Author: Neftaly Malatjie

• • Sometimes it can be very useful to use artefacts or props when making a presentation (think of the safety routine on an aeroplane when the steward shows you how to use the safety equipment). If you bring an artefact with you, make sure that the object can be seen and be prepared to pass it round a small group or move to different areas of a large room to help your audience view it in detail. Remember that this will take time and that when an audience is immersed in looking at an object, they will find it hard to listen to your talk. Conceal large props until you need them; they might distract your audience’s attention.

     

The communication processes inherent in the various fields of design are directly relevant to all designers, as communication forms the basis for user interaction. The standards that deal with communication also assist learners who may operate in much broader fields that include communication, media, human resources and audience and consumer behavior. hin the local South African environment.

• • 1. Once lots of ideas are generated, then is the right time to critically analyse and evaluate these ideas. For this purpose, one classifies all the generated ideas in various ways. This helps in grouping similar ideas and finding consistency among them. Also it helps in eliminating unnecessary and unrelated ideas. Classification helps in generating overall themes as well as micro details. It also helps finding gaps and scope for generating more ideas. Once a designers reaches this stage, she/he is ready to apply various criteria for elimination, rejection or selection of ideas. The criteria could be of form and beauty, functional requirements, usability, communicability of message, technological requirements, printing issues, materials and their availability, ethical and moral issues, and many others specific to the design project. At the end of the analysis few ideas are selected. Then if it is necessary next round of ideation can be conducted if one wants to modify these selected ideas or want to generate even better ideas. The process goes on till one is satisfied about the overall idea as well as micro level ideas.

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• • Developing concepts is the process of combining together different ideas to make a complete solution that could satisfy all of the user and business needs identified within the Explore phase of the design cycle. Although closely linked with making prototypes, the primary purpose of concept development is to consider how different ideas may be combined. In contrast, the primary purpose of making prototypes is to enable testing, refinement and communication. Concepts can be described according to the ideas that they combine together. A systematic approach to concept development first involves grouping the underlying ideas that are related. A starting set of concepts can be created by selecting one idea from each group, either through purposeful selection, or randomly.

    The set of concepts can then be improved by substituting, combining or eliminating different ideas from each of the groups. Grouping ideas has the additional benefit of identifying areas where few ideas have been generated, which helps to stimulate further ideas. Concepts should initially be prioritised using an agreed set of criteria, such as those identified for use in the Evaluate phase. The prioritisation should be done in consultation with relevant stakeholders, identified in the Explore phase.

    
    

• • ACRL Visual Literacy Standards for Higher Education

    The following is a mindmap of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. 

    For a more detailed mindmap showing the performance indicators for each standard, click the mindmap and the expanded version will appear in a new window.  

    The ACRL Visual Literacy Standards document is at  http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/visualliteracy

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