Shawna McDanel's Archive

I enjoyed the freedom that came with working on screen. I like print, but I’ve found myself really getting into this class and being excited about each project. This last one was very challenging to me. I struggle with infographics (all the more reason to work on it though), so I had to get over some reservations and fear of failure to complete the project. I always wish I had more time, but it doesn’t work that way, especially when one has at least two other art classes to address. I would have loved to go in and work on the details more. I love that part, turning something 2D into something with the illusion of depth. I ended up with an interesting overall feel to my designs. I’m not a fan of it, but I got to that point where you just have to push forward in order to make the due date. I wonder how this will be when it’s not class and I don’t have other art classes. I know I will have multiple projects to work on and clients to work with, but I wonder if there is a better way of balancing things that I’m not aware of. That’s something I definitely want to improve upon.

On the bright side, my photoshop skills have increased and improved significantly. I feel much more comfortable using the program, it amazes me. I was able to finish my work at a quicker pace. I was crunched for time to begin with, but months ago I would not have had as good of a design as I have for this project. This is definitely encouraging.

The class, I really really like it, for lack of better words. I looked forward to coming each class day, even on the days where we learned coding. I would like to keep learning more about it and hopefully gain a successful competency for it. This has been a challenging semester overall, especially with things that were out of my control like being sick and killing my computer on accident. It has set me back, but I’m really glad that I was in this class. Some good pieces came out of it and I have new skills I can build upon. I still love print, but I definitely have enough room in my heart for both.

Final Wireframes

Infographinator
About me graphics
Daily Data Grabber
A Day in the Life (might be a copyright infringement)
Make My Day

-To have the option to choose whether the app asks you questions or whether it just records what you do on your phone and some GPS functions.
-have a privacy limit.
-to generate infographics in a customizable way (fluffy mode).
-it would figure out unknown habits and patterns in our daily lives.
-have the option to categorize information or even customize which info it gathers (I.e. how many times a day you open an app or just how often you slide to unlock your phone).

After each project I feel like I’m getting to know photoshop to a greater extent, which has made projects entirely easier to complete and to create new possibilities of portraying an idea. I also employed Illustrator by importing smart objects into Photoshop–learned that, that creates a cleaner look to the objects when saved. Before I would make the mistake of creating everything in photoshop and end up with pixilated images. I felt very rushed on this project and had a concept at the beginning of keeping things simple  and flat, with outlines and as much directness as possible. But I think not venturing out into other styles may have hurt me. I like the end look and feel, but I can’t help but wonder if it could have been better. I feel that my work this semester has been sub par for what I know I can do. They are not stumbling blocks, but experiences to learn from along the way.

I hope to improve upon the user experience by showing friends and asking if it is intuitive or confusing to them. I do want to rearrange some elements to better utilize the space. I would like to have just worked on the whole thing to improve aspects of the project. Simplifying and cleaning details. Dealing with negative space better and working even more on the user experience side of the app, which is pretty key to the project. I hope to discuss this with you (Mike) to see about other solutions to increase the visceral affect in a positive way.

Well now that I have a new computer with a hardshell case and protective keyboard cover I feel confident that I will be able to deliver process work in a timely manner and not feel so overwhelmed. I have learned that I work at slower pace than others. My attention to detail attributes to that, but other designers are also meticulous if not more so, but produce their work, and in a greater quantity, at a much quicker rate. It’s been very frustrating. I need to continually improve my timetable of what I can complete in order to utilize my skills to their fullest and to improve. I’m looking forward to the next project and hoping that I can create something that could be incredibly useful and well designed. We shall see.

• Locates near by markets, grocery stores, and certain restaurants using GPS.
• Allows user to narrow results to one of the providers.
• Restaurants that are located have the requirement of meeting certain dietary restrictions.
• Allows user to input an allergies or dietary restrictions.
• Rates each location with a scale of healthy-most healthy such as produce that came from farms that used pesticides vs. organically grown produce.
• Informs user of what fruit and veggies are in season.
• Database of ingredients in food products (i.e. sodium aluminosilicate, diacetyl tartaric acid…) and their definitions and how they affect the body.