Virtual Tutoring Pt.2

Before the first meeting, Kelly and I set out to improve our Instagram post design. We did not like how the composition of our first draft turned out and how the sticky notes did not fit in aesthetically. The font on the top did not work either, the size was too small and it did not have a pleasant contrast with its background. Nevertheless, we like the choice of the more masculine font. Again, we need to keep in mind people often “doomscroll” on Instagram and we are looking for ways to catch their attention and thus solve the problem presented by the sponsor, awareness of the virtual tutoring.

The first major change we had was the dimensions of the image. We opted for 1080 x 1080 pixels as it brought all visual elements closer together and solved the problem of the title being relatively small compared to the size of the poster. We also removed the sticky notes and opted for more scrap paper, adding a variety such as squared and lined paper to increase the visual interest of the poster.

Another thing we need to keep our eyes out for is the flow of the images. We want the information to be clear and organized to the readers. We decided to leverage that our culture reads from left to right and top to bottom and organized the elements accordingly. The bigger image, with the title, is located at the top left and as you move down across the image the visual elements become smaller to guide the viewers’ attention. At the very bottom, we added an arrow to prompt students to swipe sideways to find more details about the tutoring service. Below you can see how our new first draft looks:

Our group was pleased with this image so we continued to create the next slides with the same strategy. We also incorporated images of the various steps in signing up for a virtual appointment because it will help guide students unfamiliar with this service and reassure them that they are in the right place as they follow the steps. Below you can see how the next three slides turned out:

Kelly and I were very satisfied with how they turned out and we presented these to the class. We got some compliments about the aesthetic but most comments were about our use of the feminine typeface (we used two fonts, a bolder and a more artistic one). Some were not happy with the size of the arrow and the size of the font inside it in the first slide. We also received the suggestion to make a list for the 3rd slide instead of a paragraph. This was very easy to design so I quickly mocked it up:

Kelly also had the idea to include the Tutor Trac link in the main slide so people who did not want to read all the steps could at least find the link to the tutoring services fairly easily. I stayed after class with the professor to receive more feedback about the project, and oh did I receive feedback.

I was informed that the main issues with our project were the continuity and its flow. We started with a very simple slide to fix, the last one. In the original draft, it has two pieces of information separated, one to the left at the bottom and to the right at the top. This makes it confusing for readers to decide which one they should read first. Additionally splitting these two pieces of information break the linearity, which in another case may be good to add meaning, but in this case, it is bad and only creates confusion. I took these suggestions and made what I believe to be a better version of the last slide.

However, the slide which needed the most changes was by far the 3rd one. The piece of paper to the bottom right created a lot of white space which was not visually appealing. But I decreased its size in the quick mockup above. The main problem, however, was the flow. It was confusing to readers which piece of information they should read first, and the numbered list I added just made it worse. In a first attempt to improve it I highlighted the word first in the top text box and added the word “then” to the second one. I also changed the numbered list to an alphabetical one. The result was the following:

However, after class, I asked for feedback from some friends and family, who were unfamiliar with this project. I specifically asked if the 3rd slide was easy to interpret to which an overwhelming majority said no. The best suggestion I received was to organized text and images to distinct sides so the flow of the text was purely vertical. I also removed the slant of the visual elements to make it easier to process the information.

Moreover, the teacher suggested me to remove the arrows. Although I was originally hesitant to that suggestion I received similar feedback. I instead took advantage of the labeled list to label their corresponding action on the picture.

In the end, our group was set with these four images: