Rochester Institute of Technology
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Theses
Thesis/Dissertation Collections
2004
Practical Applications of Design Semiotics
Amy Bendall
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Recommended Citation
Practical
Applications
ofDesign Semiotics
A Thesis Submitted
to theFaculty
ofThe College
ofImaging
Arts
andSciences
in
candidacy
for
thedegree
ofMaster
ofFine Arts
in
Computer Graphics Design
Amy
Bendall
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of
The College of Imaging Arts and Sciences
in candidacy for the degree of
Master of Fine Arts in Computer Graphics Design
Title:
Submitted by:
Date:
Practical Applications of Design Semiotics
Amy Bendall
October 28, 2004
Thesis Committee Approval
Chief Advisor: Chris Jackson, Assistant Professor, Computer Graphics Design
Signature
Date
Chief Advisor: Robert Keough, Professor, Computer Graphics Design
Signature
I f '
~
-
~r
Date
Chief Advisor: Nancy Ciolek, Associate Professor, Computer Graphics Design
Signature
101.ft
Chairperson: Patti Lachance, Associate Professor, School of Design
SignatLire
I, Amy Bendall hereby grant permission to the Wallace Memorial Library of RIT to reproduce
my thesis in whole or in part. Any reproduction will not be for commercial use or profit.
Abstract
This
thesis exploresinstructional
design
andhow
it
canbe
implemented in
alarge lecture
coursein
orderto
improve
thecomprehension and retention oftheoreticaldesign
concepts.My
thesiswasinspired
by
thedifficulty
in
teaching
first
yearundergraduate studentsdesign
theory
in
therequired undergraduate course
Design
Survey. One
consistent problemis
thestudent'sinability
to understandhow
these abstract conceptsapply
to themindividually
and withintheiracademicdiscipline.
Keywords
Instructional
Design
Design Semiotics
Design
Analysis
Online
Learning
Multiple Intelligences
Graphical
User
Interface
Flash
Usability
Information Design
Background
The
following
Semiotic
Design
Chart
is currently
usedin
theevaluationlesson
ofDesign
Survey
classto
illustrate
theoretical principles andvocabulary
relatedtodesign
semiotics.There is
alot
of valu ableinformation
withinthe chartbut
thestudentshave
ahard
timeunderstanding
how
it is
relevantto theirlearning
experience.The
chart wasdeveloped
specifically
for
theGraphic Design
field;
therefore,
relevance seemsto
be
an evenbigger
problemamong
Industrial
Design,
Interior
Design
andNew Media
students.In
additionthesize anddiversity
ofbackgrounds
andinterests
ofDesign
Survey
studentscre ates unique challengestoeffectively
andefficiently explaining
theconcepts.Relevance
ofDesign Evaluation
The vocabulary
and theoreticalconceptsintroduced
in Design
Survey
provide studentswith thetoolsfor
school and theircareers.These
concepts arethebuilding
blocks
ofdesign
evaluation.Without
anunderstanding
ofthese concepts,studentslack
avaluabletooltodevelop,
critique anddefend
theirDesign
Survey
Semiotic Design ModelSemantic
Syntactic
Form composition
Meaning
conceptI
content
\
message\
hierarchy
\
copy symbolsMessage/
Meaning
Aesthetic
hierarchy
colorstypography
shape preportion texture Perceptions aesthetics balancePragmatic
space system gridharmony
Function/
infrastructuregestalt
Usability
marginsnegative spacesubjectivity contrast
feeling
emotionlike/dislike <Specification deadlines budget
Distribution posted
mailed
Communicationclarity format time-based
legibility
interactivereadablitity Production materials
language tools humanfactors
vocabulary fabrication ergonomics
targetaudience
SemioticModelofDesign
Semantic
Every
designed itemhasthreedistinctdimensions: semantic, syntactic,pragmatic.Thismodel serves asan objectivebasisforevaluating boththefavorable attributes andunfavorableattributesofadesign.
Refersto therelationshipofavisualimagetoameaning.Howwelldoesthe designrepresent and message?Dopeoplefail tounderstandthemessagethe design denotes?dopeoplefromvariousculturesmisunderstandthe design?
