The Archive Process Book

PROCESS BOOK NADIA ESSEGHAIAR SPRING 2019

2

Nadia Esseghaiar Massachusetts College of Art and Design Design Symposium 2019

CONTENTS 04. IDEATION MOTIVATION THE “WHAT”

14. RESEARCH SEARCH PORTALS EXPERIENCE AUDIENCE TARGET USER

40. CONCEPT CONCEPTUALIZATION FEATURES

58. PROCESS DRAFTING

68. FINAL

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

PROCESS

FINAL

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

AUDIENCE

4

IDEATION

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

PROCESS

IDEATION

6

During this semester, my grandmother passed suddenly.

I’ve assigned myself the task of scanning and archiving her things. It wouldn’t be possible to hold onto all of her writings and journals for the rest of my life, so I have to settle for a digital alternative. I can’t hold on to a file cabinet of my grandmothers stuff for the rest of my life, but the idea of it all going into a Google Drive folder made me a little uncomfortable.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

MOTIVATION

On top of that dilemma, I collect lots of things — just like my grandmother. I hold a lot of sentimentality in objects.

I think everyday objects are important and I think we learn a lot more from candy wrappers and old billboards than we’d like to admit. I also love research, it’s become my favorite part of the design process. I’ve learned that my affinity to research goes hand in hand with my love for collecting, and I can thank my grandmother for both of those attributes due to her crucial role in my life.

FINAL

Amongst the many things I have absorbed from my grandmother, she leaves behind volumes and volumes of writing in notebooks, and a wealth of recipe cards.

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

PROCESS

My grandmother, Nonnie

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

MOTIVATION

8

She was and is a great source of inspiration to me. She instilled the importance of being well versed in cultural history, fine objects and fashion, and social etiquette.

Nonnie collected a lot of things, and acted as an archive for our family; a true matriarch.

FINAL

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

PROCESS

THE PROBLEM

There wasn’t a sacred place to put my stuff, but I also noticed there also wasn't a place to look at other collections. This was peculiar to me, because who wouldn't be interested in knowing who has the worlds greatest baseball card collection, or the story behind the largest collection of spoons and why one would care.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

THE WHAT

10

I’d become more and more irritated with researching using Google; results are always the most commonly visited page, and I always want to learn about obscure information because that’s where the real interest lies.

We all get into worm holes late at night, reading Wikipedia articles, clicking and clicking, watching YouTube and reading articles until we have no idea how we ended up reading an entry about the origin of the cheeseburger. That’s when we’re most absorbed in what we’re reading, and that's quickly becoming the most common modern form of entertainent. It’s no longer books or even movies, it’s viral videos and articles.

Why haven’t any memory institutions capitalized on this developing impulse?

FINAL

The internet isn’t as coordinated as we think. It is constantly at risk of being compromised -- there are only a few task forces dedicated to backing up the interent (and our cultural history) as we know it.

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

PROCESS

FINAL

what A website.

Search and filter, image search, explore, private and public archives, reliable sources, library search function, simple and concise.

AUDIENCE THE WHAT

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why

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS

For learning, exploring, and preserving.

To protect lost arts, to simplify research, to immortalize your own personal collections, to encourage learning.

how Simple design.

Reliable sources, concise data and metadata display, social media ads and real world street teaming to generate interest.

who For everyone.

Simple enough for the elderly, reliable enough for students and educators. Useful for anyone who needs to make an easy to use archive.

Fun enough to encourage young people to conduct research.

RESEARCH

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

PROCESS

READINGS

I knew that when attempting to tackle the problem of creating anything close to a search portal, I would need to take a lot of ques from preexisting search engines.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

SEARCH PORTALS

16

Search engines are remarkably complex, and I quickly learned that these formulas were as preciously protected as an Italian grandmother would protect her marinara recipe. The knowledge I gained on these algorithms was informative and broad in some ways; in the sense that I learned the purpose and intention of certain algorithms, but obviously not the precise programing behind them.

