We have decided to take on individual jobs to take on the project for the end of year show.we sat down and had a meeting and brainstormed ideas to one another in regards to design, layout, hospitality,and overall to bring DFIM to the forefront of the Design block.Ideas kicked off with the design of vinyl murals symbolising each individuals work that networks within every ones projects to bring one DFIM entity.

I am also creating a screensaver/slideshow of everyones work to be put on the projector aswell as helping out in preparing the room for the xhibition and laying the vinyl.

Marc and i sat down and threw ideas at each other, and began designing preliminary concepts for the layout and design of the interior of the room.This consisted of vinyl designed in such a way that it would flow consistently throughout the room, bringing a contemporary,Design related and influential and informative design pattern that would pull visitors in an intrigue them.

Here are the design concepts;

I have successfully opened up my own Google Calender.

An interview was conducted with Gavin Johnson from the BBC who is head of web development sector in BBC Wales to talk about how the web development department is run in regards to projects.

The structure in which the BBC go about creating and developing their projects to ensure the highest quality possible is a very complex, but straight forward in its developement. The BBC has a very precise and effecient guideline process in place that has to be followed before any project that the BBC is involoved with goes live to its public users. These guidlines ensure that the production and process of any project they undertake goes ahead effiently creating a more unpenetrable yet flowing enviroment by limiting its the ways in which to do things. This type of project management is not driven by its staff but set by the BBC so that everything produced critically meets the criteria and standards in which it can be verified, eligible and accesseble for all those viewing it the way in which the BBC wants its work to be represented. This means all things such the typeface, colours and fonts used in projects are easily readable and accesseble to everyone reading it and are the same as the other BBC websites that have been created before it. all standard websites at the BBC also have to follow templates that are text and imagery are places in to create an ongoing standard and look to what they produce. Other guidlines have also been set when taking into consideration what type of online media player to be used in creating or delivering video or audio. All media content needs to be universal in format therefore it can be viewed using any computer. The BBC up until recently made used Windows Media player to do this but have gradually also enlisted other players like quicktime and Real Player and given their uses the option to use these aswell. However because of some of these strict guidlines creativity in this department is very limited.

Each projects production is often broken down into two sections, Text based and video/audio content. The staff at the BBC are then broken into groups where they specialise in each department, every member working in a group were their talents are best put to use. They then left to their own devices to carry out the work but still following the strict BBC guildlines as they work as well as the briefs they have been given. Each team is the carefully monitored and mentored by Gavin Johnson who keeps them on their toes ensuring that the best work possible is carried out as well as on time to meet its deadlines. This method within the BBC is called Content production system or (CPS). This encorporates the individuals from group multi-tasking from conducting research, taking photos and gathering information from the BBC archive library, internet or field work to designing templates, structuring the content, formatting the audio and video.

Testing a projects developement the BBC does carry out user testing, However this often depends of the scale of a project. Usually the BBC uses discounted user testing in small numbers of around 5 to 10 people from their own department to run through a project ironing out any problems or potential problems that need to be addressed. When it comes to larger scale projects the BBC will call in professional external user testing company. The BBC web department often works with a company called REDBY as they are familiar with the BBC's regulations and guildlines. However over long periods this type of user testing can become expensive so the BBC will enlist only such a company if its in need of their service which can be sometimes the case hen dealing with people who have disabilities or small children. If they have a project that needs special attention in areas like games and animation then the BBC will enlist the help of smaller companies to take advantage of their skills but more often than not they normally have the resources available to deal with most thing that is thrown at them because of the very high costs is seeking this kind of help.

Not every project that the BBC works on comes directly from the company itself weather it be a tv programme for instance they do take on client work. But these projects are often only concerning subjects that the BBC conform too such and education and healthcare as they try to maintain their commercial standards and reputation. Also the BBC do not need to compete commercially to get client work because of this reason.

