Almost Final Question + Initial Answers.

How can graphic design change how news is accessed and shared through the use of new and proposed technologies in today's world of strong interconnectivity?

Everything written online today is somehow connected to the rest of the internet. Either through links to sources, referencing other websites, related articles, or sharing tools. All news and articles online today automatically has a layer of social applied to it. But how can that social layer be rethought to be more encompassing and informative? It should definitely be easy, but not frictionless. Facebook's new frictionless sharing is also known as over-sharing. But I've already talked about that before. There are many different possibilities that this rethinking could go in. Let's try and cover as many as possible.
      First off, let's cover some of the ideas that I think should be in all of the possible directions. They should all be multi-platform. Just creating something for the computer, or just for the iPhone/Android, or just for the iPad/tablet is pretty stupid. More and more of us are owning multiple devices that can all access the internet and be used for social purposes. Embrace them all and get as much coverage out there as possible to make the app as useful as possible. Nowadays when I look for a program to use on my iPhone or Mac, I try and find something that is cross-platform to make it as integrated and useful in my life as possible. Even though the nature of the iPhone is a limited, controlled experience compared to the computer, I continually seek the ability to have as rich of an experience on my iPhone as I do on my computer(and sometimes, the other way around, ie TweetBot).
      Like the platform coverage, I also want the content within the app to be as all-encompassing as possible, too. There should be the possibility for the user to include whatever content they want in it. The users shouldn't be confined to only what the app can provide them, or restricted to only the websites that have RSS feeds. That's possibly where some proposed technologies will come into play to help achieve this idea of completely open information.
      Cool, okay, awesome, rad, sweet, that pretty much covers the overarching ideas I want in all of these directions. Now the concepts.

1. Plugin
2. RSS/News Reader App
3. Frame

1. Plugin
One idea is a browser plugin for the computer, and then an app that functions pretty much the same on the iPhone/iPad. It's not necessarily a group-oriented idea, but it would be something that adds a new social layer to the user's regular web-browsing experience. It would allow the user to easily share stories and articles they liked. They could even put in a little snippet of why they liked the article so people know the user's opinion of things and why they chose to share it. This plugin would work with every single website out there because it's a part of the browser itself, and not apart of the website itself. That way, websites don't have to sign up, or add anything new to their setup, it's already there. It would encourage sharing with the other social groups already in existence and not ask anyone to sign up for a new social network. Making sharing as easy as possible, without ever getting close to frictionless sharing.

2. RSS/News Reader App
This would be a network of its own that users would have to join to be able to be a part of. Users could hook up any website they wanted to the website/app and not only be able to read the articles through the website, but also see a new layer of information that the website you're pulling from didn't necessarily tell you. It would could construct lists of the most viewed articles, the most shared, the most commented, etc. It would help give the users more of an idea of what's going on with the websites that they visit on a regular basis. It would help give them a more robust experience with more information, but not harder to take it. It may add a new layer of information, but this would all be in search of helping the users understand the content better, and understand the conversations going on. These statistics would also be created across all of the websites you have added to the app. It would put together all of the stats it created for each individual site and compare them together and find trends within them all, and point out the biggest news, most talked about. The larger the number of websites talking about a topic, the bigger and more relevant it is going to be.

3. Frame
This is essentially a mixture of the first two ideas. It would be much less tied to the actual websites, but still have the new, added layer of information about whats going on in the site. It was add a new meta layer of what people are talking about in relation to the articles and websites, where they're sharing them to and with, and what they're saying. There wouldn't necessarily have to be a new community set up with this. But plug in with Facebook or Twitter or something of the like. The meta feeds would help break the information bubble in all of these scenarios.


Some reflective thoughts about these three idea brainstorms:

All of these would be tailorable for the user, and also help them find content they are interested in, while also exposing them to new and different information that may or may not relate to anything they like. But it would be there to help them learn about what other people are talking about and going through. The more well-rounded a person is on the subject matters of the day, the better. (or at least in my mind it is)
            And really, all three of these initial ideas would have everything applied to them, except maybe the idea of the community. Not all ideas have the community, but everything talked about in the three ideas would pertain to all three ideas. The biggest difference is what form this will take, and how all-encompassing it's design and structure is. It goes from the least intrusive simple plugin, to the boldest RSS reader-type idea, where everything is in the app created, and the content is reformatted out of it's original form and into what the app(and user) decides it to look like.
            And all three of these should help make the information digestable. Not simpler or dumbed down, but create a new and easier way for people to take in the content. This should be about helping the users understand the content better.

shortlink: http://ianarthur.info/zURpgx 

I will most likely come back and alter/add/delete content to this post before the end of class at 10.40.

