d.tech u1

Unit 1 10 A

- Unit 1 -

WHAT IS MY PART IN THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY

AND IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY?

By Giulia Manca

INTRODUCTION TO UNIT 1

During this unit we have been asked to create a poster suitable to advertise the X-Factor event of the school.To catch people attention and to meet my end-user’s requirements, I’ll have first to investigate well and deeply on the topic (information on the event, how to create well a poster) and then create an interesting and eye-catching poster that will have all the information needed (title, place, date, image and people involved).

To have more information about the event, for example, when and were it will be held; I’ll have to talk to the person in charge of it, Miss Daykin.Afterwards I will start researching (by talking to experts and investigating on internet) on how to create an effective poster, which attracts the attention of the audience and reflects what is required.Then I’ll create various possibilities of the final work (by hand first and then on the computer) and chose the one that will be more appropriate to the requirements.To accomplish the final poster, I will first of all find out the required size and type of paper and then print it. After every step I will do an evaluation of the work, deciding whether things are to change or not and how to improve it. I could even ask other people for a personal opinion to enrich my way of planning and designing and to create the final poster.

It will be really interesting developing this project, because I like to create posters and advertisements and it’s also a pleasure if the work that will be done may be used in public for an important event at school.The school community will receive help from this poster, because it will be informed of the date and place of the event.The poster will be a publicity media for a big audience (students, parents and teachers), which will be solicited to participate at the event.During this unit, I will improve my skills is this area and learn the techniques to create an effective poster that attracts the people’ attention.This project is linked very well with the area of interaction, Community and Service, because, thanks to this project, I will communicate to the whole school community important information about the event.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

To guide my investigation, I will formulate some questions that will help me to develop the poster.• What makes a good poster?• What are the essential information I need to include?• How can I attract people’s attention and persuade them to come to the event?• Which is the best software to create a poster?• What style is suitable for the event and to advertise it to the all community?• What are my end-user’s requirements?

POSTER ANALYSIS

Colours have to be eye-catching Font of the title - needs to attract people's attention Images Themes in the background Shapes behind text Logos – sponsors (X-Factor logo, ISM) Information: website – further information, date, place, event title Elaborate poster: small text-invisible, big images Not direct message, not quickly understandable Aim to younger people that like manga and comics Communicating through images and words 2 stars- not completely understandable date, place Good images and colour schemes that publicize well the event

RESEARCH

• What makes a good poster? To create a good and effective poster, is essential to make it legible and understandable to the client. In this case, my clients are Miss Daykin and the whole school community. The poster has to be colourful and with a direct message, easy to be understand by a big audience. The final work has to be original and eye-catching that makes the public want to stop and read it (colour, pictures, drawings, unusual shapes, logos, title). There should be themes in the background and shapes behind text, which closely relate to the central theme (X-Factor). It does not have to be too much elaborate, because to communicate a message is better simple and the points should be easy to read and follow. Do not use too many types of fonts and sizes for the text. It has to be readable, so the spelling, the language and the information of the poster should be correct. It has to be legible, so use an appropriate size that can be read from 5 feet away. The poster has to be well organized, by inserting the items with a logical order to have a good impact on the audience. It has also to be succinct and not with too many words, because, statistically, you have 10 seconds to grab people’s attention. Poster analysis (class work - http://g10unit1.blogspot.it)http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_makes_a_good_poster#slide3http://www.sc.edu/our/doc/goodposters.pdf

• What are the essential information I need to include? It the final poster I will have to include the essential information: the date and place of the event, the ISM logo, my version of the X-Factor logo, the web site of the school and, in addition, some images or pictures that attract people’s attention and might be also useful to explain the theme. The event will take place in the school theatre. The date has been moved from the 13th of November at 7.30pm to another day in January, which will be decided afterwards. After the show, there will be an aperitif for everybody. The information of the poster have to be direct and easy to be understood by a large age rage of people. Miss Daykin

• How can I attract people’s attention and persuade them to come to the event?

