Sawmills Studio

Sawmills Studio is a community arts space run by a collective of artists, designers and typographers who have workshops in the community and educational bodies. They are committed to promoting and showcasing the power of typography.

After discovering five Victorian letterpress machines they have began the journey to re-establishing themselves as a working press and museum. They see the development as a chance at creating a centre of excellence for typography in Ireland. Sawmills Studio aims to conserve, develop and protect the art form of letterpress printing while showcasing the social history of print in Kells, County Meath.

Sawmills Studio also hold a typography festival each year in the town called ‘TypeTrail’. To view the TypeTrail rebrand follow the link.

Objective

Create a visual communication identity, branding and strategy for Sawmills Studio that empathises with and connects with their target audiences while reflecting their ethos.

Exhibition Tickets and Space

Business Card

Children’s activity

The activity is based on children using letters to create animals as seen below.

Staff Uniforms/Apron for children’s workshops

Digital Elements

First Wireframe Sketches

prototype for web and mobile

Shows animation of various elements to tie the brand together.

Stickers - instant branding

membership cards

Dublin Food Co-op

About the project

Dublin Food Co-op is an ethical food store based in Dublin city centre which embraces community and sustainable living. The Co-op is an organisation formed by a mutual passion for the environment and organic produce. In the age of the conscious consumer Dublin Food Co-op promotes the rational use of the Earth’s resources while supplying organic whole foods to their customers. The Co-op is much more than a shopping experience it is a community with easy access to healthy, fresh produce. Customers can support local, small scale agriculture while being socially responsible and keeping their environmental footprint in mind.

The Co-op goes beyond food organising workshops, talks and events to raise its cultural profile.

Objective

The main objective is to modernise the Dublin Food Co-op’s image whilst keeping their traditional roots and ethos intact. To understand the history of the Co-op and its morals we will produce a brand identity aimed at deepening their current member base but also enticing more health conscious, forward thinking consumers to the Co-op. and to introduce more customers to support the local Co-op and help to sustain our environment while expanding this vibrant community of like-minded thinkers.

Design Areas

• Branding

• Graphic Design

• Print

• User Experience

• User Interaction

• Social Media

Slogan

“Nourishing Community” and “Deep Rooted Since 1983”
These slogans were developed as part of the branding.

WIcked Problem

“Define the problem, design the solution.”

Brands help consumers make choices. It appeals to the senses, a good brand makes us want to see it, touch it, hold it and watch it. Dublin Food Co-op are at a turning point in their business, they are planning on moving premises and are trying to find a niche in the supermarket industry in Dublin. This project was deemed a wicked problem since the client were not certain of what they wanted but knew they wanted change and a refresh to give them an edge amongst larger supermarket brands.

The solution to this problem was creating a brand positioning statement with a defined mission and vision for Dublin Food Co-ops brand while also identifying who it would attract.

Client Interview

At the initial client meeting questions were asked to try and answer some of the wicked problems at hand. Some themes emerged and documenting them visually is always helpful to give instant insight into the problem and the solution.

This quick infographic shows the interconnectedness between all aspects of the Dublin Food Co-op. This methods shows that they want to be connected to people, to the earth and to their food in the age of the conscious consumer.

Shopping at the Co-op is more than just a shopping experience it’s a community and offers an alternative to common profit-orientated business models.

Surveys and Interviews

According to social proof studies many questions which involve ethics do not get accurate results because people feel pressured to give the morally correct answer. Since many questions that were being put to potiental customers were on the topic of environmental consciousness the survey stayed anonymous so we could gather accurate insights.

Areas Identified are:

1. Healthy Eating is important to a majority of people surveyed.

2. Most had not heard of Dublin Food Co-op.

3. Majority would pay more for ethically sourced goods and produce.

4. People have busy lives and are often unable to get healthy food as often as they would like.

Co-op Shopper Interviews

Areas Identified are:

1. Many are not members.

2. Majority vegan or vegetarian.

3. Age bracket 25 - 35.

4. Mostly female.

5. Buzzwords about the store - wholesome, spacious, multicultural, friendly.

Main target customer identified from research is female between 25-35 with disposable income and interested in a healthy lifestyle.