I was shocked by how many academic reports I found trying to tackle the same problem of digitizing databases like museum collections, and why it hasn’t been done yet. It was also surprising to find how difficult it was to identify any existing collections. I thought there might be a resource somewhere, similar to Guiness World Records maybe, that showcased the greatest collections.

No such thing, and it was borderline impossible to find a physical book about any collecting or archiving practices.

FINAL

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

PROCESS

FINAL

GOOGLE

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

COMPETITORS

18

Google is great, it’s an indisposable tool that undoubtedly gets better and more intuitive by the day. However, it feels like it’s become a search bar for Wikipedia. The problem with it is that it orders results according to how many times other websites have linked to that website. Google assumes that if it’s cited often, it must be a reliable source; that’s why Wikipedia is often times the top search result.

They link to a lot of reliable sources, get a lot of traffic, and thus are used very frequently as a source. This buries obscure and interesting information, laying under the surface. It’s hard to say how you could unearth something that no one is interested in learning, but it’s a challenge that interests me.

One thing beautiful about their portal is the many different organizations of information architecture. Algorithms are set to determine whether a page has the answer to a question, or just the same keywords. It will determine what kind of query you’re phrasing, and organize the results to accomodate your request.

Google is essentially a big rolodex of information. They’ve developed some amazing systems, like the synonym system which helps search know what you mean by establishing the knowledge that multiple words of the same spelling can have different meanings. Similarly, there’s a freshness algorithm that assumes that if you’re search for the olympics, you’re probably asking about the upcoming olympics, not the ninteen hundreds olympics.

Despite it’s innovative information architecure, Google is basically a call and response engine. It has hit or miss keyword matching and looses obscure information.

By relying on the most commonly referenced entries, it buries media.

It’s also sub-par at providing images for the same reasons.

The problem with their “most commonly linked" algorithm means that you'll often be directed to shopping and ads

You'll often times just end up clicking on a Wikipedia article, because it's better than an Amazon link

19 These are "featured snippets", which come up usually when searches are posed as a question/ question mark

These results are essentially assuming that the answer to your question can be found with one result

"About this result" will tell you exactly how they use information architecture to try to answer your query

IDEATION

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PROCESS

FINAL

A note on data management:

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

SEARCH PORTALS

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Certain search portals serve as inadvertent time capsules, saving and immortalizing information in data managment pipelines.

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

PROCESS

FINAL

JSTOR

Point blank, JSTOR is hideous. No one in their right mind is going to peruse JSTOR for fun.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

SEARCH PORTALS

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Their algorithm is basic, and is a painfully straight forward keyword search system. It’s somewhat of a mystery to me how their information is organized, but it always seems like the top result for any search is dated mid century or earlier. The entry seems fractioned; there’s a disproportionate amount of article entries, and there doesn’t seem to be any contemporary research.

This quickly becomes discouraging, as you start to fear that the information you’re consuming is outdated. And although it’s reliable, it’s just not an engaging to use. At times I've found amazing, interesting, surprising sources, but it’s such a dry experience otherwise, that I’m much less likely to use it for anything but citations.

Unbeknownst to many Jstor does amazing work in the real world. As a non-profit organization, they provide a tools for young researchers and archivists that we could learn from. Mass data mining and tools for librarians.

No innovative keyword matching.

Results are old and feel outdated.

Homogenous variety of media.

Feels sterile and boring to use.

Lack of bold hierarchy.

JSTOR has limited media results. 90% of the time, the only sources are journal articles, and sometimes books.

There is an option to filter art images from Artstor, byt I’ve never heard of anyone using that option before.

The results are homogenous, but do actually provide a host of helpful citation buttons which can serve many purposes.

HOW ARE THESE RESULTS EVEN HELPFUL? The ordering of these results is very bizarre -- who is intitally searching for an exhibit?

