PROJECT BRIEF
EXPERIMENT 1: SOFTWARE (APP DESIGN: FIGMA)
From the image below, as you can see I've been learning and incorporating some Figma or I should say the techniques of the prototype for the user interface. I created a flow starting point at the first Kimchi page and ended the flow point to an another page which would mean it's like a destination to where it goes to the end. Now these interactions have some different options that could be interacted like 'drag' would mean you'd have to drag it or 'click' would mean you'd have to click an element for it to flow to the next page. I learned from this that you have to really concentrate on each close detail to see if it makes sense for this element to go to this page and so on. I used some built-in Figma effects like background blur to be used on the information pages so it creates an emphasis on the info itself.
Reflection
This experiment was an important one as app design will be my main specific area of emerging visual communication design that I will be focusing on and this experiment was a success. Though this experiment design isn't my final design and is just a testing, near the end of my Figma experimentation I realized that I still have much to learn and I need to do better in terms of how the layout should be played and figuring out what type of content I should add to make this into a next level. In the future and for my current upcoming work, I'll definitely add in fun illustrations and elements to make the overall design look more engaging but because of this experiment, it laid out some ideas on what I should do next.
EXPERIMENT 2: DIGITAL PROTOTYPE
So from this image below you can see I uploaded the mockup template onto Photoshop and to use a mockup it's really easy to do so, which is just clicking the "PUT YOUR SCREEN HERE" layer and that's where you can add your screens and make this mockup work. You can also adjust the mockup in one of these layers which could be the lighting, background colour, and more.
Once I've added my screens onto the selected layer, I saved this PSB file and went back to the mockup file and it shows up the final result. Lastly I just changed the background colour to a lighter one so it fits and complements well with each other with my overall design.
For this prototype, I mainly focused on the navigations of the interactions between pages. Normally I would like it to make it slide to the right or left via using finger swipe but for now I'll focus on mainly the click function and try to replicate in a similar fashion. There's a different option for the navigation such as 'push' or 'smart animate' and it's just a different type of transition rather than like an instant type of transition and it overall makes it smoother.
Upon receiving the feedback, I made the necessary changes for the transition interactions and now I can definitely say it's a lot more smoother overall and just cleaner. For the Figma users, you might know this function called 'push' which makes the sliding transition animation better but I also added in the 'gentle' effect which makes it a lot more smoother and cleaner.
Reflection
I'll be honest for the prototype experiment I felt a bit unaccomplished because I did most of the prototype action in my first experiment as I did not know about another separate prototype experiment (silly me). But that's why I also did the mockup experiment which honestly was really fun to do, it's so easy to use mockups but next time I want to challenge myself and create my own mockups as it is possible as there are a lot of tutorials for it. I don't know if I'll be using the mockups again but I would for sure love to experiment more of them and see if I'll find a way to incorporate them somehow in the near future. Obviously for my prototype experiment is a necessity as I am doing an interactive app so this was very useful for me and also taught me about some new techniques that I did not knew about with the transition effects.
EXPERIMENT 3: AI
Adobe Express AI
Canvas AI
Reflection
I haven't received any proper feedbacks for this experiment but I thought I can make my own self improvements with this AI. Firstly I was somewhat surprised on how quickly these AI images were generated in just a few seconds and it looked very realistic and good. What struck me the most about these two softwares was the AI model generator. For instance, Adobe Express excelled at generating pretty much anything though of course there are some prompts that is inaccurate no matter how detailed you put in. With that it also had a lot of various different styles options too which I liked, as for Canvas I found the styles to be more attractive and better in terms of illustration wise and even for realistic photos too with detailed prompts. However I consider Adobe Express the best out of the two because it had a lot more options, overall prompts are more accurate with the generation and looks good enough to compete with other AI generated images. Canvas just couldn't follow the prompt properly especially in terms of following Korean cuisine food and the art generation looks glitched or very inaccurate.
I learned from this experiment that AI generation isn't all completely bad for designers, yes the final result may not be too accurate or perfect for designers to use but I believe that we can use those generated images to use as an asset, idea, or concept. That being said I don't think I'll be using AI for my final designs in terms of creating branding as I feel it's soulless and it needs more of a active creative mind to create something visually attractive and meaningful.
DESIGN CONCEPT
Moodboard
This moodboard consists different various of logos in relation to Korean food and I feel in a way all of these logos each have its own strengths and something that I would like to incorporate with my own main branding logo too. I'm loving the idea of something bold but minimalistic and clean design with an illustration as all these logos have an illustration or drawing incorporated with it.
I experimented with typefaces and colors in Adobe Illustrator and try to hash out what works the best and what I should focus on and go with. Ultimately I was loving the 4th idea as it was my latest experiment and the word "Gochu" is short for "Gochujang" which is a key Korean ingredient that is used to create pretty much most of the Korean food out there and one of the key example was Kimchi. I chose the color red because I find that to be the main color for Korean food because no matter what dish is prepping up in Korea you'll always see red, especially for spices. As you can see you see two peppers together next to the type logo too as it pretty much symbolizes the Korean flag colors as you see the red and blue.
OVERALL REFLECTION
Throughout this project, my journey through the design process has been important. The integration of various tools, from Figma for app design to Photoshop for mockups and AI for generating content has expanded my understanding of how technology can be used to create engaging content.
One of the key learnings from this project has been the importance of iteration in the design process. Using Figma, I was able to rapidly prototype and test different interactions, which was crucial in refining the overall user experience. This iterative approach allowed me to identify potential issues early in the process ensuring that the final design was both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Working with AI to generate visual content was something that brought me to an another perspective. While AI provided a unique opportunity to explore new creative possibilities, it also highlighted the importance of human oversight in the design process. This experience reinforced the idea that while AI can be a powerful tool in the design process for ideas or even as an asset, it is not a replacement for human creativity.
Reflecting on my strengths, I found that I was able to adapt and learn new tools quickly was a major asset. Whether it was mastering the techniques of Figma or experimenting with AI generated visuals, my willingness to dive into new technologies enabled me to expand the scope of the project and push the boundaries of my creative capabilities. However this project also revealed areas for improvement. One challenge I encountered was managing the balance between creativity and functionality. Like for instance I became so focused on creating designs that I overlooked practical considerations such as ease of use or accessibility. I hope for next time I do better on creating a better design for my app, I know it was just a test experiment but I do wish it was more detailed and properly set up like an home page rather than just a information page.
In conclusion, this project has been a valuable learning experience providing me with the opportunity to explore new tools and techniques revealing both my strengths and weaknesses and also highlighting the importance of iteration and creativity. As I continue to develop my skills, I look forward to building on these experiences and refining my approach to design which to ensure that my work is not only visually appealing but also functional and user friendly.