I presented these wireframes made from last week’s task flow items.

Post-critique:
Always funnel information. The scope should get narrower as the user continues his search for information. I made the error of giving options at a certain point. The time for options is in the beginning as a way to direct the user to what they are looking for. I will put the “advanced search” options on the event page directly instead of only as a calendar modifier. I’m eventually going to make checklists as a way to better self-critique. “Does the information narrow in scope as the task flow progresses?” If that’s not checked then that means that this is not user-centered design.
Also, Tim said I should have event categories so you can see all of one kind of a event, like community events.

There’s a feature on this wireframe where you can see the details of the event, push the review button and then you can see the reviews and push that button again (it toggles from being a See event details to a See Reviews button) and Tim said that was confusing. A ToggleTab uptop of the window would make more sense there.
Our homework for today is to design the main screens, as Tim says, “ready-to-click.” He also says to use Photoshop because it’s pixel-based. Any other software would be the wrong tool. Never use IndEsign he says because it’s not made for web design. The graphics aren’t readily cut from the file as it is in Photoshop. We should use vector shape tools. And control their size using vector shape tools. Using good ol’ command T will distorted rounded edges. And rounded edges seem to be the way to make some delicious buttons.
I always do my Tim assignments the morning of his class. I think doing them in an intuitive and simple quick way is a good solution to the particular structure of this class. So far it has been presenting the homework and then receiving feedback on improvements and then getting the assignment for the next week. I like this class structure because the edits you make after the presentation matter. Some assignments we critique but then don’t get to immediately correct our work and then present again. We’re presenting all of this material again in a cohesive overview presentation of the project. I’ve noticed a lot of students getting frustrated with the teacher when he corrects their task flow designs acknowledging that smart people might get it, but this is a Dorrito-eater kind of world. That has been the theme of this quarter so far (as Tom will tell you) sometimes it can be too Design-y. Something you don’t notice because you were there since its inception. You’re not approaching it like a newborn lamb, but rather its mother who has seen it gestate and birth and know that it’s a lamb.
I’ve never had classes like that. So explicitly, see what you do and then we’ll teach you how to do it. I think it works for my brain and as art classes go I think it allows for the pressure to be a little lessened. It gives the student a little breathing room, knowing that it’s not going to be perfect, and a little playing room because the teacher is not expecting perfection. You can experiment with weird shapes and strange characters and make a made up assignment kind of fun. I realize that I won’t have so many opportunities to design without worries like I do in this program.

(Earlier Post Relating to This Project)