Due to the lack of images (and often times varying images) these results don’t appear visually different, and the eye glazes over them

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

PROCESS

PINTEREST

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FINAL

TH E B E ST SE ARC H P OR TAL*

Pinterest is an unsuspecting champion in the search engine category. Surprisingly, the site has amazingly sophisticated search algorithms in place. It's an inadvertent archive service, when an image is deleted it will forever live on the Pinterest image server library.

Their algorithm eliminates duplicates for this reason, so you'll never stumble upon the same image twice.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

SEARCH PORTALS

Their image searches are composite, meaning associations are made by computerized eyeballs, kind of. Searching for a "dog in hat" will send the algorithm scanning millions of images, and combining different visual ques to see if it can bring you anything comperable.

It's important to note the HIGH usability factor of Pinterest.

Everyone loves it — it is competing with Facebook and Youtube for participating users. It's super easy, super usable, and their users never have to generate their own content; something I learned turns users off during my audience research. The combination of their understated and highly sophisticated search algorithm, the simplicity of their information architecture, and the simple integrated usability makes Pinterest the best model for a research portal that makes you want to use it, and continue to use it as it gets smarter.

The only pitfalls of Pinterest that I could identify was some of the assumptions that their search portal makes (sometimes they're highly beneficial, and sometimes the miss the mark entirely) and the inability to access sources or any sort of contextual information for the images.

*Considering its intended purpose, sophisticated algorithms, usability, user satisfaction rate, and the innovative data management practices that the website uses.

The homepage design is so simple that it is brilliant.

I think people are overly critical of Pinterest because it is associated with “basic young housewives”, but that criticism is reserved for those who haven’t used the resource CORRECTLY. Pinterest quickly becomes smarter, and shows you images targeted to your interests. Amazing smart algorithms in place.

Images are interactive, allowing you to save entries you haven’t clicked on yet which ultimately saves a lot of time for the user, as well as provides instant gratification.

That factor is very important for ensuring users return to your database.

The information architecture is super concise, simple, and gratifying. However, the site would be elevated highly by the addition of sources and contextual information.

One of the pitfalls (and sometimes benefits) of the site can be seen in the upper left hand corner -- where it assumes where you’d like to save your image. When it isn’t correct, it is frustrating.

I personally don’t care who else has saved this item. But apparantly “Pinterest” fame can be attained, and is very popular in the social media world at large.

IDEATION

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When considering usability:

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

EXPERIENCE

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New search portal experiences must be compatible and comparable to our existing knowledge of search tools.

A user will walk into a scenario with prelearned behavior, and it is a common pitfall when innovating new UI technology to ignore those behaviors. It must be respected that we already have a set of skills distinguished for research, and to add to that rather than reinvent it.

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

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FINAL

ARCHIVES VS. MUSEUMS

Unlike databases, museums provide professional interpretation and context. Archives provide storage, safety, and availability. We need both.

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Introduction to structure and data with the use of lots of images, interviews, and varying material and media to interlink content and form a story.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

EXPERIENCE

To activate engaging content, include interpretation, context, and background info to create real associations. Links and references to sources.

Collect, preserve, research, and provide interpretation. It is a social responsibility for memory institutions to give back and aid in preservation, providing wider access, and inviting involvement.

Objects should tell their own stories; personal supplementary data can be provided by users.

So, by combining the characteristics of a museum and an archive, and some of the storytelling ability of a collector, we can create a cumulative resource that becomes engaging and fun to use, on top of being practically useful.

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CONCEPT

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Why doesn't a digital archive exist already?

doubts about audience interaction

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EXPERIENCE

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outdated practices general lack of understanding

It’s assumed that there isn’t a need for such robust digital archives. Browsing a data base for entertainment isn’t work related or a source of entertainment for the general public.

Institutions aren’t interested in updating cataloguing practices, which leads to missed opportunities.

Museums don’t try to understand different user experiences when making databases. Archivists and average internet users use the internet in VERY different ways.