When the BBC recieves a project at first there are lengthy discussions to what the overall expectations of it are. It is the run over in very fine detail to see whether it is feasable in regards to time, available resources, software and cost. This procedure will then generate the exact scope of a project which is neccesery in order to avoid any future complications that may hinder its developement in any way. The BBC have also training budget in place if the project developement success is effected by the lack of new software or lack staff training in certain areas. This allows the BBC to stay at the forefront of what their doing in creating fresh and innotive ideas and ensuring that they never getleft behind in the world of media thats changing everyday. The BBC's credibility can be effected if this is not made manditory. The use and knowledge of the very latest technology that is available to them is essential to maintaining its commercial stature. This is all done with the assistance of London (new Media Group) or (LMNG. They are at the forefront of whats going on and the BBC staff regularly visit there to keep themselves on track. In early 2006 the BBC through this procedure started to work with and implement Flash 8 into its projects having all its staff members up to date and working with the new software which is heavily used now all over the web for imbedded video.

Every project at the BBC's web department needs the envolvement of Gavin Johnson with the assistance of fellow stakeholders to oversee each working process that his team undertakes and make sure they work together properly and on target to deal with whats ahead of them. Every week he will outline any potential flaws, achievements and quality issues that need addresssing. When the new list of programs come out in september and flood the department with work he will indicate what programs are of most importance and what he expects to be done concerning each one, identifying whats possible and not.

From the visit to the BBC and interview with Gavin Johnson it has only highlighted what is needed to ensure great quality work all the time, giving a greater insight into the production process and management of a largescale company. The flowing structure in which work is carried out and evaluated from start to finish is a fine indication that everything done there goes through very routine quality assurance test, never taking any shortcuts to get the job in hand done. The information i gathered has become invaluable when understanding project management, project structure and development.

Hello Hikimori is a tight-knit French design studio focusing on "global new media design". As you might expect, this means mostly web, print and motion design, and includes everything from a luxury cosmetics site to designer t-shirts. For a two person studio, HKI pumps out some really amazing print work. But what really struck me is the inspiring Flash-based design of their portfolio. The site establishes a new paradigm for interaction by mimicking a browser, with a right scroller, yet throws in some really sexy details. It's really fun to play with, very sticky, and i predict that this type of design will be copied by many other companies in the future. Truly novel thinking and interaction that sets the bar higher for all portfolio websites to come.

The way that the information is organised on Hikimori is just another fine example of how good a design eye they have. Its layout is just one of the most attractive things about the site. Its inclusion of rollover sound effects works wonders andEven though the sites very Flash heavy for what is is there are very few better. Some of the text however may be a little hard to read in certain areas as it clashes with its background. All the images used on the site are extremely well chosen and attractive and seeing as its a portfolio its easy to understand why. While the images of the site (Background) are used to decorate the site its also work they want to show off which they have created, because its of such a high standard and beauty its surves them in a number beneficial ways, you only have to look at their client list to verify that.

The use of colour on the site is just simply beautiful, they are all fitting and co-ordinated, it really does give it a special and unique feel.

This site is one of the best ive come across visually and soon they are working on putting up a new one, if this is anything to go by their next site is going to be simply amazing, i cant wait to see it.

www.hellohikimori.com

In the previous assignment talked in depth about the Sony PSP in terms of usability and HCI. During this assignment I will talk about the problems I encountered and the re-design of what I thought to be one of its biggest issues.

When looking at a device like the PSP your first impressions are straight away good. It is a beautifully designed device and because of this aesthetically it has redefined the genre and the way in which hand held gaming devices are now to be designed. From the choice of materials that have been used to make it, the technology that is inside it, the button configuration and layout, to its interface design it was straight away given the tag ‘sexy’ by those people who first encountered it.

Donald Norman’s newly redefined principles now state that ‘to greater ensure a products success the design of aesthetics today are now just as important as the HCI’. Sony have obviously taken note of this and delivered to its users a device that most definitely proves this.

However when delving deep inside the PSP and getting to grip with how it performs when used there are a few problems, one of which I found to be a major issue.

