Reflection

So, now I've finished my project, it's time to reflect on it.

The first stage was planning and drafting, and this included my research, cover, page layouts and any feedback I developed on. I liked this stage, as this was the designing part and having creative ideas. Halfway through I got feedback from my peers about my drafts, including my own critique, and this really helped me make some decisions about what I should use or work on. This led me to the next stage.

Designing in the software. InDesign is something I have been using more recently than ever, and this interactive book led me to new skills to learn. However, at the start, my book was very basic, with content and images, but the only interactive element was the contents page and links to the other pages. This was also a new skill I had learned to use, but I got some feedback: where was the interactive book?

So, this led me back to the drawing board and I planned where I'd add video, audio, slideshows and external links. I used online tutorials and the toolbar to navigate my way around, and soon interactive elements were added in my book. You can read more about the changes in this blog.

Finally, I exported it as an ePub and flicked through on iBooks. First impressions were that I was proud of it, and I loved the more interactive elements. I had interactivity on almost every page (if not all), and some of the interactivity was quite creative. However there were flaws, too. The layout of the text, although styled to the 60's, had some issues. I had left some paragraphs split up in odd places, and sometimes the text didn't quite flow. I did fix these major issues before exporting it again. Also, there was still more room for interactivity, and I could've added GIFs or more videos or external links or articles.

So, final question: is this my best work? 

Honestly? No. However, it is some of my best work, and I'm proud that I kept working at it and made it the product it is.