HARTS Visuals

A major portion of this class is to help our colleagues in an instructional design class by designing visuals that correspond with a project that they are doing with a local thermal shelter, HARTS. The group I am working with is working to help at a Catholic Campus Ministry building. The following visuals were requested by the group and deemed important visuals for the location. Decisions were made intentionally and are explained below each image.

This is a sign that is designed to be 17 inches wide by 11 inches tall. The colors were selected due to the colors of the CCM site. The corner houses a small version of the CCM logo. The lead volunteer, as noted in the first line, will fill in the sign and hang it on the wall during their visit. There needed to be white space in order for it to be clear after the person writes on it. The entire sign is clearly working toward a goal of gaining/providing information. There are no distracting aspects to the sign so the information can be read quickly. The audience is clear as well, in fact it is listed at the top of the sign. It will be placed in the CCM building and be used during the HARTS time using the building. The location of the sign will make it obvious who the audience is. Along these same lines the purpose is evident. The blanks on the page make the purpose front and center. The information that is needed is front and center. The colors are not distracting and the placement around the page all makes sense. The words are grouped together in the column to create an obvious flow. The information is presented in descending order of importance. Overall the image is effective and clear in its goal and design.

This image is a simple floor plan of the site. We utilized a more complex map that was on the HARTS website and edited it to our needs. We created blue space that represents off limits areas. This selection of color is important because the brighter blue makes those areas stand apart from the other areas. Anyone looking at this map can clearly see that the blue areas mean something and the key can be utilized to figure out exactly what they mean. The title creates clarity in what the viewer is looking at as well as the key. The smaller headings within the map give titles to each important room. The audience will be anyone using the manual that these images are located in. With very little background information the use of this map is discovered. The HARTS organization welcomes new people to new locations on a regular basis. This map will serve as a guide to those new guests and volunteers. The design elements were chosen purposefully. The blue was chosen because it stands out and is does not cumbersome to look at. The location of the key makes sense there as many maps locate their keys in a similar location. The headings are placed in the center of the rooms they are describing to prevent confusion. The map also needed to be kept simple so that it can be utilized quickly and without being confusing. The team as well as the site themselves wanted a simple map not something that was multicolored, artsy, and craftily designed. So, as a team we have created something that they will be able to use and follows the guidelines that we were given.

This image is a close up map of the kitchen which is located at the CCM HARTS site. The kitchen is an important and somewhat confusing location at this site. Some of the appliances look similar and a map of the kitchen can help solve that issue. The volunteers and guests should not have to spend a lot of time looking for what they need. To create this image the HARTS website map was cropped, edited, and simplified. Arrows and labels were added to create an obvious description of where appliances are located. This image will also be included in the manual for the HARTS volunteers and guests to utilize as needed. The purpose and audience is v\clear due to the nature of the image, a map. The goal here was to create something that would simply show locations. There was no need to any fancy or in depth design. the request was clear and the purpose is simple. The locations of the arrows and the labels are relevant because they need to show the general location of the object. The arrows are short so that they are not distracting and make a clear point. The words are, for the most part, located outside of the actual map. This was done in order keep the image simple and avoids any confusion about locations. Overall this image does the job that it needs to do. As long as the site does not do much rearranging this map will stay effective and relevant.

This image is more than the simple floor plan seen above, however it was created using the same HARTS map and by removing unnecessary pieces and adding in the needs of the CCM site. Dotted lines were added to represent where people should go in case of emergency. The exits are clearly labeled as well as the locations of five different fire extinguishers. The extinguishers are represented by small blue dots. Also in the image is a key and the numbers where important people can be reached in case something happens. There is an emergency as well as a non-emergency number listed. This too will be presented in the manual that is being designed for the site. After looking over the make there is one clear message, fire safety. All pieces of the image relate back to this single goal. The audience is anyone that might be in attendance at the CCM HARTS site. When the people need to know where to go or where to find a fire extinguisher they can easily look at this map and find out what to do. This map is however located in a manual so it might be more useful it is memorized when first looking through the manual as there may not be time to consult the pages in the event of an emergency. The colors in the design were purposeful. In general red has an fast important connotation. The blue is very different from the red and cuts down on any confusion. Without the key a viewer could probably tell exactly what the colors and shapes represent. Once again the design is very simple because of the sites request. It is even more important in this case as the viewer may not have much time to use the resource. It needed to be easily remembered. This map is greatly effective in its purpose and in its design. All necessary aspects are included in a logical location in logical colors.