Learning Processing - The Basics

To begin with we were told to always start with:

void setup(){

}

void draw(){

}

at the beginning of every sketch, this means that we have got a basis at which to start processing.

This is the very first thing that I did using processing.

This is what I created by the end of the first day of learning processing.



This is something that I created for a bit of fun during the class.

Processing Explained

"Processing is an open source programming language and environment for people who want to create images, animations, and interactions. Initially developed to serve as a software sketchbook and to teach fundamentals of computer programming within a visual context, Processing also has evolved into a tool for generating finished professional work. Today, there are tens of thousands of students, artists, designers, researchers, and hobbyists who use Processing for learning, prototyping, and production." (http://processing.org/)

This quote explains basically what processing is and what you are able to do with it.

http://processing.org/learning/ This website shows us the what to do from the basics to some more advanced processing.

This is the kind of thing you can do using processing:




If I could learn more about processing I would love to do something like this.

Project 3 - Processing

The Brief:

This module aims to give students experience of programming interaction in order to develop a sense of code literacy, which will enable them to push the boundaries of design to include new realms and processes. During this module you will be taught Processing and learn the very basics and begin to develop your programming skills.

I am very excited for this brief because I have never done processing before and after looking at the processing.org website at what kind of things we could do means that the possibilities are endless to what our imagination can come up with.

Reaction From Author

Hi Marie

Thanks so much for sending this and I have circulated it to my publishing team at Macmillan. We all love it! It is very engaging and very well thought out.

I think you have been extremely clever - and I'm delighted you chose one of my books of this project.

If I can be of any help at all don't hesitate to contact me.

But I'm thrilled with it.

All my best

Peter

----------------

Peter James (Hons) D.Litt

www.peterjames.com

scary@pavilion.co.uk

Find and follow me on http://twitter.com/peterjamesuk

&

on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/peterjames.roygrace

Perfect People, my first standalone novel in 10 years, a thriller about "Designer Babies"

On Oct 27th.On 30 Nov 2011, at 17:44, Marie Turner wrote:

Hello,

My Name is Marie Turner, I am a 3rd year University Student, studying Digital Media Design at Brighton University.

I am just e-mailing you to explain about a project I am currently doing at the moment, and I would like your opinion.

I have been asked to design an iPad application for an interactive story (I will not be making it though), and as I have already read a few of your Roy Grace books, I thought that I would create one for the series.I chose the 'Dead Simple' book, as it is the beginning of the series and a good starting point.For this project I am only doing one part of a chapter, as I only had 4 weeks to design it, and that is not long enough for me to do the whole book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MczUIacuLj0

Here is a Dramatic Visualisation that I have created to show what the application will look like and act like. As you will see, I have chosen to continue with the similar theme of your website.

If you could let me know what you think (if only so I could document it), I would be most grateful.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Many Thanks

Marie Turner

My Final Piece

This is my Final Dramatic Visualisation.
This demonstrates how people will use the app via video and animation. I use After Effects to create this.

Evaluation

Throughout this project I have learnt about all kinds of things, from accessability to usability.

For my pitch I put forward my idea for this interactive app. And there were some good points and bad points, however there were points raised that I did not necessarily think about, which I should have done. One of these points was colour blindness, for my interactivity I had used highlighted text with red and orange, and for someone who is colour blind they would not be able to this, therefore I had to come up with a new way of having my interactivity and making it in keeping with the rest of the app, and as someone suggested in the 'Crit' session, I therefore placed buttons along each side of the paragraphs, where the user could then click on them to reveal what the interactivity was for each section.

I feel that for this project I could have managed my time a bit better, especially in the beginning, however, when it got passed the initial stages I then got my act together, and came up with an idea and product that I am proud of. I have even e-mailed Peter James himself with my idea, just to see what he says, however, because he is really busy I have not yet heard from him.

The aesthetics of my piece are well thought of and put together, and my interactivity, even though they are minimalistic, I feel for my target audience will be enough to make them want to read on to then find out more, they will also keep them involved within the story as well, which is the whole idea of this app.

Changes I have made due to Crit

Due to the comments from the crit I have made these changes:

1. I have put a settings button - which allows for people to select it whenever they want to either go back home, or make the text bigger.


2. I do not have the loading screen anymore as I did not need it in the first place.


3. Instead of the selected words having a coloured background, on each paragraph I have put an arrow by it, which the viewer can now select it and the corrosponding image will appear on the right-hand side of the screen.


4. I have also placed a small marker - which means when the viewer scrolls the text up, the marker will react to the next scenery image and will appear, so that they are not always stuck on the same image for ages.


5. I have removed any faces from the app - instead I have got (specifically) a police report that the viewer can open and look through, with a pixelated image pinned on the side.


6. Below each of the interactive (non-obvious) sections I have placed a small instruction explaining to the viewer what to do.


7. I have made a new back button, so it is inkeeping with the rest of the aesthetic as the other one brought the piece down.


8. The viewer can now select pieces of the text, hightlight it and then can view it by selecting the favourites button, which is again on every page.

