Thesis Proposal

On September 24, 2015September 26, 2015 By lettisiascarlettIn Senior Project Pre-ProductionLeave a comment

A conversation with Gavin turned out to be very fruitful for me. We were discussing thesis and he shared his experience and words of wisdom. Midst conversation about books, Tony and Planned Parenthood, he asked me what my dream job is and suggested making my thesis directed at the company that I want to work for. In his opinion, I should create a thesis that a hiring person from my dream company would want to hire me when he/she reads it.

When asked what is my dream company to work for, my answer is Nordstrom as a UX designer. I’ve always been fascinated with the world of User Experience; how it acts as a bridge to connect companies and their services/products to customers. Since young, my businessman father has always said that I’m very well suited working with people and finding solutions. He wanted me to study Finance and Marketing and hopefully continue his business, but I just couldn’t stay away from art and design. Being an UX designer would help me achieve two dreams, mine and my beloved father; whom I owe my entire existence to. I want to work with people, helping them find solutions for their design problems-combining both business and design. For my thesis, I would like to develop a study on Nordstrom; their company history, how they’ve become a top-leading technology company in tech-driven city like Seattle, how UX design has influenced the way Nordstrom markets their merchandise, an analysis of their best-rated for usability Nordstrom app, the history of UX design and how design influence human behavior.

I’m still not quite sure what the title would be for my thesis, so I’ll need your help next quarter.

UX/UI Design in Retail
A. What is UX Design
1. Elements of UX Design
2. Distinctions Between UX and UI
B. Why UX/UI
1. Early History of UX
i. Microsoft
2. Psychological Research
i. Don Norman
ii.Why Humans Love Good Design
C. E-Commerce & UX/UI
1. Introduction to E-Commerce
2. Importance of E-Commerce
3. Dependent Relationship

Introduction to Nordstrom
A. Early History
1. John W. Nordstrom
2. From Gold to Shoes
B. A Family-Owned Business
1. Success of the Nordstroms
2. Psychological Stand-Point of Family-Driven Business
C. Today & Future
1. Nordstrom Today
2. Nordstrom App & Website

Future of Nordstrom
A. More Support
1. Bigger Team
2. New Ideas
B. Spontaneous & Humanitarian Marketing
1. Eccentric & Challenging Environmental Graphic Design
2. Setting Trends for Seattlelite Lifestyle
C. Expansion & Renovation
1. Innovative Design Plans for Nordstrom Stores
2. Becoming a Tourist Destination

New P3 Proposal

On September 16, 2015September 16, 2015 By lettisiascarlettIn Senior Project Pre-ProductionLeave a comment

RECIPEbot App Design

BACKGROUND: The idea behind this app is to help people find
recipes, organize and plan meals with their on hand inventory.
Users would be able to search, save and organize recipes.

PRICE: Free

MARKETED AT: Apple iTunes store

TARGET MARKET: Homecooks. From 22 to 40 years old.

PROBLEM: There’s no specific app that will account your
on-hand inventory while browsing for recipes. Some apps
like Whole Foods and Epicurious had done the feature in the
past but has since switched gears toward more browsing
with one or two keywords only. Users find it stressing that
they keep looking at recipes they don’t have ingredients for.

SOLUTION: Create an effective app that adheres to users’
needs while being user-friendly with well designed UI,
advanced filter options and substitution suggestions.

TIMELINE:
Week 10: Wireframes
Week 11: Hi-Fi Presentation

P3 Progress Check: Flowchart

On September 2, 2015 By lettisiascarlettIn Senior Project Pre-ProductionLeave a comment

Here’s the flowchart to my WSDOT app.

flowchart

Updated Thesis Biblography

On September 2, 2015October 8, 2015 By lettisiascarlettIn Senior Project Pre-ProductionLeave a comment

Bibliography for now:

Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think

Susan Weinschenk, 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People

Lindsay Ratcliffe & Marc McNeill, Agile Experience Design: A Digital Designer’s Guide to Agile, Lean and Continuous

Eric Reiss, Usable Usability: Simple Steps For Making Stuff Better

Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Gregory Bernarda, Alan Smith & Trish Papadakos, Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want

Aaron Walter, Designing for Emotion

Don Norman, Peter Berkrot, The Design of Everyday Things

Marc Gobe, Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People

Richard Florida, Mark Boyett, The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community, and Everyday Life

Spector, Robert, and Patrick D. McCarthy. The Nordstrom Way To Customer Service Excellence : The Handbook For Becoming The ‘Nordstrom’ Of Your Industry. Hoboken: Wiley, 2012. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 7 Oct. 2015.

Charlie Scheips, American Fashion

Vicki Howard, From Main Street to Mall: The Rise and Fall of the American Department Store (American Business, Politics, and Society)

P2 Final Project

On September 2, 2015September 2, 2015 By lettisiascarlettIn Senior Project Pre-ProductionLeave a comment

http://youtu.be/KhOC3qyKnoA

P2 Peer Feedback

On August 19, 2015August 19, 2015 By lettisiascarlettIn Senior Project Pre-ProductionLeave a comment

After seeing my storyboard, Keinan mentioned that he didn’t like clock scene of it. He felt it was too distracting and made him stare at it too much. So then we explored other possibilities like transition styles. I showed him transitions that I can pull of such as this below:

but since he didn’t like the clock idea, I think it’s also worth trying to make “clock effect” transition style like seen below:

Keinan also mentioned he didn’t like the idea of the tea box sliding into the camera view. I don’t like the idea of having tea box at all because it’ll require vector graphics that I have to create. We explored other options like perhaps having just the spoon with leaves on it slides in, or falling leaves seen from aerial perspective going into the pot. It’ll take more time but if I can pull it off we agree it’ll be really awesome.

I will also add more information about the event itself at the end of the video. Perhaps words flying in left and right and just simple effects to typography and to include their website. He also showed me Richard Stegeman‘s website where Richard did a project of flat motion graphics for a client.

P2 Progress

On August 19, 2015August 19, 2015 By lettisiascarlettIn Senior Project Pre-ProductionLeave a comment

Here’s the storyboard for my 2nd project.
storyboard

Project 3 Prelim Proposal

On August 19, 2015 By lettisiascarlettIn Senior Project Pre-ProductionLeave a comment

Client: Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)

Background: WSDOT is a Washington governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of the state’s transportation infrastructure. Its cameras monitor traffic flow throughout major highways in Washington state and supply the information on their website.

They currently show four highways leading to Canadian borders through i5, i15, i13 and i11 for all general purpose, NEXUS and trucks. All information regarding Canadian customs and NEXUS application is available through their website also.

Target Audience: 23 to 55 years old and all cautious people who like to plan ahead

Problem: The website is not mobile friendly, it’s hard to look at the wait times, you have to zoom in quite a bit. It’s hard to look for more information because of it being not mobile friendly.

Strategy: To make finding information as easy as possible. The app would be very straightforward and requires little tapping on screen to get to information that a user needs. Plan to use simple icons, flat design and grid system like Windows phone. Adding a refresh button to ensure latest information.

Timeline:
Week 6: Proposal
Week 7: Flowchart
Week 8: Flowchart revision
Week 9: ABSENT
Week 10: Wireframes
Week 11: High-fidelity (present)