interactive project + report

report:

Audience/Purpose: describe the intended audience of your project; what are you trying to communicate to this audience?

The audience of my interactive project is young adults ranging in the ages of 18 to 25, who have some sort of desire or inkling to travel. My project is geared towards someone without much, or any travel experience. I chose a destination that I have been to before and think would be a good fit for young travelers. Bali is full of things to do with many beautiful landscapes, fun excursions, delicious food. It is also surprisingly cheap and affordable to venture throughout Bali which is why it makes it a great destination for a traveler looking to explore abroad without breaking the bank. As similar to my other projects, I wanted this project to inspire young individuals to travel and go see the world.

Image(s): how do features of the project effectively convey the message to your audience?

I think it's important that I chose a place that I've traveled to before because I have first-hand experience and insight that I can give to my intended audience of people my age. For example, I can give tips like "rent a scooter for a day" or "be aware [the waterfall] can get a little muddy… after a rainy day". All the images that I included in this project were taken by myself a few years back when I took a trip similar to the one I mapped out in my interactive project. I wanted to incorporate my own pictures and advice in the captions because it makes the project more realistic and overall applicable to individuals my age. I tried to choose fonts that were more modern and appealing to a younger audience. A trick that I also use is to lower-case my titles, which is a common thing for younger people to do, which makes it more in-formal. While I wanted this StoryMap to be informative, I also wanted to make it engaging and interesting for my intended audience. I thought a StoryMap would be the perfect type of project for my audience because my whole purpose is to encourage others to travel and what better way than guiding them along a hypothetical trip to get them excited about a destination.

Process: what did you do to create the this project?

I started my project in KnightLab with a StoryMap template. Next I researched places in Bali and compiled a list of the places I had been to on a past trip. For each location in Bali I created a slide, which displays a picture that I actually took in Bali. Then I included text captions to explain what the place or thing was. I also added my own personal tips for some of the places I had gone to. Then I searched and marked the location on the map for each slide and changed the marker to a more interesting icon that I found online. I adjusted the map options, and changed the display of the map to be in the watercolor mode. I also changed the fonts and call to action. Finally, I went in to each slide and added a relevant link that leads to more information about each slide's location or activity. I wanted to avoid writing too much text because that could deter my young audience. Instead I chose to find helpful articles and websites that contain more information in the case that the individual wants to look into the certain location/activity more in depth. After making some more small design changes and finalizing the project, I was completed with my StoryMap.

Learning: what did you learn from working on this project?

I learned that there are many easy and pre-made programs out there like KnightLab which can turn information into a beautiful and eye-catching display. Overall the StoryMap was pretty easy to learn, which made it so fun to use. I especially loved the different map options, like the watercolor themed one. One thing I practiced in this project was the important of tone and language. When writing the textual information on the slides, I found myself getting lost in what to say. While trying to be informative and educational, I also had to remember to be inspirational and exciting. Sometimes I forgot that my audience is young adults, and I would write a more formal description. At the end of the day I had to go back in my slides and adjust wording to make it better equipped for my audience. I think one key way I did this was by incorporating fun facts and tips. Overall, I enjoyed working and learning how to use StoryMap for this project.