Weekly Recap 11/14-11/20

What I did:

Worked on laying out the content for the printed kits.  5 hours
Made kit models. 3 hours
Met with Hannah .5 hours
Met with Stephanie .5 hours


What I discovered, encountered, achieved.

This week I really feel like I have a grasp on a clear direction.  Last week I wrote about being torn between a few different directions of working but now, after talking to hannah and stephanie, I know that I need to get a concrete breakdown by page and map for the printed kits.

I've also realized that having one booklet for filing would add to the confusion rather than resolve it.  There needs to be a minimum of 2 booklets, possibly 3.  One for Citizens petitioning for a family member, one for Permanent Residents petitioning for a family member, and possibly one for someone trying to immigrate.  I think as of now that the person trying to immigrate would be included in the other two kits because you can't do one without the other.  The trouble with that is that the people aren't always together filing.  One could be in the U.S. while the other is in a different country.

I'm also realizing that a booklet isn't enough.  These people need a place to store all of the gathered documents and to stay organized.  I originally envisioned the booklet at 8.5x11 size but if there are going to be perforated pages and pockets or sleeves then it needs to be at least 9x12.

Here is the content overview for the eligibility booklet.  Something like this would most likely be in conjunction with a table of content or be the table of contents itself.  Within the eligibility booklet there will be three sections.  One for immigrants, one for permanent resident petitioners, and one for citizen petitioners.  Each section would have its own table of contents and probably a color system.

The following are mock ups for the booklets strictly for content breakdown.  The filing mock up was done before my realization for the format.

I also have started mocking up booklets in paper format and jotting down the content.  Pictures will come soon.

Whats next:

Keep going!  I feel like I'm on a good steady pace with everything.  I need to continue working on the continuity of my phrasing and syntax.  I need to refine my overall process maps and then make smaller ones to use as tables of content.  By december review I want to have a "default" looking complete eligibility booklet.

Weekly Recap 11/7-11/13

What I did:

Worked on refining dialogue language within my process maps:  1 hour
Worked on new process maps:  2.5 hours
Worked on grant proposal:  3.5 hours
Flash tutorials:  1 hour
Gathered printing and other material quotes:  .5 hours
Thinking/Looking at Design for Democracy book for inspiration about how to layout my booklet kits:  .5 hours.

What I discovered/encountered/.....I forget the last word:

1)  I need to continue looking for additional funding.
2)  Breaking down the more detailed and specific information is a hell of a lot harder than I thought it would be.
3)  Flow charts work fabulously for the "Big Picture" and holistic things but not so well for listing specifics.  They could potentially work but I have a lot more exploring and configuring to do.

For the above two charts I was trying to take the 4 pages I printed out specifically about U.S. Citizens petitioning their spouses and condensing it into easier to understand language.  I also tried to break it down into more manageable segments.  I don't feel good about it yet but I think the top one is starting to head in the right direction.  I think I could use color fields to my advantage to help differentiate different parts of the information.  I am continually torn with trying to find an aesthetic that fits my objective but still trying to map out the information.  I don't know if finding a color palate or "templates" of layouts would be more helpful to establish first or later on.  Who ever is reading this week, I would really like some feedback on the language and "dialogue" of the information I'm using.  I'm trying to make it simple, to the point, and in the viewers point of view.

These are some of the things I was taking into consideration with the Design for Democracy book.

All of these pages have to do with either layouts and templates, colors, how to give instructional cues, or printed items in a series.  I particularly like the page with the form and it gives the instructional "zooms" of important aspects.  I know they were trying to point out aspects of the form from a design point of view but I think something like that could be useful for the users too.

Whats Next:

Solidify my objectives for the kits as far as specific information goes.  I need to have a clear start to finish for each kit and decide what is essential for each one as well as the order of the information.

Decide on a layout for the booklets.  I think this will help me move forward.  I feel like I'm in limbo between aesthetic and information and can't move forward without the other, which is probably untrue but it's a difficult tension.

Produce something in flash for the digital format of these kits.

Another Map

This is a new drawn flow chart map.  I'm trying to make more specific maps to navigate through.  This is an example of the process of filing for immigration for a U.S. Citizen petitioning their spouse.  It splits into where the spouse lives (in the U.S. legally or outside the U.S.) then into the specific steps of which forms are necessary and what official documents are needed.