For the first time in a handheld gaming device Sony has incorporated a sleep function. This allows users to turn the PSP off to save battery life but still maintaining their position in a game or movie if they need to take a longer break than if they were to just pause a game or movie. To do this the user has to simply flip up the power switch but not hold it up as this would switch the PSP off (Figure 1). When putting to use this function I found it to create a problem that could potentially create a damaging effect on the PSP on a whole.



When you flip the switch upwards to put it to sleep it gives you no indication that you have just put the PSP to sleep, there is no difference to that if you were to switch it off. The user will not know if they have simply put their PSP to sleep or switched it off completely. For example after using the PSP for a number of hours I thought I had turned it off but after returning back to use it some 4 days later I picked it up, flipped the power switch up to fined that it had only been set to sleep. As you can imagine this obviously isn’t a good thing and could have harmful effects to the PSP in the long run. This hasn’t just happened once it’s a recurring problem, you are just never sure if you have switched it off properly or vice versa. For a device that had millions of pounds and thousands of hours put into its research and development it is hard to believe that something as simple and important as this could even be an issue.

To try solve this problem I decided to re-design the sleep function and try implement an efficient way to get it to work properly following some of the principles of key thinkers in the field of HCI and usability like Norman and Neilsen.

Firstly I looked at the way in which other devices like computers operating systems performs the sleep task particularly OSX. After doing this I came to the conclusion that I would introduce a new menu option within the PSP interface rather than use a specific button or switch. I then started to highlight Norman and Neilsen’s design principles that were key to ensuring that my re-design would work properly such as simplicity, consistency, feedback, shortcuts, responsiveness, compatibility, familiarity, user control and the simple and natural use of dialogue (Figure 2).



After this I then created low fidelity prototypes of the actual interface using paper templates of the screen (Figure 3). This helped me plan out and reposition what will be included Text/Graphic into the actual interface as well as deciding the order and process that the user has to go through to perform the sleep task. This method helped gave me freedom to fine tune the process until I thought it was just right.



Simplicity, consistency and familiarity are all key aspects in my re-design process because I am not totally re-designing the PSP interface just merely adding a new menu option and method in which to set the PSP to sleep I began to also use the templates to reach a familiar look to the user so that it would not look out of place. This prototype method also allowed me to finalise the choice of dialogue.

Because the PSP interface (Figure 4) had a metaphorical icon for each of the options presented in its menu bar I had to come up with an all new logo for the sleep function, something that any user would instantly recognize to be the sleep icon. I again used paper prototypes aswell as Adobe Photoshop to generate and finalise (Figure5).





I decided on this final icon (Figure 5) because I best believed it to represent the sleep task. Putting something to sleep has a human characteristic feel to it and showing this in a technological device is why I have used a human figure. The simplicity of its design also fits perfect within the parameters of the other icons in the interface. This justifies the reasoning behind its use.

The next step was to pull together all of the finalised work from the paper prototype’s to create a high fidelity prototype in Flash (Figure 6).



Because the user will have to be able to access the sleep function from two different scenarios I made it accessible from the actual main menu and in game.

First from the main menu I have designed the interface in exact the same style as the PSP. I used the same text, choice of language and colour this all helped to authenticate the feel and look. This also helps the cognitive processes, the user will familiarise the menu and remember the process in which to perform the task. I located the sleep function under ‘settings’ as I deemed it to be the most appropriate menu title to put it under. I also made it first viewable on the drop down menu to make it even more easily accessible for the user.

To help with the cognitive process I included help having screen directions indicating to the user what buttons to press to complete the task (Figure7).



From actual in game I have designed the sleep function so it can be accessed easily from just one button the ‘Home’ Button from there it will then present the user with the option to set the PSP to sleep while also telling them what button to press to do so (Figure 8).



User Testing

I decided to test the newly improved interface by using and comparing the ten heuristics from Jakob Neilsen to my final design. From this I could see how well my re-design works when following their principles. I then asked five people to user test the prototype and comment on how user friendly and efficient it was one (Figure 9). One of the testers was a keen gamer and extremely familiar with the PSP, therefore more experienced. Before I did this however I asked them all to try and put the PSP to sleep to fully understand what I was achieving. The user then rated their findings using the data sheets provided (Figure 10). I decided to use this type of data collection as it distinctively answered the questions and highlighted any problems found in the prototype.