Syntactic Referstorelationshipofonevisualimagetoanother. Howdoesthedesign
look? Howwelldothepartsofthe designrelatetoeach other?Isthe
constructionofthedesignconsistentinitsuse of
figure/ground,
solid, outline, overlapping,transparency,orientation,format,
scale, color,andtexture?Research
After
selecting
this topicI began
research onboth
traditional educationaltheories and more currentdocumentation
on approaches toinstructional
design. Instructional
design
providestheopportunity
toreach more educational goals
by
integrating
a multimedia approachtolearning. This
is
especially
perti nentin
alarge
lecture
courselike Design
Survey
whereindividual
students would nottraditionally
have
accessto the
lessons
content as thequarter progressed.Through
researchit
became
clearthat thecombinationof
instructional
design
andInternet
delivery
would providetheopportunity
toovercome severaldifficulties
inherent
toalarge lecture
course:Addressing
students withdifferent
learning
stylesReinforcement
ofconceptsintroduced
tostudentsin
classMaking
information
relevanttostudentsfrom
various programsIllustrating
complextheoretical conceptsvisually
Information
shouldbe
accessibletostudents at alltimesAfter
gathering
abase
ofinformation it
wasnecessary
toassemble afocus
group
from
theDesign
Sur
vey Class
and assestheircomfortlevel
withtheconcepts thatare covered within theDesign Evaluation
lesson. The
questions on thesurvey
were presented with a scale of onetofive,
onebeing
theleast
andfive
the mostcomfortable.Thesis
Survey
I: DesignSemioticsReadeach statement carefully.Fillin boxonethroughfive
depending
onhow stronglyyou agree withthecontentof each statement.Onebeing
theleastandfivebeing
themost.least .most
1 2 3 4 5
1wouldfeelconfidentin
defining
each ofthethreecomponentsin the designmodel.
D
D
D
D
o
i 2 3 4 5
Iunderstandtherelationship between Semantic I If
]
[
)
I If]
(Message/Meaning),Syntactic(Aesthetic)
andPragmatic(Function/Usability),
Icouldanalyzethemessage andmeaningof a
D
71
G
D
D
product ordesign.
Icould analyzethe
functionality
andusabilityofO
O
CD
CD
O
a product ordesign.
Icould analyzethe designand aesthetic of a
CD
CD
CD
CD
CD
product ordesign,
" ~ "
After studying the Semiotic DesignModel, I
O
D
O
O
O
understandhowthedefinitionof a project's
"success"
maychange
depending
on whichofInitial
Survey
Analysis
25
-u
3
tIS-E o
u
0
-? Seriesl
Questions
This
graph showsthe results ofthefocus group
surveys.The
x-axis representsthequestions andthe y-axis representsthecumulative scoreindicating
the participant'slevel
of confidence withthatquestion.The
results ofthissurvey
showthatstudents wereleast
comfortablein
twoareas;
(
I
)
defining
the three componentsofthedesign
model;
(2)
understanding
how
theanalysis of adesign
or projectcould changedepending
on which ofthe threeaspects ofdesign
were emphasized.In
additionto thesur veyedissues,
it
alsobecame
clearthat,
(3)
Students
viewed andunderstanding
oftheSemiotic
Model
as at
least
unrelatedtoor atworst,
irrelevant
to theireducation andfuture
career.This data helped
tofocus my
thesisproject ondeveloping
aninstructional
tool thataddressedtheseparticularissues.
The survey
was effectivebut
the traditional paperformat
wasdifficult
todistribute
and receive.At
theend ofmy
thesis projectI
wouldhave
evenless
accesstomy focus
group,
soI decided
todesign
an onlinesurvey
thatwould connectto adatabase
tocollectdata from
thefinal
survey.I
tookanindepen
dent study
in ColdFusion in
ordertolearn how
todevelop
thissurvey
application.Brainstorming
Since
relevance was one oftheareas students werehaving
troublewith,
thefirst step
wastosetup
meetingswitha professorfrom
theNew
Media,
Industrial
Design,
Interior Design
andGraphic Design
departments. The
intent
ofinvolving
thismany
individuals
wasto make surethat thecontentincluded
could
be
usedasthe example piece.In
orderto maketheconcepts moreapplicabletothestudents chosenfield,
examples ofstudentwork andinformation
from
withintheirmajorwouldbe
utilized toillustrate
the theoretical concepts.This way
it
takes theconcepts outofthe theoreticalarena andappliesthemto concrete workthat
has been designed
by
someoneofsimilar experienceto solve a problem assignedby
afamiliar
professor.At
this pointI had developed
theinitial
flow
chart sothat theconcept couldbe
presented toeachofthe professorsas a
starting
pointfor
the project.Therese
Hannigan
from
theNew Media Department
is
thefirst
professor with whomI
met.She
wasinterested
in
the project and supportiveoftheidea
ofusing
workfrom
astudentwithintheNew
Me
dia
Department
toillustrate
the conceptsofthelesson.
