figma – Alex Rozbicki Digital Media Arts

DMA217 – Project 3 – Augmented Reality

rozbicka — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 23:16:24 +0000

What did you learn? I learned how to use Figma’s design & prototyping tools to create an augmented reality app which combines traditional video footage and design features with the real, outside world by manipulating the timing in which designs pop up on the screen and how they can be interacted with. We learned how these elements are applied to games like Pokemon Go and to hospital apps.

What was easy? Working with the video was probably the easiest since I have a lot of experiecne from ther courses working with Adobe Premier Pro. Although, it was a very time-consuming process.

What was challenging? Getting my videos to work in Figma by cutting down the size and working with the prototype tools took me a while to get used to. Also, I changed my idea a bit from the start and I did not really have a solid idea of how I wanted each flow to work going into the project. I kind of just figured it out as I progressed. The videos were not hard to do, but they took me forever since it was my first time working with sprite animation. I had a hard time finding free-to-use sprites for each animal and I’m not a expert with animating it. I did it becuase I wanted my app to look nice, so I didn’t just want to have every element just fade in because that would be lazy and would not look good. I challeneged myself but I am happy with the results.

How could your submission be improved? Time was the biggest factor holding me back in this project. I had to balance this massive project with final projects for other courses and final exams. If I had more time, I’m sure I would have some better ideas and the design choices would be a bit better. For example, I used picture slideshows for flows 4, 5, and 6, but I did not have many better ideas and I was racing against the clock due to other things I had to get done. However, I think I applied my skills well in this app and I am proud of the work I did since it was not easy and every piece was very time-consuming. I did not expect this project to be so complex but I am happy with it overall.

How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios? I understand Figma prototyping much more clearly now and I am much more confident in my skills. This will definitely be useful in the future if I ever decide to design an app, which I have thought about before. Not only that, now my design skills have improved. Before taking DMA217, I was still unsure of my Figma design skills and I barely knew how to use the prototyping tools effectively, but now that I am at the end of the course, I know a lot about app prototyping and I have created an awesome and creative app prototype that works.

https://www.figma.com/proto/44IeNGNf1UJ2jpD9EUbtE5/project3_rozbicka_DMA217?node-id=27%3A32&scaling=scale-down&page-id=0%3A1&starting-point-node-id=27%3A32

DMA217 – Project 2 – Web Design

rozbicka — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 19:01:29 +0000

What did you learn? I learned how to design a mobile and desktop website prototype in Figma. My design skills were tested as I constructed the elements of the site as well as the layout of the content. I learned how to set up the nav systems for each site type and link the site elements together to get the prototype to function.

What was easy? Building the nav systems and setting up the components as well as the design choices for the site and addition of the content was not very hard. Basically, it was not too hard to build the parts of the site, it was a bit difficult to get it to function properly in the prototype.

What was challenging? Linking the nav links properly to each tab of the mobile and desktop sites took some time to perfect. I was struggling with getting my headings to function properly in the prototype because I was originally linking everything from the master frames, something I should not have done for every single component. Not that the other parts were really hard, it just took some time to get used to since the capabilities of the prototype are complex.

How could your submission be improved? I probably could have added a hover and pressed variant for the mobile site headings, but I felt like it was not as necessary there as the desktop version and I forgot about it until the end of the project so I did not want to accidentally mess up my prototype. My desktop portfolio tab looks a bit sloppy because I added a lot of content to it so maybe I could have made it look better, but like I said before, I did not want to accidentally mess up my prototype by changing something at the end that is not much of an issue to begin with. Also, maybe the light blue I used combined with the large headings and GIFs make my sites look a little unprofessional, but I personally think they added a little personality to the sites.

How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios? Building prototypes in Figma so far has been fascinating to me and it is something I see myself messing with a bit in my free time. Being a DMA student, having a strong portfolio is crucial, so if this knowledge could lead me to taking my already made portfolio from Adobe Portfolio and turning it into its own site created by me, this could impress employers or open new opportunities for me in the job field. My understanding of Figma is being increased by these projects, so I look forward to creating in the site in the future without coming across as many technical issues. Overall, a slightly challenging but a fun project this was.

https://www.figma.com/file/kyq2HpbXkm51niGJFRUHG2/DMA217-project-2-starter-(Copy)?node-id=0%3A1

Project 4 – DMA214

rozbicka — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 04:54:08 +0000

What did you learn? I learned how to create unique designs while staying in the margins and using a grid. We once again used our knowledge of color scheme for this project and we learned new skills on typography. Combined, these skills can create something that looks organized and blends well together despite the fonts used being opposite of each other.
What was easy? Picking the color schemes was the easiest part. For the Las Vegas Raiders stamp, I just used the same color schemes that the actual team uses plus I added some blue to it to make it stand out. For the Cuisine stamp, I used a warm color scheme that fit well for the theme of Hell’s Kitchen. I didn’t have a clear color scheme in min for the ther two, but I found ones that worked good after experimenting with color for a while. Deciding on the location and which aspects to choose were easy to since I am planning on going to Las Vegas with my family soon plus I already knew a few things Las Vegas was known for in terms of cuisine, sports, and entertainment.
What was challenging? Deciding on which fonts to use and making the designs look nice was difficult. I had to use Figma’s Font Preview plugin for a while to pick fonts and I changed my mind quite a few times as well plus it took me a while to get the images fitted into the frames the way I wanted and to get them to match well with the color schemes.
How could your submission be improved? I propably could have done a better job fitting the text within the margins and the font choices could have been better probably. I have learned that typography is not really one of my strengths, but I still think the stamps came out nice. The color schemes of the Architecture and Entertainment stamps were a bit eandom, but it took me a while to decide on which would work best. Plus, the Sports stamp looks a bit strange with the blue, but I didn’t want it to look bland since the color scheme of the Raiders is really just black & white.
How could I improve the assignment for the next class? Next time, I would figure out how to work better in the margins and I would take more time determining my fonts and color schemes. There just are so many options that I did not want to spend way too much time deciding.
How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios? I will definitely be using Figma’s grids again as I found them to be very useful and of course they can make any design look more professional. Also, I plan on considering color scheme and typography more in the future on all designs.
How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you? I looked at a couple articles and videos about the history of Las Vegas for inspiration which ultimately pointed me in the direction I went in for this project. I also looked up a couple different color wheels to make sure my color schemes fit well.