Lifecycle Mapping

Visual Language Development

Visiting the store was the main starting point of development. The team wanted to create a logo that represented each aspect of the Co-ops values in a professional but organic and playful way.

Colour and texture inspiration from fruit and vegetables in store went on to influence the logo and other various areas of the projects visual brand. Much of the logo was also determined by four areas identified as the co-ops main brand pillars.

• Connecting with people.

• Focusing on the local community.

• Supporting suppliers and their members.

• The activist roots the co-op was founded upon.

These are only some stages of the design process. Please visit the dedicated process page for more information on other processes.

Deliverables

Logo

In-store Branding

Posters

Grocery App Prototype

Postgraduate Research

Result - First Class Honours

Examples of nameplate signs seen throughout Dublin City.

Design Theory and Accessibility

Visual Impairments, Blindness and Ageing

Policies and Law

Argument for Celtic Rendition of Irish

Dublin Public Realm Policies and Strategies

Visual Impairments, Blindness, Ageing and Design Theory in Practice

Solutions need to be sought in various areas in cities which are not just “politically correct” but also serve the purpose of making everyday life easier for people. The challenge of facing the requirements of tomorrow increases and should be solved through intelligent planning. It has become more critical than before since our environments have grown more complex and confusing. Finding our way through towns and cities was once a minor task that has now developed into a challenge. Understanding the function of information and effectively designing that information is essential.

Providing information for problem-solving is a key task for designers. In our urban environments, wayfinding and signage is a problem-solving activity. Gaining an understanding of how sighted people and people with visual impairments inhabit those environments and solve those problems help determine what information is needed and where.

Technology

Seeing AI - Microsoft

‘Seeing AI’ is a Microsoft phone app designed with input from 12 visually impaired Microsoft employees. Microsoft wants to empower people with their phones. Microsoft describes the app as using “computer vision to audibly help blind and visually impaired people to see the world around them”.

Microsoft says this app can read short text, documents, help locate and identify barcodes on products, recognise faces and currency. The app has various channels the user goes through to allow the device to understand what it is reading. A new feature Microsoft is experimenting with is “Scene”, this will describe the environment the user is situated in directly through their phone. Microsoft says Seeing AI “turns the visual world into an audible experience”. Seeing AI is currently free and exclusively available on the Apple app store.

Walk Dublin

Dublin centric application ‘Walk Dublin’ launched in 2012 for iPhone. It was developed with NCBI and with blind and visually impaired people in mind giving them audio to follow when navigating the city. The “Walk Dublin” app was launched to complement the new wayfinding systems installed throughout Dublin inner city in 2011 and 2012. Mayor of Dublin City at the time Naoise Ó Muirí commented at the launch stating "The function of the wayfinding app is to assist people in successfully navigating their way around the city and to obtain information about the key cultural and institutional attractions in the city". As per September 23rd 2018 this app is unavailable to download and is not featured on iTunes or Apple app store.

Insights

Technology relies on internet connection, this depends on mobile connectivity through 4G and the strength of WIFI internet. This technology will carry on developing rapidly given the decreasing costs of sensors, smartphone, cameras and camera smartphones together.

Research conducted in Chicago gives an insight into older peoples use of technology regarding navigation compared to street signage. “Older Adult Strategies for Wayfinding” research states out of 35 participants over the age of 65 only 2 used GPS or their mobile phone for directions, 80% of participants in the study favoured street nameplates while 8.2% found advance (signs that say the upcoming street) helpful.

Googles Director of Accessibility Eve Anderson comments on this saying “most of us are likely to discover that accessible technology will become more important to us as we age” so digital literacy could be generational.