At
this timeI
was not surehow
thiswasgoing
towork
but
she was excited aboutthepossibilities.Main
Page
General
Instructions
Technical
Specs
New Media
Industrial
Design
Interior
I
Design
GraphicDesign
AnimationOverlay
>H
Analysis Message meanig Analyst; Aesthestic Analysis Function/ Usability Object Movie ofProduct QTVR click throughZoom in on
print piece
H
Analysis Message/ meanig Analysis Aesthestic Analysis Function/ Usability
..,.&*
I
met withNancy
Chwiecko from
theInterior
Design,
Stan Rickel from Industrial Design
andDeborah
Beardslee from
Graphic Design. Between
the studentsurvey
andthe
meetings withprofessors,
I
concludedthatthecontent ofthewebsite should
be broken
up
by
department. This
would enable studentsto
first
explore contentin
relationtoafield
in
whichthey
felt
comfortable,
andthen tobuild
on thatunderstanding
by
seeing how
thosetheoretical
concepts are appliedin
otherfields.
Some individuals
were moreinterested
thanothers,
but
whatbecame
clear wasthat therewere toomany
peopleinvolved
in
a projectthatI had
toolittle
time to complete.After
ameeting
withmy
committee
I
decided
thebest way
tonarrowmy
content was to pickoneprogram andfollow
thatparticularprogram through tocompletion.
This
would solvethe problems ofmy
proposal andkeep
theprojectwithin a reasonable scope.
I
selectedNew Media
for
three reasons:(l)The
professor wasinterested in
theproject andwilling
toparticipate.
(2)
New Media
is
the newestofthedesign fields
andthere are not alot
of support materialsthataddress
design
theory
in
direct
relationtoNew Media.
(3)
New
Media is
alsothefield
thatmost
closely
reflectsmy interests.
I
metwithTherese in
ordertogo overtheflowchart
anddiscuss
studentworkfor
theNew Media de
signevaluation example.
I
initially
thoughtthat the new media piece wouldbe
aweb site.Therese
sug
gested an animation sothatwe could
deal
with elementsthatare uniquetoNew Media
suchastimeand motion.
I
thought that thiswas an excellentidea
but had
adifficult
timevisualizing
themechanicsof
designing
aninteractive
evaluation ofan animation.Design
It
wasimportant
to methat thisinformation
couldbe
accessedby
individual
studentsin
alarge lecture
course as well as
by
aprofessorin
need of apresentationtool.Taking
both
ofthese considerationsinto
accountthemost sensibledelivery
is
theInternet. These
factors
alsohelped
todetermine
thatthewebsite neededto
be
designed
sothatit
couldbe
viewedfrom
alaptop
or a projector.Therefore
800
x600
wasthe maximum screen resolutionI
wouldbe
working
with.Since
thiswebsite wouldbe
accessed
by
studentsfrom
avariety
of computers andbrowsers,
theinitial
pageis HTML
andhas
all oftheplug-ins and
browser
requirementsthatarenecessary for
them toviewtheinformation. The RIT
Online
Learning
sitewasused as aguidefor
my
requirements.In
orderto allowfor
maximuminterac
tionand
flexibility
ofcontent,
the restofthewebsitewouldbe
producedin
Flash.
I
initially
chosethe colorsbelow
asthe palettefor
theinterface
because
they
werecomplimentary
anddid
notdetract from
theworkthatwouldbe
housed
withintheinterface.
After
selecting
thesecolorsI
designed
theinitial
HTML
pagetointroduce
thewebsite content and provide
plug
-in
information.
In
thenavigational structureI
wantedto showthedepartments
withinthewebsite;
New
Media,
Industrial
Design,
Interior Design
andGraphic
Design,
andtheirdirect
relationship
designsemiotics
newmedia industrial design interiordesign graphicdesign technical requirments
Practical ApplicationsoftheSemiotic Design Model
This Instructionalpiececanbeusedas apresentationtoolor
bythestudentfor Individualstudy. Hakesure youhavethe applicationslistedunder technicalrequirements.
