This article was very insightful and it made me become more aware of all the design decisions made to creating the mobile games that I use. I thought it was really interesting how all the strategic placements and layouts are all intentional based on the size of the screen, what we look at first, and what is easiest for users to interact with. I thought it was interesting how ergonomics of the device itself played a key role in determine the user interface design on a flat, digital screen. It made me think about how mobile apps and games are very much at the crux between actual product ergonomics and user interface design since we interact with mobile applications in ways that are so different than just a laptop or computer device.
The image that I chose was of a group of plants that I own at home. I think this image is interesting because it is a grouped display of all the plants I own that are the "Philodendron" genus. I think it's really interesting how even though
they all come from the same family of plants they all look very unique in their own way. The topic that I wanted this to be a part of is a sort of collection display of all the plants that I own currently. Since I own so many types of plants,
there are different ways for me to group them and I thought grouping them by genus would be interesting to see since I have plants of many genus. I believe this collection would shed light on how I see beauty in plants, especially in urban
spaces. I wanted to feature beautiful images of all my plants to communicate how I see my plants in my space.
Emma Choi, 2021
This image my partner provided shows a tea drink from RareTea, a boba shop in Davis. This particular kind of drink is not a milk tea since it does not have any milk in it, but it is more like an iced sweet tea. Although there isn't too much
going on in this picture on its own, I think that it is interesting how there are different kinds of drinks you can get from boba shops. In addition, each shop that sells these kinds of drinks all have different packaging. I think that the
way that this photo was shot shows some unique colors in the drink itself, along with contrasting textures between the smooth cup and the texture of the table. I think the thing I'm most curious about is how this image will be incorporated in
some sort of interaction.
Images and Interaction
I thought that this article really touched upon the meaning behind "a picture is worth a thousand words". I feel that often we are so exposed to so many forms of media constantly that we don't really spend too much time really taking in
photos and learning the story behind them. I think what makes a really great photographer is the ability to capture moments that tell a story all in itself. I think the concept of different interpretations and discussions from photographs
really tie in with photography as a form of art. Digital images–whether illustrated of photographed–hold so much meaning and intention behind it leaves viewers to understand and learn from it in their own way. The example I saw on Awwwards really showed this with digital illustrations. The way this website was designed made the interaction almost like a video game, with cute and fun illustrations of different
Japanese foods. I think this execution of digital imagery and user experience made Japanese "exotic" foods a little less intimidating and more interesting. As a result, people may be more inclined to view these foods in a different light and
have more curiosity on it.
Overuse of Overlays: How to Avoid Misusing Lightboxes
This article shed light on a design solution that I never really put too much thought into. Since I've been using the internet, I've remembered seeing overlays and lightboxes for things like forms, warnings, and promotions. Reading this
article gave a really insightful perspective as to why these became so popular and how it benefits the user in certain scenarios. Reading the examples of poor uses for this kind of design really put things into perspective for me in thinking
about whether or not certain design decisions are even useful or beneficial for users. I think the example with the form use and how users on mobile devices are disadvantaged when filling out full page forms since they have to zoom in all the
way was really interesting to me since I've personally experienced that pain point without realizing it.
This article made some interesting points on what is good practice in designing forms. I didn't realize there were a lot of small details that make a huge impact on how readable and intuitive a form can be for a user. I thought it was
interesting how the main priorities in the designs were to make understanding what to do as easy as possible while minimizing form abandonment. Another thing I thought was interesting was how I've seen forms with the 'bad practices' mentioned
like the red asterisk on required question, although I don't really see this type of design in more modern forms. I thought the password requirement formatting was very useful to put because I've personally gotten annoyed on vague and
uncommunicated requirements for passwords.
