Actionable Analytics, Going Deeper, Seeing Further, and Informing our Intuition

After reading the articles I noticed similarity of them all dealt with researching, observing, and analyzing ways to improve design for consumers. The design for consumers have significant importance we as designers must investigate what and who we are designing for. I know that research and developing, which is why I sometimes take a different approach at a project than the class. I take more time understanding every project I work on. I feel it is very important or else it will not be successful and I could not transfer my idea into a working project. Designers have the responsibility of visually communicating concepts that words may not translate.

Presentation Layers Accessibility and SOFA

These articles were pretty interesting in the fact that they discussed the different techniques for creating and designing websites. I am really interested in creating websites, because the ability to make websites I feel are in high demand; especially around college students who aspire to start their own businesses. In class, discussed the many usability and accessibility issues within websites. I never even thought about the usability and accessibility when thinking about creating a website. I didn't know about the many rules to making a website user friendly. The web designer has to make sure the site is available to any user in any operating system from any device; including the blind and deaf.

Data Visualization and Developing Diverse Brand Strategies

The articles talked about the strategic process of creating a brand. I thought they were interesting because I learned about the things that should be in my portfolio to attract and impress clients and/or companies. As a designer I’ve always known that I need a variety of content in a sleek, strongly design portfolio but seeing the list of content along with descriptions added extra emphasis to the process of create my brand. Branding is a very important type of design because I feel it is what makes or breaks and Idea or path to success. It is about delivery, what the product, company, or person can deliver to the audience, and if that deliery isn't strongly thought of and designed then it is a waste of time.

Question Everything; Innovation Through Design; Embracing Risk

Question Everything talks about the advice given by Jane Suri about the creative solutions for a project. I felt the most interesting section of this article was about the thought and consideration of cultures.We spoke in class about a super market in a part of town inhabited in minority culture including a larger variety of food than in a store in a suburban or upscale neighborhood. The article says that we should question everyday experiences, like grocery shopping, which is a good idea because doing that will open the opportunity to come to new realizations, view a different perspective, and learn something new about culture; which is beneficial in becoming a great designer. Innovation Through Design was about the design of a bike for people who want ride bikes but do not have the confidence in riding a bike. We had a somewhat heated debate about whether people should even ride a bike in Austin on the street altogether. Finally, Embracing Risk was about the risks designers take. We talked about your (Michelle) daring risks you have taken with your clients, which I wouldn't go to the same extent, but I feel risk taking is essential in finding your style and limits as a designer.