To measure the success of my product, I should be looking at:
- If it is funny
- If it looks like my sketch
- If the silly portraits looks neat and organised (alined, same angle, same size)
The general idea of measuring success is to see if it looks like how it is expected. And this will probably be using the developing ideas phase and see if the product follows what is mentioned in the design specifications; see if the finished product looked like the sketch/ drawing; see if the fonts are correct; see if the colours are as expected.
Evaluating Success
Feedback
The feedback was very positive:
It is awesome! It is very organised and well-format and neat, like how the mugshots are neatly alined. It is good how I put the signatures above the person's mugshots/ Silly Portraits. I have followed my original design and followed the plan. It is very creative, unique, an idea of my own. It gives a neat and tidy affect when I use the same colours but yet it looks colourful. It doesn't look very empty like some other pages. It makes the page look rich and exciting instead of plain and boring.
There is one thing one person suggested me to add - I should put the people's names under the mugshots so we won't forget the people's names and it will be more informative. However, I think it would be really compact and busy if I add that too. It wouldn't be rich anymore, it's going to be crowded and you'll get dizzy when you look at it. Also, the silly portraits should show the person's face somehow and the person's personality and interests... and their autographs kind of look like their names. So this may not be necessary.
Myself Evaluating Success
I think I did pretty well. It does turn out to look like what I expected. It actually looks better than I expected with the colours. Everything is well-fit. The only thing I have to add now which is quite urgent is that I have to add in the autographs of three of my friends. That's because I forgot to do so when I'm working on it and I was kind of in a rush. Also, I didn't notice there wasn't space for Matthew's autograph as there is the box right on top of him so I just decided to put the autograph below him. However, it is in A4 size and it is 300 ppi. So basically it follows the design specifications and turned out as expected.
Improvements
The yearbook page is surely rich, and it looked perfect before I put in the autographs. However, when I put in the autographs it is actually a little little bit too busy for me, although some people think it's okay or they liked it. I think one of the reasons it is so busy is that originally the Silly Portraits themselves already have a lot of things going on. Also, autographs aren't simple shapes but they're busy lines so... I think I would be able to make it more calm is to make the mugshots smaller. I have thought of taking away the boxes but then what will those "Conveyor Belts" and other stuffs be for. It would look strange. The title is in the perfect size and "the end" and "congratulations" at the bottom are in a very suitable size. So I will be shrinking the mugshots and the "Conveyor Belts" as to improve. When you print it out, they actually look quite big. Also not to busy (but I believe it will look busy again with the 3 more autographs). Therefore, I'll go with the idea of shrinking them. If I were to do it again, I will consider putting the autographs and mugshots together. Putting them together do let us identify the autographs. But perhaps it is not necessary especially when the autographs look exactly like the original names. Perhaps making two pages will give more space and calmness. As long as I stick with this version I will shrink all the mugshots. The shrink size should probably be a little smaller than the size of Arnav's present mugshot.
I think the inquiring is pretty good as I put a lot of thought in the other people's yearbook pages. I also understood the 2D design principles very well. The developing ideas was what I enjoyed a lot as I like to make sketches and arrange the layout and choose things. It is a great opportunity to choose something. I also enjoyed creating the solution in both writing the steps and making the product. The process of making the product and seeing it taking shape made me very happy. Through the creating the solution phase I also bump into problems and I had to find answers myself on youtube, I learnt a lot in the process of making it. I kind of feel that I am better in writing the steps. I think my steps are less complicated and more clear and straightforward now. I think I did so well and everything went smoothly because I manage the skills to seek help from the internet and peers. Because I was able to plan it out, to collect the mugshots beforehand although I forgot the autographs which made it really tough for me. Because I manage the skills of using Photoshop and am really quick in transforming and stuffs. I didn't do my work in a rush so I had time to make the best steps as possible.
I collect the autographs well beforehand but I surely had to remember to get the autographs. I think the worst process of the previous three phase was Creating the Solution. Next time, I think I will not only be taking screenshot along the way, but also writing a short paragraph at that moment so even if I forget what I was doing I have something to back-up. I think I will make a list of things I need - images, autographs, tutorials - and collect them all beforehand.
Impact
It will surely look good in the yearbook. It follows all the "hard" design specifications. It is A4, it is 300 ppi, it is portrait. I have everyone's Silly Portraits in there (but I don't have the autographs). It is unique as proved in the feedbacks. I is colourful and beautiful to me and my classmates. I doesn't look plain. I have contrasting colours that stand out from one another. I have the boxes and the black rectangles that connect all the people's faces - similarity. I put people in pairs so I used proximity. There is good alinement. The page has equal mass of things on both sides... But maybe it isn't so funny. The silly portraits are funny and the page is organised, but I don't think it is really funny in the design itself. I can't make funny pictures or combine people and animals and celebrities together. However, I can actually put people worshiping the class. So I need to do better for the funny part. But in general, I think it looks nice and the people have good reactions to it.