My Thoughts + Writings. Part 4. Trends.

There are so many other trends than the ones talked about in the blog post. These are just the ones that I picked out of my research and meetings with people. I will come back and edit and add to these trends when I come up with another one that is appropriate and relevant to this project.


**If anyone reads this has any other trends or concepts that I should look into, please let me know! I am always looking for input from other people, don't hesitate to leave me a comment with something you think I should look into, or even something that you think I'm completely wrong about. Feedback is always welcome from anyone and everyone.


News Microcycles
This is something new to my vocabulary. It talks about the cycle of how news changes. In a time when we only had newspapers, the cycle was much longer and slower because the stories could only update themselves as the new paper was published either later that same day or the next morning. Once radio, and then television, came into the picture, the news cycle drastically shrank with the immediacy of those two mediums. Breaking news was able to be pushed to the masses much faster when something big happened. Instead of having to wait until the end of the day or the next morning to hear how things had progressed in a story, they only had to wait a few hours. So by the end of the day, the masses' knowledge of goings-on was much more robust and the story completely altered from what it was that morning. Now that the internet is here and almost in every single corner of our worlds, that news cycle has shrunk even farther. Anyone can publish information on news and topics they find intriguing, and they do. Topics and events are reported on so much more in so many different ways that stories and trends get worn out quicker than ever. These cycles have turned into microcycles, and therefore are changing every few days rather than every few weeks.
            This microcycle idea applies to everything online, not just news. I just recently started seeing the "Shit ____ people say" meme and yesterday read an article saying it's already dead and people need to move on. It may have been going on for a while, but it just got big in the public's eye and everyone joined in. Because so many more people joined in, it was seen more often than ever before, which made it overexposed and will inevitably kill it off if it hasn't already.
            This is something that needs to be accounted for, the quickly changing topics, themes, and stories. It's already covered by "trending topics" and other such lists on websites like twitter and news sites. Buzzfeed.com is all about the current trends in social media. It talks about what's being talked about, and only that. If a topic dies in social media, it dies on their website. Up until very recently, the website, for the most part, was more like an aggregator of news and topics. But, they acquired Ben Smith, from Politico, to start writing their own articles on politics. Buzz Feed saw that their model of talking about the current trends was an ideal model to use for politics, especially when everything is exploding about the coming elections. This ever-changing landscape is the base for news sites today. How can that be addressed while keeping everything together and in sync.

Social
Of course social is a huge trend in everything now-a-days and it ain't goin' anywhere. Connecting and sharing with others is what the internet is turning into. People engaging with their family, friends, and followers. But even though this is one of the biggest trends today, it's getting a massive overhaul in the eyes of the masses.
            Sharing is good, but not over sharing. Almost every article on any website now comes with social sharing tools. This is very handy to have to help share news and articles with others, but user have to be careful. Facebook has quickly turned into the over-sharing capital of the internet. Facebook is turning sharing into something so seamless that people don't have to think about it, and it does it automatically. That seamless, automatic sharing turns sharing into white noise that everyone then starts to gloss over. No one actually cares to know every single article their friends on Facebook are reading over on The Times' website. Over-sharing isn't pretty ya'll, those Facebook pictures of you at age 18 holding a half-empty vodka bottle doesn't look too stellar. So, in that same respect, do you really want everyone to know every single article you read?
            It's sometimes smart to keep parts of your life unconnected from the rest. I just read an article over on GOOD about the porn industry. It was a really tasteful and well-written article about the goings-on in the straight porn world. But, except for telling everyone this just now, do I necessarily want that in my Facebook stream, the same one that my possible employers and teachers can see? Yes, it depends on the person, but probably not. Even something as simple as just reading an article about the porn industry can have negative consequences. In a poll about new years resolutions, 18% said that they want to share less via social media. Facebook completely goes against this want, and catapults them in the opposite direction without them even knowing. It's so seamless that many users never realize what's going on until a while later. Not. Good. Ya'll.

