{"id":103,"date":"2025-10-19T04:08:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T04:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.create.ou.edu\/salinas\/?p=43"},"modified":"2026-01-25T03:16:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T03:16:19","slug":"ideate-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/mariannsalinas\/2025\/10\/19\/ideate-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing VisComm Website: Ideate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Into the Matrix<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In our process, we had empathized with our users and defined their opinions and now we are ideating their words. We were to make a creative matrix that had dived into everything we had collected so far. This map would see each and everyone&#8217;s opinions, frustrations, and challenges that were faced when engaging with the website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on our findings from our previous research and group work, we had used our How Might We questions and used them in reverse. We had originally approached it in a more difficult and complicated process. We thought of the questions first, trying to come up with answers second, then got ourselves stuck. It took asking for help to be given a brand new perspective. We had taken our professors advice and instead referred back to our empathy and affinity maps to recurring issues and instead thought of the answers first then created the question around it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was an explosion to what we were stuck on. It had opened doors to trying to work backwords instead of keeping ourselves in a step by step process that would keep us held back. With this we worked with each other to look at our most important points that we made. This included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Making the home page engaging with student work<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Simplifying the navigation system for those with vision issues<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Securing students by sharing their potential careers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Introducing the incoming students to the campus organizations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clarifying coursework for their degree path<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Outlining the application process to prepare prospective students<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How the classes connect to design skills<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Faculty information and how to contact them<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/portfolio\/mariannsalinas\/salinas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5296\/2025\/10\/DES3633-Collab-4-1024x778.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-44\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With our creative matrix we had worked on our own answers individually, not speaking until we had felt satisfied. We then stepped back and shared what we had, what had matched up and how we could blend all our ideas. This was done with stickers and ultimately led to some productive creation through our shared insights from previous research. It was an interesting approach to something collaborative. As I&#8217;m used to being more hands on, talking it through with my teammates, having something be more productive done individually become stronger afterwards, was something I learned to now include in future projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Site Seeing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I have never made a site map before, but through lengthy discussion and with help from our group, we had made one. With our site map we had focused on our main points. Our home page was our main focus to put these main points. On the home page we had put topics such as student work, career paths, and the application process onto the home page. Everything we had seen as either more complex, typically a topic that would be seen as very specific that would branch off into more options would be made into a tab. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, for our Alumni tab we made it separate due to it being more specific than the program itself. It would then branch off to show the alumni&#8217;s work through portfolio examples, brief description of their life now, further information about them and opportunities to contact them. This would be too complex and we decided too much to muddle through to keep on the home page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/portfolio\/mariannsalinas\/salinas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5296\/2025\/10\/DES3633-Collab-5-1024x754.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Glance, Satisfice, Muddle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While researching we were given two chapters to read through. This was from the reading <em>Don&#8217;t Make Me Think. <\/em>When reading through, I had found something very interesting. We often glance when we go to a website, even us designers, it&#8217;s human nature. We wish to find the easiest method. If we don&#8217;t find things at a glance, we satisfice. This results in us finding the next best option that is not found at a glance. If all else fails, we muddle through to find what we&#8217;re looking for, the lack of understanding makes us push through the hardship and force the website through however many attempts it takes until we either find it or rage quit trying. This led to thinking of what is the most important, what do we think is clickable, what do we glance at? What makes us resort to satisficing? What information needs to be muddled for?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This led to taking it in when I made my sketches as well as thinking of how I would traverse my website. Through my sketches I had referenced the site map, reading and creative matrix.  Working on the home page made me think of what strong visuals would work and how to keep those who visit the site to keep from turning away. I made sure they knew at just a glance that they were in the right spot. With the bold text it would address the visual impairments some may have and the visuals of the student work would instill confidence in those interested in the program. The use of classroom experience and not just classwork would also instill the confidence on what the courses will be like along with bringing parents their experience of what they will be sending their child off to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"56\" src=\"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/portfolio\/mariannsalinas\/salinas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5296\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-18-at-10.43.21-PM-1-1024x1021.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-56\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"49\" src=\"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/portfolio\/mariannsalinas\/salinas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5296\/2025\/10\/ui-sketches-2-1-1024x1012.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-49\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally I worked in scrolling and how the pages would work as you moved along and clicked. This included showing what and what couldn&#8217;t scroll or be clicked to show options. There was a lot of contemplating as well as external feedback I would recieve about these sketches. I would ask what they would click on first, what would they think to do to find their desired information and what they prioritize in a design. It had challenged me as a designer. I had such a boxed-in mindset but through the reading and the external experience I had to think in new eyes when it came to the ideating process. It had really changed my way of designing and thinking and will be in my mind as I continue on. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Into the Matrix In our process, we had empathized with our users and defined their opinions and now we are ideating their words. We were to make a creative matrix that had dived into everything we had collected so far. This map would see each and everyone&#8217;s opinions, frustrations, and challenges that were faced when [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[9],"class_list":["post-103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/mariannsalinas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/mariannsalinas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/mariannsalinas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/mariannsalinas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/mariannsalinas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/mariannsalinas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":285,"href":"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/mariannsalinas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103\/revisions\/285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/mariannsalinas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/mariannsalinas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sova.ourcloud.ou.edu\/mariannsalinas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}