Storytelling

During class we completed the toast exercise, drawing out the different steps to creating toast with no words.

We started by using a single sheet of paper. This was pretty limiting because of the following

• all marks were permanent
• steps could not be reordered
• the dimension of the paper was set
• extra marks had to express the separation of each step

Pictured on the top: my first exercise, bottom: a classmate’s exercise

We then used post-it notes to express each step then ordered them as we wanted on the whiteboard. This gave us more flexibility to do the following:

• redraw any post-it notes
• order things vertically or horizontally
• group together steps
• express each step in its concrete space

Toast drawing exercise with post-its

We then took everyone’s individual post it notes and combined them into one collective flow. The class had illustrated how to make french toast, toast from a toaster, and toast from a pan. We had to express the distinction and similarities of each method in our flow, using lines and arrows to map out the process. During this process, we started by grouping together post-its that expressed the same step (i.e. putting bread in a toaster, eating the toast), then linearly mapped out the process for each type of toast, then combined it into a flow with three main paths. This was slightly difficult to choose between people’s post it notes in fear of making certain people feel excluded, but it was also interesting to note that most people agreed on the strongest drawings. These were often the most expressive or simple.

Group collaboration to make a final complete flow

How might you apply the draw toast exercise to work in other classes / subject areas?

The toast exercise really highlighted that simplicity is key, but there are ways to illustrate complex ideas in a way that is not overwhelming. I would say that the final flow was definitely more complex than the original one paper drawings everyone made, but the process was still easy to follow because of the arrows, grouping of steps, and individual post-it notes. In other classes, I often need to express my ideas or projects to others in a clear and easy to understand way. Using things I learned from the toast exercise, I can convey key points and express how they group and connect.

Storytelling problems and solutions for the Makerspaces

Using our research and solutions from Project 1, each of the team made storyboards. Mine are displayed below:

Storyboard for the badges to invite students to ask helpers questions in the makerspaces

digital whiteboard to make it efficient for students to use whiteboards

While some of the selected solutions varied, all of my team created a storyboard for the badge and sash solution. This led to the following:

What did your group set as the criteria for your concept selection? What roles will each team member play in the execution of work? (include images of your storyboards with captions)

Our criteria consisted of the following:

1. Feasibility — the solution should be something that CMU makerspaces can implement within the next semester
2. Complementary to current resources — the solution should incorporate things that already exist within the makerspaces
3. Fun — the solution should be delightful and something students would enjoy using
4. Maximizing engagement and accessibility to makerspace — the solution should increase peer to peer engagement and make the space more accessible to people with social anxiety and less makerspace experience

The roles were split accordingly:

Matthew — Initial storyboard sketches, storyboard explanation for the pitch

Alison — Digitalizing Matthew’s sketches, outline and intro for the pitch

Erica (Me) — Designing the poster, describing the solution for the pitch

With all of our work, we brought the following poster to class.

What feedback did you receive in class today and how does your team plan to act on it. Give specific examples. Include images and notes, if appropriate.

Positive Feedback

• Design flow was very obvious
• Poster and storyboard were engaging
• The orange is a highlighting color which immediately draws the eye

Constructive Feedback

• The title and slogan wasn’t 100% clear for maker spaces, but the images and text suggest the association
• There was a lack of color for something about creativity and fun
• The sashes are inconsistent in style
• Sash on the D — flip in the direction
• The orange feels very generous, maybe it could appear more selectively
• Don’t eliminate the other ideas in the pitch, highlight this as the best idea
• Storyboard too long? (remove 1–2)
• Paragraph too tight vertically (top one = a little wide (avg. 72 characters))
• Lower down images
• Highlight the keywords

We got a lot of positive feedback on the engaging story and effective solution. From the constructive feedback, we will implement a lot of the spacing issues like the paragraph width and image positioning. We will also consider adding more colors to evoke a sense of fun and creativity, however my team still enjoys the way the orange pops out and highlights our solution. In terms of the orange being too generous, we will play around with saturation to create a focus with the bright orange color at the final large illustration. We will also fix the inconsistencies in the style and storyboard.