Day: March 6, 2017

In the workshop this week, we looked at InDesign Structuring and layout design for the benefit of our R and D file. We looked at an existing magazine page from Vertex Magazine. The design is very much of its time, it has not aged well and is very difficult to read. The graphics just maintain an ugly aesthetic and make reading the page even worse. The article discusses an indie game and features a screen shot from the game. This has been placed in a window as big as the logos at the bottom which creates a distracting layout.

With skills learnt during the workshop, I then recreated the magazine page to look a little sleeker and give it a much more lasting appearance. I started by giving the font a hierarchy through the usage of colour and font size. This then creates a leading order for which the reader has to follow. I also dropped the complicated background texture and replaced it with a much sleeker white and grey. I broke the text into two smaller columns for better readability. Changing the font into a much more modern serif font also allowed for a cleaner look.

After a few revisions of my project, the aim of ‘Comm-Unity’ is to encourage exploration and the use of local business to a younger audience. Many people find themselves becoming introverted and reclusive thanks to technology. The aim of my project is to get these people outside, interacting with others and finding new things around them. The project works through the use of beacons or ‘Pucks’ (named so because they look very similar to a hockey puck) that are set up around local areas. These pucks can be obtained via an application stating why one of these would be beneficial to the applicant. Users would then download the free app on their smartphone that sends them notifications when they’re nearby a beacon without giving it away to encourage exploration. Using the NFC chip within most modern day smartphones, users would be able to connect to the beacons and gain points and levels which can then be used to access discounts and offers within the local businesses. Owners of the pucks can upload data to them so that when scanned by the explorers, people find out information, reviews, social media etc. Besides the main objective of getting younger people outdoors, the project also aims to assist local economy as increasing the income from small, local businesses increases tax and so improves the local area for all. Through adding a ‘gamified app’ to the project, users will be more involved with the app and find it much more appealing. The only problem lies with weather and theft for the pucks themselves should they be used outside, however, that issue would be something that was looked into in further development.