Use thenavigation abovetolearn learn how theSemiotic Design Modelcanbeused toevaluate work withinthese
existing fields.
Project Goal
This toolis intendedto accompany existing informationon
designsemiotics andhelptheuseetoapply thetheoryIna practical way.
Exploringthissite
Ifthisis yourfirstlimeuseing thissitebeginbyclickingon the
designsemioticsbuttonatthetopofthepage.
Windows Software
AdobefterobatReaderB
Microsoft InternetE plorei
Netscape71
Flash PlayerB
Macintosh Software
ftdobe Acrobat Reader6
InternetExplorer5.2 3
Netscape?I
Flash PlayerB
My
committeehelped
meidentify
revisionsthatwould get meclosertomy
final design.
At
thispoint,
I
revisedthecopy
by
moving
theinstructions
from
thetop
ofthepageto thebottom. The
color schemewas modified sothat
it is based
off ofthesameRGB
model that theSemiotics
Chart
usesfor
its
analogy.
This
way
the colors make sense notonly aesthetically but
alsotiein
to the project on anotherlevel.
My
committee also advisedto reduce"Technology
Requirements" to
"Requirements"
and
delete
it
from
themain navigation.This
was animportant
changebecause my
initial
concept puttoomuch emphasison
"Technology
Requirements."
By
pulling
thatout ofthemain navigationit helped
reachmy
goaldesignsemiotics
Practical
Applications ofSemiotics
newmedia industrialdesign interiordesign graphicdesign
Exploring
this site ::If thisis yourfirsttime usemg thissitebegin
by
clickingonthe designsemioticsbuttonaLthetopofthepage.Practical Applicationsofthe Semiotic Design Model
This instructionalpiece canbeusedas a presentationtoolor
by
thestudentforindividual study. Hakesureyouhavetheapplications listedundertechnical requirements.
Usethenavigationaboveto learnlearn howtheSemiotic Design Modelcanbeusedtoevaluatework withinthese existing fields.
Requirements
WindowsSoftware
Adobe Acrobat F:eaderS
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Netscape 7.1 Flash Player 8
Macintosh Software
Adobe AcrobatReader6 InternetExplore r5.2 3 Netscape 7 1
Flash PlayerS
ProjectGoal
Thistoolis intendedtoaccompany existinginformationon
designsemioticsandhelptheusertoapplythe
theory
Inapracticalway.
Now
thatthecolor schemeand navigational conventions wereestablished,I
could move on andbegin
workonthe
secondary level
ofthewebsite.The secondary level is
wherethe studentinteracts
with theanimation and viewstheoverlaying
analysis.I
wantedtokeep
thenavigationvisible at alltimessothat thestudent could continueto reinforcetheirunderstanding
ofhow
all oftheconceptsrelatetoeachother.This
is
also wherecolor-coding
really
cameinto
play.Each
ofthe typesofevaluation; aesthetic,meaning
andusability
have
a colorassignedto them which alsodirectly
relatesto thesemiotic chart atthebottom
ofthepage.The
chart atthebot
tomthepagechanges
depending
on whichtypeof evaluationis
selected.For
exampleif
"Aesthetic"
is
selected
in
the navigation, the"Syntactic"
Practical Applications
ofSemiotics
interiordesign graphic design requirments
Area foranimation evaluation.
All copy inrelationtoaestheticwillusethiscolor.
|
All copy inrelationto meaningwill usethiscolor.AH C0PVinrelationto usabilitywillusethiscolor.
semantic syntactic
J
Refersto therelationshipof one visualimagetoanoner.At
this pointin
thedesign
processI
receivedthestudent animationtowhichI
wouldbe
applying
thedifferent
stages ofanalysis.This
lead
tomany
revisions,
theanimationitself
was smallerthanI
anticipatedat
550
by
400
pixels.The
smaller sizefreed up
morespaceto the right oftheevaluation area and allowed meto movethechartup
and tothe rightofwheretheanimationwouldbe
playing.This
is
much
better from
ausability
standpointbecause
we readfrom left
to right andit
makesit
easierfor
theindividual using
thewebsitetolook
atthechartthanif
they
had
tocontinuously
referto thebottom
ofthepage.
When
thechart was movedtotherightthecircles within the chart were alsore-ordered sothat
they
mirroredthe navigation.This
type ofconsistency
is
crucialto the explanation ofthetheoretical concepts.