Best Practice for Barrier-Free Signage

Interviews and Insights from Primary Research

Participants were selected as they have direct knowledge of the research topic or are experts in their fields. A diverse range of participants was chosen to offer various views and perspectives on the research topic. This information will fill in the gaps found in the secondary research while also giving a voice to the first hand experiences of people with blindness and visual impairments. The names of the people interviewed are removed to protect their identity since this website is a public platform. Individuals that were interviewed discussed the same topics allowing them to give a variety of perspectives.

Purpose of Interviews

The purpose of the interviews is to gain a first-hand expert opinion on systems in place at the moment surrounding blindness and visual impairments, plans for future accommodation for blind and visual impaired people to do with signage given the Public Realm masterplans stance on universal design and ageing. Identify and understand the unique perspectives of blind and visually impaired people in Ireland regarding wayfinding and signage which would not be available through published works. Building on information gathered throughout the secondary research and closing gaps which may have emerged throughout about this research topic.

Main Insights

Analysis of the primary data has shown some themes and common connections between participants and expert opinion in the literature. Participants gave varied opinions on the subject matter which contributed to gathered secondary data previously collected. It gave a unique insight into the handling of nameplate design in Dublin. The interviewees offered awareness of many factors which determine how best practice is achievable including the conflict between policy and inclusive design. There is some reference to this in the secondary research but gaining perspective from experts who work with these limitations in Ireland and abroad was essential in building understanding as to how opposing factors occur.

Conclusions and Recommendations

This segment makes recommendations regarding the conclusions raised. These points demonstrate that there are some conflicting issues regarding best practice. Through the identification of these differences, a variety of crucial considerations emerged when addressing best practice and the needs of the user.

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How Digital Design Can Help Dyslexics Move to Screen

An analysis of the struggles dyslexics face online and how through effective design the issues they face can be minimised.

This research critically examines the changes that designers can make with user experience design, graphics, layout and navigation, that can help people with dyslexia online using Moodle as an example.

Result - First Class Honours

Designers have an important role to play in communicating to the world. How messages are expressed, portrayed and received is equally as important. Designers have a huge responsibility to showcase information in the clearest way possible for the audience to understand.

Within the field of visual communications web design has recently come to the forefront. Web and digital design is the process of creating websites; it combines several elements together including webpage layout, user experience design, interface design, content and graphic design. At the end of 2014 an estimated 3 billion users globally will have access to the Internet. As more people move from paper to the Internet, user experience and user interface design has become a more planned practice helping people gain more from their on-line experience.

Making a Difference

Visual issues affect more than just the visually impaired; designers need more consideration for people with disabilities like dyslexia. Online accessibility increases the quality of peoples lives greatly that suffer from dyslexia and other visual difficulties giving them a sense of freedom and confidence. Design needs to be more socially responsible and to consider more than just the average person. People with dyslexia have a unique challenge; that designers are problem solvers and should produce designs that help solve the issues that people face.

Web design is usually aimed at the average, visually able person, but what about those people who do not fit into that category? This raises the issue of social responsibility within web design. When planning a web page, designers fail to consider the startling number of people with some form of dyslexia. Such people with dyslexia have to contend with many issues related to their dyslexia on a daily basis; performing tasks online shouldn’t be an added concern if it can be helped.

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia symptoms vary from person to person but there are common links between all. The Dyslexia Association of Ireland defines dyslexia as ‘specific learning difficulty affecting the acquisition of fluent and accurate reading and spelling skills’. This occurs despite access to appropriate learning opportunities. The most common of all symptoms are reading difficulties. Spelling and speech are also a struggle whilst distinguishing between sounds can also prove to be a challenge. These symptoms mentioned barely scan over the problems people with the condition endure on a regular basis such as using forms, reading street signs, to viewing a bank statement. The Internet can be harnessed in such a way to help those with dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in word recognition and spelling. It is a cognitive neurobiological condition that is located physically in the brain and affects the development of a person's individual's literacy skills.These struggles appear even when the person is a smart, capable individual and seems to have a good oral understanding of what they are trying to say, spell or read.

