what they're seeing and increase their visual/multimedia literacy.
Overall from this week's discussion post assignment, I think it's important to "remember that you are not designing for yourself, you are designing to communicate to others. Take the audiences needs, skills, and abilities, into account when developing your design." (Design Rules of Thumb, Doug & Melissa) because in the end, it's all about the message.
Resources:
D., & M. (n.d.). Design Rules of Thumb. Retrieved February 02, 2017, from http://www.writedesignonline.com/resources/design/rules/index.html
Golombisky, K., & Hagen, R. (2010). White space is not your enemy: a beginner's guide to communicating visually through graphic, web & multimedia design. Amsterdam: Focal Press/Elsevier.
M. (2011, September 18). Retrieved February 02, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrbhxrNlc1U
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Hi,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you when you say that prior to this course and readings, I was also unsure of the reasoning and ability to fully comprehend visual literacy. It is so important that we ask those questions to our students about why or why not something is a good design, and how it could be better.
I also was surprised by some of the criteria and guidelines, not because of their reasoning, but because it made so much sense and yet I had not thought of it.
I agree as well. The whole point of multimedia design is to design for the audience and their needs and not the needs of the designer. Things that you may find acceptable and inviting might not always be viewed that way by the audience. I am actually sitting across from my friend at this moment who works in marketing and he is talking about the design of a website on the phone with a co-worker.
ReplyDeleteHe is stressing how the user or customer in this aspect would have a hard time because it is not user-friendly. I think as educators we sometimes forget that our students are an audience and in some aspects, our customers.
Being sure they can navigate the media we are creating could be essential for their success in the school. I am culprit of this as well in some of the things I do create for class. Whether it be the layout of a test, my webpage, or a power point I present. It's great this class is making us aware of these multimedia design elements so that we can pass that knowledge along to our colleagues and students.
Hi Elaina,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, viewing the required readings and interview with Margaret Kiernan has provided me with great insight pertaining to what does and doesn’t make a good design. I think it is extremely important that you were able to take into consideration what Margaret had mentioned in regards to the audience you are aiming your design towards. Since you are planning to incorporate what you have learned into your MMP I believe this aspect about design will greatly help to impact what your audience takes away from the multimedia montage. When understanding who and what the purpose is of your design you will then become effective in communicating the information to them. I really liked the table of age-related font sizes and types because I found that although I have took this into consideration before I never was strictly informed about what particular fonts were the best when designing. Overall I think this will help me throughout this course but also later on when designing different design mediums. Great post!
Hi Elaina,
ReplyDeleteI think it is really insightful when you mention that the audience is crucial when composing web design. It is crucial that we consider our audience and are mindful of their preferences. I think it is really important for us to also have a vision for our design so that there can be a balance of both fulfilling audience needs and designer's goals. I think this video was really helpful in sharing ways to communicate with the audience and how to carefully craft a design. This is certainly important for students because they can also be aware of their audience when crating design and think about how to become visually successful