I really don’t know where to start when it comes to explaining the process of creation this project underwent. Two hours ago when I started writing this, I went off on a complete tangent about my childhood right around this point, so I’m going to try to keep this on track for your sake (and mine!)
After I was illuminated by my discovery of Wilfred Buck’s knowledge and work (see previous post), I endeavoured to read what I could find about him and and the topic he teaches. I read a number of the stories he tells which are associated with Cree constellations and was inspired to help further his reach and share the Plains Cree’s knowledge of the night sky. I spent some time trying to figure out how I could bring Cree astronomy to more Canadians in a respectful, enjoyable and educational way. I wanted children and adults alike to be able to admire and learn from a culture so deeply rooted in the history of the land. I pondered whether I should create a series of posters showcasing Cree constellations with a short explanation included, but I felt that approach wasn’t comprehensive enough to really educate or create a sense of wonder and discovery for the audience. After contemplating some more guerilla campaign options I landed on the idea of designing a Cree stargazing application. It ticked all the boxes: A free app is accessible to the vast majority, and can house a large amount of information. The active “stargazing” aspect where the user physically moves and manipulates their device to see the constellations where they actually are adds the element of discovery and interactivity.
After settling on this idea, I proceeded to download seven different stargazing apps onto my phone. To my dismay, they were all glitchy, plagued with pop-ups and generally very ill-designed. The most important information I drew from them was that the visual of a moving compass could serve as a guide to help the user navigate the sky. I then put together a moodboard comprised of apps, logos, website designs and colours to help me visualize how a user would navigate information and process visuals in my future design. Being very inexperienced in the domain of app design, lots of my research and process was done through moodboarding and navigation of well designed platforms such as Spotify, Squarespace and Peek. Once I felt more at ease with how the app should flow, I started thumbnailing different screens in my notebook and experimenting with layout in sketch. I established the the number of illustrations I would create ahead of time and built the layout around them and the “map” aspect of the app. I utilized a simple pull-up menu system that would appear upon the selection of an individual constellation and offer options. To exit, the user would simply pull them down again. Once the layout was finished, I created two illustrations to fit into the star map and added the copy to match them.
After the app was completed came the logo. This aspect was particularly difficult for me as I struggled to think of a compelling visual that relates to the app’s content without appropriating Cree artwork or symbolism. The trouble was that if I were to steer completely clear of cultural meaning, the logo would feel detached from the app itself. I was leaning towards designing a wordmark as a logo when I thought of using the Cree alphabet. I looked up plains Cree words and sayings and their pronunciation as well as spelling and landed on “Tipskaw” which translates to “night sky”. I was fascinated by the letterforms in the Cree spelling and so decided to design a wordmark based on it.
Evaluation
Although I initially had some feelings of anticipation regarding this project, I ended up having a good time working it out. One of the best decisions I made was choosing the solution based solely on how well it solves the problem rather than how it matches my skillset. I took on designing an app from scratch for the first time and I think it was the right direction to take this project in. While my hard skills in interactive design may be lacking at this point in time, the intent is expressed clearly and the content satisfies the objective. I’d give myself an 8.5/10 for a solid effort and good learning experience!
