Reflection of the year

Well, my dissertation has finally been finished, printed, bound and handed in. What a relief! This was the first big research project that I had ever done, so I thought that I’d do a quick reflective piece on the process. This is partly to sum up everything found in this blog, and partly for my own benefit. In the big scheme of things, a year is not a long time, but it has felt like a very long time at certain points!

Initially I thought that the biggest challenge I would face would be deciding on a research area. I had horrible images of myself spending half of the year flitting about, unable to decide on a topic. However, in the first week of uni this year we were having a bit of a discussion about what we might want to research. Luckily, the idea of digital picturebooks suddenly popped into my head and I just blurted it out. Over the next few weeks, the question developed into something more focussed.

I found writing the literature review quite challenging, as I had never written anything quite so big before. Luckily my time at uni has taught me some rather valuable time management skills and I seem to have a good work ethic. So I battled my way through the literature review. I chopped and changed it quite a lot after I had handed it in, so that the information was organised more coherently, but I had done the bulk of my research.

The second semester was focussed on me doing my own research. I was to select a picturebook and explore its possibilities. At times this was a hard concept to get my head around, and I would think I was getting on top of it, only for it to suddenly stop making sense! I went around in circles for a while, but then it seemed to  ”click” and I really enjoyed developing concepts (about how an existing picturebook could be explored on an iPad, making use of the new technology).

The most interesting part of the project was developing insights, and by the end I really felt like I had discovered something new (see this post for more detail).

Doing a research paper was a really rewarding experience, and while it was hard at times, the pride I felt as I held my final document made it all worth while!

printed and bound dissertation

this is how happy I was to finish my dissertation!

So all in all, it was a great experience, even if it was challenging at times. But there is some sort of saying about easy things and hard things and hard things being more rewarding… I’m sure there is!

So now it’s all over. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and follow my journey through the wild world of research! Fingers crossed for a good mark!

Outcomes of my Research Project

All of the work I did on the concepts (which can be seen in previous posts) led to the development of a framework. This framework is intended for use when translating an existing picturebook into digital form. The framework was developed from insights generated from the concept development process

It is proposed that key opportunities to consider when translating an existing print based picturebook into a digital book are:

 

1. Is there an opportunity to show “cause and effect” through changes in    elements of illustration?

2. Is there an opportunity to show cause and effect through a combination of elements of illustration, page manipulation and balance?

3. Is there an opportunity to show the story from different points of view in order to convey multiple messages and meanings?

4. Is there an opportunity to create empathy with environmental aspects through the use of manipulation of elements of illustration?

5. Is there an opportunity to use elements of illustration in order to create moments of surprise?

6. Is there an opportunity to convey emotion through the use of manipulation of elements of illustration?

7. Is there an opportunity to re define the idea of the “game” of indeterminacy through the use of hotspots?

8. Is there an opportunity to make use of the touchscreen technology in order to manipulate pages in a new and exciting way?

9. Is there an opportunity to overcome the physical limitations of the iPad’s size?

The key finding from my research was that if digital books are not approached as a recreation of an existing, traditional picturebook, but rather a set of new experiences then many possibilities open up. The existing theory can be used not to constrain designs, but to inform areas where different experiences can be created.

How voice of the narrator and reader position can be changed on an iPad

Writing up my research for my dissertation (which, by the way, is coming along swimmingly; the final draft is done!) has been a really interesting process for me. As I was analysing the designs that I have done (which can be seen in previous posts, most of which can be seen here) some interesting things popped out at me. One of the more interesting of these things was new possibilities that I hadn’t thought of.

As I was analysing what real opportunities this example gave:

I realised that the story of the elvers could be followed in order to show the story from their point of view! Rather than re working the same illustration, I picked a section of the next page, which focussed more on the elvers and how Uncle Don was helping them to swim upstream. This resulted in this design:

This concept explores how the digital technology on an iPad can be used to facilitate a change in perspectives. When the reader touches the elvers, they are transported right into their world, where they can see and experience things as the elvers do. They can also interact with the elvers and help them along their way, as Uncle Don does. This level of engagement cannot be achieved in a traditional picturebook!

How pages can be manipulated on an iPad

Another element of postmodernism, similar to page layout (discussed in a previous post), is the ability to manipulate pages. In a traditional picturebook this could be done with fold outs of flaps that lift to reveal extra information.

The touch screen technology allows readers to use different movements to mimic delving deeper into the image. Here, at the top of the tree, this area seems as if it is just leaves, however there is the opportunity for the reader to push apart the leaves, and discover the bird inside! This is an example of elements of postmodern picturebooks facilitated by hotspots.

Perspectives on an iPad

After some discussions about TED talks earlier on in the week, my classmate Dani pointed me in the direction of a very interesting video that is relevant to my dissertation on picturebooks/iPads (check out Dani’s blog on website usability here).

The talk is by an artist and children’s book author called Raghava KK. He has designed a book on the iPad, but it has a really clever point of difference to anything I’ve seen before. When the reader shakes the iPad, the story is shown from different character’s perspectives. The story is about things that children do with their parents. The idea in this book is that there is no “perfect” family set up, so when the book is shaken the illustrations change from showing a family with two dads, a family with two mums, or a family with a mum and a dad. In a traditional picturebook, this would not have been possible, there would have to be three different, separate books with different illustrations.

I think it is a really clever concept, and while some people have commented on the video saying that children shouldn’t be exposed to multiple perspectives at a young age, children are often much cleverer than adults give them credit for. Children often pick up on things within an image that an adult does not notice. The video is only 4 minutes long and well worth a watch!

How variations in page layout can be done on an iPad

Following on form my previous post about indeterminacy and postmodern picturebooks, another feature of postmodern picturebooks is variation in page layout. In the print version of Uncle Don Knows Heaps of Wacky Stuff, there is one spread that requires the reader to turn the book portrait. While this could simply be done on an ipad by rotating the screen, that doesn’t really make use of the digital technology available.

In this example, the bottom of the tree image is shown on the screen, but the reader can use the opportunity of the touch screen to drag the image up and down to reveal more of the tree, overcoming the iPad’s limitation of it’s physical size. Of course, once different areas of the tree have been discovered, they would also become interactive in ways like how I have described in previous posts and examples. This design explores elements of postmodern picturebooks facilitated by hotspots.

Combined print and digital book experience

So this video was pointed out to be by Ruth (who is also doing the same course as me, check out her blog here).

It’s a really interesting concept that mixes traditional print media with a digital component. The printed book can be read on its own, but when it is combined with a computer it creates an extension of the illustrations, giving a dynamic and interesting experience. The example shown is written in German, but there’s no narration so the idea is effectively communicated visually.

My main concern would be whether you can get “lost” within the story if you are constantly looking up and down from the book to the screen, or whether the spell of the story is broken when you look from one to the other.