In today’s class, Kyle gave us an overview of our new project involving the periodic table and its elements. I’ve seen some of the work last year and was curious about when it will come up.
So firstly, we have to remind ourselves, what is the periodic table?
Obviously, nearly every adult knows what the periodic table is (or at least I hope they do).
Looking at the periodic table we find it is made up of periods which are the lines that run across the table, hence its name (>periodic< table) From this, we can find the groups which are the columns that run the down table which contain the same number of electrons in the outer orbital.
The brief:
Design and create a digital product to explain elements from the periodic table.
The Periodic Table is filled with chemical elements arranged in order of atomic number so that elements with similar atomic structures appear in vertical columns.
The content is scientific to be used by those in the science profession. Nevertheless what about children or undergraduate students. Is the content aiding or confusing their understanding of the periodic table elements?
Using IxD is it possible to enhance learning through a better thoughtful design by considering the content, micro/macro level interaction, or even gamification.
This project will ask you to look at the content of the periodic table from the micro packets of information in each cell on the periodic table to the wider range of content when looking at the details of each element.
Optional – focus on specific sections or groups or the whole table.
The devices:
Smartphones
Tablets
Watch
VR
Website
In this project, we are being given the ability to create this project on any device that we want. As of first impression design for kids has really attracted me as I feel like there’s a more defined market for it. I am leaning towards either VR or tablet/mobile devices to create the project. The Kinect and Wii were great with kids, although this wasn’t close to virtual reality it is still a starting ground to look into.
Project Requirements:
- A branded homepage containing your version of the periodic table.
- At least five additional element pages aimed at the 10-year-old audience and below
- At least five-element pages aimed at undergraduate chemistry students.
- A style guide / visual grammar and brand to accompany the design.
- The delivery platform for this project is a Prototype Tool (Adobe XD, Invision, Figma)
- Design first.
- Start on paper.
- Sketch/Figma/Invision
- Final product Adobe XD/Figma/Invision
*Also consider the visual grammar, name, brand, icons.
Kyle showed has shown us a few examples of previous students and prime examples for this project. I enjoyed how they were all creatively designed differently from each other such as UI, functionality, narrative, etc.
However, one particular example caught my eye; Metal Monsters by Gemma Ferguson – a previous year student at IxD Belfast. Gemma created an app that personified elements into monsters which in turn gave them personalities making it more immersive for kids. This is a very inspiring idea as I feel like it would flow so well with young kids.
What is next?
I need to start looking more in-depth for inspiration and ideas for my elemental project. From today’s session, I have gathered a sufficient amount of ideas I will begin to brainstorm and mindmap. As of right now, I have three ideas which include a VR app that makes the elements immersive, a digital tablet app where kids can learn about the elements (similar to Gemma Ferguson’s project) or a board game like monopoly where you can scan in through a QR code to reveal an element.