There are a number of main characteristic difficulties associated with dyslexia such as phonological (the study of speech sounds in a language), visual difficulties and auditory processing. Dyslexia is a phonological impairment which means dyslexics find it hard to associate sounds with letters in turn, affecting their reading and writing. When understanding and speaking a language the normal brain automatically converts the word into phonemes (smallest unit of a word) for the person to say it. They then try to read or write a word, the person needs to identify the letters associated with the phonemes and arrange them into a word. This is called phonological processing, people with dyslexia struggle to achieve this from an early age. Issues resulting from phonological processing have been found in at least 80 to 90 % of individuals with dyslexia. There is no relationship between a person’s intellect, individual effort or social position and the presence of dyslexia. It is not a sign of poor vision or laziness. People who have dyslexia cannot outgrow it. It is a lifelong condition, it is genetic and it does not go away.

Biological

Dyslexia is regarded as a neurobiological condition, which stems from genetics. Individuals can inherit dyslexia from a parent, if one parent has dyslexia there is a 40% to 60% chance of the child inheriting dyslexia. This affects the performance of the neurological system that is the part of the brain used for learning to read. Essentially this means the brain’s construction and the neural connections that are needed for processing information has developed differently in those who are dyslexic. This connection means they find processing tasks involving reading and language more challenging than those without dyslexia. People with dyslexia have a visual, right brained processing style and think largely in image.

ProGressing

More and more people with dyslexia are progressing to third level through increased awareness and resources. At Athlone Institute of Technology academic notes for class are put on a web based system called “Moodle”. Moodle is an open source-learning platform; used by millions of schools, universities, businesses and charities globally for eLearning.

Moodle helps educators build interactive online material, online courses, and collaborations as a resource for their students. However, the design and layout of Moodle itself is confusing and frustrating even for the most competent of readers. Those with and without dyslexia rely on Moodle to keep up with college work; it is necessary to create an easier online learning environment to enhance user and learning experience.

While creating the Moodle redesign the strengths people with dyslexia have will be highly incorporated and integrated into the website. Their weaknesses will be supported and explored through researched theory about all areas of user experience, web and graphic design through use of text, colour and imagery.

Design Theory with Dyslexia in Mind

Dyslexia and Typography

People often get mixed up with the terms ‘typeface’ and ‘font’. A typeface is the style or pattern of the letters. These are the parts that change thickness, roundness and how elaborate or curly the font looks. ‘Serifs’ and ‘sans serifs’ are the common classification or sometimes referred to as ‘with feet’ and ‘without feet’. Take the typeface ‘Times’ it has little ‘feet’ on the bottom of the letter ‘T’ as well as curls on the cross bar. In comparison a ‘sans serif’ font such as ‘Arial’ does not feature any of these. Font denotes the parameters applied to the typeface. This can make the typeface bold and italic, as well as size, and kerning (space between letters).

Recommended online fonts for dyslexics are Helvetica, Arial and Verdana. The Davis Dyslexia Association International has provided one example of online font research, as of November 2015 Arial and sans serif fonts were recommended for online readability.
Dyslexics find italicised text difficult to read. Compared to roman fonts, the letters appear to have a jagged line, with the letters also leaning to the right it’s difficult for dyslexic users to make out the text. A more logical way to highlight text is to use the bold feature; this makes the letters clearer and provides greater contrast. Font size is also a factor, while in the print world it is necessary to make the text as small as possible because of cost and the eco footprint of the document. However if the document is made for the sole purpose of the web there are no restrictions on the size of the font. The recommended sizes are 12pt or 14pt for readability.

