after presentation and notes

After hard work 5 weeks of hard work actually the presentation is done feel that as an individual i thought i should have gained more confidence in that presentation but as a whole i thought we did very well.


Here is the script i did for the presentation

Flyers

Here we have the flyers for this tool. we created this to help promote the feedback tool because you cannot rely on just the website to help spread word that the feedback tool is active. The flyers will push the USP on how they could gain exposure from being successfully gaining a professional editors praise.

Where could we hand these out, of course. The main priority is students so most likely art schools, universities and colleges are probably the safest place to go but. if you were to expand student designers and make avilable to designers student or not then we could hand out these flyers art gallerias, printing studios and maybe even outside a art shop could be added to the list

Upload Screen

Here we have the upload screen its similar to the existing one but with some minor changes. First we added a cancel button as we found out that the only way to get out of the feedback page is by pressing back on the browser which then presents you with the resend dialog box you sometimes get. which is why we added this feature.

now in the feedback tool it allows the user to upload a file from your computer. but since the tool is part of student designers we were wondering why we couldn't up load a piece of work from your folio which is why we added the feature.

Finally we have added a maximum file size limit. it says there 300MB but can be changed to your convenience. This makes sure that the feedback tool runs smoothly, uninterrupted and quick.

Presentation notes for the Anvil

These are are my notes for the presentation which we just did about half an hour ago. I feel it went quite well. We got our message across which was the main thing. The animation at beginning calmed everyone down a bit ..its important to start with humour..then bore them later on.

sketches

Our 50th post

After 5 weeks of hard work, brain storming, sketching, debating we came to end. Our final presentation was as close as possible to "spot on" mark and Alex really liked Stewart's Wild Card.

Well done boys, good job! Stalone out

Monday Meetings

Stallone creative have a run through of our presentation (in a barber shop style) on Monday afternoon. It transpired that had we not taken this photo and seen Zoe we might all have been marked off for that day as we stayed in the I.T Centre and not class with the competition.

DEDICATION: Stallone Creative "working late"

Wild Card

The last week or so on the Stallone Creative blog has revolved around the peripherals of the feedback tool. We further researched common image sizes and category names— last Wednesday we talked about marketing messages.


The feedback tool has remained largely unchanged, with a working prototype in play it seems like all we have been doing is picking up on bugs. I had a shot at leaving constructive feedback which turned out to be surprisingly difficult!


Recently I keep hearing that the solution is in the brief and with this in mind we've gone back to square one.


That isn't to say our work has gone out the window— far from it. We have introduced structure and a methodical process to the tool, inspired by opinion, research and lager. 


On Friday we will introduce the Wild Card.

this is a mock up of a new page that we will be including in our final presentation.

Feedback : Move Forward

So we brain stormed last week and came up with a marketing campaign for the feedback tool. The basic plan is to show the student designers logo going from sketch form to the final product. Its suggesting that the students , when uploading a piece of work, are moving forward in life with the help of feedback from their peers. There will also be a button the user can click  which says "inspire". This button will then lead to the feedback page. 
Its our way of showing the evolution from student of design into a professional designer.

Lunchtime at Stallone Creative but still working hard in our mind. Presentation this Friday morning going to blow student designers mind (pause for effect).  Still keeping cards close to our chests and keeping ideas on the down low :P

These are a couple of (really) quick banner mock ups. We discussed a lack of marketing for the tool and agreed a selection of banners on the existing website would be a good place to start.

I took the plunge...

Today I decided it was about time I actually uploaded an unfinished piece of work to get to look for feedback. I made a right hash of the image upload (above) by saving a HUGE working file and sticking it on the feedback tool. What a fail.


As I went through the upload process I was pleasantly surprised. Now included in the tool are question fields to suggest up to three key areas for feedback. Unfortunately these did not display once I had finished but I would imagine this bug will be fixed on Monday.


Another bug bear was only having 140 characters to describe the work and give it a little context. Whilst the tool looks like it has been built with a little inspiration from twitter this limitation was quite frustrating, perhaps 250-300 characters might be more appropriate?


