Interface Storyboard
CS237
Assignment #9
|
Out |
Thurs, 10/17 |
|
Due |
Tues, 10/22 |
Wake, Warren, Design Paradigms: Introduction; Chapter 10,
Multiple Object relations,
Chapter 14: Putting Paradigms to Work
Ware, Colin, Information Visualization: Perception for
Design
Gibson’s
Affordance Theory (pp. 22-25) Interacting with Visualizations, (pp. 335-353)
McCloud, Scott, Understanding Comics Chapter 3, Blood in the Gutter; Chapter 4,
Timeframes.
Part One:
The first part of the assignment is to complete your interface design, adjusting any weak aspects or adding new features. An overall goal might be simplicity and intuitive ease of use, as well as a vivid and efficient presentation or the data and the overall experience of the model. If physical objects are especially important to your design, find a way of effectively showing their character, either by building actual objects, by drawing, by using altered photos, or by building a CG image. Similarly, if you are including floating menus or other virtual elements in your interface, we should be able to have a very clear idea on Tuesday of your design and how it would function. Often, the process of visually realizing your design as a drawing or other image will give important insights into its feasibility or weakness. You can incorporate some aspects of this visual description into your storyboards, but in the case of handheld tools, for example, the storyboard images may be too small or stylistically simple for the class to get a full idea of your design. In this case, there should be a fuller visual description as a stand-alone image.
Part Two:
Design and execute a “Storyboard” that narrates the interaction of a user with a virtual model of arterial flow. The model can be based on previous assignments, but should particularly focus on an incident of anomalous flow around a side branch, incorporating your understanding of the issues of fluid flow. If you like, you can build an artificial sense of scientific discovery into your storyboard: your design has facilitated an important insight about the effects of flow on an artery wall!
Your interface design begun earlier this week should serve as the basis for the interaction portrayed, with any modifications you want to make to the design in light of Tuesday’s crit. The storyboard should highlight four important aspects of the use of your interface tools, along with transitional frames that show intermediate stages of navigation. The storyboard should ultimately consist of at least six frames. You can show the user navigating through the artery as a separate figure, or show us what the user would be seeing as he or she works in the Cave, or go back and forth between these two “camera angles”. We should see a user examining particular details and employing at least two selection methods to isolate or highlight aspects or subsets of the data. The tools and other interface elements should be clearly shown in use. The combined group of scenes should convey a clear sense of inter-connected events from frame to frame. Note that it may be possible, and narratively effective, to generate the transitional frames through simple camera movement, as the “user” navigates through the space. Those of you who made a digital model in cinema 4D might use your models as the basis for your storyboard: this will save drawing time, as each scene can be generate by shifts in camera movement within the model. Otherwise, any medium is fine for this assignment. Drawings do not need to be overly elaborate , but textures and colors should be include if they are important to an understanding of the actions, and the drawings should be very legible. Any of the “tricks” for showing motion and other time-related or narrative phenomena, which are outlined in the reading from “understanding Comics” can be used to clarify the narrative. Study the format of the sample storyboards from “Mission Hill”. Note the descriptive “timeline” information in the lower half of the page. This is a good format to assist the set of sequential images in describing the interaction you are portraying: images on top, verbal description of action below.
Note: it is almost always going to be more effective to begin your storyboard with a sketch stage, perhaps on separate sheets of paper. This way, in a very simple drawing style, you can consider the composition and sequencing of the individual frames before committing your self to fuller execution. In a very brief linear style, map out the framing, spatial angle and the placement of the objects to best describe a given moment of your storyline. When you have assembled a number of these sketches, you can start to mix and match them in sequential order, filling in blank areas in the narrative, or discarding redundant or uninteresting views. When you have a good sequence of images, you can proceed more confidently to visually realize the images of the storyboard in a style that will be legible and vivid for your audience. Line weight variation, light effects, color, texture or any other visual quality which helps to set the scene can be used.
o Reading
o Reconsider and “flesh out” interface design
o Create images for each storyboard scene.
o Add explanatory text in “timeline” area of storyboard.
o Answer assignment questions.