Crit Comments

Has the potential to be a strong idea
Have a settings button on every page of the story
To give people the option to make the text bigger
To allow people to go back to the Home Page
Change the vignette on the Loading Screen
Maybe do not need the Loading Page
Change colours of the selected words and buttons because they will not work for people who are colour blind, they cannot see red or green.
So maybe have an arrow on each paragraph to allow for people to see specific things from each paragraph
Have a marker so that when people scroll up the image changes on the right-hand side.
NO FACES!!
So instead have things like a police report to explain the background or something else that will explain the background of the person.
Have instructions for people, so that they know what to do with the interactivity, for example look around the room (Gyroscope)
Change the ‘back’ button to something that is more stylish like the rest of the app.
As the button now brings down the aesthetic
Have markers (favourites) points for people to go back to pages they like
Maybe allow for people to highlight certain bits of text
Zoom in on location
Google Earth
Have illustrations
Doesn’t have to be interactive on every single page

Interactivity Ideas

Some of the ideas I have come up with are:

• People will be able to click on specific words or names and the corrosponding image or photo (with possibly background information) will appear on opposite side of the screen, adding to story.


• There will be a 'Map' button appear whenever a location name is selected, which means people can select it and a map of the area will appear, this means that people can go and visit the places if they want to.


• On the Home screen there will be 2 other options:

One being Buy the Series and the other being Be A Part of the Series.

• Buy the Series will allow for the user to reas summaries of each of the other books in the series and then gives them the option to buy the book if they want to.


• Ba A Part of the Series, carries on from what Peter James already does, where people can donate money to one of his charities and that then allows for either their name or a chosen name to be in his next up and coming book.

Our Trip to Cogapp (Brighton)

Here are the notes that I took for our visit to Cogapp (Brighton).

• Cogapp explanded from having 7 people to 35 people within the space of 10 years.


• They usually have more cultural clients - such as Museums/Charities/Corporates


• The main body of their work consists with - Web (for Museums) iPad/iPhone (for Corporates)


• There are 15 tech people (no one specialises in just one area, meaning that everyone is able to do everything, and no one is limited)


• They came up with an idea internally (pre-iPad) - for DK Guide Books


• They did say that due to the sheer size of the apps that they find it hard to illustrate what is in the app and how much.


• To make it easier for them, they have made their own processing software, this is so they can all use it, and there are again no limitations.

Here are a few apps (from books) that they showed us:

Quick-Cook app

• There is an introduction of how to use the app


• A filtering system - which means people can select any ingredient/style/for how many people they want (there is an endless number of solutions)


• There is no video content - which brings the size of the app down dramatrically.

Kids Craft

• This allows for children to make things both in real life and on the iPad


• There is an Online and Offline option as well - Online is more realistic looking and offline is a step by step guide (like from the book)

Pregnancy Day by Day

• This is an iPhone app


• You are able to put your due date in - then go through and select any of the different stages that you want to look at.

Digital Photography

• This is again an iPhone app


• This is a step by step guide (similar to the book) on how to photograph different things (objects/landscape/people etc) - and there is a filtering system again, which means you can choose what situtaion you are in, and then the app will show you how to get a great photograph.

USABILITY:

• There is a Usability Department, which interviews people about the app, to see if they are right to test it out.


• The reason for usability testing is then to be able to create interesting and useful digital things instead of just digital things.


• They user test throughout the whole of the design and development process

From the Beginning:

• The one of the most important parts of the whole design and development process is to first get the clients to buy user testing.


• Method of testing - Surveys/Card Sorting (looking at how people organise cards they are given)


• Syncapps - Pearwise Matrix/Broad flow diagram


• Put people into groups (this allows for Cogapp to choose the best people to test the product.)

ONLINE TOOLS (C Inspector/Tree Jack)

• Testing Language/Labelling - to see if people are able to navigate and find things easily in the app

DESIGNING

• Branding Guidelines - Style Guideline


• A/B Testing - showing both designs to one person OR showing one design to one group at a time

TESTING IN CONTEXT

• View it on the device you are designing for


• Axure - Is a testing program (for making a quick app for testing purposes)


• A key expression and Concept we were told is to ask a question to ourselves: IS IT GOOD ENOUGH?


• Make sure you wireframe flexibly


• How to find people for user testing - Databases


• Make sure you have people that are relevant to what you are trying to test - target audience


• Crazy Egg - Tracks where people click and gives hotspots to where they click the most


• Affinity Sorting - Putting coloured post its in relevant groups (for example - User 1 has pink post its and User 2 has green post its etc)

ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

• What is relevant to the project at hand?

SOFTWARE

• Omnigraph (wirefaming)


• Appcelerator


• Unity (Animation)


• Livecode


• Phonegap (HTML)


• Edge


• Prototypes??

ACCESSABILITY

• Apple already have a system to turn text into speech (for people who are blind)


• Keep the navigation in the same place (so people dont get confused)


• Design with intent - Cards By Dan Lockdon and David Harrison.