Visual Design

by Julie Davis Veach April 30, 2021

Branding & Identity

Case Study | MFA Graduate Thesis Project

Academy of Art University Graduate School of Web Design & New Media

Week 11

This week I accomplished A LOT!

Here are the highlights:

Continued learning Adode XD to create prototypes.
Continued work on creating and refining my Proof of Concept for my 3 main task flows.
Conducted 4 In-person Paper Prototype Tests.
Conducted 3 Online Paper Prototype Tests.
Implemented changes from prototype test results & feedback.
Made several revisions to my project slide show presentation.
Re-ordered my project slides.
Continued to deepen my research on AR apps.
Participated in my classmates Paper Prototype Tests and provided feedback.

I examined my Project's branding and identity and started focusing on the overall look and feel of my Project. I thought about how I will present my Project to the world.

The most important element in a company's branding is the logo, which expresses the identity of the company. The logo is a visual representation of the company's trademark or brand. The logo is used throughout the structure and workings of that company.

Visual Style Guide and Content Fidelity

A visual style guide consists of:

brand usage (logo/logo type)
color palettes
typography
UI elements

Project Branding and Identity

Branding is the core of my Project's DNA and reflects its values. The term "corporate identity" is often referred to as the "visual persona" of a company.

You must ensure that you have a cohesive visual identity that promotes your brand and makes you distinguishable to your audience. The visual identity becomes the branding of a company, and it is used to separate your company from any competition.

A logo is a graphic representation of an entity.

A logo can also be referred to as:

brand
logo type
wordmark
hallmark
trademark

Logos typically consist of a company name in conjunction with a graphic element, which convey the philosophy or goals of the company. A tagline can be combined with a logo to further characterize a company.

Understanding a company and its objectives is important in the design of its logo. The originality of a logo is crucial in defining a company and helps it to stand out from other companies in the marketplace.

The logo for my Project will deal with many of the same issues that a company deals with when designing its identity.

It should be the following:

clear
appropriate
versatile
memorable

Here is my logo and visual style guide:

Adobe XD

I am absolutely loving Adobe XD to create user experiences! I watched several tutorials to learn about the program, its features, and workflow. It will defiantly be my go-to for creating wire-frames and mock-ups!

This is an example of one of my wire-frames made in Adobe XD:

Screen Design made in Adobe XD

I have not had a chance to turn my prototype into a clickable file that I can send out for user testing. That is what I plan to do next and I am so excited to play around with that feature!

Proof of Concept

This week I continued to work on this. I designed and re-designed wire-frames and created a presentation that included user touch points, audio scripts, screen names, walk-through numbers, and text descriptions to show key elements/interactions on the screen.

Proof of Concept Task 1

I felt I needed to take more time to research current AR apps on the market and how they approached the user interface. It was evident that AR is still very new since there aren't many apps on the market yet compared to other apps that have saturated markets. This is a good and bad thing. It’s good in the sense that I get to be part of pioneer the technology’s application development. It's bad because there aren't many examples to look to for reference.

However, I did find an AR project app that I really liked! This led me to do more research on the project itself, which led me to do more research on the projects' artist, Larim Ben Khelifa, and the production teams that helped produced it. AMAZING!

The project is called "The Enemy." I love the cinematic approach that was used to create the AR app.

It is a source of inspiration for AR my design.

The Enemy Art Installation and AR app project

The Enemy was created by several production teams and had extensive financial backing. Which lead me to start thinking about the production scope and costs for my project- which is good!

More information about the project can be found here: http://theenemyishere.org

The Enemy app can be downloaded on the app store. You should give it a try! It's pretty cool!

Main Task Flows

I completed the Proof of Concept for my 3 main task flows.

I created all the wireframe mockups in Adobe XD, then imported them into Adobe InDesign for presentation.

Paper Prototype Testing

I created paper prototypes for each task flow sequence, a moderator task sheet for each, and 3 A/B Tests. I conducted 4 in-person tests, each taking an hour to complete.

My participants provided great feedback that helped me to improve my designs and flows. I video recorded each test session so that I can review the process and make improvements.

Paper Prototype Testing

I also received valuable feedback from three of my classmates who completed the testing as well.

I implemented several changes and revisions with the feedback and results from all of the test. The process is definitely very valuable.

Paper Prototype testing

Project Slideshow Presentation Revision & Re-ordering

I created Master Slides for all of the slides. I updated the Table of Contents slide and added it back into the presentation.

Awakened Tabel of Contents Slide

I clarified the Abstract slide and added these new slides:

Proof of Concept slide
Paper Prototype Test slide (since this was not in my last assignment)
The Awakened App slide

I also removed the card sort slides and the storyboard slide.

I found a great app for making my A/B Test Results charts.

It's called Visme. Check it out here: https://www.visme.co/chart-maker

Visme

My new slide line-up looks like this:

Abstract
Inspiration
The Artwork
The Narrative
The AWAKENED App
The Experience
Rationale
Positioning Statement
Subject Matter Expert
Competitors
Target Audience & Research
Key Persona/User Story/Task Flow
Primary Persona/User Story/Task Flow
Secondary Persona/User Story/Task Flow
Mood Board
Proof of Concept
Paper Prototype Test

All in all it was a SUPER BUSY week, with many late nights- if not all were late nights! But well worth the work and lack of sleep. I feel like I am getting to know my project better and I am still excited about it!