The following are links to interactive design that inspires me:
6. Nike iD
This week I continued to prepare storyboards for my narrative of how I would like to present my interface. I also continued to refine and develop the design of my interface. I designed the middle console that will be used for ordering and viewing your running tab. I also prepared a ‘table view’ so that it puts into perspective how the table will look with six people sitting at it. Along with the ‘table view’ to show perspective, I prepared a close-up view of the scrollbar with a hand superimposed to show scale and functionality.
For this week I created a brand for my restaurant and prepared mock-ups for my interface in two different styles. The first style, has a sleek look and feel. It gives off a sophisticated technology vibe. The logo I created works best with this look and feel. The second style is a bit more grungy. It has the look and feel of a pizzaria. It could work, but if I decide to pursue this route I will probably rework the logo and branding and definitely touch up the layout and specifics of the design.
I’ve decided that for the final project I am going to pursue the interactive menu concept that is mentioned above. I am excited about exploring how I can push the dining experience of the user and create an interface that is useful to both the customer and the restaurant. Also an interface that will make the dining experience, especially the ordering process more seamless.
The following are the ideas I would like to explore and pitch for my final project.
1. Interactive Restaurant Menu
- Allows user to browse the menu, seeing choices, ingredients, nutritional facts, etc. User will be able to drill down to and compare different dishes to help make their choices.
- Based on the user’s likes and tendencies, it will recommend to them other dishes, appetizers, desserts, beverages, etc. that may go together well.
- If the user wants, they can ask for recommendations based on certain categories such as Vegetarian, Meat Lovers, etc.
- The UI also provides the users with something to do while they’re waiting such as ‘Did you know’ stories about their food, Trivia about the food that can be played by all at the table or even the restaurant, etc.
The interface would provide a new experience for diners, helping them to make more educated decisions while at the same time providing entertainment.
2. Library Book Tracking System
- Users can log into the library system and browse the books.
- When they pick a book it will show them from the tracking system, exactly where it is in the library and lead them there with directions on their phone.
- Librarians will also be able to use the system to file the returned books. The system will show them where the two books that surround it are so the book will have a precise location.
3. Traffic Tracking/Warning System
- A signage system positioned around and before freeway entrances that warns drivers of the amount of traffic BEFORE they enter the freeway.
- The signage will show the level of traffic ranging from low to high and for about how long it lasts. This way, the drivers will be able to determine before they get on the on-ramp whether they should choose a different route. This will help disperse the traffic so that the freeways are not so crowded. It will let drivers determine for themselves whether they want to enter into the traffic jam.
Well, ready or not, the final is here. Although I wasn’t able to finish all the pages on my website due to a lack of time, I was bale to get the majority of it done and more than 8-9 pages. This week I was able to finish everything on the services tab except the Landlord Review section. I was able to get school boundary maps made for High Schools, Middle Schools, and Elementary Schools. In addition to that, I was able to add a lightbox feature to the properties pages. This enables the viewer to click on the picture and a bigger box will show up with the ability to scroll through several images. I added this feature to two different properties for the search results.
I am satisfied with the overall feel of the finished site. I feel it is appropriate for the target audience. I feel it is simple, intuitive, and easy to use. One thing that I was frusterated with was not being able to make my pages scroll down the way I wanted them to. In the future, I will design my website in a way that I will not have to find a work-around for. But I think, under the scope of what I had to accomplish for this class and final, I am satisfied with the product I delivered.
I’ve continued to work on my site in an attempt to finish the entire thing. I’m drawing near, only a few pages left with some final tweaks. The most recent updates have been the addition of the service pages. I finished the all but the landlord review subsection. I hope to get to it this coming week.
This week I had the opportunity to put more time into the further progression of my site. I added several pages including the about, neighborhoods, northwest, northeast, southwest, southeast, and contact us pages.
On the about us page, I included a brief description about the service and also a small section of testimonials.
In the neighborhood section, I created a landing page with rollover sidebar navigation for the four different geographical areas within Bakersfield. I then created the subpages for the four individual areas. Those individual pages serve the purpose of informing the customer about the population. Hence, it has a few statistics about the population, average age, and average family income. It then provides a brief paragraph description about the area.
Lastly, I added a contact form on the Contact Us page that the customer can fill out and send to the company.
I am happy with the direction the site is going and look forward to revising, adding to, and finishing more pages.
Well, I have neglected to update my blog for the past couple of weeks, so I will try to step back a week and describe some of the revisions I made for last week’s class.
One of the things that was lacking style was the home page. On the home page there has been a list of features that the website offers its customers. This list has formerly been displayed as red text separated by paragraph breaks. Obviously, as a designer this is a less successful design aesthetically. So, in an attempt to make it a little more sleek and aesthetically pleasing, I designed and implemented some rollover buttons with graphics. I feel this much improved way to display those features on the front page.
Another change I made, which was suggested during my midterm crit, was to add the location of the other surrounding apartments on the individual apartment maps. I felt that was a good suggestion and it has now been implemented into the site.
