Challenge B – Substantive Post #2

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My Process in Challenge A (Comics)

For Challenge A, I designed a comic to teach how to build a PC (see my blog post) Tanuj D337.

My rough approach looked like this:

  • Understand: I recognized that building a PC is a step-by-step mechanical process, so I wanted to leverage the segmentation principle (breaking steps down) from Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning.
  • Plan / Ideate: I sketched possible layouts and sequences for panels, mapping which components to show in each panel, how to annotate, etc.
  • Prototype: I produced a draft (12–20 panels) with rough illustrations and labels.
  • Feedback / Iterate: I kept coming back to my work after 1 day gaps to give myself a clear head and a new perspective to look at from. This helped me refine my comic and bring it to the state where it seemed satisfactory.
  • Finalize & Reflect: I cleaned up artwork, paced the steps, and reflected on which transitions or captions caused confusion.

Strengths:

  • I was able to apply multimedia heuristics (e.g., avoid redundancy, keep visuals meaningful).
  • The panel segmentation helped learners follow a process without being overwhelmed.

Areas for Improvement:

  • I sometimes jumped too early to the “nice looking layout” before fully resolving clarity issues.
  • I didn’t always re-check whether each panel communicated one main idea or was overloaded.

If I were to redo it, I would slow down in the feedback and refinement phases, set explicit review questions (e.g. “Which panel is confusing? Why?”), and do more rounds of iteration rather than one. I would also try to get opinions from some of my friends.

Engaging the Design Process in Challenge B: Videos

As we move into video, I’m trying to apply lessons from Challenge A while adapting to new constraints (time, motion, narration). Here’s how I’m approaching it:

  1. Understand / Discover
    • Define who my audience is (e.g. high school students, novices).
    • Identify what they need to learn basically the key concept(s) to convey in one minute.
    • Map constraints (exactly 1 minute, limited space for text, cognitive load, tool limitations).
    • Review examples of different video types (explainer, scenario, how-to) EdTech UVic.
  2. Plan / Ideate
    • Brainstorm multiple approaches: e.g. an explainer video with voice + moving diagrams; or a scenario video where a process plays out; or a hybrid.
    • Sketch storyboards, perhaps three parallel versions (A, B, C) for different design paths.
    • Annotate in each storyboard how visuals, narration, and transitions will align — aligning with multimedia principles (e.g. signaling, coherence, contiguity).
  3. Prototype
    • Create very rough versions: e.g. slides with images + narration, or a short video snippet.
    • Use placeholders (sketches, static frames) first rather than polishing artwork.
  4. Feedback & Iterate
    • Share the prototype effectively: invite peer watchers to “think aloud” or answer directed questions (e.g. “What confused you at t = 30s?”).
    • Collect notes: which visuals distracted, where pacing felt slow or rushed, where transitions felt jarring.
    • Iterate: adjust narration timing, cut or combine frames, rework transitions.
  5. Reflect & Refine
    • After revisions, produce the “polished” video for submission.
    • Write a reflection: What decisions did I make? Which changes improved clarity? What limitations remain?
    • Consider next steps: if I had more time, where would I further refine (e.g. sound design, visual polish, branching interactions).

Self-awareness & Goals for Improvement

  • I want to be more deliberate in questioning assumptions early in ideation (e.g. “does my audience really need all this background?”).
  • I aim to build structured feedback loops, not just “Hey peers, what do you think?” but “Please tell me your feedback for 20 second gaps”
  • I’d like to experiment with micro-prototypes (e.g. animating just one shot) before doing full video work, to test whether movement adds value or just cognitive load.
  • I’ll continuously revisit multimedia principles (e.g. avoid extraneous processing, use signaling) as guiding constraints rather than afterthoughts.

Invitation for Discussion

  • In your experience, is it better to start with a fully sketched storyboard or a mini “animatic” prototype first?