Peer Review Day

Today we had a peer review where we put together what we had done so that the rest of the group could give feedback. The main aim of the day was to get feedback of our designs but it was also a chance to see how people used and reacted to our websites - where they clicked and their frustrations with the layout.

Some of the feedback was positive but there was also some negative points.
"Looks like a public toilet"
This was quite nasty, but still gave us an idea of what people thought about our website.
Other comments were more useful as people seemed to be confused about how our pages linked together and the transition of the whole website.


After the session ended, we decided that our original design needed to change as it was too big and clumsy for the webpage. We decided to have a conversation with Phil where we decided that we needed to change the size of the links as they were overpowering and it was suggested that we think about having a gap on both sides of the iframe like Facebook. We also decided to create a banner using the station titles found in tube stations. I think these changes will make our website look more professional rather than something put together using simple HTML. These small changes have definitely boosted our confidence as a team and we've got a steady direction to head in. This is the idea for our new website layout:

After we decided on the new layout, I felt like our group was a lot happier - We had a direction to go in that was definite, not an unsure design. So I have a feeling we're going to be picking up the pace a bit and really getting on with the project for the last two weeks before the deadline. I think this session was really needed to get us straight and i'm very happy with the result of it. 

Making the video

Today we finished the filming and editing for the video, it was started yesterday by the rest of the team because I could not make it. They had made a good start on the video and there was still plenty for me to do the next day. We decided to get it done early so if anything was wrong with it we had plenty of time to change it without doing it last minute.


I think it was a good idea to put an effect on the video like the old style information videos we found on Youtube. We used the same sort of voice over for our film in order to get across a 'fun feeling' to it.


I think it has turned out really well and was a good group effort.

Deciding which route to take

Today over Facebook, we decided which route to take on our HTML code.
After exploring the internet for extra help we decided that a simpler way to arrange text and images would be by using Iframes and div tags.


We decided against using style sheets and tables as our designs are the same apart from our information in a box on the page. 
When trying the tables on our webpages it was obvious that our website design is too complicated as we need to place links in a certain place rather than in a row on a box. We decided that the table design would be suitable if we used a regular box shape website but as we want to make our design more unique, we feel that this way is a better option.


 The iframe would allow us to put a HTML page inside a HTML page, it would also be able to scroll up and across which is useful for the design that I have in mind.


The HTML lessons have prepared us for this coding well, even though we have not gone with one of the options given, we are prepared for our own method of coding.

First ideas for the Printed Artefact

Here is the first idea I have for the Printed Artefact. I wanted to create a long leaflet reflecting the idea of my design in the website. The front end is a train and the end is a spine which should indicate the connection between the two. Below the design is how it would be made from a piece of A3 paper, it would have to be folded in a certain way and would be very complicated to make.

The Group Action Plan for Easter

OVER EASTER
Experimentation of coding using tables, CSS and other tips found on the internet.
Research content for individual pages.
Think about the designs for individual pages.
Research areas around the printed artefact.
Design printed artefact.


TUESDAY 26TH APRIL
Meet to make the video.


WEDNESDAY 27TH APRIL
Continue making the video.


THURSDAY 28TH APRIL
Present visuals, artefact and video to peers on discussion day.


We will be keeping in touch with each other over Facebook during the holidays where we can post ideas and pictures to get feedback from the others in the team.