To attract people’s attention, the poster should be colourful, with interesting images; for example the image of the three judges of the event. The poster must be understandable by all the school community, so the size of the font must be appropriate and there must be a balance between text and images. There should be themes on the background that are appropriate to the poster and shapes behind the text to highlight them. The poster must have bright colours that make it stand out and encourage people to read it. The font of the title must attract the

attention and there should be inserted the logos of the sponsors of the event. The main function of a poster is to capture a moving audience with a message. During the designing a poster, the plan has to be carefully thought to attract people. There is a short amount of time to attract and hold the readers’ attention, so a solution is to think about the one aspect of the information that must convey the message and plan the design around that. After having selected the most important information, determine the imagery that will best convey the message visually. Deciding whether to use just one large image or have several small interesting shapes and drawings. Also choosing the colours is very important, because they evoke the mode or the emotion that the poster communicates. The final poster has to be very direct, so there shouldn’t be any superfluous detail. Poster analysis (class work - http://g10unit1.blogspot.it)Emanuela Farmahttp://www.prlog.org/11701294-how-to-design-poster-to-attract-people.html

• Which is the best software to create a poster? The softwares that are more appropriate to create a poster are: Paint, Microsoft Publisher and Photoshop. I decided to use Microsoft Publisher, because it has many options for themes, fonts and shapes and I learned, thanks to videos on You Tube, explanations of the teacher and deeper research, how to use it appropriately to create a good poster.Emanuela FarmaMicrosoft Publisher (video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHqkjejSA24, website -http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/)

• What style is suitable for the event and to advertise it to the all community?

The style should represent the idea that has to be developed. It should remind immediately a person of what the poster is talking about. The style of the poster has to be connected to the theme of X-Factor, so it will have to use fonts, colour, images and backgrounds that transmit a sensation vivacity and dynamism and reminds the “show” topic, with its lights and effects. The font has to be bastoni, because it transmits the idea of power and modern. The colours should be bright, because they have to remind immediately the concept of the X-Factor show. Emanuela Farma

• What are my end-user’s requirements? My end-user’s requirements are to advertise the X-Factor event and to encourage people to come. To satisfy my client, I will have to talk to him and make sure that my idea is approved and shared too.

Miss Daykin

• Interview to Emanuela Farma -How can I attract people’s attention?-To attract people's attention, the poster has to have images, shapes, backgrounds and fonts that are eye-catching. -Which is the software that you suggest to use?-I think that the most appropriate software is Microsoft Publisher, because it has many options and it is easy to work with.-Which type of paper is the best to use?-To create an effective poster the paper has to be resistant and bright to be noticed.-Which style is the best to advertise an event?-The style has to represent and transmit the event topic.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Poster analysis (class work - http://g10unit1.blogspot.it) Emanuela Farma – expert graduated in publicity Miss Daykin (main client) Microsoft Publisher (video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=CHqkjejSA24, website -http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/) http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_makes_a_good_poster#slide3 http://www.sc.edu/our/doc/goodposters.pdf

The sources that I used are valid, because thanks to them I learned how to improve the poster skills and how to use a specific software to create the final project. These sources are reliable because they are not biased and give information that can be found and backed up in other websites, books or videos of expert interviews. I think that the information and details gained from these sources are very helpful for the creation of the final poster.

DESIGN BRIEF

To create the poster that will advertise the X-Factor school event and fully meet my end-user’s requirements, I’ll have to follow strictly the limits and demands that I set previously.Firstly I’ll have to gather from the responsible of the event, Miss Daykin, more information on the event: when it will be, where it will take place, who will be the judges and more details on what will happen during the show. To create the poster on the computer, I’ll have to learn how to use programmes that are suitable for the task, by listening during the teacher’s explanations, watching tutorial videos on Internet and researching to have more suggestions.After having more information about the project I’m working on, I’ll start creating different prototypes of the poster. I will choose the one that is more appropriate and meets exactly the requirements. To understand how to improve it (design, colours, font and appearance) and make it more eye-catching, I will ask the point of view of different people, for example teachers, kids and adults. During the creation of the project, I’ll take inspiration from different posters, for example the logo of X-Factor.

My goal to reach for this unit is to satisfy my end-user requirements and to advertise well the X-factor school event, by creating a good, attractive and direct poster, which will have all the needed information easy to understand. My costumer will be Miss Daykin, because she is in charge of organizing the event and so she will need to advertise it and encourage the people to come. My target audience will be the students, parents and teachers: the entire school community. They will need to be able to understand from the information on the poster the date, time and place of the event and what will happen during it.The final poster will have to be attractive, to catch people’s attention, informative, to make them understand what will happen, and entertaining (with interesting images, themes and capturing texts).

