Final Project
Derek Tatum, Terris Johnson, Deep, Matthew
December 6th, 2007
Visual Design Final Project Write-up
Prototype Results:
A couple of friends of ours played with Pardon Me: Avatar Creation Tool and found the idea an interesting one. The notion of starting with a truly “blank slate” was something that most people had not realized was non-existant in many commercial avatar creators. Many of them thought that this was an issue worth commenting on, and commended our effort to try and find a solution.
Initially, they were confused as to why the gender and skin color choices were arranged in a rotating circle. Then as I asked them why they believe we made that design decision, most were able to answer correctly—that we were going for a non-prioritized, equal optioned interface. Some thought that this decision was merely for aesthetic purposes, but were able to understand the concept that we were going for.
Due to the rather crass visual design of the interface at this state, most reactions were very modest and not very involved. One of the main issues people had were that when selecting a body piece, there wasn’t any indication of what piece they were currently working on. Also, but obviously, people were underwhelmed with the choices that were available, as we only had a few options implemented at this point. When our friends finished many felt that there was no indication of their accomplishment—they did not know when they had successfully completed an avatar creation.
Overall, most were intrigued, a few were confused, but after explaining our goals we were met with overall interest and approval. In our next iteration, we will be sure to add quite a few things so that users feel more accomplished, and understand the message during and after avatar creation.
Member Contributions
Each member contributed to the graphic design of the project.
Brief Outline:
Matt: Did hairstyles and Clothes
Deep: Did Accessories and Shoes
Terris: Did Eyes and noses as well as base model design
Derek: Integrated everything into the flash interface
All members were instrumental in contributing to the entire “Pardon me/Equality” idea of the project. We met several times after class in order to talk about what it should be like, and so far, many of our ideas have been realized. It’s not entirely done, so hopefully by next Wednesday it will be more comprehensive and polished!