Semester Recap and Review Reflection

This semester I spent a significant amount of time researching immigration and information design.  I spent a lot of time experimenting with graphic mapping and navigation.  I spent some time being stuck and overwhelmed with the amount of information I was trying to condense and synthesize.  I made maps, simplified definitions, and made mock ups.  I guess when I can condense everything I've done in a few sentences it doesn't seem like much in comparison to the amount of work I put into it.  I spent a lot of time conceptualizing the idea and my intentions for  the functionality of my project and writing project proposals, grand proposals, and abstracts.  I was kind of confronted with the fact that I didn't have enough complete or holistic work to show for the review but after hours of work the night before I felt pretty good about the printed mock ups I showed.  I could only do what was feasible at the time.

I feel good about the direction my project is heading, I know that what I want to do will help people and will contribute to the initiatives that design policy advocacy has set.  But, at the same time I'm not sure how my idea of success and progress lines up with my review panel's.  The nature of critiques, both with the panel and in class, is to focus on things that aren't working and need to be changed and rethought.  I don't think I've ever been so emotionally and mentally drained at the end of a semester like I am this year.  The few "pats on the back" I did get caught me completely off guard and were surprisingly motivating.  I am not a particularly sensitive person, and I think most of the time people find me to be overly blunt and too honest.  I guess that air I give off is reflected in the comments I receive about my project, but it is nice to hear that the direction I'm taking is right or that I've made, at least, a few good choices.

Most of the time I am able to articulate my ideas and my intentions successfully, but yesterday during the Q&A I was continually interrupted and stopped so that I couldn't finish my thoughts.  As a result I think I came off as unprepared when that wasn't the case, it was kind of embarrassing.  I really appreciated Frank and Matt's input on my project, especially Frank's offer to meet with me next semester.  I think he will be a huge help to me, he is a really kind person.

I haven't really thought about having my project published until he mentioned it yesterday, it was kind of exciting to hear that my project has the potential for that. I am also excited about having something to test with lawyers and their clients.  The first thing I want to do in January is to show Susan Reid what I've got so far and get some input.

I also need to try out a new division of information for my project.  It was a consensus yesterday that I've been dividing up the info based on what's easiest for me to understand as a designer, ie.  Eligibility, Filing, immigrating.  When really it should be by who is using it, ie.  Immigrant, U.S. Citizen, U.S. Perm. Resident.  Although I'm not sure that is the perfect solution either because it will be wasted materials if someone gets an entire kit but doesn't end up being eligible.  Maybe its 3 parts to 3 kits.  We'll see.

I felt relieved that no one thought I should use symbols, I think that would over complicate things.  I thought it was a good idea to call this one the "English Edition" to reference the fact that there will be other languages available....some day.  I think that Matt liked the fact that I'd like to continue on after graduation to do kits for the entire immigration process, but everyone seemed happy with my choice to focus on family based immigration for now, it is a more immediate need and its a process that the people who are effected are much more involved.

Overall, I left feeling uneasy about the reactions of the panel.  It is hard not to take the questions they asked as an attack on my process and my decisions, I know they meant well though.  It's been a tough semester all around, I did as much as humanly possible considering the work required from my other courses, but I still feel like I was expected to do more.  I am excited to keep working, I think my project can address a lot of issues with citizen usability within government information execution.  I need to be in a more regular routine with contacting my lawyer and immigrant team as well.  I didn't really feel ready until now.

I am absolutely ready for a break.  I am heading home tomorrow night then heading to Tennessee on Friday to pick up my grand parents and bring them back for a, hopefully, white Christmas.  I'm excited to see my parents and my sisters, who are freshmen this year at MSU and WMU, and especially my dog!  Haha, simple pleasures really can make you feel better.  My mom has a plan for making at least one type of cookie each day.  As I think about that I think about how intereconnected a lot of our IP projects are.  My family recipes are from my great grand parents who were immigrants from Europe and went through Ellis Island.  Family, food, stories, narrative, and tradition are a common theme throughout a lot of our projects even if the content and execution are completely different.  I'm not the type of person that takes a break easily though, I get restless and feel useless if I'm not working.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Weekly Recap 12/05-12/11

What I did:
4 hours on presentation preparation
3 hours on my abstract

What I encountered:
That I need 40 hour days, not 24 hour days.

What I need to do next:
Make the rest of my Eligibility kit for my review on tuesday and practice practice practice.  I also need to formulate specific questions to ask my panel.

Weekly Recap 11/24-12/04

November, where did you go?

What I did:

3 hours thinking and making mock ups for the kit booklets
2 hours making a complete eligibility map
1 hour working on glossary terms
1 hour beginning to flesh out complete content of eligibility booklet

What I discovered, accomplished, encountered:

The mock ups have been really helpful, especially for the filing booklet.  Within that booklet I plan to have a number of plastic sleeves to keep the forms in and all the other documents that will need to be collected, such as birth certificates, passport photos, marriage certificates etc.

Making the complete eligibility map was really great too because now I can see the entire process and evaluate the consistency of my language as a whole.  I've also discovered that my content overview and eligibility maps need to be either interacting more or separated more.  The content overview addresses the basic questions that could be asked and that will be answered within the book and the process map is a simple "who's eligible" map.  Maybe the process map should be split up so that each section (immigrants, U.S. Citizen sponsors, and Perm. Res. Sponsors) has a detailed map at the beginning.  Although I think it would be helpful to have an overview in the beginning.

(The gray would potentially be color coding for each section, I realized how overwhelming the page is without some separation between them.  It doesn't necessarily have to be a background but there definitely needs to be clear separation.)

During critique yesterday we talked about how the glossary could be incorporated in conjunction with the pages instead of as a list in the beginning or end. I also need to address at the beginning some disclosure that says "if you don't fit into one of these categories you are not eligible for family based immigration" and maybe one for really complicated situations that they should see a lawyer or clinic for help.

The glossary terms are really important to me because I want to give specific definitions that put it into context of immigration rather than just a dictionary definition.

Whats Next:  
Keep fleshing out the content.  Things seem to be moving a little bit faster now that I have taken these steps.
Also, work on presentation.