the mobile application also contained the AR capability. From our research on effective AR applications, we came to the conclusion that simple graphics and well-planned activities were the most engaging. As such, the AR within our application only does two things. Firstly, when the user is in AR mode and points their phone’s camera at the Heights sign, it will display the original Helen’s sign, whether it is day or night. Secondly, when one is in the Heights area with the AR mode activated, text bubbles will appear on top of the shops. When the user clicks on a text bubble, a short sound clip of a Heights citizen interview will play.

FINDINGS /

This project has given me a better understanding of the importance of meaning when creating a design. A single story can be interpreted differently every time it is told, depending on the narrator and the audience. After doing our research and interacting with the community surrounding the Heights sign, I can fully appreciate Julka Almquist’s and Juila Lupton’s contention that “while use is most frequently the manifest function of an artifact, meaning can also fill this role.” The sole function of this swinging neon girl is to be the symbol of an affable and caring community. A particular strength of our group’s proposal was including a macro consideration of the entire mobile application exhibition as well as the micro consideration of our assigned neon sign. Because we included the platform of the main application, containing links to the individual signs and their histories, an individual using our mobile application for the first time

would be able to understand the context of

the interactive exhibition. Furthermore, for the narrative of the Heights sign, we closely considered the ease of transition between

the individual story told about the sign and the collective narrative told by the citizens of the Heights. The two parts of our application, which are entirely distinct in their appearance, share an intuitive and consistent user interface.

IMAGE 3 / The Heights sign at the original location on the boarder of Vancouver and Burnaby. It is the only kinetic sign left in Vancouver

CONCLUSION /

This project showed me my limitations as

a designer and also the effectiveness of a well-organized and diverse design team. As Robert Harland states in his article “The Dimensions of Graphic Design and Its Spheres of Influence,” “design is a portmanteau term: it covers a number of interlaced activities that do not fall into distinct categories.” In the future, I will strive to extend my knowledge on any and all activities relating to design. I was fortunate enough to have group members with varying skill sets and I feel we all learned and grew stronger as designers during our time collaborating. We worked very hard on creating a visual language that was easily accessible to our audience. I believe that our project’s focus was on the right scale to engage our target audience. Additionally, its visual language can become the starting point for conversation and new ideas, a concept recommended by Ann Thorpe. This project also helped cement for me the importance of looking back at the past to understand and design for the present and future. As Harland asserts, “mapping

the future of the profession will be difficult without looking back at our history to get a better idea of where we are going.” Designers have been generally thought of as producers of pleasing appearances. Kazmierczak, however, suggests that a designer really “create[s] relationships among singular symbols.”

These relationships are the means we use

to communicate data. This concept is what I believe to be the heart of any design.

REFERENCES

Almquist, Jullka and Julia Lupton. “Affording Meaning: Design- Oriented Research from the Humanities and Social Sciences.” Design Issues 26.1 (2010): 3-14.

Forlizzi, Jodi and

Cherie Lebbon. “From Formalism to Social Significance in Communication Design.” Design Issues 18.4 (2002):

3-13.

Harland, Robert. “The Dimensions of Graphic Design and Its Spheres of Influence.” Design Issues 27.1 (2011): 21-34.

Kazmierczak, Elzbieta. “Design as Meaning Making: From Making Things to the Design of Thinking.” Design Issues

19.2 (2003): 45-59.

Ranjan, M.P. “Hand- Head-Heart: Ethics in Design.” The Trellis Issue 2.5 (2010): 17-28

Thorpe, Ann. “Design’s Role in Sustainable

Consumption.” Design Issues 26.2 (2010): 3-17.