Meet Alisa from the UX team + Max, Content Producer for Rural Action: Watershed Restoration

Meet Alisa Kessler!

Alisa is working with Project C team members to make the user experience the best it can be! She is a senior in the School of Visual Communication at Ohio University.

Hometown: Oakwood (Dayton), Ohio

What is your favorite part of working on Project C?

"My peers. It's a really good group of smart, creative students that make getting along and learning from each other come easy! They've all been very supportive."

Where is your favorite place to spend an afternoon in Athens?

"I spend so much of my time in my apartment, but on nice days when I find time, I love relaxing on college green."

What is your favorite restaurant in Athens?

"Athens has great food to offer. I love getting Big Mama's Burritos, Slovaki's, and O'Betty's on late nights out. I eat a lot of Jimmy John's, too. Insomnia Cookies is banging. Casa is great and I'm going to try Salaam this weekend!"

Describe your dream job:

"I would love to design for a professional sports team, preferably the NFL or NBA."

If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?

"I'd love to be able to jump from one spot to the next, kind of like a time warp in the sense that I can go to one place to another in the blink of an eye. That way I could be wherever I wanted and do whatever makes me happiest."

Do you prefer the toilet paper to roll from the top or the bottom?

"Oh my gosh, definitely from the top, do not get me started on how annoying it is to grab toilet paper that's rolled from the bottom, smh!"

Where was your first job?

"Working in the annex of the Dorothy Lane Market corporate office, helping the graphic designer and IT guy. It wasn't that fun for a 15 year old so I ended up moving into the actual grocery story and worked as an associate."

The most valuable advice you’ve ever received?

"Everything that happens, happens for a reason."

Do you volunteer anywhere? 

"I volunteer at Possum Creek Stables, it's a horse boarding facility. I manage annual horse shows for their boarders and other volunteers. I love doing it because of how happy it makes everyone and they turn out to be so much fun!"

When was the last time you were nervous?

"Today. I always worry myself with the smallest things, I'm capable of making myself nervous over anything."

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

"In San Diego, California, duh."

If you were an Adobe Creative Suite program, which one would you be and why?

"Photoshop, because I'm working in it all the time!"

Were you named after anyone?

"My first name isn't, but my middle name, Iris was named after my mom's mother who was so excited to meet me, but unfortunately passed away from cancer shortly before I was born."

Meet Max Rodriguez! 

Max is a full-time CreMedian, but when he's working with the Project C team he is producing content featuring Rural Action: Watershed Restoration. He is finishing up his senior year at Ohio University, studying Video Production in the School of Media Arts & Studies. 

Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA

What is your favorite part about working on Project C?

"Honestly I like driving to Trimble. Its probably one of the more relaxing commutes around here and it always get me in the zone to shoot."

Favorite memory in Athens/Ohio University:

"There are too many to count. I've been in the Scott Quad lab for a good 50 percent of my college career and I miss having everyone in there that graduated in 2011 working late into the night and goofing around."

Where is your favorite place to spend an afternoon in Athens?

"The roof right outside my bedroom."

What is your favorite restaurant in Athens?

"Union Street Diner Baby!"

Do you have any hidden talents?

"I can speak like Donald Duck"

The most valuable piece of advice you’ve ever received?

"All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us."

What’s the #1 most played song on your iTunes right now?

"1986" by Big K.R.I.T.

If you were an Adobe Creative Suite program, which one would you be and why?

"I'd be Final Cut Pro because Adobe Creative Suite programs are too conformist"

Three words that describe you best:

Jedi. Ninja. Pirate.

What are your favorite things to do in your free time?

"I like to catch up on my research, AKA sit around and browse Vimeo, music videos, and listen to some new music."

Structuring a User-Centered Website

The User Experience [UX] design team has been organizing various methods of user testing, specifically targeting more efficient ways of communicating content to our audience. Our strategy began with the user test, which involved having several volunteers tour through our 2011 site. From their feedback, as a team, we were able to map out pros and cons and make changes coming to the 2012 site, accordingly.

What Users Liked and Disliked About Our 2011 Site

Pros of the site included the overall design; its colors and pictures appealed to all of our test users. One thing we were surprised to learn is that many of the users preferred the footer to the main navigation. As far as cons go, many of the users stressed that the site needed better organization and clarification to understand the meaning and purpose behind the website. We also discovered that our language wasn’t well written, making it difficult for users to understand our links.

With this valuable user feedback, the UX team went straight to work on concept maps, site maps, user flow diagrams and detailed wireframes of each page to prepare the creation of a new, more user friendly website for Project C!

The development and UX teams working. Alisa Kessler, pictured far left, Jess Buse, center right, and Steph Rumph, far right.

According to our user feedback, we mapped out a user flow diagram to better understand the process our users experience when navigating through the site. Our goal was to create an easy, organized, and direct user flow with multiple options to reach your destination on the site.

Priorities for User Experience

Presenting the featured organizations was our main concern, followed by stressing the option to learn about them and provide the opportunity to vote, or learning how to get involved with that organization. We’ve also established the idea to share the stories of these organizations by focusing on social networking and bringing more traffic to the website to educate more individuals.

To wrap up the initial UX phase, we worked on several wireframe drafts. After our own team members presented their sketches and ideas, we began sketching out the overall idea on whiteboard with the design team.

From this first wireframe, the UX team built the first Photoshop wireframe, which was tweaked and edited a dozen times. In class, the entire team critiqued each wireframe draft for further improvement. At this point, the UX team is finalizing wireframes in-between design critiques to figure out what layouts work best on each page to prepare for the visual design and development phase!

We’re so excited to launch the 2012 Project C site, sharing our work with all of you! Your feedback is crucial and highly valued; if you would like to participate in our second round of user testing please email annette@clickingcreateschange.com.

Alisa Kessler // Steph Rumph // Jess Buse

User Experience Team | Project C

Everyone Can Make a Difference. Learn What You Can Do!

As we begin the fourth week of spring quarter at Ohio University the Project C teams are working hard to bring you amazing, meaningful content in our 2012 edition! For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Project C, it is a student-run multimedia project that ultimately donates funds to local nonprofit organizations.

Students work together to create documentaries chronicling the activities of four local nonprofit organizations. Video documentaries, along with still photos, infographics, and feature articles are then presented on Project C’s website: www.clickingcreateschange.com.

With the click of a mouse, community members, as well as any other visitors to the site, can vote for their favorite organization. When users vote for an organization they are helping decide how to allocate funds to the featured nonprofits. This year, voting will take place from the time the site launches on Monday, May 28 until Friday, June 1.

Stay Connected with Project C

Join us in the social media spheres to keep up with all the latest happenings!

  Follow us on Twitter: @ProjectC_

  Like us on Facebook!

Get Involved

Just by telling your family and friends about Project C you’re making a difference in the Athens community! Project C strives to inform and inspire, and we couldn’t do that without the help of our supporters, and the ability each of you has to spread the word about our work, our mission, and the nonprofits in Athens, Ohio we feature and hope to raise funds to support.

Donate

Whether you can afford $1 or $1000, Project C and the organizations we are featuring this year will be forever grateful!

In 2011, Project C raised $1075 to assist the local nonprofits. This year we aim to raise more than $2000. Project C is reaching out to charitable individuals like you for financial support. Online donations can be submitted via IndieGoGo, a digital crowdfunding platform at www.IndieGoGo.com/clickingcreateschange. Online donations must be submitted by Monday, May 14, 2012 at 11:59 PM PT.

Help us give back to the wonderful and unique community that is Athens, Ohio.

Lauren Nolan

Public Relations Director | Project C