DESIGN SPECIFICATION

Limits

Function Appearance Content Materials SizeIt must not advertise other events

It must not be too bright

It must not contain only text

It must not contain the X-Factor original logo

It must not be too small (A4)

It must not be incomprehensible or difficult to read

It must not be too dark

It must not contain only images

It must not be created in a not appropriate program

It must not be too big (A2)

I must not b in black and white

Text shouldn’t be too small

Demands

Function Appearance Content Materials SizeIt must contain the correct information about the event (time, date, place)

It must be eye-catching

It must be balanced between text and images

It must contain my own version of the X-Factor logo

It must be at least A3

It must give all the information directly

It must attract the people’s attraction

There should be themes on the background that are appropriate to the poster

It must be portrait

There has to be the school’s website for further information.

It must have bright colours that make the poster stand out

There should be shapes behind the text to highlight it

Wishes

Function Appearance Content Materials Size

It must contain the correct information about the event (time, date, place)


It must be balanced between text and images

It must contain my own version of the X-Factor logo

It must be at least A3

It must give all the information directly

It must attract the people’s attraction

There should be themes on the background that are appropriate to the poster

It must be portrait

There has to be the school’s website for further information.

It must have bright colours that make the poster stand out

There should be shapes behind the text to highlight it

Function Appearance Content Materials Size

Convey the theme of X-Factor

It must be colour full

Create nice and attractive drawings and images that refer to the X-Factor theme

Use appropriate and resistant paper

Correct measure to be well seen and understandable

Meet the end-user requirements


Create a well balanced poster, that stands out thanks to images and text

Use a good program to create the poster

It must be easily understandable to all the people

Use at least 3 different colours: red,

(kids, parents, teachers)

white, silver

TEST PLAN

Test name Expected outcome

Actual outcome Comments/Improvements needed?

Does the poster contain the correct information (date, place, name of the event)?

Is it comprehensible to all the school community?

Is there a balance between text and images?

Is there a balance between bright and dark?

Is the poster in colour?

Does it have at least 3 different colours?

Does it contain my own version of X-Factor logo?

Does the poster

have the correct size?

Is the poster eye-catching and attractive?

Is the poster original?

Does the poster have appropriate themes on the background?

Does the poster have shapes behind the text?

Does the poster convey the theme of X-Factor?

Does the poster meet the end-user requirements?

Does the poster contain images and drawings that refer to the theme?

Is the poster been created with an appropriate program?

Is the size of the font appropriate to be seen and

read from the audience?

I think that this test plan is well organized and structured, because it includes all the requirements to have a good poster. It will be useful because by following every question it will be easier to evaluate the final project and understand how to improve it.A way of testing the poster would be asking some questions that refer to it, to parents, children and teachers. Another way would be creating a small questioner for Miss Daykin, the responsible of the event.

Questions for parents, children and teachers:

Yes NoIs the poster eye-catching?Is it easy to read?Is the message clear?

SUGGESTIONS:

Questioner for Miss Daykin:

Yes NoDoes the poster satisfy your requirements?Does it advertise well the event?Are you pleased of the final product?

SUGGESTIONS:

I think that thanks to these questionnaires, I will be able to improve my poster and understand what is effective or not. The questions are focusing particularly

on the aspect of the poster and if its information satisfy the client.

POSTER PROTOTIPES

POSTER 1

Font: -bold for the title (red, silver, white, black) -uppercase for the text (black)

Background: space (stars and planets) Images: judges’ photo Shapes: boxes Logos: International School of Milan, X-

Factor

POSTER 2

Font: -bold for the title (red, silver, white, black) -uppercase for the text (black)

Background: lights Images: microphone, note Shapes: brightened white cloud and

squares Logos: International School of Milan, X-

Factor

POSTER 3

Font: -bold for the title (dark brightened blue) -Times for the text (black)

Background: red Images: judges’ photos Shapes: arrows (silver brightened) Logos: International School of Milan, X-

Factor

POSTER 4

Font: -bold for the title (white, with dark profile) -uppercase for the text (white)

Background: dark sky with stars Images: judges’ photos Shapes: white brightened stars Logos: International School of Milan, X-

Factor

EVALUATING THE DESIGN

POSTER 1

Test name Actual outcome


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes

Does it contain my own version

Yes

of X-Factor logo?