Repetition
andconsistency
help
studentslearn
theinformation
withoutmaking
themmemorizea
list.
As I
preparedBrian Emling's
worktobe loaded
withintheinstructional
interface I discovered
thatanimation was
designed
sothatit
playedthroughdifferent
scenes.This
madeit impossible
tocontrol theplaybackthrough
my
interface.
After
some exploration andtesting
I
discovered
thatin
orderfor
metobe
ableto controlthesound and animation with video stylecontrols,
I
would needtorestructuretheanimation sothat
it
wasall on onetimelinewithoutaltering
thestudents animation.Once
the animation wasin
asequentialformat
I
wasabletostartcoding
theFast
Forward,
Rewind,
Play,
Pause,
Zoom
In
andZoom Out buttons. I designed
theicons
for
thevideo controlbuttons in
Il
instance
with adifferent
icon.
This
saves onfile
size andkeep
thegraphics consistent.After
all ofthesemodificationswere madethesecond
level
interface had
reachedits
final
version.designsemiotics
Practical
Applications ofSemiotics
new media industrial design interiordesign graphicdesign
_}
aesthetic
f
meaning
f
usability
newmedia|Introduction:
1
he
animation you arc aboutto
viewwascreated
to
solve the problembelow.
~~~~
/<*~~r~T>>\
Read the
problembefore
continuing.Problem:
1
syntactic semantic:|
To
create an animateddesign using
type.
-V^ .
and vector graphics
only
toj
pragmaticj
communicate
the meaning
ofa\
/typographic
term.Nv^
yDirections:
View
the animationin its entirety
by
clicking
theplay
buttonbelow.
0.
GL
<\
l>
\>
\P)
After
viewing
theanimation within theinterface
I
decided
that theusershouldhave
thesame controlfor
the aesthetic,meaning
andusability
analysissections.Initially
I had
plannedfor
it
tobe
more of aself-timed animation with comments.
This
approach would nothave been
effective.The
website neededtowork
for
peoplethatread atdifferent
rates andfor both
studentsand professors.Therefore
user- centered
design
wasgoing
tobe very
important.
Copy
These
concernsover usercontrollead
metoprepare eachanalysis section as a separateSWF file. This
also gave methe
freedom
tointersperse instructional
textparticularto thatfile. Therefore
theinstruc
tionscould
be
specificandbrief.
I
did
not wanttooverwhelmtheuserwithtoomuchinformation
atany
onetime.This
approachwasalsoimportant
because it
included information
atdifferent
pointsin
thepresentation so that
if
someone wentthroughin
anonlinearfashion
they
would not getlost.
During
theinterface
design
processI
had
alsostartedto receivetheevaluativestatementsfrom Profes
sor
Hannigan
that weregoing
tobe
inserted
aspop
-ups onthe
different
analysis sections.I
began
theediting
processwiththeaesthetic evaluative statementsby
assembling
a chartwithTherese's
originalcommentsonthe
left
and the revised commentsontheright.I
wentthrough this processin
ordertomakethecomments appropriate
for
theirdelivery
format.
They
neededtobe
editeddown
without
loosing
their meaning.After revising
thecommentsI
sentthemback
toTherese
for her
approval.statements.
It
wasvery important
toget all ofthestatements approvedbefore
including
theminto
theSWF files. This
process madeit
possiblefor
metoavoidmaking
numeroustextchanges withinFlash.
Syntactic
-Aesthetic /
Form
Revised
Copy
Original
Copy
The
margins are welldefined.
-the
aspect ratio
is
welldesigned (gives
roomleft
to
right
andtop
to
bottom for animation)
A
longer
pause onthe
white space wouldhave
setup the
animationbetter.
-
there
should
be
aslightly longer
pausebefore
the
animation
begins
'
i
'
- give
the
viewer a chance
to
seethe
blank
whitearea
before
the
"i-beam"enters
the
sceneAnimation
building
from
left to
rightbuilds
on establishedtyping
convention.-
the text
coming
in
onthe
top
left
worksbecause
that's
how
wetraditionally
starttyping
It
alsoallowsthe
characterto
enter atthe
center of
the
composition.-
it
also
leaves
roomfor
the
characterto
comein
toward
centerThe
contrast ofblack
and whitehelps recog
nitionof
moving
characters.-
the black
works well
for
the
dingbats because
ofthe
contrast(recognize moving characters)
Yellow
color choicehelps
establish maincharacter's
dominance.