Conclusion



After analysing the users results (Figure 11) I clearly found out that my prototype was a success and achieved its aims and objectives in re-designing the sleep function trying implement an efficient way to get it to work properly following. They found the prototype to be a much more efficient method than the original and said it most definitely gets rid of the problem. I also asked the users about the icon I designed and they said it fitted in extremely well with the theme of the others and was fitting and recognizable. I was extremely happy with this as it was a challenge to get it just right. However i did find out from my user feedback that error prevention could have been improved upon , i could have done this by providing the user with error messages.

Most importantly when finally asking my experienced user if they thought my re-design was successful he said it was such a more efficient method to put the PSP to sleep that it should have been used in Sony’s design. In all I am happy at what I have achieved. I would say that the actual prototype could have a little better, i could have animated it alot better re-creating the actual PSP interface but i thought it would be to time consuming and that wouldnt have been justified as i was not re-designing the actual interface itself. So I decided that i would keep it simple for that reason. While the re-design was not total revolution of the PSP design I feel it did solve one of its biggest problems and made it far more user friendly.

PROTOTYPE LINK: http://img169.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pspmock2ar8.swf

Walking into the UCI arcade I had some idea of what arcade I would take a closer look at after visiting there on a few occasions before. The arcade machine I choose was called “Time Crisis 4” which is an arcade shooter that you play special agents who have to complete story built missions. It has grown a lot of popularity over the years with arcade users, this one is the most recent in the series.

The first impressions when approaching the machine were good one’s, the arcade machine itself is very aesthetically pleasing with a range of bright colours (familiar to those who have prior knowledge to the series) to draw in any potential user. The machine itself being one of the newest attractions in the arcade stood apart from some of the older designs on show, it is evident that its design is to attract attention. The actual arcade machine itself was self explanatory in its layout and design potential users would have no problem realising what to do if the wanted to play it. In terms of learnability and re-learnability once the user has used the machine once they will unlikely forget how to use it for some time.

To play Time Crisis 4 you simply put your money into the slot machine and press the large button situated between both gun stations, this then tells you to pick up the gun that also acts as a controller that operates the interface. To select the on screen options like character selection, game difficulty, number of players and to proceed to the main game the user has to aim the gun and the appropriate options and press the trigger. The actual Interface design is not really metaphorical in design it is designed in conjunction with the game using game play backgrounds.




In relation to HCI and usability I would say that prior knowledge would come into play here. Any potential user will most likely have played the 3 other machines in the series or even those titles released on the Playstation 1 and 2. Before the actual game starts the on screen options navigate and instruct you where to aim and fire at the options on the screen to proceed to the game. Even in actual game play you do not have as much freedom as you might in other arcade machines, the user is navigated automatically through a route in which they have to shoot their on screen enemy’s. You only explore and see as much of each level depending on the route the machine gives you. However because Time Crisis 4 is a multiplayer you can conversely change routes and interact with your partner’s game play affecting outcomes in certain scenarios. This is something that really works well and one of the reasons why this game has been so successful. Unlike the interface displaying the before game options there are a lot of things present metaphorically in the actual game play that help the user relate to what’s going on onscreen. There is a strong real life story line in place that takes hold of the user, just before each level there are short movie like scenes that progresses its development. The level designs are influenced by real locations as well are the character designs. Also all the sound effects in the game are metaphorical to real life objects like gunshot’s and explosions. These all put together draw in the user more so than your usual pay and play arcade machines. You really believe your emersed in the situations on screen.



The actual aesthetic design of the arcade machine is also metaphorical as you can see by the design of the users controller (Gun). Also unlike many other multiplayer shooters that use only one screen Time Crisis uses two. There is also a foot pedal present on the base of the machine where the user stands in order to reload instead of just shooting off screen like many others.

