One of the most important aspects of designing is direct observation of your proposed audience. Beyond a questionnaire or research studies, direct observation allows you to view a target audience in their "natural habitat", where you can note actions that may be so ingrained in everyday duties that they aren't noted in casual conversation - it is taken for granted. This is called an ethnographic research.

Lab assignment:

Take a 1/2 hour and go to the library, cafe or local coffee shop to observe the student population at AICA-SF. This should represent a cross-section of students currently attending the institute. Note everyone in the environment - even if they enter for only a few minutes. Notice what they do and say. Try to find a way to categorize - whether it is type of person, activity, purpose or whatever and start noting a way to place the person, activity, purpose in order to compare and contrast. Form an opinion about why one of your groups acts/reacts a certain way. Return to class with your notes for discussion.

Grouping is one way we organize and categorize in order to simplify. Can this lead to misinformation?

General Strategies for thinking Global

• Say what you expect from your users
• Accommodate different levels of technical expertise and capabilities. Do not squander bandwidth! Consider multiple platforms.
• Accommodate different learning styles and ways people perceive. Visual? Auditory? Task oriented? Give navigational choices so that the target audience can use your site in their preferred style. For instance, Americans, Australians and Canadians are used to information provided quickly and to the point, while many Asian countries may be used to first acquiring the theory before practicing the facts. Europeans, on the other hand, like a more structured approach and expect their facts in an ordered and predictable fashion.
• Avoid overuse of text. This is the single biggest barrier in web based information. This can impact your viewer's motivation to continue, or even just start, your program. Break up large sections, keep text short, use bullets when possible, and integrate text into graphics.
• Test, test, test. Test your site early and often.
• Include a glossary of terms if necessary.
• Include a cross-cultural summary, written in simple language, to clarify meaning and to break up the text.
• Give learners time to absorb information, if you are providing background references or information. One or two facts at a time.
• Avoid "national chauvinism". Use generic objects in examples, avoid local expressions, think from the viewpoint of your learner.
• Make numbers easy to understand. If you are playing to an international audience, be aware how numbers are displayed can change greatly. A good example of this is displaying dates. 01/02/03 can be interpreted as 1 Feb 2003, 2 Jan 2000, 2 Mar 2001, or 1 Feb 1903!
• Be careful when showing people so that it does not embody a specific culture or image. Avoid using images of people or parts of the body when another symbol may prove more effective. If you must use people, then follow these guidelines (from Designing Web-based Training by William Horton, ISBN#0-471-35614-x):
  • Dress modestly. Use business attire as your model. Avoid loud colors and patterns. What could be interpreted as chic in Paris could be considered sexist in S.F. or pornographic in Tehran. Avoid religious emblems.
  • Minimize indicators of social and economic class. Use simple attire and avoid items that imply fortune or position, such as jewelry, furs, exotic cars, etc.
  • Keep relationships between people simple. Show people interacting politely, not too casual. Make clear decision making stems from job assignment or expertise, not based on sex, gender, age or social laws.
  • Keep hands generic. Avoid racial and gender differences.
  • Suppress unimportant details.