Phase+4+Refined+Designer+Prototype

**Phase 4**
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Group 1 Focus:
During this semester, we as a group chose to focus on the design section. This focus was to be used as a starting point/template of how the current Contemporary Canadian Art Database could improve its navigation, exploration and presentation of information. As a group we wanted to focus on making the database easier to find the artwork and make it an enjoyable experience. The concept of exploring was key in developing the many different ways of presenting and viewing.

**Prototype Summary:**
After much deliberation on the overall design of the CCCA prototype, we've come up with a design in which portrays visual aesthetic as well as an easy-to-use functionality. The site has been kept clean with **basic colour schemes and a grid system for visual organization**. The purpose of this project was to create a website prototype which would be easy to navigate, maintain interest and inform others. We feel we've been successful in applying these guidelines to our final prototype.

A basic run-through of the site goes as follows; The individual starts at the beginning, which is a random thumbnail-filled page, with two options to search (in text) at the top. This easy to use and simply designed site allows for easy navigation for the user. The user now has the option to click on a thumbnail they see, to load the information about that piece of work, the designer who created it, its statistics, etc. If the thumbnail option is not what is desired for browsing purposes, the user can easily click on either the "Designers" or "Timeline" options, colour coated at the top to show hierarchy.



If the user clicks "Designers", they are redirected to a page of designer names, listed alphabetically. This makes for a simple search option, when the user already has an idea of what designer they are looking to learn more about. From there, they can search from all of the designers available to the CCCA site, and view their works and profiles.



Upon clicking "Timeline", the user is directed to a page in which contains thumbnails of different designers works, organized by date of creation. The scroll bar allows the user to slide through the timeline from the 1960's to the 1980's, and able to click on any piece of work to, again, gather its information. Another option would be to click the colour coded dates at the bottom, in which will simply remove all other thumbnails which are not from that specific date (1970, for example). Each date has been tagged with a colour for easy recognition, and helps create a sense of unity and organization throughout this exploring option. Another simple way to get to these search options would be to use the option menu at the top of the screen. Upon clicking 'designers', a drop down menu appears to show the 'Timeline' and 'Designer' search options.



**Stages:**

 * Stage 1 - Envision
 * Stage 2 - First Prototype
 * Stage 3 - User Study