Justin Geisler - Alpha

Justin Geisler - Proposal

Justin_6_I

This chapter was full of alot of good information for creating projects.  One thing that the author mentioned that I've heard too many times to count is about typography.  Although everyone by now should know about the good and bad font types to use, we still see websites that are hard to read.  Making sure to have the right type of font, size of font, alignment, etc is a big part of creating a successful project and is just one of many aspects to think about when creating projects.

Justin_5_I

I thought the part of the chapter on Research Models was very good.  Creating a model or rough draft of something is a good way to begin creating a project.  It was interesting to see a good amount of different models that can be used for projects.  When I start projects I tend to try to make a rough copy of what I want as a final project and seeing these kinds of figures will help with projects.

Justin_4_I

This was a very useful chapter for anyone wanting to get in to design. A part that I found interesting was the part on focus groups and how you shouldn't make them. I don't know yet if I agree with the author or not on this subject. I believe that a focus group can be put to good use if it is done right. Yes the author says to go to them, but I don't believe that you HAVE to go to someone to ALWAYS do research well. If a focus group is conducted within a room with a circular table, (instead of the usual rectangular table with someone at the head) and all the members are made to be equal, then the focus group could be conducted well.

Justin_3_I

The part of the chapter that most caught my attention was the section on the Magical Number Seven.  I've never thought about how many items were in a drop-down menu before or about how many bits of information are on a single screen.  My short-term memory isn't the greatest, but I don't feel that having more than 9 or less than 5 items in a menu would inhibit my ability to remember what was there.

JustinG_2_Q

The author states that Genius Design is how most interaction design is done today and that designers use their 'best judgement' as to what users want while they are designing.  The problem I see with Genius Design is that the lack of User input could seriously hurt the final project.  Although designers may feel that they have the skill and knowledge to produce a great working product for users, I feel that user input is a necessity. (Even for Apple)  If the users of a product are unhappy and unable to produce the results they wish, the product will fail.

I believe that all designers should use user input as much as they possibly can.  Thoughts?  (Take in to consideration the Vista OS)