-
it
also makes
the
yellowpop
out more sothat
ourcharacter
has dominance
The
leading
needsto
be
adjustedbecause
ofthe
capitalletters.
-
the
leading
needsto
be
adjustedin
the
first
text
block because
ofthe
capitalletters
There
shouldbe
abetter
"grouping
andnesting"
of
type
for
this
sequence.
-there
shouldbe
abetter
"grouping
andnesting"
of
type
for
that
sequenceThis font
is
very legible because
ofthe
large
counterreform.-
font
selectionworks well on screenbecause
ofthe
large
counterforms(legibility)
Sans
seriftypeface
lends
itself
to
the
animation'smood without
hurting
legibility.
-
the
sans serif
typeface
lends itself
to the
mood ofthe
animation withouthurting legibility
-
the larger
size of
the text
is
appropriatefor
"on
screen"
and
is
goodfor
quickscanning
Orange
text is
legible
andgrabs attention. -the
orange color works
for the text because it's
legible
and grabs attentionThe
coloris
consistentwiththe
theme
withoutcompeting
withthe
main character.-
it
sets
the
rightmood withoutcompeting
too
muchwith
the
maincharacterNegative
spacehelps focus
the
onthe text
and
the
main character.-
there
is
an appropriate amount of negative space
to let
youfollow the text
and characterThere isn't
astrong
presenceof a grid structure,
however the
floor
andceiling
create aloose
infrastructure.
-
there
isn't
a
strong
presence of a grid structureV: "
'
''
' -1
7"
-
however
-a
gray
area appearsfor
alower
andupper plane
(floor/ceiling
arethe
same)
Space is
usedwell,the
animationlooks
continuous.
-
the
frames
areusedwell-it is
notallself contained
-
things
look to
be
continuousThere is
repetition of contentwithoutredundancy.
-there
is
alot
of repetitionthroughout the
piecewithout
any
aspectbecoming
redundant-
the
gray
area, the type
size andcolor, the
use ofcaps
for
emphasis-
the
use of adingbat both in
a visualform
(humor)
Once
the
statements were placedinto
their
pop
-ups and addedto theanimation
I had
another com mittee meeting.After viewing
the
aesthetic comments withintheinterface
they
made a suggestiontoadd some typeof visual cueto tell the usertoclick
play
afterthey
have
readthe statement.I
revisedthemovies sothatafter
every
statement popsup,
theplay button
pulsesthecolorthatis
associatedwith thatsection until
it is
pressed.It
is
ahelpful
indicator
thatmovesthelesson
along.Final
Survey
Once
thewebsite was completedit
was time to testit
withmy
originalfocus
group.I
usedthesame students asthefirst survey
in
orderto reducethe number of variablesinvolved
withthe results.The
onlineversion ofthesurvey
turned outtobe
worththeextra work.I
received thesurvey
resultsin
amatter of
days instead
of weeks.I
alsolike
thecompleteanonymity
thatInternet
delivery
providesthe
focus
group.Overall
I
amhappy
withtheresults,
thereis
a markedimprovement in
both
comprehension
ofvocabulary
andunderstanding how
the type of evaluation you areperforming
can affecttheoutcomeoftheanalysis.
Final
Survey
Results
Si20
-ra
u
%
<
S
lo "L.
E
5
-0
-1
DSerlesl
2 3 4
Further
Development
Time
was alimiting
factor
in
determining
how
much ofmy
thesis project wasdeveloped
through tocompletion.
Therefore,
I
wouldlike
toinclude in
my documentation how I
envisionedthisprojectbeing
carried out.
In
thefully
developed final
version,
each ofthedesign departments
wouldhave
a student example.That
example would
be
representative oftheunique challengesdesigners face
specifictothatfield.
For
New
Media
theseweretimeand motion.For Industrial
design
they
may
be
usability
andform. The
design
issues
wouldbe defined
by
the professorrepresenting
thatdepartment.
Each
department's
evaluation exampleon thewebsite wouldbe
executedin
the mediathatallowedfor
themost
immersive
design
evaluation simulation possible.Industrial
Design: A
three-dimensionalobjectorproduct.The
objectcould eitherbe
photographed,
orif it
were aprototypedeveloped
asathree-dimensional
modelit
wouldbe
exportedasa series ofimages.