Does the poster have the correct size?

Yes


Not really


Yes


Yes


Yes


Not really


Not really


Some

Is the size of the font appropriate to be seen and read from the audience?

Yes

The poster contains the right information of the event and it is comprehensible to the audience.

There is a balance between images and text and is in colour. It contains my personal logo of X-Factor and also the ISM logo. The poster is not very eye-catching and it does not fully convey the X-Factor theme.

POSTER 2



Ye


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes

Does it have at Yes

least 3 different colours?


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


No


Yes

Is the size of the font appropriate to be seen and read from the

Yes

audience?

The poster is original and appropriate to the issue. The background and the images are appropriate to the X-Factor theme. The size of the text is appropriate to be read from people of different ages. The poster does not fully meet the end-user requirements, because it is not fully comprehensible that the show is a school event.

POSTER 3



Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Not really


Not really


Not really


No


Not really


Not really

Does the poster contain images

Not really

and drawings that refer to the theme?


Yes

The poster has my original and creative version of the X-Factor logo. It has all the correct information and the colours are bright. I think that is a little too simple because is not very particular and doesn’t have a lot of interesting details.The poster is pale and doesn’t have eye-catching elements connected to the show.

POSTER 4



Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes


Yes

The poster has a very original and attractive layout of the X-Factor logo. It suites very well in the requirements and is eye-catching, thanks to the texts in star-shapes and to the background, which highlights the title. I think it is a good prototype for the X-Factor poster, which has all the information required to the end-user.

PROCESS JOURNAL

Today (16th of October) I've created the background using a dark sky and I've inserted the website for info and the ISM logo. Next lesson I will continue inserting the information in the poster, in particular creating the title.

Today (17th of

October) I‘ve created my own X-Factor logo using word art and paint.Next lesson I will continue inserting information and the photo of the judges.

Today (23rd of October) I have created the star shapes to highlight the text, which gives all the information needed to the public. The next lesson, I will have to continue working on the layout of the poster and them insert the image of the three judges.

During this lesson (20th of November) I added to the poster the final details: the photos of the judges and corrected the font and size of the text. To cut properly the photos, I used a particular program: Photoshop.

Today (21th of November) I changed the colours of the title and of the stars, to make the poster more eye-catching. I inserted a phrase near the photo of the judges and created some lines in the title to highlight it.

FINAL POSTER

TEST THE PRODUCT

Test name Expected outcome

Actual outcome Comments/Improvements needed?


Yes. Yes, it does contain the date, the place and the name of the event.

The name of the event is very eye-catching and the information about it are inserted in the poster.


Yes. Yes, it is comprehensible by a wide age range.

This poster is comprehensible, because it is direct and the text is not too small.


Yes. Yes, there is a balance between the amount of images and the amount of text.

The poster is balanced because there aren’t too many images or words.


Yes. Yes, there is a balance between bright and dark colours.

The colours are balanced, because the background is dark, instead the text is white. So there is a good contrast that highlights the title and words.


Yes. Yes, the poster is colourful.

In the poster there is a combination of colours in the background, instead, for the

text, there is a dominant colour.


Yes. Yes, it does contain more than 3 colours.


Yes. Yes, I created the logo for the event.

The logo of the event is: The ISM Factor.


Yes. Yes, the poster is A3.

The poster in big enough to publicize well the event.


Yes. Yes, the poster attracts people’s attention.


Yes. Yes, the poster is original, because I personally created it with my own imagination and fantasy.


Yes. Yes, the background has an appropriate theme.

The theme of the background is the space with stars, planets and galaxies this is related to the event, because the judges are searching between many cultures the X-Factor.


Yes. Yes, behind the text have been inserted white stars to highlight it.


Yes. Yes, the poster relates to the theme of X-Factor.

The poster convey with the X-Factor theme, because of the logo, the stars and the images of the three judges.


Yes. Yes, the poster satisfies the client’s requirements.


Yes. Yes, the images and drawings refer to the theme.

