my name is ruth, hello.

Duncan of Jordanstone Degree Show May 2011. Ruth Tullis. Map Your City.

“Maps are probably the strongest invention after the wheel” (Firket, N, 2008) 

Maps should be a tool that connects you to a city. Instead they navigate you from A to B.

Map Your City allows the user to create a personal map to interact with a city allowing the user to gain a unique experience and memory of a city. The map creates a personal interaction for the user to engage with places of interest.

Researching my dissertation in New York led me to focus and design my personal interactive map on the city. Map Your City helps you interact with the geography of New York City in a personal way.

… I have completely abandoned this blog. I said to myself, despite my last year of uni coming to an end in a couple of weeks, I would keep this blog up to date with stuff I like, and write to take my mind off uni. Well it turns out there is no time to take my mind off uni, and for the last 2 months, uni and my project have all I thought about.

But now, today, I suddenly realised I am out of the fog that was the stress, anxiety, panic, even more stress, and come out the other end with a project I am actually pleased with. Over the last few months I have written my first design proposal highlighting the areas of my project I am focusing on and what I intended to create, made sheets researching into different design aspects of my project, as well as different technologies I could have used. I spent one month simply researching my project in order to know for certain I was creating a project I knew through and through, and looked into multiple areas which allowed me to make sure I was designing something I was 100% happy with. I planned the making process so I could keep all the areas of the project I was making together, as to not let one area fall back (despite me not liking some parts!) I then I made. I made 2 maps, from scratch. Traced them, scanned them, vectorised them, then designed them. I then designed a brochure for the user to use and visualise their map. I created an animation of the online stage of my project, as well as a working prototype for users to interact with. I then began to film, edit and produce a video showing my project in action, along with 100 words de scripting my project and why I chose my project. I took 500 photos to pick just one photo for my one great image. I am now in the process of bringing it all together for Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design Degree Show 2011. Four years of practice has brought me to this stage. Words cannot describe how scared I am, but I feel proud of what I’ve managed to accomplish. 

So what is my project I have spent over a year researching and working on? My next post will reveal all! (bet everyone can’t wait…)

Had some constructive work earlier today, it lasted a couple hours, but pleased I got some work started.

Blogged about it on my Project Blog here;

http://interaction.dundee.ac.uk/~rtullis/wordpress/?p=77 

I am actually excited about my project. Something I have never managed to keep throughout the duration of the project, so we will see what happens. But being able to pick your own project, is so far working in my favour. Picking my own agenda, working on my own, doing what I want to do, and finally learning in areas that I have always struggled in that have been easy to push past or give to someone else to complete.

Before I came to uni, I had always said to myself I prefer working on my own, for those reasons stated above. Then I started my course, and seen the huge gaps in my knowledge that I needed to do well in my course. I began to see the plus side in groups. But unfortunately, apart from one group (Microsoft project, where we won and flew to Seattle) I have been very unlucky with groups. I’m a person who likes to get work started straight away, plan what needs to be done, and do it. I’m aware that some people do not work like this, and I accept that, but why do I have to negotiate my work ethic around others who do not change their work ethic when in groups? I couldn’t count how many times one of my groups have been working right to the end, and I have had the same feeling. It’s not good enough, I tried my hardest to get it done, but my knowledge lets me down, and I have to rely on others to complete tasks that I do not have time to learn and do myself. One thing I should do, is to tell my group that I am not comfortable working this close up to the deadline. I know I once touched this subject, but I doubt it would make any huge difference in the group anyway.

So, going back to my final year project, I am excited to work by myself again, and I am making the time to learn flash, which will be used in my project, so it does not jeopardise my overall design which has happened in the past. I know if I do encounter problems I have friends who will help me, but I really want to learn and develop my ideas myself. To feel like I am learning something myself, without relying on people helping me. I know I have learnt lots at uni, but whenever someone asks me I draw a blank. At least, after this project, I will hopefully be able to say, “I learned how to design and code Flash.”