The InDesign Process and Desicion Making

The comments left on my survey were what I used to amend my layouts and some tasks. Nothing was changed for my front cover, but after printing the front page I would change the text to be bigger or bolder if possible as it looks quite fragile, and as it's the cover it ideally needs a bigger impact.

The first spread was changed slightly, removing the second question and replacing it was an explanation about what it means to be significant and a few examples. The reason for this was that one person left a comment that a lot of children aged 5 would not understand. Another suggestion was that some of the white text is readable, and some was not, so to change some text from white to black. 

The second spread has changed quite dramatically, as I decided that each spread would be equal to two pages, and with a fold in the page, any text that crossed the 'fold' would be lost when printed. I also had more information than I originally thought and had to make room, this was the reason for the first half being changed to landscape, as I don't for see it being a problem with the children. 

One area I felt that had not been covered much was areas for writing, I therefore decided that I would include another small task, asking three questions about each significant person after having read information about them. The questions daily ask why they think each significant person's contributions were important to society, as I feel it is important to develop opinions at an early age, and also to take information and potentially understand its importance within context of their world around them. The original map is still included as a small, lighthearted task. Looking back on this idea now, it may have been good to leave the map uncoloured so that it was left as a colouring task also.

The back cover remains very similar, but I have added both logos to the back as well as the front as there was not much else to include. The text gives a small explanation as to the content of the e-activity book, why it has been made, and who organised it. I've also included at the bottom that there is a welsh version available, and vice versa on the English version.  

Overall, I am happy with the outcome of the project. I feel if I had the time again I may have included another hand drawn, or personally designed task, rather than including as much writing. 

Christmas Break; User Testing

Survey Monkey

The next step in the project for me after creating a rough layout of the e-book in illustrator, was user testing. This was the most ideal time as it allows the opportunity to adapt to any suggestions or from feedback. 

Below are images of the questions and options created for my survey. When thinking of the questions I wanted them to include any doubts I may have had or comments from what peers have already said. It also helps that other people who are around or who have young children may have a different perspective. 

I have sent the survey out to a few friends, family and peers, some who will have knowledge or experience with children, and a few unrelated to the topic. This should give an idea of perspectives from insiders and outsiders, and I will hopefully receive data from about 10 people. 

The results

The feedback I received was very useful, especially the comments. It was mainly the comments that I used to adapt the layouts I had as this was most helpful. Here's a sample of the most helpful comments: 

"Place pics of some of the people featured in the book on the cover. Choose a different bolder font, and/or place in a light coloured block and make font a darker colour." 

"Really good! Like the idea of the picture frames for faces. Looks inviting." 

"The use of lined sections will help children maintain organised answers" 

"Defining words like 'significant' would be useful as it's quite a challenging word for a 5year old. Instead of saying guess who they are and writing. Could they maybe fill in the blanks (i.e Q--E-N)? Also first question is for British and World history, the second is only for British- 5-7yo might not notice this if not made obvious (in bold)" 

"Space is used well and text clear to understand and enough space for answers. The white text needs to stand out more, change font to a bolder one, try different colour or in a coloured block." 

"Characters at the bottom of each paragraph is a very good idea- very visual for the young learners. Task 2s instructions are slightly complicated. Use more child friendly language. For example..after reading your expert information Pretend you are that person and act like you think they would act, see if your group can guess who you are!" 

"The white text needs to stand out more, change font to a bolder one, try different colour or in a coloured block." 

"Some tasks are too similar" 

"not so much for visual learners" 

"not many visuals" 

Checking the Welsh Language Version

As the welsh language can be fairly confusing with 'mutations' and such, I decided it was best to visit an old teacher to check the suitability and Grammar. When she checked the text, I was sent the amended version via email.