Weekly Recap 10/31-11/6

What I did:

2 hours:  Outlining the new format of my project.
2 hours:  Filtering through the department of state's glossary of visa terms and renaming/redefining.  Also adding to the glossary what I believe is necessary.
2 hours:  Flash Tutorials on Lynda.com
2 hours:  organizing all of the information I have into clearly defined segments for my reference and into what I think of as a "logical order"
3.5 hours:  mapping out more specific processes:  U.S. Citizen wanting to petition their spouse and U.S. Citizen wanting to petition their child.
.5 hours:  getting printing quotes.

What I accomplished/discovered/encountered:

The format the navigation I have in my head would best fit a Flash format but I think it is so so so important that it be in print.  It is much more accessible.  Here is how I am currently trying to outline and organize the process into 3 different kits.  Kit 3 clearly needs more research.  I think with this I am really making progress with the voice and narrative I want to use for the point of view my project will take.  It is really important to me to make sure that viewer is put into context with this process.  I don't want them to feel disconnected or displaced from what they are going through.  It was an intuitive decision to format this as questions because these are all of the questions that I wrote down while going through all of the information they currently have.  These are, as of now, what I think are the more imperative questions.

Here are the Terms and Phrases I took from the I-130 form, Petition for Alien Relative.  The ones that had definitions in the department of state glossary are shown with a black dot.  The white dot is my re-definition.  Some of them are so ridiculously phrased.  The department of state's definition of beneficiary makes absolutely NO SENSE.

I've also come to the realization that petitioning children is so complicated that the only way I can understand it is mapping it out.  I have no idea how anyone is able to go through this process without mistakes.  I have serious empathy for these people.

Organizing my binder of all the info I have was a serious task.  I printed out as much as possible of the current information the USCIS website has for each specific type of petition.  I have specific dividers for the glossary, family of U.S. Citizens, family of Permanent Residents, my contacts, course material, statistics and a few other categories.  I find that I'm constantly referencing it, its the only way I can keep myself sane while going through the dense info.

I promise to post more pictures by sunday night.  I'm in a super rush today because I'm flying to D.C. for Exhibit Design!  Hannah is taking us to a bunch of amazing museums.  My guilty pleasure is the museum. Any museum and all museums.  I went to probably 50 or more while I was abroad.  I'm so so so so so excited.  Aside from the museums, I love DC.  A few reasons that I want to get involved with policy design is 1) I love DC and would love to spend more time there and 2) I have a strong belief in this country and the way it is organized and I want to contribute to it in a creative and useful way.

Whats Next:

DC!!  But aside from that, more mapping, organizing, and defining.  I feel like I am heading in the right direction.  But i do feel torn between digital and print and I need to find a way to transition between the two.  I also feel town when I map things out to start defining things but also when I go through the glossary to start mapping things so it's a tension that I need to resolve in one way or another.

I also need to get everything together for the grant proposal.  It's looming in my mind!

Hey Jude

This looks similar to my process maps. Kind of funny.

http://loveallthis.tumblr.com/post/166124704

Weekly Recap 10/24-10/30

What I did:

Designing:  3 hours
Attempting to simplify language:  1 hour
Re-thinking the format my project will take: 1 hour
Looking for inspiration about this new format:  2 hours
Flash Tutorials:  2 hours
Taking my shitty computer to IT for it's 3rd crash in the last 8 months:  Too much time.

What I Discovered/Encountered/Accomplished:

I realized that all of the things that I thinking through intuitively need to be put into a legible format.  I need to do more hand mapping of this complex process.  If I don't understand how it works then I can't help other people.

I also discovered that the language currently used in the immigration website is incredibly confusing.  I initially thought I would use a similar version of what they say but break it down into manageable segments.  I'm quickly learning that the language itself needs to be rethought.  A glossary is a must but some terms need to be renamed or redefined.

I need to play around more with all the different variables in the designs I have to come to some more conclusions about the direction its going.

I realized that I'm going for a more first person narrative in the language I'm using to navigate people.  I just need to make it more consistent.

My new format will be an Immigration Kit.  I think it is more accessible and realistic considering a lot of people don't have internet access.  Hannah and I talked about it being somewhat sustainable/not wasteful by having it in steps.  They could first be given something to determine if they are eligible.  If they are eligible then they would be given the kit to navigate through the process.  I think a website could be useful too but it won't be the main aspect of this project.  I also thought about how it could be a kit that has the option of a printed format or a digital format for people who do have computer access.  This would be one way of making it less wasteful.

Whats Next:

Keep going.  I feel like I'm on a roll and am heading in a really great direction.  I have lots of things to address.  I'm excited!

My Life in Digital Format

Living with Lynda.  Learning with Lynda.