How to proceed on your design project

Design challenge: Getting students to read in their free time has become a difficult task
in our increasingly more technological world.
Product: One way to get the attention of younger ones to a book can be creating an attractive
'trailer' on the book. You will design and create a (animated) trailer video of 2-minutes on a book
that you have read in English during Library periods.

1. Create a new unit folder under your Design folder on Google Drive. This is where you
will place all the documents you create during your design process, including the images
that you will find/create, and use in your design. This folder is like your design journal.
2. Get the template for your Design Portfolio. Change its name with your initial and
surname added to -book-trailer: like, A.Smith-book-trailer, place it under your unit folder.
This is the file you will be filling in with your research, research solutions, solution ideas,
sketches etc. All the work that you will produce during the design process. This is the file
that will be used for assessment.
3. Get the GRASPS sheet and place it under your unit folder. Choose (at least) one
statement starter from each section and fill in the blanks with relevant information
regarding the design challenge. This sheet will be the base for your criterion A work, and
will help you also in criterion B while you are defining your design specifications.
4. Do the criterion A work: Decide what you need to do your research on, write your
research questions, separating primary and secondary research resources, do your
research. It should be centered around the topic of the design challenge, “trailer video”,
main characteristics, how to make an attractive trailer video, book trailers; even some
research about your book to get the essential information that could be used in the
trailer, etc. Do not forget to keep notes about your research in a file, and note down the
links to the websites you visited. You need these for citation.
5. Find a few ‘existing solutions’, that is, trailer videos, better yet, book trailers. Choose two
of those as inspirational. Remember to note down the web addresses. Take screenshots
(one for each video) of the trailer videos (main scenes, title scenes, final scenes; you
decide which are most inspirational) that inspired you.
6. Fill in the first page of your Design Portfolio using the material you have gathered so far.
Remember: website links should be hyperlinks, that is, clickable links. If the allotted
spaces on the portfolio page are not enough, write your answers in another file. Make
sure to share that file with ‘International School of Florence’. Then, place a clickable link
to that file in the allotted space on the portfolio page for Criterion A.
7. Do the criterion B work: Brainstorm for three different solution ideas. Make the sketch
of each one if possible; otherwise explain with text what each trailer video idea is about.
If you choose to make sketches, the sketches can be made on paper. You can take their
photos and use on the portfolio.
8. Decide on your design specifications. Think about the length of the video, aesthetics,
size, placement of objects/elements on the cover, choice of font, size of font, color of
text, objects to use (in animation), graphics/images to include, etc… Consider what skills
you have and make the specifications accordingly. It should be realistic.
9. Choose your final solution idea. It should be the one that best matches your design
specifications.
10. Create a final sketch of your solution, annotate it (check out the examples that we saw
during our lessons). Annotations should be detailed, showing how the design
specifications will be employed in your solution.
11. Fill in the page that is for criterion B in your design portfolio.
12. Do the criterion C work: Make your plan. You can create a table or flowchart. You can
also use the appropriate space on the design portfolio criterion C page. Your plan should
be detailed enough such that anyone reading it can follow it without questions.
13. Write down the technical skills that you will demonstrate during the creation of your
solution. Will you use animation? If so, which software? (I have stop-motion animation
app on iPads at the school, if you need) I suggest you use ClipChamp. It is a browser
based environment and the free version has many tools that can be used for video
creation. You may also use Canva for creating a video. It is rich with various elements,
and you can even capture yourself and include in the video. You can even use Google
Slides for some simple animations. You may use other video editing software as well, as
long as you feel confident in their use.
14. Create your solution. Keep to the design specifications while you are working. If you find
out that some specifications cannot be met, do changes in your design. Keep a note of
all the changes you have made and why.
15. Fill in the criterion C page on your design portfolio.
16. Do the criterion D work: Choose two test methods that you can use to test your
solution. Which test methods fit these conditions? Can you use expert appraisal as one
of the tests?
17. Do the tests and note down the results, observations, feedback you receive.
18. Fill in the criterion D page on your design portfolio. You need to reflect on the impact that
your trailer video has on the people of your age that see it.
19. You are done! You will need to submit each page of the portfolio at the deadlines that
you will find on your ManageBac calendar. They will be each added as separate tasks.
In order to submit: download the slides in .pdf format. Check that all the links that you
have placed are clickable on the .pdf. If not, go back to the slide in the portfolio, correct
the link, and then download the file again. Send me only the criterion page that is
expected to be submitted on that due date, one page only. The rest will be submitted on
their respective due dates.
20. Any time during your work, if the space on the design portfolio is not enough, use other
files. Then place a link to those files on the portfolio page in the allotted space.
21. If you have any questions, mail me. Good luck!