Final week of Classes!

This past week was my last official week of class content. From here on out it’s up to us to take the skills that we’ve learned up to now and take them forward, so as to show that we can build upon our skill set and produce a polished, fully functioning artefact for our final Master Project in December 2016. It seems like a long way away from now, but the summer ahead will be absolutely vital. I know it will for me anyway, as someone who came into this course with minimal knowledge of the digital domain. It’s important that I build a strong foundation over the summer before I am given my project supervisor in early September.

It’s been a a good experience these past 8 months. I’ve improved my video editing skills, my level of coding has increased significantly, and I’ve become really interested in the UX process. Maybe a viable career path to go down! And, of course, met some really interesting people who I would’t usually come across in my circles. So it’s been a cultural experience as well in many ways.

There’s only a few more assignments to hand in between now and the end of May. I’ll hopefully be updating the blog over the summer, when the real work begins. Thanks to anyone who has read the blog since it’s inception in March. I’m off to code!

Pitch 4

This week was the fourth and final pitch of the semester, which I’m sure all my peers are ecstatic about! Some love to speak in front of an audience, while most are terrified by it. I fall into the latter category. But I’m always thankful for the experience in the end, as each pitch trains you to speak in front of an audience, and the added pressure of a timed pitch teaches you good organisational skills and how to convey an idea quickly.

For some reason, I didn’t feel as confident heading into the final pitch. I’m not quite sure why. On the night, I think my nerves got the better of me. Going very last probably didn’t help. It’s a good thing I’m making a stress related app! 😉

But like I said, it was a worthwhile experience nonetheless. I’ll improve. And thankfully we will be presenting in front of a more refined group when it comes to the sprints later in the year. I received a favourable feasibility score for my last pitch, so this means that my idea does have potential. I look forward to the results from pitch 4, which are due to be released soon.

As it’s been a few weeks since I started this explorative process, my prototypes have become more refined and are starting to take shape.

Below is an example of what I pitched last week:

Video Pitch

As part of the Media Entrepreneurship module I’m taking in semester two, I have an assignment which is very similar to the pitches. It involves taking your pitch idea and transforming it to fit a digital platform in the shape of a video.

I found this experience really useful, as I’m not the most comfortable public speaker and enjoyed brushing off on my Adobe Audition and After Effects skills.

Below is my video pitch:

I hope you understood the concept I’m trying to convey. If anyone is interested in the topic or would like to be a tester further down the line, feel free to get in touch. Mental health is an important issue that is often under looked here in Ireland. Things need to change!

Paper Prototyping

Before I pitched for the very first time, I basically had to sit down and decide what I wanted my app to be. And apart of that is obviously how it looks and what it actually does. Now, I’m no artist. Trust me. Before this course, I would have laughed at you had you told me that putting your idea down on paper is an easy thing to do. Well, it actually is! Paper prototyping is such an easy practice and a lifesaver in the long run. I learned this practice during a UID/UX module I took during my second semester. All you need is a blank page and pencil or marker. No matter how bad you are at drawing, all that matters is that what you draw is legible and makes sense logically. Because if it doesn’t make sense on paper, it isn’t going to make sense when you attempt to code! Coding is time consuming and risks no reward if you waste time trying to create the perfect prototype during your initial iteration process. So what I’ve learned is that it’s best to approach things from the most basic perspective first.

Below is one of my very first paper prototypes:

It’s no work of art but very simply illustrates the types of screens and flows that will feature in my app. From this basic sketch, I was then able to create more refined screens moving forward. Sketch and Principle are two really useful tools that I would recommend to anyone.

Thanks for reading!

Update!

Hello people of WordPress and anyone who’s just stumbled across this. My name is Mark Owens and I’m currently studying for my Master’s degree in DIT as part of the MSc in Creative Digital Media. This is my first blog post, and hopefully the first of many. I just wanted to document the work that I’ve carried out so far, so here goes!

As part of the programme, we are expected to show that we can take what we’ve learned from the course and build on it to further our learning and ultimately produce a final project that demonstrates our understanding of the field in question and showcases our skill set. We have 7 months to produce the final project, which will be an application of some form. At present, my peers and I are working on our final project proposals before the end of semester. Stressful times! 😉

For my final project proposal, I have chosen to explore the domain of anxiety/stress. I have a personal interest in this area and feel that my passion for it will only help me to work harder and stay motivated during the long 7 months ahead from late May. Two weeks ago, my classmates and I had to present our final project ideas in front of the lecturing staff and fellow peers. It was our first graded pitch and I’m sure my classmates are eagerly awaiting their feedback just as much as I am. The pitches are always an interesting experience. You’re under pressure to convey your idea in a timely manner, just 2 minutes! But it’s a worthwhile experience and hopefully will help prepare us for the industry that awaits us after completion of the course. It’s always good to hear other people’s ideas, and to see how they are approaching things compared to you.

But before this stage, I had to conduct some user research ahead of the pitch. I created a carefully chosen survey and promoted it across my own personal social media accounts. It proved really useful, and some invaluable insights were obtained and presented in the pitch mentioned. It was during the month of March that I brainstormed ideas for my final project and had meetings with the course chair over which direction to take. Ultimately, anxiety/stress was the area I was most interested in. Due to the sensitive nature of the domain I’m operating in, I applied to the DIT Ethics Committee to obtain permission to work within this area and avoid any regulations being overlooked. Fingers crossed that my proposal is adequate.

And that’s it for now! Sorry about the longish first blog post. I’m hoping to update the blog on a weekly basis. Thanks to those who have supported me so far. 🙂