Either
way,
theimages
would
be
assembledin
toaQTVR
objectmovie.The
object wouldbe
thebasis
for
theanalysis
Depending
on what section ofthewebsitetheuseris
in,
thatsection's evaluativestatementswould
become
visible asthey
rotatedtheobject movie.Interior Design:
An
interior
space.The
interior
design
spacecouldalsobe
either photographed orathree-dimensionalrepresentationof a space.
This department's
evaluation section wouldbe illustrated
by
aQTVR
walkthrough oftheinterior
space.As
theuser progressedthrough thespace,
theevaluative statementswould appear.
This
wouldbe
amuch moreinteractive
representationofan
interior
spacethanis
possible with traditional media.Graphic
Design: Information
architecturein
a printed piece.The
Graphic design
example wouldemploy
the"magnifying
glass"
effectthat
is
createdin
Flash. This
would makeit
possibletosee more ofthe representative piece eventhoughthere
is
not alot
ofscreen real estatetoworkwith.It
wouldalso allowthe usertozoom
in
on evaluative statements andthedesign
choicesthey
arereferring
to.Conclusion
Instructional
design
is
still afairly
newfield
thatis
finding
its
placein
theacademiclandscape.
My
thesisproject exploresone
way
instructional design
couldbe
usedin
thefuture
tohelp
professorsdeliver
andstudents retain theoretical
information
thatis
sometimesdifficult
toget acrossin
alarge lecture
classResources
Online
Documentation
Getting
Started
withe-Learning Standards:
Macromedia,
Inc.
<http://www.macromedia.com/resources/elearning/>
This document
is
a conciselisting
ofimportant e-Learning
organizations and standards.It
also gives aquick explanation of
why
thetechnologies
thatarelisted
arethecurrent standards.Instructional Design
&
Learning
Theory: Educational Communications
andTechnology:
Brenda Mergel.
May,
1
998:
University
ofSaskatchewan, <http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/mergel/
brenda.htm>.
The Basics
oftheLearning
Theories
including
Behaviorism,
Cognitivism
andConstructivism.
This
articlealsogoes
into
abrief
history
oflearning
theoriesin
Instructional Design. It
is
a usefulstudy
of whathas
worked
in
thepast andhow
thatinformation
canbe
integrated
withthetechnology
oftoday.Macromedia
MX
Strategies
andArchitectures for
e-Learning
Content:
Tanya
Heins
andFrances Himes. September 2002:
Macromedia,
Inc.
<http://
www.macromedia.com/resources/elearning/>.
This document describes development
strategies andthe respectiveMacromedia
technology.It
alsogoes through a
learning
objectdemo
applicationthatcanbe
used as adeveloper
model.Efficiency
andflexibility
ofcontentviewing
arethefocus
throughout thisarticle.Using
theWeb for Interactive
Learning
andTeaching
The Imperative for
theNew Millennium: Pat
Bro-gan. <
http://www.macromedia.com/resources/elearning/>
This
articlebegins
with aninteresting
analysis oftoday'seconomy
andhow
instructional
media canbe
usedto meetthe needs of a
changing
society.Instructional design's
flexibility
andcapability
ofincor
porating
avariety
ofmedia are alsodiscussed.
Learning
theoriesandhow
they
relateto thefuture
ofInteractive
Teaching
andlearning
arealso explored.Books
Jeffrey
Bardzell.
Macromedia
MX
e-Learning Advanced
Training
From
theSource.
Macromedia
Press,
2003.
A step
by
step
guidefor
building
interactive
learning
applicationsusing Dreamweaver
MX,
Flash MX
andColdfusion MX.
Patricia L
Rogers.
Designing
Instruction
for
Technology-Enhanced Learning.
Idea
Group
Publishing,
2002.
This book
has
a nice casestudy
approachto
technology-enhancedlearning. It
goesthrough thetheory
and
background
ofthesubjectbut
is
alsoillustrated
with actual examples of each stageofaninstruc
tional
design
project.It
alsodivides
designing
for
Primary
andHigher
educationin
to twoseparateUseful Sites
Macromedia
http://www.macromedia.com/
Instructional
Design
http://www.instructionaldesign.com/
Interaction
Design: Beyond Human Computer Interaction
Pracca/
Appl
,caons
ofo
es'9n
Semiotics
^terofF/neArts
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