Compared to the exhibits on show at Techniquest its design was more of a spectacle to look at. Its colours and bright lights were all designed in a way that fits in with the culture surrounding the arcade genre where looks matter in order to attract users to spend their money. Its target audience was also more variable, and because of the storyline and onscreen violence portrayed early teens and adults seem to be who it was primarily directed towards. While the forms of interaction were similar its purpose wasn’t, the main emphases was not to educate but to employ fun and enjoyment. The user gained more of full experience from playing.

The product I have chosen to review is Sony’s Playstation’s portable. The “PSP” as its widely known throughout the world is a handheld gaming device that also performs a number of multimedia tasks acting like a media player, it can even be used as a web browser.

The PSP works much like any hand held gaming device in the sense that you just put in a game, switch it on and then play. That initial process for playing a game is extremely simple and something that any user can get to grips with. The handheld is specifically intended for those gamers who want to game on the move with out the obvious restrictions we see from home consoles. It is also directed to those who are familiar with the Playstation brand name. They will be able to play a new catalogue of games and also some they have seen appear on the Playstation 1 and 2 that offer the same game play and just as great graphical detail. Although most of the gaming market is clearly directed towards the younger generation the way in which the PSP is designed its quite clear that is directed towards the more mature and maybe not so much small children.

Because of its size (16.5cm x 7cm and weight (10.3 ounces) the PSP can be taken anywhere like all handheld gaming devices insuring that you can play it in almost any environment the user wishes.

The Sony PSP features a large 4.3-inch 16:9 widescreen LCD TFT screen with a 480x272 resolution (130,560 pixels), button layout similar to the PlayStation with a digital control pad, an analog stick, circle, square, triangle, x, and 2 shoulder buttons, USB 2.0 connectivity (via mini-USB), a Memory Stick Duo media slot, and 802.11b WiFi support. It uses Sony’s proprietary Universal Media Disc (UMD), which stores up to 1.8GB in a format reminiscent of MiniDiscs.

When you first lay your hands on the PSP, you immediately notice the screen. The 4.3-inch display dominates the device, it looks like it takes up two-thirds of the real estate on the front fascia. In other words, massive. It has to be the largest handheld gaming console screen to date. This is the first gaming device that has actually given me the same feeling that I get when playing games on a large TV screen. You know the feeling you get when you're playing a racing game and you go into a spin and you almost can feel the spin. I've never felt that way with a Game Boy or other handheld device. The colors are vivid, and graphics are crisp. Depending on the game, you do notice some jaggies here and there though. That said, I didn't notice any ghost or other annoying screen behaviors. The screen is evenly lit and the three brightness settings allow you to adjust the screen to your liking depending on the environment you play it in. The unit feels expensive, and exudes sexiness, much like Apple’s iPods. The unit feels perfectly balanced when held with both hands. In my opinion, the PSP doesn't seem to be a toy that you would give to a child. For one thing, it is quite a bit more sophisticated in both hardware design and games than the Game Boy series. This is an expensive device that while solidly made, may only be rugged enough to give to an older child that can truly respect their toys.



This device has more buttons than any handheld gaming device that I've ever seen. There are 4 thumb accessible buttons on each side. The left 4 buttons are for navigation, while the right 4 buttons are the standard PlayStation menu interaction buttons. Seven small buttons along the bottom edge of the PSP give you access to Home, Volume up/down, Display brightness, Sound toggle, Select and Start. The directional and menu buttons are all good sized and easy to press. They have enough tactile feedback so that you know when you've pressed one. The directional buttons are angled so that your thumb will not easily slide off when you're moving from button to button at a quick pace. The other buttons are pretty small and a little difficult to press. Especially the tonight volume and brightness buttons. Under the directional buttons is an actual analog joystick. This stick is spring loaded with a serrated thumb pad to prevent slippage.

On the left side of the device is the WiFi switch, and on the right side is the Power / Hold switch. The Power switch is spring loaded. You have to slide and hold it up for a few seconds to toggle power. If you just quickly slide the Power switch up and let go, it will cause the unit to go into sleep mode so that you can quickly restart a game at a later time. If you slide the Power switch down, it will lock into the Hold position.



