Journal Entry 7

            Last night in Studio we had our dress rehearsal of the fall showcase. This experience was very helpful in getting feedback about my project. The second timers were really supportive during the first half of the session. They had great advice to offer to make my site better, for example create more white space where there is a lot of text and also make links open in new windows. It was also great to just talk with them about design. They made a lot of compliments on my project and seemed impressed at what I created as a first timer to the course. It really made me feel like I had succeeded at something. Dr. Rieber discussed how sometimes we feel like creations may not be significant, but really we should not think that way because to other people they are significant. This is exactly how I feel sometimes. It was good to hear him reassure us that what we are doing is stepping out of our comfort zone and creating projects that are extraordinary.

            After the second timers viewed our projects we were able to view theirs. They had some amazing projects. It was so neat to see what they had created and the tools they used to get there. They are more experienced than us, so it was interesting to see where we would be next fall. One project that stuck out to me was a particular game that a second timer created. He had me actually play his game so that he could see where improvements were needed. Kapor (1996) states, “during the course of implementing a design, new information will arise, which many times will change the original design” (p. 8). I was able to be a key part of his design. I really enjoyed the design conversations that came about last night at the rehearsal.

            I plan on taking their comments to heart and looking over my project. The next few weeks before the final showcase, I plan on tweaking things in my project to make it the best that I can make it. I like Krause’s (2004) last statement about how designers succeed by “fostering personal creativity, learning the language of aesthetics and striving for proficiency with the tools of their trade” (p. 351). Not only do I want to succeed at this course, but also as a designer of future projects. This course is the first step in achieving this goal and I am sure the other studio courses will be the other key steps to becoming a designer and developer.

References

Kapor, M. (1996). A software design manifesto. In Winograd, T. (Ed.), Bringing Design to Software (pp. 1-9). New York: Addison-Wesley.

Krause, J. (2004). Design basics index: A designer's guide to designing effective compositions, selecting dynamic components and developing creative concepts. Cincinnati, OH: How Design Books.