Tailorable
Tailorable is where it's at. Let the users choose what content they receive, how things are organized, etc. The more control over the experience they have, the more they will enjoy it, the more they will come back and eventually turn it into a routine/habit.
            Let them customize, but keep the brand shining through. It's good to let people customize their experience, and in some cases completely remove any signs of what it once was, i.e. wordpress, but that's not usually the case. Let the users have control over their experience until a certain point. You still want the brand that you've worked hard on to create to show through. Keep the customizability of the actual design of the program/app/website minimal or restrict it in a way that keeps it inside the design standards you've created.

What is Reliable?
In a world where everyone has the ability to write news and content, the true and reliable news needs to stand out. This can be done in a myriad of ways. Sources, links to well-established companies/organizations, research, etc. Any way to show the user that the content that is there is reliable and true is great. Just make sure it's there.
            Simply having a "nicely designed" website isn't good enough to make it credible.  I could spend the next year creating a bangin' website with an amazing design like no one has ever seen before, but then fill it with a load of bull shit. Good design doesn't mean jack if there are no sources or links to any proof. Showing sources and credibility means absolutely everything in today's world where everyone has turned into a writer and commentator of every little aspect of life.

shortlink: http://ianarthur.info/xGSwNE

My Thoughts + Writings. Part 3. iDevices vs Computers.

There are fundamental differences between the iPhone/iPad(iDevices) and the computer beyond the touchscreen/mouse difference. Yes, that makes designing for the three different platforms radically different. But, there are still other contributing factors that affect both the design as well as the overall experience of the different platforms.
  The first major difference is the open/closed filing system. My computer has a open filing system in that I have access to all of my files on this computer from the Finder. I can go to a file in the Finder and open it up in whatever program I want that can read it. I can also open up a program that I know can read that file, and load it from inside of the program. I can also see every script, image, and document that goes into running that same program in the Finder. Some Apple programs like iPhoto try to hide my photo files from me by putting them inside of the iPhoto app in my Applications folder. But I can right click the iPhoto app file and choose "Show Package Contents" and it will give me direct access to the files. All of this direct access lets me create the experience that I want pretty easily. And for a computer, that's what I want, something that I have strong control over and use how I choose. I interact with it for longer periods of time and more intensely and I expect it to be able to handle whatever I throw at it. The iDevices have a closed system that doesn't allow me direct access to my files. For example, I have to use the Photos app to access my photo files, and I have no easy way to get direct access to them. It's what makes the iDevices so simple and clutter free, but also much more limiting. This decision pretty much forces me, the user, to experience everything the way the designers intended. That's not to say it's wrong for them to do this, every aspect of the iPhone was created to be easy and fast to use. This is what makes interacting with iDevices so nice. With something that is so much smaller than a computer and intended for on-the-go use, simple makes sense, and it's what I want.
  This control over the experience on the iDevices continues into the actual design of everything, as well. Any computer, mac or otherwise, all has a design aesthetic to it. It always has, and always will. But that aesthetic doesn't ever really influence how a website is designed*. A website is completely separate from the computer, design and otherwise. There is somewhat of a visual language across websites in general, how things are layer out and identified. But why does it have to be how people are doing it? Can't it be changed up for the better? Rethought completely? iDevices are the complete opposite of the computer. Apps are programs running on the iDevice itself, and it's treated as such visually. Because the app takes over the entire screen, and that's the only thing the iDevice is running, it's become standard practice to design the app in the style of the iDevice. iDevices have a very specific visual language to them unlike any other OS, and apps tend to take this visual language and tweak it to fit their wants and needs. But this is something that I want to question and possibly change up.

*However, technically, a website doesn't fully correlate to an app on an iDevice, a program running on the computer would (ie, an app from the Mac App Store). But let's stick with website equaling an app, because that's pretty much the standard right now. However, Apple does seem to be attempting to turn the mac computer into the same closed system design of the iDevices.


shortlink: http://ianarthur.info/xlV3Vl 

My Thoughts + Writings. Part 2. What I Want to Accomplish.