Along the bottom edge of the PSP, you'll find the AC adapter connector (yellow), the headphone / remote connector, and lanyard connection point. Included with the PSP are a set of earbud and a remote control. These come in handy when you want to listen to music (MP3s) on your device. More on that in a minute...



Located on the top of PSP are status LEDs for Power / Charging, WiFi and Memory Stick Duo activity. The top edge of the PSP has two clear shoulder buttons, the IR port, mini USB port and UMD compartment latch. The UMD latch is a slider switch that opens the disc compartment. This acts as an eject button. When you open it, the disc springs out of the compartment just enough so that you can grab the edge and pull it out. When you insert the disc, you have to press it down into the holder in the door so that it snaps in place.



The UMDs are small little 1.8GB capacity discs enclosed in a plastic caddy. A square window in the caddy allows the PSP to read the data from the disc as it spins. The problem is that this window is always open. It doesn't have any type of spring loaded cover. Dirt, dust and even finger prints can easily wreck a UMD if you aren't really careful while handling them. This is another reason why the PSP is not a good system for children. The UMD is a spinning drive. As such, it makes a noise during disc access. The noise isn't loud, but it is noticeable. The sound that the UMD makes while it is spinning sounds like something shuffling. The PSP doesn't vibrate during access.



The back of the PSP has the battery compartment and Memory Stick Duo slot. Included with the PSP is a 32mb MS Duo card. You can copy music, pictures, video and games to the memory card and let the PSP play them for you. This expands the PSP into a media player in addition to just a gaming console. If you don't have a card reader that can read the small format Duo, you can just plug in a USB cable with a mini connector into the PSP and then into your PC. It will mount the card as removable drive. The Battery life According to Sony, the PSP should be able to play games for 4-5 hrs at a time as long as you're not using WiFi.



The main interface is simple and easy to figure out even without reading a manual or user guide. The first time you power on the PSP, you are given the ability to choose a language. Japanese, English, German, Dutch, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, and Portuguese are the available choices. The screen background itself is very stylish and clean looking which all adds to its appeal, you can even change its theme to whatever the user wishes.

Basically you have 5 main functions across the screen. The main functions are Settings, Photo, Music, Video and Game. As you use the left and right directional buttons to scroll through these functions, sub functions appear below the main heading. The settings function gives you access to all the main settings for video, photo, music, WiFi etc. This is also the menu that you use to format the Memory Stick Duo, set the time / date, password protect the device and even implement a parental lock based on game ratings. Metaphorically the interface uses icons that the user will recognize to help guide their why to certain functions and tasks.



The Photo function allows you to view images that are stored on the Memory Stick Duo. Sorry, you can only view .JPG files. .GIF, and .BMPs are not supported. Small thumbnails of the pictures are displayed so that you can easily scroll through them. When you find one that you want to view full screen, you select it. You can also view all the images in a slideshow if desired.



The Music function turns your PSP into a digital audio player capable of playing Sony's own ATRAC3 and ATRAC3plus files as well as good old MP3s. The included ear buds and remote look like they come from the land of iPod which again add to its usability in a number of environments.



In Video mode, you can play movies and video clips. Unfortunately, the only supported format is MPEG4. You have to jump through some hoops in order to convert regular .mpg files to .mp4, but once you do it's a lot of fun to watch movies on this device. You can even use the wired remote to control video playback.

Sony has also included software into the PSP to be able to connect to the internet via USB or Wi-Fi with software downloads available to further update its system and interface like viewing such things as Flash files. This further invites users and their interaction because it is broadening usability. This is an extremely useable device because of the sheer number of tasks it can do. It accommodates for almost every multimedia aspect. Because it can also connects to other gamers wirelessly via Wi-Fi and online the multi-player gaming experience also widens its overall appeal.

When dealing with human cognitive processes the PSP is a device that is easily accessible for any user. As the interface itself is a new one familiarity with Sony’s other gaming devices and product will not be helpful here but once you have used the device and browsed through its functions a few times because of the interface design things become familiar and a lot less forgettable. It makes tasks obvious to understand. Because of the vast amount of tasks it performs it also holds educational values inviting users to deal with media devices that they may not have encountered before.