Kerning

Kerning and ligatures should also be considered when using type. The space between letters is referred to as kerning. A ligature is created when two letters are too close together they form one character, this causes distress for the reader. One example that is common is between ‘f’ and ‘i’. It will always depend on the chosen font but it is a regular occurrence that the dot at the top of the ‘i’ vanishes into the ‘f’. Whilst many computer programmes have stopped this happening it still is food for thought. The space between lines of text is also very important, leading playing a major part in ensuring ease of use.

Leading is the vertical space between lines, which is now commonly known as ‘line spacing’. The word originates from when letters were made of lead and leading denoted the strips of lead put between lines to separate them. As well as considering aesthetic appeal, increased white space separates the descenders the parts of the letters that hang down (such as ‘j’ ,’y’, ‘p’) from ascenders the parts of the letters that rise up (such as ‘b’, ‘d’, ‘h’). Giving the descenders and ascenders space allows the reader to distinguish the letters that would otherwise just blend together. In most programs such as Microsoft word the line spacing is set at a default usually at 1.15 but can be manually set to optimise readability.

Justification

Justification means the way texts sits between margins. Left justification keeps the text to the left of the margin, this maintains even spaces between words but it creates an uneven right edge. Right justification places the words up against the right margin but it creates an uneven left margin. Full justified text places the sentences across the full width of the page, this places gaps between words making sure the last letter of the last word lines up perfectly against the margin. While justified text can prove to be visually pleasing because it creates perfectly straight lines across either side of the page, it generates reading problems for dyslexics. The even special pattern disrupts the brains pattern recognition and forms visual distractions like the river effect, which are hard to ignore. Although unjustified text isn’t as attractive it is far easier to read.

Colour and Layout

Colour and layout are other essential factors when it comes to widely accessible web design. A case study carried out by The Davis Dyslexia Association International offers statistics on which colour background dyslexics prefer when it came to web design. White, cream and blue came out on top, while this goes against the British dyslexia Associations (BDA) guidelines. The BDA recommend against using white backgrounds as sufferers deemed it as “dazzling” and can cause visual stress they suggest using pastel or cream colours, while the dyslexia Association of Ireland suggest using cream, yellow or blue. Colour contrast can aversely affect page readability, choosing the right colour for text is important too. Scoptic Sensitivity Syndrome makes high contrast text difficult to read making the words appear to move across the screen, the majority of Dyslexic people suffer from this. Pure black text should be presented as grey to since black text makes the text swirl around the web page. Seeking a balance of colour contrast is important and is less tiring on the eyes. Patterned or tiled backgrounds are also deemed unhelpful.

Examples of Scoptic Sensitivity Syndrome also known as Irlen Syndrome or Visual Stress.

Graphics and pictorial images can be helpful since dyslexics are visual thinkers, and as visual thinkers people with dyslexia tend to develop strong imaginations. They use an image based reasoning process to solve problems rather than express them verbally or in writing. The user experience is enhanced if there are pictures to look at. You do not have to suffer from dyslexia to know that scanning a page of text is far more pleasurable when images or graphics break up the text. Graphics and images break up the webpage into smaller portions. They deliver a memory aid and support for dyslexics. They may also help the user connect with what they are reading; they immediately give a sense of what the page is about. Graphics can also help with navigation. Effective navigation allows the visitor to move around a website. Website navigation has two functions, to tell the user where they are and to enable the user to go elsewhere.

The screen layout is of central importance and is regularly overlooked. Dyslexics find it hard to remember instructions and find are easily confused. It is best to have a simple navigation and a hierarchy, which highlights which page, is on view at any one time. The navigation should be consistent between pages and intuitive. There should be a sense of familiarity throughout the elements of the webpage. Back and forward buttons are also a component that could be helpful for dyslexic users because they are consistent and visible. Making navigation simple, consistent, easy to learn, use and memorise is crucial. While exploring all the various design guidelines for dyslexics, might it be possible to formulate a universal design strategy for all?

Moodle

Moodle is an open source learning management system, people use it globally, to host and offer online education and tuition programs. Since Moodle is open source there are is wide array of web themes and resources available for developers to use when designing Moodle. A web theme refers to a predesigned template that can be downloaded from the Internet and installed onto a webpage. These are usually not designed by the Moodle administrator and commonly chosen solely because they are deemed aesthetically pleasing.