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FINAL

AUDIENCE AUDIT ENTERTAINMENT ORIENTED

20%

Primarily men, teens to twenties, high school education Actively searching the web for entertainment and watching videos. Posts content and likes photos, casually interacts with social media, blogs and forums.

PRACTICAL WORK

21%

Mostly women, thirties to forties, educated, high income Looking for info, uses search engine services, practical work based communication. Less entertainment. Highly interested in e-services and convenience.

PRACTICAL INFREQUENT 32

20%

Mostly women, thirty plus, higher education Wider range of use in necessary information; work related email, directions, factual information. Higher than average use of information and online banking solutions.

ENTERTAINMENT & COMMUNICATION

15%

Men, thirties and lower, basic education, low income

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

AUDIENCE

Searching, chatting, watching videos. They are practical, interactive users primarily looking to communicate with friends ans search for entertainment.

ACTIVE & VERSATILE

14%

Primarily women, twenties to thirties, higher education Contribute to and seek out new information, share and upload photos to social media. Actively contributing new information; most commonly sharing photos.

SMALL SCALE Primarily elderly, higher education Internet use is characterized by being in the developmental stages. No specific practice, just barely using the internet.

Email and looking at photos. Least likely to contribute.

10%

PRACTICAL INFREQUENT

SMALL SCALE

ENTERTAINMENT & COMMUNICATION

ACTIVE & VERSATILE

ENTERTAINMENT ORIENTED

PRACTICAL WORK

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

PROCESS

FINAL

THE ACTIVE USER

The active user is the average internet user that would be most likely to use an internet database for fun or work purposes. In my research, I learned some constants about this kind of user.

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The average user is just looking to find content that is engaging, quickly and concisely. Most people don’t want to post, they just want to consume entertainment. Contrary to popular belief, the average user is looking for non-fiction information and entertainment. People want to consume factual information on the internet. Whether it be reality television or Wikipedia.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

TARGET USER

I identified some problems that don’t align with the current user profiles. The current search portal algorithm assumes you must have prior knowledge in order to phrase a query. More often than not, those of us who have a question about something aren't well educated on that topic. So, if that’s the case — you probably won’t learn something new as quickly as someone educated on that given subject.

Conversely, the average user wants results FAST. And if they don’t pose their question properly, odds are they won’t find a result they like.

Users that don’t find engaging information within the first few minutes of their visit will never return to the website again. Just Ask Jeeves.

But really, they will literally just never use the website again.

IDEATION

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FINAL

USER OBSERVATIONS

Most users don’t want to provide content; aversion to making a login, posting comments, photos, etc.

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All kinds of users want factual information, and are relatively skillful in discerning factual information from faulty.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

TARGET USER

Searching on existing portals requires prior knowledge; you have to know what you’re looking for to phrase a question.

Will disregard portals that don’t provide interesting information in a timely manner; must be stimulated and engaged quickly.

If they don’t see the results that they’re looking for or find any interesting content, they won’t return to the website ever again.

Users need to quickly adapt to new research tools or they will quite literally never return to the website again. It is important to quickly introduce tools in an integrated style, and immediate engage.

Despite their internet usage style, all users seek out and primarily consume factual or non-fiction information. Regular people are becoming more skillful at discerning what information is truthful.

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FINAL

A note on physical spaces:

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

AUDIENCE

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Digitization does not discourage physical visits to museums and libraries.

Research found that despite the theory that digitization of resources would negatively impact interaction in the real world, users view virtual spaces as strictly supplementary to the psysical spaces.

Places, feelings and physical story telling can’t be replaced by 3D — or even VR experiences — until the unforseen future.

CONCEPT

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

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FINAL

The research question:

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

CONCEPTUALIZATION

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What are new strategies to preserve and archive design phenomena?

PROJECT STATEMENT

The purpose of The Archive is to provide an enjoyable and highly useful portal for research and exploration.

By utilizing successful and reliable search algorithms already in place, The Archive draws it’s information from pre-existing websites such as JSTOR, Google Scholar, RefSeek, Pinterest, Library of Congress, etc.