Performing a Task

First and foremost the PSP is designed to be a gaming device, so how difficult is it to actually switch on and play a game?



*To play an actual game the user has to turn on the PSP via the power switch.

*The PSP will then power on and display its menu screen.

*Open the disc drive situated at the back of the PSP using the switch at the top of the device and slot in the disc.

*The menu bar in the interface as I have said shows icons with text below it, you then click on the game icon which then presents you with another menu which says “press X to play game”.

*Once you do this the game will start. However if the game is already inside the disc drive when switching on the PSP the game will automatically load for you. It is a very easy device to operate, the interface provides you with a step by step guide.

Having visited Techniquest before I had a fair idea of what to expect when entering the science discovery centre. Because there were such a vast amount and range of exhibits on display it took a little time to finally decide which one I would single out to take a closer look at.

The exhibit I chose from the floor was called “ Animate It” which was situated near the entrance of the centre floor and one of the first exhibits you encountered as a visitor.



The aim of the device is to animate and record a short scene using a Stop-Motion animation technique when taking a number of images from a digital camera. Stop-motion is accomplished by posing models, taking a single frame in this case a photo and then moving the models again slightly before taking the next frame. The user has to interact physically and move the models supplied to their satisfaction, when they have done this for each frame the series of frames when played together will form a complete animation. Once the user of the exhibit has constructed an animation they will hopefully feel satisfied, inspired and leave with a feeling that they have just accomplished something. The exhibit also gives users a hand’s on experience into how the world of animation works, they will have gained knowledge of how some of their favourite Tv shows are created.

The target audience of the exhibit looked to be towards an age group of 7 upwards and from the 9 users I observed using the exhibit they were leaning to the more mature with even parents and teens spending the most time using it. The younger children approached the exhibit in a totally different manner than the older user’s as they did not take time to view the instructions, they went straight ahead and toyed with the models and bashed at the buttons directly in front of them expecting the exhibit to demonstrate some kind of visual effect/experience straight away. They didn’t seem to know what the aim of the exhibit was. Because of this it demanded the user to spend a viable amount of time and patience at the station to be able to enjoy fully the experience it provides. It even had a seat present that set it apart from many of the other exhibits in the centre. This is one of the reasons why the younger audience did not use the exhibit properly as the more mature were prepared to work on creating a final animation.



The design of the exhibit was first and fore most influenced by the ones surrounding it in the centre with an evident theme in place. It used a simular bright colour scheme, body texture and architecture. The design was simple and childlike with only three coloured buttons for the user to press in order to control and create their animation to uncomplicate things. The exhibit was well constructed from strong ceramic materials that could withstand a lot of punishment from consecutive users during a long period of time. The digital camera was situated on the side of the exhibit in strong ceramic casing also to avoid any damage because of the age group expected to use the exhibit. The seat was padded to ensure that users were comfortable during the time spent at the station.







The detachable models used for the animation were kept in a moulded bucket within the exhibit design and printed at the bottom of that bucket were the exhibits instructions so that when the user picked up the models they would see the instructions straight away. However the instructions often got over looked or obstructed because of this. The models in themselves were easily recognizable figure and objects used in everyday life like a tractor, farmer, police car and police man which in itself held educational values. The Tv screen that displayed the animation and viewer screen of the camera was also in cased in strong ceramics to avoid damage. The screen displayed smaller images of the frames taken along the right hand side showing the user what had been done in the correct order. There were also on screen instructions present to the user directing them step by step to which one of the 3 colour coded buttons to press to achieve certain actions. This clearly is helpful to the young users making the experience a lot easier to understand.

Overall the exhibit achieved its aims as it provided the user with an educational and insightful experience into how animation can and is created. The experience is fun as it needs the user to take hold of their imagination. Its design fitted its surroundings and dealt with any problems aesthetically. However I did find that some of the younger users did not fully understand what to do because the instruction were not as clear and they could have been