Artefacts

I've had a bit of a break though with the help of Emile!
From my research i've been trying to find a solution when i don't know exactly what the problem is yet.
Which is a bit stupid really.
I'm aware that Apps and Responsive design address two separate types of problems, but i think from this that information and issues are lost between the two solutions. What type of information i am unsure of!
My plan from now is to find a suitable content based site, two examples, one with an app and one with a responsive site. I will test both on users and find out what they gained from both experiences, however what i want to focus on is what they didn't gain, information they felt they lost out on, aesthetics  anything that affects the users experience.
From this i hope to find a trend through users experiences and build a solution based on the problems i have been given.

Artefact Catch-Up

Since my last meeting with Simon i haven't done any other artefacts, as i wanted to make sure that when i proceed with my artefacts that i'm definitely heading in the right direction.
I've been doing a lot of reading, as when i go into my third artefact (I had done three but i'm thinking what i want to proceed with will take another 3-4 artefacts.
My plan now is to change the mind set on responsive design, in comparison to Apps they have a very simple message to get across and i think sometimes it is conveyed through the aesthetics of the website.
I have been reading on the benefits of App design and i am yet to read into how these benefits are portrayed aesthetically.
The end result of these artefacts will be to create a site that is responsive across multiple devices,however the 3 most popular devices (According to my research Galaxy S3, iPhone and multiple blackberry devices [may need to check the last one]) Will have a unique browsing experience that is altered through the CSS of the site design.All in all it will be a best of both worlds situation.
I'll write more when i've written up all my research and decided where to go in terms of artefacts

Artefact 2 - Paper prototyping

So! This is my complete set up ready for testing - On the left are my two mobile devices.
From my research i found the two mos popular handsets of 2012 were the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone, so i met in the middle to create an average screen width. The height i took from the iPhone and Galaxy S3 again.
The width and height of the tablet was an average of large tablet screens 7 Inches by 5.
These two will be my platforms for user testing testing.
A lot of neoprene and Velcro later i have created my sections to test on the user;

•  Yellow - Navigation
• Purple - Content
• Green - Images (Including header logo)

These three sections will be provided to the user. The user will be shown a generic news page on a desktop screen, then asked where they would place the elements on the mobile devices, for both horizontal and vertical viewing.

Artefact 1 - Reflection

Haven't currently received all the questionnaires back yet, should do by friday. But had my presentation on my first artefact which was the practitioner questionnaire. I've got some really good feedback so far and it's shaped my thoughts for the next artefact i want to make.
I've learned that practitioners prefer responsive web design and take Fitts law into consideration when designing for mobile devices, however although they may take it into consideration, it's more the basic elements of human ergonomics rather than a set of laws.

One of the most influential answers i received was when i asked
'How do you think mobile devices have changed the way we design and deliver content for web?'

"It’s made us think about what content really needs to be shown. Ensuring content isn’t drowned out by adverts or design that isn’t needed. It’s, hopefully, helping designers ensure the content is easily accessible."

I think this is a really good point, and it's made me think about what i want to do next. Thinking about essential information i want to display on a mobile platform from a website.
So from this i want to go one of two ways;
Either;-
- Create a responsive site with the content displayed reflecting on what practitioners have said with regards to imagery, navigation and fitts law. Then test this on the user to gain their feedback and views.

OR

- Follow a method of paper prototyping which will enable the user to place content where they think it should go and how they find it easiest to navigate. This will enable me to outline the main issues of responsive web design and how it changes content display and positioning.

Artefact 1 - Update

Just received a few e-mails back off my practitioners and so thankful they've provided so much information on the answers, thankfully it fits in with the research I've done and expands it to a level where i can now think about building apps related to their answers which will be my second artefact.

Artefact 1 - Practitioner Questionnaire

My first artefact will be interviewing web practitioners to find the ways they feel are best for designing for mobile devices and making that transition from desktop to mobile.
I'm hoping this will give me an insight on how i should contintue with my artefacts, and discover whether the changes are user or designer led. I'm also hoping it will giv me some kind of idea on further artefacts to discover the most popular method of responsive web design vs. mobile first vs. native web apps. Because there's so many methods i think i'm really going to need to ask specific questions to narrow the methods down to a few thati can really concentrate on and explore more.

Found an interesting link for my Research Project
http://www.ph-creative.com/blog/posts/2012/february/how-tablets-and-mobile-devices-have-changed-how-we-build-for-web.aspx

For my artefacts i could look into these points and create some examples (eg hover over effects, how you would compromise for a tablet etc.)