OUGD504 - Design for Screen - Evaluation

This project gave me valuable insight into the processes and production considerations associated with designing a screen based user experience. After attending a talk at Glug by the Leeds based women in tech group ‘She does digital’, I was inspired to start my exploration of screen based design and this project provided me with the perfect opportunity to begin experimenting with the world of digital.

This brief was a sharp learning curve for me as I had never designed anything for screen before being given this project. I had to familiarize myself with new considerations such as pixels, wireframes, sitemaps and developers as well as getting to grips with completely new programmes such as After Effects. Despite this I believe I have fulfilled my learning potential during the module and that it has helped me to progress further in my practice. 

At times the project became frustrating when my limited knowledge of the unfamiliar software got the better of me, however overcoming these obstacles and producing the animated versions of my design became some of the most rewarding parts of the process.

I believe my final design was successful for the way in which it met all the criteria set in the original brief, making the process of finding student housing easier and more fun. The design of the site itself was kept straight forward, modern and uncluttered with images being kept at the centre point of the design. The new colour scheme and overall layout of the site also made the design much more user friendly than that of it’s competitors.  

From a practical aspect, the project taught me how designers work alongside developers in industry and showed me the list of different processes that are involved in making designs for screen so that they are industry ready.  

However, on a conceptual level, aspects such as the talk with Only helped me transform the way in which I go about brainstorming a project, first identifying a problem and then finding a solution so that my designs are more creative and innovative, pushing past limitations associated with printed design. I also learnt that when designing for screen it is important to consider the user experience as much as, if not more than the aesthetic elements. These include how the design feels, sounds, looks and interacts on every layer.

The project also alleviated any misconceptions I had previously such as the idea that coding was the job of the web designer or that web design is boring or unimaginative. Web design is limitless, constantly evolving and here to stay. It can elevate a brand to a much higher level than previous. Although web design may have some limitations designers embrace these challenges and push opportunities where possible. 

If I was to do the project again I would make sure to explore a range of different designs and fully document the experiments and considerations I explored along the way. I would also do more thorough testing of the finished design such as making it interactive and giving it users to evaluate.