information architecture reading

(oh my goodness, this reading was one of the most well-written things i've read in a while. it was beautiful.)

richard saul wurman begins his introduction with a metaphor almost resembling a fable, telling of a tsunami of information and data, constantly flooding and washing up bits and pieces. there are those that charge smiling and confidently into it, groomed by a lifetime of pretending to know what they are talking about. but the flood keeps redoubling. they can't just scoop information up and walk away with it, indiscriminately clutching it like they have something valuable. there's too much and no way to correlate it, but everyone pretends that they understand it, because we have grown up believing that to be unsure of ourselves, to ask questions and admit that we don't know things, is to fail.

what must happen is that someone look at it all, the information, and rather than assuming they should know what it means, really analyze it, make relationships, pull it apart and try to put it into a usable formation, arrange it into a meaningful pattern so that others can understand without faking.

those people are the information architects, and they're here to take graphic design back from the dropshadows and gradients.

pardon my french, but. "hell yes."

knitting book final reflection

we chose a small book size because it was conceptually relevant in the hand motion of reading a small book resembling the motion of knitting, small and intimate in your hands. it was a challenge to reinterpret all of our information into a smaller size, however, because it had previously been quite large. more to come.

I LOVE HATS.

hat collection! first, arranged by type of hat.

next, arranged by color.

then, arranged in order of perceived silliness/practicality.

knitting research data visualizations

first, our revised personas:

then, our affinity diagram:

then, our task analysis:

info arch project one

i analyzed an online news source and reimagined how it could better function in terms of intuitiveness and customization. presenting: an icon-happy web-app for dallas news.

new wave knitting

the age-old craft of knitting is no longer strictly the domain of grandmothers in rocking chairs, and it no longer must be transferred only from hand to hand and mouth to ear. within the past several years, knitting has enjoyed a slowly building but remarkable resurgence in popularity, particularly among young people. the new wave of knitting can be partially explained by the feed forward cycle of increased interest leading to greater cultural visibility leading to additional interest. this new face of the knitter is characterized by an enthusiastic embrace of technology as an instructor, a supporter, a marketplace, and a facilitator of community. while many people still do learn to knit from someone they know, an increasing number are teaching themselves using resources like youtube or knitting blogs. 

this new generation of knitters are driven by the same tactile desire to make as older generations, but the aspect of the handmade has become ever more important due to its lack of necessity. they are likely to have worked in other crafts in the past, whether or not they still do, but their patience and devotion to the slow, methodical, almost meditational process of knitting sets them apart from other makers. when someone knits, they are performing a miracle: they are making something useful or beautiful out of some string and two sticks. this miracle is made possible by the love they wrap into every stitch.

dallas morning news three skin directions

the classic, newspaper option. a bit of charming anachronism with your morning news, with the added bonus that the photos would color when you moused over them.

the clean, modern americana. faded red and blue and cream bounce between being american and a gentle sort of primary. 

lastly, the "don't rock the boat," using a color palette not unlike the one the dallas news website already employs while utilizing fairly dynamic icon coloring.