ah teaches information design (Structuring Content lecture)
Structuring Content
Lecture outline
Thinking about layout and structure to direct movement through content. Lecture slides will be made available on the day of the lecture (September 24).
In preparation for lecture...
Please close up any laptops, cellphones, Pippin's, Game Boys and other 'beep-boop' devices.
Structuring content
Reading reflections
Just a couple of thoughts to share from evaluating the first reflections:
Please be careful about answering the question given.
Please explain your thoughts or thinking.
Critique
Critique is a communication skill. Effective critique requires reading/listening, responding, and practice.
Bias
"[Our] perspectives are coloured by our habits, beliefs, and attitudes."
Specific: Identifies a particular strength/weakness (not speaking in generalities).
Language appropriate: Uses language understood by the audience.
Practical/action-oriented: There is something to do or think about.
Timely: The type of feedback given makes sense for the stage of work.
Ineffective critique is...
Absolute: Providing no potential direction for solving the problem.
Not contextualized: Speaking your own opinion without stating so.
Not clarified: Talks to work without understanding what it is about.
Uninvited: Given without being requested or expected.
Needlessly vulgar: Swearing unnecessarily.
Why critique matters
Effective critique can:
Motivate and inspire
Reinforce existing strengths
Remedy errors
Help reflection and learning
Critique context
Before giving critique, it is always important that you understand what the project is, and where it is at. This helps ensure your feedback will be timely and purposeful.
Today's critique
A reminder that we are looking for our critique to:
Have a clear statement or goal.
Identify a particular strength/weakness (not speaking in generalities).
Offer something to do or think about.
Is appropriate for the work we are looking at.
Today's critique
Our approach
We will be taking the 'I like/I wish' approach for today's critique: Please start each critique with either 'I like' or 'I wish'.
Good content structure helps direct and guide a viewer through the content actively. We are going to recap a number of design fundamentals that help us build better structures.
Sequence of cognition
A simplified overview for the purposes of our class:
First is shape.
Second is colour.
We will skip this one for now as limited colour is used in the first project.
Third is form.
Gestalt
Next in our order of cognition
A psychological theory that our minds self-organize disparate elements into a unified whole. Can you see the 'shape' in this picture?
Building Relationships
Gestalt theory offers us tools for building meaningful visual relationships.
