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amol0125

What I learnt week 9? (amol0125)

In week 9, Nik taught us how to create a Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) based webpage, which is one of the very most important and useful tools of UI design.

Although, I knew a little bit about HTML tool theoretically, however since I never got my hands dirty, I had forgotten that. This HTML class was not very hard and complicated, but so fast. I enjoyed it a lot so that after class I tried to use “inspecting element” mode in Google Chrome browser to discover new methods and new elements/features of HTML.

At first, I did not have any idea about the reason why we use <head> section for our HTML page, it did not make any sense to me! Eventually, in one of Nik’s slides I saw the below definition which completely convinced me:

Why 2 sections? Same as with humans really…

  • The head section is invisible
  • The body is what people actually see

or in English:

  • The head section is for the machines
  • The body section is for our peep

Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 02.15.51

Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 02.13.52

Another important thing, I learnt, was to be cautious  when using the webpage’s email address:

<a href=“mailto:email@address.com”>Email Dan</a>

In this case, as a protection against bulk/spam emails, we need to use JavaScript to mask the email address.

It was wonderful. I look forward to learning CSS. 😀

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What I learnt week 8? (amol0125)

In the week 8 class, I learnt what is Heuristic evaluation including usability inspection methods, the meaning of Heuristic and Heuristics, which are involvement of iterative trial and error experiments with users and instructions.

Also, I learnt how important could be to disign a supporting, self guiding form for a user friendly UI.

I also enjoyed learning how to work in <www.Invisionapp.com> environment to be able to simulate and design required links between the already prepared pages of a website. I never knew that I could learn lots of methods and tools just in one unit of study during only one semester.

Screen Shot 2015-10-04 at 17.17.34

Although, in using these tools, I am a beginner at the moment, however I am very grateful to Nik because of the materials and the UI designing tools he is teaching us.

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What I learnt week 7? (amol0125)

example

In week 7, I got kind of familiar with concepts of usability in UI and its materiality. I learnt that Flat Design is the best option nowadays, because “people are comfortable with touch screens and no longer need real world representations”. (Tara HORNOR)

Screen Shot 2015-09-25 at 02.52.51

In Flat Design, everything should be flat and be designed in 2D style such as colours, photographs, icons and so forth. there is no need to extras and non-essential items (minimalism).

I also learnt what Flat Design IS and what it ISN’T. I learnt how to make a form, I realised that colliding Flat and Forms always suffers UXs.(ENDERS J, 2013)

understanding the meaning of negative spaces was a bit hard, however as far as I got, white backgrounds are not negative spaces at all, but useless spaces without any functionalities create negative spaces. Icons and typography are much more important than other things.

At the end of class, Nik came to groups one by one and looked into our projects and ideas as well as our logo and all job we had done till then, he recommended sets of very useful things, especially about our logo and the colours we needed to use in our product. He liked our product’s name (Tagtic) and suggested a slogan for it. All of them were according to this week’s class.

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What I learnt week 6? (amol0125)

graphic design

Graphic Design

This week (6), I learnt so many things about Graphic Design, which visually communicates to users of websites. “What set of colours to be used”, “how” and “where”, are very important questions that need to be figured out in a layout of webpage. Fonts and typing are very important things as well, which can change moods of users. Designers should avoid using wrong colours or wrong colour combinations. Also, designers need to use a very reliable, attractive and clear font for their design typography.

A very important event that I had always been dreaming was to learn how to use “Adobe Photoshop” tool. I never knew that it could be one of the most important tools in interface designing. Especially, for designing webpage mockups it looks like a very perfect software. Although it is difficult to learn in one session, but I am very keen on learning this useful tool as soon as possible starting by Nik’s attached tutorial documents . To be honest, the most useful usage of photoshop in my opinion is its ability to create independent layers inside the same file.

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What I learnt week 5? (amol0125)

website-navigation-information-architecture

In week 5, I understood the similarities and differences between information architecture and architecture itself. Both have almost same structure as follow:

Navigation and way finding which have stages like Orientation, Route decisions, Mental mapping and Closure.

Mental map elements are Paths, Edges, Districts, Nodes and landmarks. So far they look so similar, but in the information architecture in which the internet plays the main role, locations do not make any sense that means without having a memorable route in the internet we are not able to go further into websites, it is not any visible or tangible Paths, walls or landmarks as in architecture and as in cities and towns.

At the end of class, we did card-sorting in couple of groups which was about navigation, I suppose.

The results of sorted cards in groups were different from one another that was very interesting. same cards in diffrent categories show people can have different understanding and variety of interpretations of same subjects or objects. So, if you ask me, as designers we need to pay more attention to implementation of our information designing so that our designs should have same meaning in different users’ minds.

