F I N D & S H A R E

The technological innovations that come out of Japan never fail to amaze me. This new projector can project actual 3D images into the air. This is going to have a huge impact on advertising, trade shows, and any information display. Also, it helps the environment by reducing our reliance on paper. 

Check it.

P R O J E C T 3 // sketches

On my homepage I am consider possible information that could be revealed when a term is rolled over. The information could be a definition of the verb as it relates to web design, a brief intro into the content to follow, etc. It is meant to be a serendipitous means of navigation. 

Here is an idea for the secondary level pages taking inspiration from the divisions of information found on boarding passes. In the upper left corner, a search field has been added to returning visitors or anyone who already knows what they are looking for. This method allows the phase summary information to remain in the upper portion of the ticket shape while they access definitions, so it can be referenced quickly without having to navigate backwards. An area in the right portion of the ticket provides links to related terms or areas within the site. 

Drawing inspiration again from travel documents, my bread crumb trail on the right shows the user where they have been in a similar fashion to that of a passport. Three featured articles appear on every page and change according to the category/phase in which you are browsing. 

P R O J E C T 3 // refinements

For my homepage, I wanted to use different verbs regarding the functions of websites to create a graphic based on the airline route maps from my mood boards. 

The remainder of the word ("tion") is revealed upon rollover. (note IDEATION)

After selecting a main category, a drop down list of the terms within that category and summary of the phase of development is revealed. 

The current definition is indicated by the light pink square behind the term. 

P R O J E C T 3 // mood board crit

Upon the completion of the group critique last Friday, my team members agreed that my "utilitarian" board best supported the connotation. During the its construction, I asked myself what objects or spaces were specifically designed to be useful rather than attractive. The first thing that came to my mind was closet and kitchen space. They are designed to store and access a variety of objects with ease through organization. 

The elements that best supported the audience were found in the "utilitarian" and "nomadic" boards. Web users tend to navigate through sites quickly in a "skimming" manner moving from one page to the next, very similar to the nature of nomads. Like nomads, it is important to know where you are going but also where you came from. At artifact I feel is successful in doing this is airline route maps. 

The grid-like structure used in California Closets has informed my thinking in regards to the navigational structure of my site. 

Obviously, consistency seems to be very important in regards to navigation. When you go to a new page, you need to be able to go back, go somewhere else, and you need those options to occur in the same place from page to page. However, I think my tertiary level pages can be a place where variance and interchangability can occur. Rather than this page being the same every time, perhaps the layout and type of information can change according to the term you have accessed. For example, not all pages will have images, the lengths of definitions will vary, some will have links, some won't, some will have articles, others won't, etc. This is why the 3rd level pages need to have some level of variance. 

I want my navigation to be more like a road map and less like driving instructions. It should inform you of everywhere you can go, not restrict you to a certain destination. With this thinking, I want users to move freely through the site, always knowing where they are going and where they came from. 

The airline boarding passes and route maps seems to provide a strong and appropriate conceptual and formal approach. 

P R O J E C T 3 // mood boards

NOMADIC

UTILITARIAN

VERSATILE

P R O J E C T 3 // wireframe

For these first two sketches, I wanted to have a departure from the typical navigation layouts that usually frame the outer edges of the window and create something that lies completely in the center. I prefer when the page "expands" as you navigate, not when it becomes more dense within a frame. 

Here is another concept that I couldn't help but add color to...

This is the main navigation menu

On rollover, the word is completed with the addition of the letters "TION" and once selected, becomes white.

The secondary navigation menu is then revealed.

Once a term is selected, the definition and any other information or imagery is revealed. 

P R O J E C T 3 // connotative words

::flexible

::tactile

::alternative

My connotative words for my proposed direction are...

::utilitarian

::versatile

::nomadic