Stage Four – Final Evaluation Report
Module Leader – Julius Ayodeji
Discuss changes made as a result of review and analysis from surgery/ progress review sessions, plus any other testing, analysis and evaluation you have undertaken during this project.
Introduction
This document is a final evaluation report for the Identities module. The project was divided into four stages, a design board presentation, production of the Ident package, Ident package presentation, and a final evaluation report. This report will evaluate the project, covering areas such as research, working methods and finished product. It was chosen to create an Ident package for the Multimedia course at Nottingham Trent University. When beginning this project it was important to research the Multimedia course at Nottingham Trent and find out what sort of ident package would be most suitable. After looking at the course information available it was decided to create a web banner to advertise the course, a brochure to send out to colleges and give out at open days, and finally a website to create an easy way to access information about the course.
Evaluation of Time Plan
When this project began a time plan was devised to break up the project into manageable tasks (see appendix, Time Plan). The time plan was detailed and tasks were assigned to each day. As learned from previous projects it was important to make a schedule in order to keep on track with the project, unfortunately this time plan was unrealistic and not well planned, which made it difficult to stick to. The plan did not allow for days off during the project until the contingency time towards the end, and it is impossible for anyone to work all day everyday for three months. As the project began it was soon clear that the time plan did not allow enough time to learn software programs such as Macromedia Dreamweaver (see appendix, online journal entry April 30th). So due to bad planning and an unavoidable month off it was not possible to stick to the schedule. In the future any time plan made would have to be a lot more realistic and therefore possible to stick to. A good idea would be to constantly update the schedule if not keeping on track, and also to allow more time to learn software. It is important to allow enough time for compulsory parts of a project such as research and collating information. Another idea would be to use a different way of accessing the schedule for example using reminders on a computer for key dates or using a wall calendar to pick out deadlines.
Evaluation of Visual Designs and Technical Quality
The first stage of the Identities module was a design board presentation. In this presentation it was important to clearly communicate the intended design for the package and the methods that would be used to produce it. Research was carried out about website design, (Pal, K. 8 tips for designing a great website. [Online]), and branding design (Spool, J.M. 2002. Determining How Design Affects Branding. [Online]). A presentation was produced which included visual designs of the logo (see fig. 1), web banner (see fig. 2), and website (see fig. 3). I was given feed back (see appendix, Identities Module feedback), which helped me develop the designs further, (see appendix, online journal entry February 16th). The designs were plain and not completed to a very high standard; the designs were altered due to peer feedback as the project progressed. If more feedback had been sought the project would have progressed at a greater pace. In this project it was important for a student to actively seek out feedback, which is something that was unfortunately not done often and is something that would have to be done more when carrying out future work.
Fig. 1
Fig.2
Fig. 3
To produce the Ident package, it was important to learn software, this was done by using both online tutorials and a book which I found very useful by Negrino, T. and Smith, D. (2006. Visual Quickstart Guide. Macromedia Dreamweaver 8). Whilst creating the Ident package it was crucial to insert images in the right format, either as a gif or jpeg file as this would have a direct impact on the quality of picture, and downloading time for the website, I found this was quite simple to do in Adobe Photoshop.
When creating the website, rollover images were used as buttons to link the pages together and these images were first created using Adobe Photoshop and then imported into Macromedia Dreamweaver which is the main software used to create the website. Creating the buttons this way makes them easy to use in a text only web browser. The buttons on the website are clear and this, in turn, makes the website simple to navigate through. This accessibility issue was also why the website was created in Macromedia Dreamweaver rather than Macromedia Flash. Much of the information collected for the website from the Multimedia course guide, and the Nottingham Trent University VLP (Virtual Learning Portal), this was both useful and informative, but still easily readable on the website as it was divided into different sections and broken down to make it easier to understand. When accessing the website no specific players are needed such as Flash or Quicktime, which makes it easy for anyone to view.
Whilst designing and creating the package it was discovered that continuity is an important part of any Ident package. The original web banner had no similarities in look or feel to the website or brochure. This was altered by using the stripes theme used from the website design, and using similar colouring (see Fig. 4 and appendix, Final Web Banner Screenshots). By doing this, the whole package came together so if someone were to see any aspect of it they would know what the course was, as it is easily recognized as the same identity package.