I'll check back on Monday to see if any of my various glitches have been sorted. Failing that I'll upload a new file and keep my fingers crossed!

Writing Feedback

Today I had a bash at writing feedback on the student designers working prototype. This was a bit of a challenge for me because, whilst I'm a very opinionated person, I'm also a total prat.

Undeterred I put the kettle on and donned my favourite pants ready for a productive, inspiring and well thought out session on the forum. I was going to change the world, to encourage my peer group to create the best design work Aberdeen had ever seen. 

"You never know" I said to myself half an hour later, "I could comment on someones work today and they could go on to be the next Peter Saville*"

Afterwards I did the dishes all the while thinking about the incredible feedback I was about to give. Then I made another cup of tea.


It's a little after midnight as I write this.


I've left two pieces of feedback and it was really hard! First I looked at an illustration. I knew this could be a tricky start as illustration is a very subjective subject matter and past my initial reaction I've never tried to critique the craft of a piece before. 


So I found a piece of work deserving of the usual reaction found on devient art, that useless string of one word posts followed by smiley faces. I say deserving because my first instinct was to type the word lovely. What a useless response!


I had to think about this, analise what I found appealing about the illustrative style, the choice of colour, use of line stroke and finally (because no review can ever be 100% positive) I had to ask myself what I would have done differently. That was a challenge in itself— I can't illustrate nearly as well as the piece I was reviewing.


Eventually I collected a few dozen words, misspelt a couple for good measure and almost got my point across. I feel I managed to cover all the bases, my comment was fair and balanced and I even made a suggestion for changes. Whew!


The next piece was more in my comfort zone. I took a look at a book cover that caught my eye due to the contrast between grunge typeface and flat background colour, striking image and sensitive use of colour to tie everything together.


Unfortunately I'm a stickler for the limitations of print and the implications on designers artwork. I spent 108 words on print deviation, silent borders and threw in a little personal experience in to the mix. Whilst I thought my feedback was valid (and educational) it probably didn't help the designer in terms of the overall aesthetic.


So what did I learn?

• Writing feedback is not easy but it is time consuming
• I needed to be lead or I would get distracted by tech specs
• I wasn't sure if my feedback was what the designers were looking for
• I was worried that I might be judged on the quality of my feedback
• I probably wouldn't go out of my way to put myself through that again

The Challenge

On the off change you've made it this far through my rant and think leaving feedback is easy please leave a constructive piece on this article, or my graphic at the top. Given the hundreds of hits the blog has had over the last month I would expect at least one well penned responce by the end of next week!

...

On Wednesday Stallone Creative met to discuss our final visuals for the Presentation on Friday 2nd March.

We identified four key visuals to put together and made plans for Friday 24th Feb. For once we'll play our cards close to our chests but suffice today Stallone Creative are back on form!

feedback on feedback

Feedback on the student design feedback tool

We had the first look of the feedback tool on monday and here are some ideas on what is good and what is bad about the tool.


1)When clicking on the main image that the designer wants feedback on it would be nice to be able to zoom in more. There may be some small detail that the designer wishes the viewer to comment on so a zoom would be an advantage.


2) Being able to edit the images and comments should exist. If someone comments on a piece of work , say for example the colours used, the designer could then edit there work and re-post it (with changes). This would generate a larger amount of feedback and enable viewers to have a comparison of work.


3) Because the feedback tool is based around a forum idea where people just comment on designs, the artwork almost becomes a secondary thought. Yes the first thing the viewer looks at is the the artwork but when various people begin to include their comments it almost becomes a "chat" between those people resulting in feedback being minimal. If you had specific design principles to rate or comment on then people would not feel like they have to say nice things just for the sake of it. Furthermore, when people give proper, analytical feedback through comments it is often taken the wrong way and can result in "broken friendships.




ON THE OTHER HAND......


The speed in which you are able to give feedback works well. You can go from piece to piece quite quickly which means when an artwork comes along that really strikes you, it is quick and easy to add your opinion.