Images – photo of the three judgesDrawings- three stars

Is the poster been created with an appropriate program?

Yes. Yes, the poster have been created using Microsoft Publisher.

In addition, to modify some images and logos, I used Photoshop and Paint.


Yes. Yes, the text is possible to read from the audience.

The final product fully contains the information needed to advertise the event: the date, the title, the place, the ISM website and logo. The title is very eye-catching, because of the colours used to highlight it. This poster is comprehensible to a wide age range, because it is direct and the text is not too small. There is a good balance between images and words and also between dark and bright colours. The theme of the background is the space with stars, planets and galaxies. This is related to the event, because the judges are searching between many cultures at ISM the X-Factor in a person, who will become the star of the show. In my opinion, the poster satisfies well my end-user requirements, because it publicise the event and it attracts people to come to it. To improve it further, I think that the drawings could have been a bit more precise and I could have used a specific and more advanced program to do this. I

could have also used better effects, for example lights, to show the relation between the poster and the X-Factor show.

Questionnaire to a parent:

Yes NoIs the poster eye-catching? YesIs it easy to read? YesIs the message clear? Yes

SUGGESTIONS:

Questionnaire to an eight year old child:

Yes NoIs the poster eye-catching? YesIs it easy to read? YesIs the message clear? Yes

SUGGESTIONS:

Questionnaire for Miss Daykin:

Yes NoDoes the poster satisfy your requirements? YesDoes it advertise well the event? YesAre you pleased of the final product? Yes

SUGGESTIONS:

It could have a better realization of the light effect, related to the light of the show.

I think that you could have created the lines in the title with more precision.

You could have made clearer who can participate to the event and take part in the show.

The questionnaires carried out to Miss Daykin, to a child and to a parent were very successful. They liked how the poster has been created, the colours, the images and the style used. The parent suggested that I could have created a better light effect and added some more details that connected the poster to the idea of “show”.The child said that I could have inserted in the poster the information about who can take part in the event. Instead Miss Daykin was happy and satisfied with the final product, although she thought that I could have been more precise in the realization of the lines that composed the title. The poster met all the requirements set previously in the test plan and also had achieved good results in the three interviews. I think that the poster met my expectations and I’m proud of the work created, taking in consideration of the suggestions made by other people, which I completely agree with.

EVELUATING THE PERFORMANCE

Investigation stage:During the first stage, I met all the deadlines set by the teacher. I organized my work, by taking notes in class and doing the homework. I think I have worked effectively and concentrated to meet the goals I set previously. I think I could improve in the way I wrote the research, by adding more details, inserting the interview of Miss Daykin and consulting more sources.

Design stage:In this stage, I selected the details that should be in the poster (colours, images, size, font, picture, shapes and background). In the design brief, I defined my goal and how I was going to reach it, satisfying the end-user requirements, instead, in the design specification I choose which were my aims. I met all the deadlines and I organized myself to complete effectively all the homework set by the teacher.

Plan stage:In this stage I created four prototypes of the final poster that will publicize the X-Factor event. I organized myself, worked creatively and met the deadlines set. I put effort in my work, to meet all the requirements of my end-user requirements. To improve my plan stage, I could have created more prototypes to have a wider range of selection.

Creation stage: During this stage, I created the final X-Factor poster using Microsoft Publisher.I met the deadlines set and I think I put a lot of effort in this stage, because I was willing to create a good and effective posted that would meet the client requirements.

EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF THE PRODUCT

During this unit, I have been able to learn how to create an eye-catching poster to publicize an event. I understood the techniques to attract people’s attention. For example the colours, text and images in the poster are very important and relevant to convince a person to participate an event. I’ve also learned how to use in a more productive way different software, for example Microsoft Publisher, Paint and Adobe Photoshop. I think that this poster will be very useful to my client, Miss Daykin, because thanks to it, she will be able to publicize the X-factor event and persuade people to come to it. This work will benefit the entire school community, because it will communicate to students, parents and teachers, important information related to the event that will take place. The product created is relevant and useful in the Community and Service area, because thanks to it, I have been able to help the community around me, providing a poster with important information about the X-Factor event.

d.tech u1

Technology

good poster

final poster

eyecatching poster

effective poster

poster suitable

event title

poster analysis colours

important event