Moodle administrators in Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) have chosen not to use a template but merely changed the colour scheme of the panels on Moodle. Through conversing with fellow students in Athlone Institute of Technology, one alumni student mentioned that the responsibility for setting up Moodle was once in the hands of a software engineering lecturer. Although software engineering concentrates on the development, engineering and maintenance of software, a software engineer should not have been expected to have the graphic design knowledge and capabilities that are undoubtedly essential in building an effective website.

After speaking to the person responsible it transpired the establishment of Moodle in AIT was a pilot project in the School of Engineering where they held a trial on Moodle as a virtual learning environment. It was explained that the creators of the software make the decisions relating to graphic design elements, not by the people installing it. The responsibility of Moodle is now in the hands of AIT's Computer Services Department. It would seem that not much planning or thought has gone into the socially responsible side of designing Moodle for those with dyslexia.

Moodle in AIT is quite primitive graphically; to begin with we will examine the log in page and progress from there.

Moodle Log In design

Referring back to the colour theories mentioned in chapter two, the types of colours dyslexics found pleasing were cream and blue along with other pastel colours. Moodle is bright orange along with different tones of orange as you log into the website, the colours are quite strong and overbearing. They are not visually appealing or beneficial to the dyslexic individual based on the previous research discussed.

The next noticeable element is the typeface. The typeface is a sans serif font called “Calibri”. The British Dyslexia Association recommends Calibri. While the typeface is helpful the colours on which the text appears does not aide readability. The word “home” and the expression “forgotten your username or password?” appear highlighted bright blue, a blue that is too vivid. Undoubtedly this will cause problems. The Moodle log on screen also features a navigation bar across the top left of the screen. When the cursor pointer rolls over each word it is highlighted in a strong acidic orange against the grey and stark black text. In fact Moodle uses the same colour scheme that designer Sam Barclay uses to demonstrate the difficulties that people with dyslexia encounter

Moodle Home

After logging into the Moodle home page it is presented as “my home”. While moving from the log in page to the home page a there was a majority of the font changes encountered. Upon investigation the font used inside the website was discovered as “Rama Gothic Exp” another sans serif. The font is quite condensed and bold compared to Calibri, which still features in small elements on the home page on particular links again in blue. The same orange and grey based colours feature like the log in page.

The navigation bar to the left hordes a number of words and condensed codes such as “AL_DVISC_B_3 - MGMT H3036 - 48999 - L02” (Fig 16) to represent a different class on the course a student is doing. This code in particular is used to represent “small enterprise management”. To anyone, trying to make out the meaning of these jumbled pieces of text must be a chore. Each code is placed on top of each under in the navigation bar forming one compressed chunk of letters and numbers.

Above and below the swarm of numbers in the navigation bar are links to the users profile, one above is merely a link to the profile and the link below shows administrative profile settings. These links should be placed together as it would make sense to group together common features.

The main feature of the home page is the links in the of the page bringing the user to each individual module on the course. Some of the words used to state the name of the course are abbreviated for example “Small Enterprise Mgmt” meaning “small enterprise management”, words should be spelled out fully to counteract confusion. There is no reason as to by the titles cannot be spelled out fully. Alongside the heading of each module is once again the course code, which adds complexity to the heading and link to course content.

Each heading link for the course content is surrounded by a box with a bright yellow line, all of these boxes are not the same size and scale to fit the text featured within the box. Having this feature does not give form or an overall uniform structure that will increase readability. Once again the cursor rollover on each link is a vivid shade of blue with a tiny pop of text box saying once again the course name. There are other features on Moodle that get lost amongst the vast amount of information displayed on the home page such as links to your student email and a chat feature so you can converse to your fellow classmates or lecturer about course work. It is a shame they get lost in the visual noise and are important enough to be a main items on the websites homepage.

