Assignment 4: (Deliver) Revise and submit mobile application mockup

For your last assignment you will revise your mockup and submit to me your revision accompanied by a final report of no more than two pages. Your report will detail your revision process and include how the iterative design testing stage/walkthroughs confirmed/challenged/guided your final revision process.

If your application requires additional development (a software developer), you will write a short job advertisement (no more than 200 words) for the position. Please follow these examples as a model:

http://www.indeed.com/q-Ios-Developer-jobs.html

Your will submit your final work to me as a PDF file no later than December 5. Please remember to include all of the names of your group members.

Assignment 3: (Design) Create a mobile application mockup

You/your group will design in GIMP/Photoshop/Axure  mockup of your application and hand this in to me as a PDF file. This will include multiple image files: an icon logo, background image, and a complete interface mockup. For the latter, this should include not only the first window but also sub windows. Think of this as a flow chart for the design of your application.

In addition to these image files, you will hand in a document detailing and describing 1) rhetorical context (audience/timeliness) and 2) a rhetorical analysis of the mockup itself focusing on the design of specific features and functionality (Remember Sackey’s detailed descriptions). For 2), this will include a justification for color selection, logo design, interface layout, background images and font selection. If your mockup design plans to incorporate social media, then this should also be included in your rhetorical analysis.

Grading

Interface mockups: 20%

Logo/icon: 10%

Background image: 10%

Rhetorical analysis of the application: 30% rhetorical context / 30% visual rhetorical analysis of the app design

Total: 100%

Assignment 2: (Propose) Posit an idea for a mobile application

You will hand in to me a proposal for a mobile application that addresses the following required assignment criteria:

(1) Purpose, audience, and use. Identify a specific audience and rhetorical context for your mobile application. The more local and specific, the better chance you will have of succeeding in the next two stages of the project. (40%) – BE VERY SPECIFIC

(2) Identify one or two applications that are similar in form to what you would like to produce. What about these applications appeals to you? (20%) – SIMILAR TO ASSIGNMENT #1

(3) Identify one or two applications that are similar in terms of content to what you would like to deploy. What do these applications do that you would also like to replicate? (20%)

(4) What content do you wish to make available via a mobile application, and why would this be useful for your audience? (Example: specific texts such as recipes, particular Facebook/Twitter/YouTube/LinkedIn channels, etc). (20%) – RELATED GROUPS? CHANNELS? HASH TAGS? 

(5) Name  your team members and outline what specific skills/tasks they will bring to the project. The assignment will require you to work with Photoshop and/or Gimp. If you’re not familiar with these programs then you will have a small learning curve; however, a project may benefit from the experience of someone in DAAP.

Please hand this in to me as a two-page document at ridolfo@gmail.com.

Total: 100%

Assignment 1: (Research) The location, analysis, and visual presentation to the class of a mobile application as a rhetorical object

For the first assignment in this class, you will locate, rhetorically analyze and present to the class on a mobile application. This will mean that you will need to do a few specific and discrete tasks. First, you will spend time reviewing applications in either the iTunes application store (http://www.apple.com/iphone/apps-for-iphone/ or http://www.apple.com/ipad/from-the-app-store/) or the Android market (https://market.android.com). It’s strongly recommended that you download and try out one of these applications. For some students, this may mean asking to borrow a friend or classmates phone. For some other students, this may also mean that you will talk to me about borrowing my iPad during office hours. 10%

Second, you will apply the rhetorical conversations from the Crowley-Hawhee and chapters 1&2 in Defining Visual Rhetorics to do a rhetorical analysis of the application. Pay specific attention to writer / text / audience as well as the visual (rhetorical) design of the application itself. What does the layout of the application communicate to users about the priority of specific information and tasks? What are these? What does documentation about the application communicate to users? What kind of rhetorical task does the application achieve for users (audiences) and what kind of tasks does the application do for its authors? 60% — BE SURE TO DRAW ON C&H and intro/chapt1 of Defining Visual Rhetorics. 

Third, you will be required to present your application and rhetorical analysis to the class. This means that you will need to find and use images from/about your application for your in-class presentation. The presentation itself should be one or two well-designed images or slides and you should be comfortable to talk off these images. 30%

You will hand this to me via e-mail in a *.DOC. This will include your screen capture and your response to these questions will be no longer than 500 words.

Total: 100%