Castillo Design Process

JP Castillo Home Learn More Standards Inspiration About the Author

Design Process

The design process is just that, a process. One of the main ideas that has stuck with me over my time working in the video game industry is that whether it is art, the game design or even the story is that things change. There is a certain level of refinement that takes place and you have to be super flexible and understanding of that.

Below you see my design process for my capstone as well my design process for my logo.

In coming up with my driving question, I first had to go back and evaluate what do I want to see change in my class. For me it was an improvement of the work being done by my students in class.

It was important that as I designed my project was to break down exactly what the flow of a particular project was.

Next it was important to come up with my main idea, set some goals and make some assumptions based upon what I knew of my class.

Initially my driving question was:

Digital versus Oral Feedback in a Multimedia Classroom.
Does it Matter if the Standards are the Same?

Then by the second semester it evolved into:

In the classroom open air feedback is great, but can we use digital tools to capture feedback and make it even more timely and relevant?

As I began to understand who my research would most impact, it became more important to me to focus on helping teachers to create more of culture of feedback in their classrooms

Design Prototype - click to see a larger version

Project Mindmap - click to see a larger version

The Site Model

In designing my capstone it is important to look at the context of who my research is being done on, what the learning environment is, how the information being taught is going to be accessed.

The Sociocultural Sub-context

What I found over my first 3 years of teaching is that, my students in particular are drawn to my class obviously to learn multimedia skills, at least based upon without ever meeting me. They do get a simple description perhaps about learning how to use Adobe products and learning how to edit video. They eventually learn more about the different careers that are available to them. With this in mind there is always a small percentage of students who are merely there to get the fine arts credits needed to graduate.

The Technical Sub-Context

In my particular classroom, every student is at a computer with access to the same software and tools. Only student's whose families choose to purchase a subscription license will have accesses to the tools outside of the classroom. This is also a smaller percentage.

Students come in at different levels of understanding and savvy in regards to computer usage. There are some students who barely use a computer at home, end up doing very well in the class.

The Informational Sub-Context

Students typically access the information being taught in a couple different ways. First students are given brief lectures on the concepts and tools they will be using. My classroom is filled with student's grades 9th through 12th grade, with the majority being in the 9th grade. Most students are English speaking with a small percentage being English learners.

Logo Design Process

So my logo is a variation on the logo I use to brand my Digital Media Class with. It does not necessarily directly speak to my capstone project but it speaks to an overarching theme. I love creating contrast with different styles and color. This design specifically uses a contrast between a sort of weird elegant design with flourishes combined with pixel art and digital media icons. The skull and crossbones also symbolize a desire to "take over" or "commandeer" as it were the teaching status quo. I know it may not be to everyone's taste but I feel that it encompasses who I am as a person and what I am about as a digital media teacher!

I decided to use the tools I am most familiar with which is Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Both tools allow for complete control to create from scratch or utilize existing images and such to work from. Photoshop has various types of brush tools and filters to manipulate your image, while illustrator uses drawing tools to create very precise and clean works. The sheer amount of options available in these tools can be very intimidating for new users and for those who do not know where to begin, so proceed with caution! There are however, various tutorials on youtube to get you started. Otherwise I would suggest utilizing one of the simpler logo creation tools recommended in class.

Inspired by old detective windows

Adobe Photoshop, where all the magic happens

I think creating logos in general are pretty fun! I for the creation of my logo I tried incorporate what I am inspired by and influenced by - which come the types of entertainment I engage in. Video game and anime designers often create very unique design elements which pull from a lot of existing work, but add their own spin on it. This probably sums up my own sense of design and aesthetic.

Research

Support and Next Steps

design process for logo and website / iterations / colors /