Susan, Claire, and myself presented our findings during week four of
the class. We examined how Jonathan Price’s "Rhetoric of Objects"
relates to Jean Vonderdonckt’s "Visual Design Methods, et al"
As I stated in class, I believe Vanderdonckt’s paper is a valuable
asset to our studies. Jac de Han noted in class, "I’m going to start
giving this (the diagrams) to my clients." Vanderdonckt sets up a basic
nomenclature that is useful between designer and client. If this
nomenclature is understood, a producer can say to a designer or client,
"There is too much PREDICTABILITY in this design." Or "We need to
remove some of this SEQUENTIALITY." And the other person will know what
is being said.
This relates back to Price as he quotes Aristotle as saying, "It is
essentially a matter of the right management of the voice to express
the various emotions–of speaking loudly, softly, or between the two…"
Using Vanderdonckt’s nomenclature, it is easier to express with one
another the most effective way to vary one’s message. And I’m sure
there are many more examples of how Vanderdonckt relates to Price.
As an additional source we chose "User Interface Modeling in UMLi"
by Paulo Pinheiro da Dilva and Norman W. Paton. The paper describes
using a modified version of the Unified Modeling Language (UMLi) to
create a more exacting influence on users. Da Silva and Paton say "By
using a modeling environment in which application and interface
designers describe models in terms of an integrated set of notations,
you can enhance communication between design team members." This
relates perfectly to our team’s premise on Vanderdonckt and Price.
The second additional source we found was from a website with this URL: www.valcasey.com/webdesign
This article has some very astute ideas about creativity and balance in
design. Among my favorite things about this article is under the
heading Coming Up With Ideas. He says, "Good design doesn’t occur
suddenly or without work. It is an evolution of successes and failures.
Don’t ever be so attached to a design that you can’t throw it out and
start again." This is true in all creative endeavors. We all have to
believe in our prowess and our style, but we also must be emancipated
from it, and be willing to do what’s correct for the project rather
what’s good for the ego.
— Brian
[edited 25 April by Kathy to link the above URL and sign it "Brian". Note: missing link to first supplemental resource]