As I've been typing all of this up, I'm constantly thinking about what already exists and how it can be built upon and made better. This seems to be what I am constantly defaulting to, simply by starting with whats already there. But that's not what I want to do, I want to rethink what all of this should look and act like. The iPad just came out at the beginning of 2010 and it's only the beginning of 2012, there is still so much ground to be covered with this new platform. And the same goes with the iPhone, it's been around since the summer of 2007, but that doesn't mean it still can't be improved upon. Why does a website have to look and act a certain way? I feel like my project in IA about redesigning USA Today's website was starting to question that. Something I will also touch upon in a later blog post is thinking about new technologies, ones that either replace or supplement the current technologies out in the world.
            There are many websites and apps that are already changing the interactive design field, but how can they influence something completely new? Flud has a unique form to its content and a fresh concept behind all of it, but I want to push it even more. Flipboard is a very unique app in that it questions how the user should interact with the app, and how the app should respond. But, it feels regressive in that it's informed by how we interact with newspapers or books (this isn't either). I want to learn from what they've done, and learn from their ideas and reasonings and create something new.
            I want to figure out a way that I can be actively progressive in my concept and design through being influenced by whats out there already. I want to push my ability to think ahead and create something speculative. In a world that is changing as fast as it is, the designer's ability to think progressively will be one of the best and handiest tools in their filing cabinets. That can only be done by researching and studying what has come before and figure out patterns within everything. I don't want to build upon with this project, I want to redefine. Yes, that's a huge statement, but if I put it out there, it gives me something to strive for. I need to be careful to not put those steps too high, I don't want face plant and make myself feel like I let me down. I know my strengths and weaknesses, and by keeping those in mind (and on paper) that should help me from face planting. At least I hope so.

shortlink: http://ianarthur.info/x1kece 

My Thoughts + Writings. Part 1. An Overview.

I've been doing a lot of writing about news and interactive design this past week. Today is Saturday, January 21st, and school scarily starts on Monday, January 23rd. So not much time left to prepare for classes, but the one class I will be (somewhat) prepared for is, hopefully, this class.
            Anything I do is plagued with OCD, and writing isn't an exception to those rules. In writing all of this down to bring my thoughts together, my brain constantly switched from topic to topic and made it hard to get everything down. I had a lot of ideas that all wanted to come out at once, I blame that on my stuttering. So I have a lot of ideas written down, some are much more flushed out than others, but that's fine in my mind. This is all here for me to get my ideas out of my head and parse them down into what I'm really wanting to do. And this is also for anyone who is interested to see where I started this entire project.
            Looking back through everything that I wrote about and still want to write about, I came up with a list of overarching topics that the majority of my writings/thoughts fell into. Those topics are as follows:

1. What I Want to Accomplish
2. iDevices vs Computers
3. Inspiration (coming later in the process)
4. Trends
5. Reader or writer?
6. Platform: iPad.

            I want to have covered as many ideas and parts to this project as possible before monday to make sure I have a nice, thorough understanding of everything. That way, any discussions that I have about this with any of my teachers will go well, and I will get the most out of them. Plus, I'm taking another 18 hour semester again, so the more work I get done before classes start, the better off I will be once everything really picks up.
            Instead of making this one huge-ass blog post, this will be split up into eight separate posts. This one, the six mentioned in the list above, and then an ever-growing list of links to articles that I have found (and will continue to find) to help inform all of this.

shortlink: http://ianarthur.info/yvi50c

Senior Presentation + Degree Project Question.

Senior Review + Degree Project Question

This was the presentation I gave to the faculty and students in the Graphic Design department of the Kansas City Art Institute on December 5, 2011. The main part of the presentation was a recap of my time in the graphic department. The last part was introducing the topic of my senior degree project. I proposed the following question:

How can graphic design change how news is reported and accessed through the use of new and proposed technologies and platforms in today’s world of strong interconnectivity?

 This question has been mulling about in my mind since then and I've been reading my fair share of articles and studying websites and apps. Everything from the physical newspaper to the newest social news apps have been going through my brain to figure out where the consumption of news/information is moving. I can't ignore past and current incarnations of news and information outlets, they will most definitely inform the future incarnations.

more blog posts to follow about initial ideas and thoughts before this semester starts up on january 23.