There are other features on Moodle that get lost amongst the vast amount of information displayed on the home page such as links to your student email and a chat feature so you can converse to your fellow classmates or lecturer about course work. It is a shame they get lost in the visual noise and are important enough to be a main items on the websites homepage.

Primary Research

Cultural Probe

A cultural probe gains insights from users with minimal intrusion from design researchers. They often uncover many elements from users and inspire solutions to various design problems. Students are strapped for time so they were handed a piece of paper with a prompt. In this instance the prompt is ‘when searching for class notes on Moodle I wish’ the student then had to complete the sentence. This also allows for anonymous responses, the students were not asked for their name just their course and what year of study they were in to see if there was a link issues on a certain course or was there a design issue college wide.

No particular students were singled out for the cultural probe or for the survey. At the heart of this research is universal design and ‘design for all’ establishing universal design elements throughout educational programmes like Moodle is essential since everyone requires and should be entitled to seamless access to their notes.

Interviews

Solution, Prototype and Feedback

Colour

Colour and typography was a massive issue with AITs Moodle design, there is a lack of constancy with font choice and the colour scheme, which will make it difficult for readability. For the redesign (Fig 19) blue and cream were chosen with a grey subtle text colour scheme.

Typeface

Considering Andrew Zusmans universal design concepts, Arial was picked as the font of choice. Using exclusively a font like dyslexie would isolate the majority of peoplewho do not have dyslexia. Arial is a sans serif font that was deemed appropriate by the British Dyslexia Association. The smallest point size used on the webpage is 14pt, keeping in line with minimum point size research explored previously. A majority of the typography is a variation of greys in contrast to the deep black used in the original Moodle designs.

Images and Icons

Since dyslexic people are visual thinkers Home page structure was very well considered, icons are be used to represent each main area on the home page. These icons are backed up by text featured below each image. The images are large but not completely overbearing and there is enough space between each icon to facilitate. When thinking about which symbols to use three basic questions were asked, Where is the user on the website? Where have they been? And where can they go? Since the user was on the home page, a house was used to represent the page itself. Five other icons will be used to represent other areas of the website, these include, classes, the user profile, email, chat, and alerts. The class icon shows a piece of paper and a pen to signify classes, class work notes, and the features that would be put on Moodle from each class. The user profile icon links the user to all things profile related, it has a symbol representative of a profile picture. The email sign is an envelope, a commonly used symbol for emails, familiarity is important when communicating to people with dyslexia. The chat symbol is a little speech bubble once again representative of the chat function and also a well-known image for online messaging as seen on social media and online. The final icon is alerts; the idea behind alerts is when a lecturer posts new content that you have not seen. The icon will have a number above it notifying you of any updates and how many updates there are. This will make sure students do not miss any notes put on the system.

Each icon was coloured blue with an off white image in the box, to make the icons look more “clickable”, a drop shadow was placed underneath. When the user highlights over an icon it will glow purple once again to show that it is entirely clickable and is a link to another page. Since dyslexics are known to get confused and lost on websites, to notify the user that they are on the home page the icon will light up a different colour to the other icons on the page. Each icon will change to that colour when the user switches to that relevant icons page. This adds constancy

Log In

The log in stayed in a similar place at the top of the page to the log in area on the original Moodle design. The type isn’t as condensed and it is easier to read in comparison. The “logged in as” section of the text is given more dominance with it cutting into the blue stripe across the top of the page while the “log out” stays within the blue. The same blue stripe at the stop of the page plays hosts to “Moodle Home” text to once again say to the use that they are on the home page to deter any navigational confusion. The links across the top left stay in a similar place above the blue stripe, they are highlighted in the cream, off white colour and are tinted in a grey. The left navigational bar text jumble is gone to leave a plain airy space, which houses only the AIT logo.

