Date on Senior Honors Thesis

5-2020

Document Type

Senior Honors Thesis

Degree Name

B.A.

Department

Fine Arts

Degree Program

College of Arts and Sciences

Author's Keywords

design; interaction; retention; memory; graphic design; websites

Abstract

UI/UX design, or interaction design, is still relatively new as a discipline and has not been well-studied. Interaction design is typically geared towards facilitating ease of use of technology for the person using it, also called the user. However, interaction design and digital media in general have great potential to impact emotion, action, and retention of information. This creative thesis develops several design principles that govern a resulting conceptual website and the design process behind it. The website brings the user interactively through a narrative and aims to make an otherwise unremarkable story more memorable. Although empirical data was not collected, early evaluations from users and website analytic data suggest that the website succeeded in being memorable. Further exploration of interaction design and its potential for retention should be done in more conventional studies.

Creative Website URL: https://susanpallmann.github.io/onward-together/

Lay Summary

Graphic design is sometimes also referred to as communication design. The field primarily deals with the visual presentation and organization of information to an audience, with special consideration for aesthetic qualities in relation to the user’s ease of taking in information. With the arrival of the information age and the prevalence of technology in our society, the way people interact with this technology is a major concern. Interaction design, a discipline within graphic design that deals with the way humans interact with technology through visual and physical means, is an emerging field that has not been well-studied. Interaction design, also called UI (User Interface) or UX (User Experience) design, is usually thought of in regard to making technology easier to use. However, like all design, interaction design also has implications for mood, action, and argued by this thesis: retention of information. For this creative thesis, the artwork created was a website, based on research into design methods that might make information more memorable. Gathering complete data on the success of such a website to increase retention is beyond the scope of the project. However, some standards in website design, like the use of analytics to collect information such as how long people are using a website, provide some insight into the effectiveness of such a project. Based on this creative thesis, it seems further, more scientific studies are warranted, and that the worlds of web design and interaction design have potential to positively benefit the users they are serving.

Creative Website URL: https://susanpallmann.github.io/onward-together/

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