Individual Project - Critical Evaluation

In this post I'm going to evaluate how I think the project went to plan and the positives and negatives of going through with the project I chose.

For this project I sat down and did a lot more planning that I would usually have done as there were many elements to take into consideration in order for the website to function correctly. I mostly wrote lists rather than storyboarding how I was going to set everything up, which I do realise for an outside party can be a little confusing and messy however I have fund that this is the best way for me to plan and organise my projects, I find writing down what I plan to do helps me get in tune with my work.

As this was an individual project I found that the schedule I kept to was a lot more relaxed that if I was part of a team, as I like to work at home and usually late at night. Although this was a good thing as it allowed me to work whenever I felt necessary I felt that working alone gave me no structure and also allowed me to procrastinate at times when I could have been working on my project. Given the pressure from team mates I think that I would have worked consistently rather that in spats of very hard work.However I did manage to complete almost all of the elements that I had planned to include in my project.

There were parts of the project which I would like to improve such as the amount of content on the social media platforms and to include more social networking sites in order to give the user a more rounded experience rather than just the basics.I would also have liked to use a web design package such as Dreamweaver, however due to the fact that I wanted to work mainly from home and I do not own such an expensive programme I had to make do with an online web creator which was inferior, yet still usable and able to make great content, to Dreamweaver.

As I had already covered QR codes and Hobo signs in lectures multiple times before I felt that I had built up a good amount of knowledge on the subjects, but I did feel as though I needed to round out my knowledge as there were things I was ignorant about, which I used the internet to try to fill in the gaps. However I tried to do only the research I really needed as the project production time was only a short two weeks. If I was creating my project again I would research into what the user wants such as a way to allow email notifications when a QR code is placed in their area.

Although my presentation was basic I'm happy with how it represented my work and allowed me to show my thought process throughout the project, I felt confident during the presentation that I was giving the information needed to help any viewers to understand the reasoning behind my decisions.

Phoebe

Individual Project - Presentation

Here's my presentation for my project 'Urban Vagabond' I hope you enjoy.

 


Phoebe

Individual Project - Final Product

Here's my project finally finished!

I created a website that I decided to call "Urban Vagabond"  as I wanted to emphasise the connection to hobo signs whilst still keeping a modern feel. The home page consists of the this weeks 'Top Pick' of user generated content. There is also some information concerning the image and the twitter feed, allowing users to tweet to @vagabondurban right from the home page.

I then went on to create a page in which I explained what the website is about and why the user should partake in the world of QR codes.
I also thought it was paramount to explain to the users how to create and use QR codes. This led me to create a Prezi explaining what they needed to do.

This is the Prezi presentation in question, I originally planned to have a video it's place however I found that I didn't have quite enough time to produce a video as well as all of the other content I had planned on creating.

Here's a link to the working Prezi -
http://prezi.com/4a6ioceuo6iz/how-to-use-qr-codes/

Here is the gallery page of the site, on this page is a rolling slideshow of images that have been uploaded to the website from various social media platforms.

There are also some paragraphs of information on how the users can get their own images on the site.

On this page of this website I wanted to show a small database of QR codes I had created specifically for those that are beginners to QR codes but still want to join in with the community. I created simple codes such as "Eat here" and "Don't eat here" so those that are unfamiliar are not put off by the creation of QR codes.

On the final page of the website I decided to include some helpful links that would aid the users in their travels. I put in a link to a QR code generator, a website that has all of the libraries in the UK as I wanted the users to be able to print when on the go, a website which outlines the original Hobo signs for inspiration or just to learn where my ideas came from and the final link is to a website which logs all of the coolest places in each city that are ready to review.


Here's a link to the working website - http://www.i-m.co/phoeberuddock/UrbanVagabond/

I hope you enjoy!

Phoebe

Individual Project - More Developments

 Here are some photos I took 'on location'. As I'm creating the project for users I felt that I needed to add in some user content in order to give the website a sense of purpose, rather than a shell or idea of a project. Therefore I had to simulate those users somehow. Whilst walking around town I posted some QR codes I had printed out in appropriate places.

I made eight in total and will use them in a section of the website I'm going to call 'Gallery' in which (when up and running) I will choose the images that contain a valid QR code and include them into the gallery.

I'm hoping that this will inspire other users to create their own and also gives real life examples to any confused users.

Phoebe

Individual Project - Development

When planning out my project I decided to create many aspects of social media that I could include on the project. I want the users of the website to be able to interact with each other on their preferred platform rather than simply on a webpage.

This led me to set up a Facebook and Twitter account that I could link with the website, although this aspect will be useful I'm a little apprehensive as to how they will work when it comes to presenting my project. On previous projects I have created various fictional social media which have been blocked due to suspicion of fake accounts.

I have also started to outline the workings of the website and have created a small database of working QR codes that can be used by my users.

Phoebe

Individual Project - Ideas

When we covered hobo signs in second year I found them really intriguing as they were something I'd never heard of before and a huge part of a forgotten culture. Hobos were different to homeless people, they worked when they were given the chance in exchange for food, shelter or money. They were not the beggars that some people think they were. Their ways of communicating throughout their community are not dissimilar to how we communicate ourselves.

Their signs are as though they are leaving advice or reviews of certain establishments or areas, without personal gain, they are intended for their fellow drifters. I have decided I want to create a modern day 'hobo' community using QR codes in the place of the original signs. Within the community users can print out and place around the city and upload their own hobo codes that will give secret messages to passers by and other members of the community.

I'm thinking of making this project a website with social media aspects allowing it to be more of an experience rather that a static one way project.

Phoebe

Individual Project

Today we were assigned our brief for our final project, which is to be individual rather than the choice we were given for our mini-briefs as to whether to work alone or in groups.

Using one of the four technologies that we have explored throughout this module "you will individually conceive, develop, implement and finally present, a novel narrative media project."

Whilst considering which technology to include in my project I decided to work with the area that I found most interesting, which was QR codes. I also appreciate the fact that QR codes are simply a door to a tremendous amount of media, allowing my project to be free to include any media I choose as the QR code just takes the viewer to my content in an easier way.

So with that decided research and ideas must begin!

Phoebe