Problem Set # 3
Handouts
Optional Readings
Key concepts are layering, focus and transparency. We are going to look at how to guide a users attention, while indicating priority, age, etc. Through various layering techniques we can keep more information present on the screen than previously possible. We can also indicate that not all information on the screen is equally important at all times. For example, as I edit this document, my screen is covered by windows which are all screaming for my attention. Here is an example of how I might solve this problem
There will be three parts to this weeks assignment. You may satisfy the assignment in any way you choose - that is with any software on any computer. You can do the assignment with Photoshop and Director, Adobe AfterEffects, Alias/Wavefront or by writing your own program on an SGI using the sample code I have provided. You may share code and software techniques freely amongst yourselves - at our crit session I would like to concentrate on the visual results more than on the software techniques involved.
1. Create a static design of these five sample news stories. All the text of all the stories must in some way appear in the screen space, however you should indicate that not all of the stories have equal importance. Stories may be classified by age, subject, location, etc.
2. Show how the user might indicate a change of focus and how that would affect your design from part1. This interaction can be more or less dynamic, despending on your choice of software.
3. Create a dynamic design from the following text. Your solution may be a still design with a sense of visual dynamism, or it may in fact involve actual movement of the typographic forms. Think about the relationship between layers, focus and the sense of movement through time. You may use the whole text or just a portion of it.