This week marked our final teaching lecture of 104 with Kyle, which included a group critique of our dashboard designs for the second project of this module. Though we were still in the early stages, it was valuable to examine and analyse my classmates' work while receiving constructive feedback on my own dashboard design. I appreciated the opportunity to ask Kyle and my peers for suggestions on potential improvements, their advice will be helpful as I complete and submit the project.

Miro Critique:

We began the class with one final critique based on the current designs of our dashboards that we have created so far for our second project. We each uploaded what we had completed so far onto Miro to allow others in the class to view and provide relevant feedback based on what had been done. Shown below is what I submitted based on what I had achieved so far during the dashboard design which I was quite happy with as I have spent some time lately struggling with how to present the data for my dashboard due to having a rather large amount to show however I now am more satisfied with how it looks having completed this brief design. I had managed to design and link together a total of three dashboard screens including a home page, a push rate page and distance covered too which were all prototyped and linked together allowing for smooth transitions and user interactivity too.

Feedback on dashboard:

Once everyone had shared their current stage of their dashboard onto Miro, we went around each person including myself individually, and were able to present our design to the class and give a brief on what our dashboard was for, what data we have collected for it, what charts were used and the overall design thought that we were wanting to achieve within it too. I was chosen to go around half way so this made room for me to critique others as well as prepare how I was going to present my brief to the class as I wanted it to be understandable and inclusive for those viewing. I was quite confident going in due to already knowing what I have tracked and designed for my dashboard which was good and was also able to receive a good amount of constructive feedback that I will take in from both my classmates and lecturer Kyle. Upon review, I was able to take into account the following points which I will use as improvement techniques towards finalising my dashboard design:

• One major factor that was highlighted clearly in both my written and verbal feedback was colour contrast as there were times on my dashboard where I had charts that represented areas of my chosen data and had text on top of it which wasn’t in a correct colour choice, which lead to low legibility and readability upon viewing. Some areas were better than others however I do see the importance of always checking whether a certain works on a certain background now and will integrate further when finishing my dashboard.
• A positive note that I received from everyone was my use of icons within my dashboard which was good to hear as I had originally planned not to include them but prior to submitting my dashboard onto Miro, I decided it was best to include them as it would help with visibility and the navigation as well to a user. Feedback was great and was recommended to continue using them throughout as they worked well and really tied areas together such as highlighting what certain charts, menus and buttons were on my dashboard which I will still do.
• On a side note to the colour contrast feedback, there was a positive point that came out of it which I was pleased to see which was that the majority of people in my class including Kyle loved my use of an ombre gradient style background as it was seen as more suitable colour palette choice in relation to my dashboard being themed around sporting backgrounds. This was great to hear as colour was another issue I came across due to being indecisive on what colours to use however after seeing this, I think I will keep what I have the same.
• I was told during my feedback by everyone that I should definitely start considering whether it is worth including the addition of a scrolling side menu as I may want to reconsider the purpose of a dashboard and whether it was really necessary as this wasn’t something I had thought about prior to this. This was helpful as I have a habit of making some of assets feature scrolling interactions which not always be the right choice in relation to the project brief so it was good to understand this and take into account when developing further.

Though my critique section was lengthy, it proved invaluable in providing diverse perspectives on what works and what needs improvement in my design. While I had initial doubts about my approach, I'm grateful that my classmates could review my progress. Their feedback helped me identify specific ways to enhance my dashboard that I hadn't considered before.

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I found this last week of 104 to be very useful and intuitive especially as it was a critique week as well for our second project of designing a dashboard. I was able to receive a lot of important and constructive feedback from both my classmates and lecturer Kyle which was great and gave me a better understanding of how other view my work as well as giving me some pointers of features or areas in which I could change and improve as well as build upon further when I continue designing and finishing my dashboard soon. I have overall really enjoyed this week’s lecture as well as the overall year and was a nice way of going out support wise before taking time off and focusing on finishing our designs before submissions later on this month.

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