Also in week 5, I received the feedback of my first assignment that was very useful. I am very grateful to Nik that had read and had investigated my slides very carefully to be able to give me the most precise feedback an individual ever could. I appreciate his efforts as well as his time. Thanks.

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What I learnt week 4? (amol0125)

Presentation has always been challenging for me, I never get stressed when I present because I do my best efforts to express my opinions to audience. the challenging thing in a presentation for me is preparing brief but convincing slides where as I have restrictions of time and the number of pages plus having a little knowledge of Powerpoint software, yes, it is hard for me to manage all these together. However, in week 4 I saw majority of my very young classmates did they presentations as professional as an experienced presenter. I wondered, how talented they were, wow! I learnt a lot from them as well as from Nik’s hints and feedbacks. Thank you all.

Also, I learnt about famous logos and their concepts, I liked the EIGHT logo in which each letter looks like an “8”.

Eight Logo

One of my favourite logos has always been the logo of Olympic games, because it shows people from five existing continents in the world with different races which symbolically are shown in five different colour rings related to their skins’ colour or continents’ colour that means all races are equal. Besides, Olympic logo’s rings somehow show an illustration of movement and energy which is a must in all sorts of sport.

Olympic Logo

Another important thing that I benefited from week 4 class was learning how to draw a logo through “Adobe Illustrator” software, although it was fast, but I caught Nik’s pace eventually 🙂 It is a perfect tool for designing and drawing graphics as well as logos.

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What I learnt week 3 ? (amol0125)

wooow! we have had this much behavioural patterns inside us and I was not aware of many of them!!! 😛 . And as my friend Ahmed said, I did not even know their terminologies, thanks to Nik, I am learning users behavior, my gosh, that was awesome.

Especially, I liked 2 terms of “Changes in midstream” and “Spatial memory” in users behavioural patterns, because in many cases they are related to each other, for instance, I have changed my mind about what I had been doing in my life after remembering something in the middle of that, something had come out from my spatial memory which I thought I was somewhat familiar with that in some ways and eventually it changed my route due to that.

Anyhow, I had never heard of “persona” and “mood-boards” and their importance in user experience, I have had some challenges with making a semi-persona stuff without knowing its rules, name and format and its required information, before week 3, I did not even know that it is a kind of science, but now at least I know what and how it is.

About mood-boards, I am really new to it and will probably have a long way to become good at making it as well as understanding it, hopefully.

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What I learnt week 2 ? (amol0125)

I have always been curious about how our eyes interact with our brains to interpret shapes and colours and whatsoever!

Recently, about 5 month ago, there was a viral debate on media, which was about whether a dress worn to a Scottish wedding was white and gold or blue and black. I myself thought it was blue and black, but my sister said it was white and gold! I never thought that people might see the same object in different colours until then, however it was possible. More interestingly, I sometimes see it white and gold as well! How about you? what do you reckon?

blue&Black or White&Gold

In week 2, I understood how and why this might happen. I learnt that it is because of our brains performance while using their already stored information and data to discover the surrounding environment based on their owners culture, experience and figure-ground segregation. Brain is very sensitive in terms of complementary colours,contrasts and dominant colours. Besides, our visual system adapts to light over time.

So, considering above facts, in our interface designing processes, we can use the power of contrast, colours, light, context, adaptation and composition.

Also, the Ms Tidwell’s book is really really easy to understand. Now, I know what patterns, Global navigation, Breadcrumbs, Escape hatch, Fat footer, Stacks of cards, Diagonal balance, respective disability, macros and forgiving format are.

I have been challenging to find equal items to these items in my champion UI (Sixth Sense Technology) as Nik asked me to do so, but, unfortunately I have not been able to do it yet. 😀

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What I learnt this week? – Week 1 (amol0125)

Week 1

I learned:
1- The designing of an efficient, effective and satisfying interface requires the designer to understand people.
2- “Electrical Engineering” and “User Experience Design” have no any common area. 😀
3-  What stages a traditional Software Development Life Cycle could have, in which the first and the last stages could be the most important parts of an interface designer’s responsibility. (Communication & Delivery/Support)
4- Interface designing begins from “small-scale modeling”. (Kenneth CRAIK 1943)
5- Comparing Somerville’s principles in 1995 to his in 2000 shows that the speed factor is being added to interfaces probably due to new fast-operating technologies.
Also, I really enjoyed the way that Norman and Gestalt were thinking of Interface principles and laws.
Nik reckons his face looks angry! But I found it very friendly. Isn’t it?

Ahmad

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