Project 4: Done

Project 4 is finally done! I think we did a decent job at honoring the law students' wishes while also creating something visually appealing and interesting. Our color choice change was a good move, but I was glad that they still liked the idea of creating a narrative through the use of color. While I liked the triangle and had to sacrifice it, the rectangles have started to grow on me. They definitely represent the idea of redevelopment and rebuilding, I think even more so than the triangle.

Here are some snapshots from the final report layout!

And here are some snapshots from our presentation....

Project 4: Final Brief

Objective

Develop a clear, well-designed report publication and presentation for our law team to present and distribute to city council. Our law team’s report is called Urban Infill and Sustainable Redevelopment in the Des Moines area. Our law team is working to get the local government to redevelop areas of urban blight in Des Moines. These areas are seen as both environmentally hazardous and generally damaging to the appearance of the land. The group will also promote the incentives of making these redeveloped areas environmentally friendly by following LEED certification guidelines.

Client

Our clients are two law students, looking to communicate the importance of revitalizing abandoned lots and turning them into something that would help revitalize the area while also being sustainable. Our law team wanted to make sure we approached these assets in a way that expressed a movement from dreary blight to renewal and growth through development. Thinking about their mission, we collectively decided upon the idea of  a gradient color scheme that progressed from a dark grey (signifying urban blight) to a bright green (signifying the renewal and growth of redevelopment). This also adds a sort of narrative to the presentation. Each "step" of their report is assigned a different color, as shown in our motif of rectangles used under report headlines.

Audience

Our client’s report and presentation were to both be distributed and presented at City Council, thus we were dealing with a wide audience that was typically older. Keeping this in mind, we used a larger typeface than we normally would have, with equally larger leading, making it more legible for an older audience. We also wanted to keep the design simple and clear, with idea in mind that the audience would be more concerned with content of the report and less with the overall design. Not that design did not matter, but it was to work in harmony with the content--not outshine it.

Requirements:

1. A professional, clear report

2. An editable presentation

Timeline:

April 4th

Meet with the law students to determine colors, overall feel or message they are trying to communicate. Also, in the meeting, discuss the best ways to communicate throughout the entire design development process. After this intitial meeting, group members are to come up with various spread ideas for the report aspect of the project, keeping in mind the overall message that the law students are trying to convey.

April 9th

Meet with group to choose colors, layouts, and typefaces. Also figure out a way to delegate work throughout the group. Work towards creating a layout for our first critique.

April 11th

Continue to develop layouts, working collaboratively.

April 16th

Begin preparing for a critique with the law students. Complete several spreads and prepare the presentation to be shown to the law team.

April 18th

Critique. Make any necessary changes based on feedback from the law team. Begin considering new iterations.

April 23rd

Prepare work to be presented to the law team for a final critique before final text and imagery is placed in the report.

April 25th

Final critique. Make any necessary design changes. Law team will provide final copy on Friday. Over the weekend, place final copy in the report layout and send back to law students to edit. Make edits accordingly.

April 30th

Finish report layout with final copy. Send to law students and Professor Rosenbloom. Provide Professor Fender with an Indesign Markup File of the report layout and presentation.

Project 4: Almost done....

Project 4 has been moving along relatively easily. Despite some changes that needed to be made, our group has done an excellent job of getting things done, dividing up the work, and making any necessary changes the law students need.

I took on designing section five for the final stretch of our assignment. My section was to have an info-graphic of sorts, so it was fun to find a way to incorporate that into my section. I used the progression of colors to mimic our headers and went from there.

Project 4: Alterations and Ideas

After meeting with the law students, it was determined we had to change the triangle. The whole group was to come up with new ideas.

Here's what I came up with...

In Progress: Project 3 & 4

Project 3 is coming along slowly but surely. Designing a map of Des Moines area bike routes and trails was much more complicated than I anticipated. That aspect is definitely still in the works. However, I have narrowed down typefaces and colors for the calendar aspect of my design.

Project 4 is moving along rather smoothly. After Rachel and I designed and developed master pages for both the document and the presentation, we divvied up work between other members in our group and began working, each taking a section. Here is what I have done so far for my section:

Project 4: Initial Ideas

Our group of law students described a type of narrative that they wanted for the feel of their document and presentation. They wanted it be dull in the beginning and then progressively get more colorful as they offered solutions to the problem they were tackling

Because we currently do not have the actual document at our disposal to work with, my group and I have decided to choose colors, typefaces, and create potential mock-up pages for the document. At this point, this is our only way to explore different avenues in terms of layout.

Colors and typeface

Layout

Layout

Project 3: Examples, Brief, etc.

http://www.dsmbikecollective.org/mapcentral

For my project, I think I’m going to tackle a bike route map. When I saw it, I felt a little lost and immediately knew I wanted to change it. For me, the problem lies in the color choices–they’re too similar to the map itself! The bike route lines also don’t stand out from the rest of the map. I found myself constantly searching for clarity in it’s design. I also began to think about how bike riders might grow frustrated with it, especially as they were riding and trying to navigate. After noticing this, I decided I wanted to tackle the bike map route and relate it Iowa’s Bike Month, by combining it with a calendar outlining events and including fun, informational biker facts.

http://www.lemongraphic.sg/2011/04/14/neon-subway-map/

Before I even tackle re-designing this map, I decided to take a look at other map designs. This one, while it is for a subway system, is still a good example. The routes are clear, defined, and well color coded. They also utilize numbers, icons, etc. to get their point across. These are all aspects I hope to bring with my own map design.

Project Brief (Subject to Change)

Objective

Create an informational bike route map/pamphlet/calendar promoting biking in the Des Moines area and the Des Moines Bike Collective’s annual bike month. Through this project I will develop a more coded and less confusing bike route map than the Des Moines Bike Collective’s current map. While there is a very informational map included, I will also design a calendar for the month of May, which is Iowa’s Bike Month, which will outline every Bike related area event. This map/calendar will also include pertinent bike and bike safety information for area bike riders.

The overall design and concept will be fresh, progressive and new. I hope to keep the map aspect of it small so that it could easily be brought along on bike rides.

Client

The client for this project will be the Des Moines Bike Collective.

Audience

The audience will be Des Moines area bikers, both new and old.

Requirements

There are no requirements for this project at this point.

Timeline

3/28

Narrow a focus and begin sketching ideas and ways in which the bike route map could be more efficient and clear.

4/2

Continue working on the bike route map so that is more clear. Begin transferring ideas onto the computer.

4/4

Begin the calendar aspect of the design and continue refining the map.