What I need to work on

So, we talked in groups about our animations quite a while ago, and I am just now getting to the typing of the things I need to work on, now that the project is due. So, this is what my group said:

Work on transitions. The words should not just pop on the screen or flow all the way across. Continuity is key. The type treatments need to be similar so they seem more unified.

Imagery is working, but the resolution on the tablecloth needs to be lower so that the movie loads faster. Also, wine does not work like a pie graph. The wine should go down vertically, not horizontally.

The animation is a bit choppy, and I need to work on timing. Reading the text out loud will help.

Packaging to Plate

I found this yummy packaging while searching the Web. I wish they sold these in the snack shop. What do you do with those strange triangle plastic boxes, anyway? Suggestions, please.

Creative Brief

I really enjoyed reading our assignment for graphics.

Not because it was new information to me. I am also studying mass communications, and I have written more creative briefs than I can imagine, and I haven't even graduated yet.

The reason that this article really resonated with me is because this reading talks about the creative brief from the point of view of the designer. 

I have always learned about them from the view of the marketing and research team with the end goal being to get through to the designer and translate marketing goals into the strange language that designers speak. This reading is how designers USE the brief. Fascinating stuff, I promise you.

My favorite part of the reading is about creating a viewer persona. I love making up names for the target audience and making up their lives. I believe that as designers we should have just as much fun with these as we can, because this is where we establish our visual language, our frame of reference and our medium. I love creative briefs.

To Suggest, continued

Although my problems have not been solved since the last time I posted, the anger has subsided.

I will now post a list of words that ACTUALLY relate to what I want to convey.

Humor

Levity

Hunger

Yummy (maybe I should change my background color from light blue)

Percentages

Simplicity

I don't want to make people feel intimidated to vote. I want them to feel like it is silly not to. It would give us a bigger piece of the democratic pie.

By comparing our voter turnout to France, Germany and Italy, I want to tap into the friendly, competitive nature of [most] Americans. Food, especially in these three countries, is iconic to Americans. Also, I believe that apple pies, soufflé, pizza and sausages will catch the attention of most viewers. It may not necessarily make people hungry (strange cutting techniques - masking and food don't go together well), but hopefully it will make people laugh (or giggle).

To Suggest - throw after effects out the window

I would love to be in the stage in my after effects project where I could deal with the finer details, but I still can't get my images to render. I relinked and everything. Any suggestions?

Also, audio. Won't even play when I hit the space bar in the editing window.

Love the easy ease. I have no problem with editing. I am wondering what everyone thinks about using drop shadow in videos. Don't worry. It's not text.

Thoughtful Question - Better late than never

In response to a reading about information design, I thought I would post a question for the public to consider.

Does the "modern", sparse design of today alienate viewers who look for the human aspect of data? What I mean is, do some designers, in their quest for that ultimate simplicity of design, forget to tell viewers how this data relates to them?

Stories

Who wants a load of statistical data, and how does that get anyone to vote? The answers are - nobody (except, perhaps, accountants and actuaries) and it doesn't. So, instead of presenting potential voters with a bunch of statistics telling them to vote, why not a little story?

Here is one option for a story on why Americans should vote (thanks to Rachel Meyers):

While the United States is considered to be the greatest power in the world and a leader in democracy, voter turnout does not reflect this statement. In the 2004 election, 60 percent of eligible voters turned out at the poles, in comparison to 8 percent of the eligible population of New Zealand, 76 percent of spain, 86 percent of Sweden, 79 percent of France, 82 percent of Italians, 78 percent of Germany and 100 percent of Russia. Of the world's 20 largest democratic nations, only Japan and Switzerland ranked lower in voter turnouts.

To visually tell this story, I would like to use a cartogram showing the geographical size of each country, then display the size of the voting population (in a big circle, probably). Finally, within the population circle, I will show the size of the voting population. At the end, I will show the other countries' voting populations in comparison to the US voting population. The US voters may be eaten pac man style by Russia's. We'll just have to wait and see.

Associative Word List

pac man, size, circle, cartogram, cheerio, doughnut, percentage, pie graph, international, globe, voting, poll, inequality, target, scale, comparison, simple, arcade game, map, latitude, longitude, portion, turnout, weight, nationalism, patriotism, pride, embarrassment, shame, outperform, exceed, internationalism, doctrine, count, counting, enumeration, tally, analyze, dissect, take apart, part, portion, division.

OK, I think that's it for now with the word list. I am always open to more suggestions. Now for the KEY WORDS:

Pac Man: video game originally developed in Japan. Immensely popular in the US. Centers around a circular yellow man (or woman, as in Ms. Pac Man) who has to eat all of the little white circles to advance to the next level.

Latitude: angular distance North or South of a point on the earth's surface. Measured by meridians. The horizontal lines.

Longitude: angular distance East or West of a point on the earth's surface. Based on the prime meridian. The vertical lines.

That's it for now. Tomorrow: expect a slight chance of more definitions with a certainty of a thoughtful question about Reading 2.