Permission To Wonder

About the Project

Permission to Wonder is an initiative from Dublin City Council and The Lab Gallery. The project is rooted in ‘Visual Thinking Strategies’ which is a teaching methodology. It focuses on children learning and expressing themselves through art. The initiative sets to to enrich children’s observational, evidential reasoning and problem-solving abilities. This practice of teaching challenges traditional teaching methods and allows for children’s engagement with a facilitator.

The project is an EU Erasmus project with 5 European partners.

Objective

Produce a design treatment and suitable identity to publicise and develop Permission to Wonder. Communicate the power of ‘Visual Thinking Strategies’ and the Permission to Wonder programme while giving The Lab Gallery the best possible way to explain this strategy to their intended audience. Throughout the project, the task involves producing appropriate design treatments considering publicity and promotional material for Permission to Wonder. The visual communication should have its own unique aesthetic, keeping in line with their target audience, The Lab and their partners core values.

1. Create positive interest from education facilitators.

2. Gain a positive review of the children’s experience.

3. Implement practical elements effectively.

4. Educate target audience on the potential of ‘Visual Thinking Strategies’ as an educational tool.

Design Areas

• Branding

• Graphic Design

• Print

• User Experience

• User Interaction

• Illustration

Research Methods

• Double Diamond

• Interviews

• Surveys

• Personas

• Secondary Research

• Audience Lifecycle

Identifying the Champion of the Project

Since there are so many people involved in the project the team needed to discover all of the various partners missions, visions and positions. The team also needed to simplify into categories the various shareholders throughout the project and identify the projects champion. A champion is someone who sees the value in the product and keeps it in the audiences minds. The three shareholders included students, partners and educators with the educator being the champion of the project since they are the connection between the partner, the students and the students parents.

Interviews and Surveys with Educators

The team decided to interview and survey primary school teachers since we identified them as the champions of the project. They also have an insight into pupils today and will be facilitators of the Permission to Wonder programme. Each question was carefully considered and came from ideas about deliverables from the team and our client.
Areas identified are:

1. New teaching methods encouraged including digital means.

2. Art education very important in the classroom. Children excited about art.

3. Group discussion encouraged in class.

4. Children love apps and have a high digital literacy.

5. 74% of teachers surveyed find children respond more positively to electronic devices than books.

6. Children enjoy seeing education as a game. It keeps them focused.

7. Teachers have not heard of ‘Visual Thinking Strategies’ but like the idea of using it.

User Personas

Lifecycle Mapping

Visual Language Directions

Stylescapes were used to help determine the visual language of the project. Creating various stylescapes directed the group and the project and allowed open discussion about the branding.

Various main priorities were:

1. Easy recognition.

2. Create an identity system that holds deliverables together.

3. Have the power to unlock memories, feelings and associations to Permission to Wonder.

These are only some stages of the design process. Please visit the dedicated process page for more information on other processes.

Deliverables

Introduction Booklet

Shareholder - Educator

Invite

Stakeholder - Student

Passport Printed

Stakeholder - Student

Passport App

Stakeholder - Student

App Development Ideation

Prototype

Illustrations and Stamps Developed for the App

Website

Stakeholder -Educators and Policyholders

Development Ideation

Prototype

Promotional Posters

MERCHANDISE

SURVEYS WITH public transport users

The main user focus was people who use public transport. A survey was created to get a large pool of information from people about their experience with public transport such as purchasing tickets, the availability of timetable information and their ease of access to both timetables and tickets through various mediums.

Areas identified are:

1. Many users buy public transport tickets through digital means already via online or ticket machines.

2. There is a sense of anxiety in terms of timetables and lack of transparency. Real Time Information regarding arrivals and departures helpful.

3. Public like to be informed and stay informed about services. Many look to social media for updates.

4. Re-entering of frequent locations and stops.

5. Digital literacy amongst people surveyed high.

6. Many people enjoy being prepared for a journey.

Cultural Probe

Identifying User Needs

Some main user needs:

Illustration

App Development

App Prototype