Fig. 4
It was also important to take this continuity through to the brochure design, as is usual in an Identity package the same logo was used throughout but this alone might not have tied the brochure together with the web banner and website. To solve this problem another aspect of the website was used, this time it was the corner design of bold stripes of colour in curved shapes, (see Fig. 5). Continuity was achieved in the package by adjusting these aspects of design and it now looked like a corporate brand identity. The brochure contained a lot of text on the inside and it was difficult to still make it readable and not to make the pages overcrowded, this was possible by breaking up the text with subtitles, using bold, italic and regular text, and summarising the information as much as it would allow. It was surprising how carrying out these alterations the brochure did not look too packed with text but yet it still contained the necessary points that a prospective student would need to know, (see Fig. 8).
Fig. 5
Evaluation in Context
The inspiration for the Ident package was found whilst researching websites for a similar target audience such as the E4 (see Fig. 6), and The Strokes (see Fig.7) websites. These websites were both bold in colour but yet retro and this look and feel was wanted for the Ident package.
When creating the website for the package it was important to look at other university websites for the same or similar courses in order to find out what information they were making available. It was clear that other universities’ information was a lot more detailed and sometimes easier to understand and also included module information. The website created for the Ident package took this into consideration and included all the information a prospective student would want to know and also some information about the city of Nottingham for those students considering moving from a different city. After receiving feedback from peers it was decided to make the website less young looking as it was not appealing to the target audience of 18 to 25 year olds. This was done by changing the buttons and using square text and image boxes, even though these changes were small it had a big effect on the look and feel of the website. It was also decided to make the colours less earthy as this conveyed the wrong semantics for a course that involves a lot of computer work.
Fig. 6 (please go to www.thestrokes.com)
Fig.7 (please go to www.e4.com)
In comparison to other websites, brochures and web banners, this Ident package was individual as it used inspiration from other designs but with original ideas being the main basis. From the final feedback received in the Identities package presentation, it was clear that the brochure design was well thought out and easy to read even without the use of images, (see Fig. 5 and Fig. 8). The final design of the website conveys a neutral feeling in the design. It contains striking images that attract the eye, and the text is easily readable. The site is simple to navigate through and the pages are not overcrowded, (see Fig.9 and appendix, Final Website Screenshots).
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Final Evaluation
In this project the brief was to create an Ident package for Multimedia BA (Hons) at Nottingham Trent University. A brochure, web banner and website were created. Along the way it was learnt that a time plan is imperative in order for a project to be successful, in future a schedule would be the main starting point as well as a key element as the project progresses. The time plan in this project was less than perfect and that would be something that would have to be a main consideration in future works. Contingency time is especially important and in this time plan nearly two weeks was given and this would be a good point to keep in future schedules.
It is important to seek out feedback in order to know if designs work well in other people’s eyes. If this is not done the project can go in the wrong direction and becomes irreparable if left to get too far along without objective opinions. Although some feedback was sought in this project it was not enough and much of it was from peers who it is hard to get completely unbiased views from. It would be a main objective in the future to actively seek out feedback, whether it is from tutors or strangers on the street.
Research is vital in a project of this nature and although it was carried out in this assignment it could have been done in more depth. Detailed research makes it easier to start work on a project because the more informed someone is at the start the less time it wastes looking for information at a later date. This would have been possible if an early start had been made on the task, and this is a key point to remember for the future.
Overall the work carried out in this project was successful, there are some main points to take into consideration in the future, such as time planning, the usefulness of feedback, and importance of research. As always there are a number of other mistakes to learn from, such as being realistic when it comes to learning software, and trying not to get to complacent after deadlines. After the final feedback given in the Identities package presentation (see appendix, Identities Module Feedback) it was clear that there were some aspects of the package that could have been improved such as adding more pages to the website, these may have included current student work and graduate employment. Many aspects of this module were carried out well, such as the breaking up of the project into smaller tasks to make the project seem more manageable. It was central to this assignment to be realistic with what could be achieved but to also push the limits on your own skills and ability and in this project this was accomplished.