The Archive acts as a simple, aesthetically pleasing replacement for more complex and dense search engines. It inadvertently acts as a digital library thanks to it’s design; protecting and archiving information in an easy to access public database. The addition of features such as explore and and auto-populating recommended entries differenciates the Archive from it’s competition, encouraging the user to learn about something that they’ve never heard of and learn more organically.

The website also serves as a personal archive for those of us who have unique, sentimental, or historically significant collections. The user can follow a simple set of guidelines to make a public archive that can make a lasting impact.

IDEATION

RESEARCH

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PROCESS

MOTIVATIONS 1. To encourage and harness the excitement stimulated by learning something new and unexpected.

2. To foster the desire and enjnoyment found in conducting thorough and thoughtful research.

3. To reignite an interest in learning antiquated ways of sharing and communicating information.

4. To preserve, archive, and immortalize ephemera and images that may otherwise be lost in the greater mission to digitize our experience.

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CONCEPTUALIZATION

APPROACH 1. Creating a digital archive and searching resource that is easy to use and aesthetically pleasing for all ages.

2. Simplifying and condensing data and metadata so that it is quickly digestible and enjoyable to read.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

3. Providing systems that make rare and hard to find data easy to learn about, I.E. exploring and collecting.

4. linking reliable and known sources to one common site, so that information is not only reliable, but so users can find it all in one place.

FINAL

JUSTIFICATIONS 1. It is uneccessary to compete with algorithms such as Google and Pinterest.

2. It is productive to collaborate and use pre-existing online databases such as JSTOR and digital libraries.

3. It is much more helpful to make a useful and reliable digital archive of ALL helpful information, than it is to just make a database of rare information.

4. Existing websites lack usability, readability, and quick to digest information.

GOALS To provide a user with an inspiring and encouraging learning experience where they;

1. Learn something new.

2. Find answers to questions they didn’t know they had.

3. Conduct useful research.

4. The ability to archive and share personal items.

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

PROCESS

MORE THAN A WEBSITE

When thinking about the concept of a memory institution, I realized that there is a greater responsibility that comes along with any sort of cultural preservation practice. I didn’t want to only prototype a website, but create a greater concept for a non-profit organization commited to all things archival...

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

CONCEPTUALIZATION

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A memory institution commited to providing readily availible learning and research tools to the public in the form of a search portal site, instructables, data collection tools, and free archival quality storage services.

Unlike any other initiative, The Archive seeks out and assists collectors across the world by professionally photographing and archiving their collections. By using the same exact practices that the organization would use for museum quality entries, they present that their users are equally as important as their collaborators.

In fact, these humble collectors can contribute just as much knowledge and expertise.

The Archive additionally commits new items to their digital database by taking an active role in orchestrating collaboration between musuems, national libraries, and other archive institutions in their efforts at digitizing their collections. By being active in this process, they remove pressure from already overloaded institutions and encourage participation.

FINAL

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

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FINAL

Website features...

EXPLORE

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Generates categories and topics related to your search. It’s more like browsing in a library: you know that you want to learn something new, but you don’t quite know what you’re looking for yet. The results are generated through tags related to your keyword search.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

FEATURES

Explore pages are similar to Wikipedia pages.

They summarize information to give an overview of a topic. They can vary from being broad stroke; illustrating an entire concept, to being very specific; illustrating a single anomaly.

The Explore function is immediately inspired by the experience of walking through a library. This UX is meant to either inspire a deep dive into a certain topic, or for a user to branch out and learn a lot of small pockets revolving around their topic of interest.

RESEARCH This is our term for the search function we’re all most familiar with. Your key words generate related reliable sources. You can get really specific with this search with tons of filters.

The research bar is for straight forward search queries, and we’re pretty proud of the accuracy of our keyword matching. The information can be organized and ordered with the help of more result filters. This is where you look for citations for your essay, or go when you have a good idea of what you’re looking for.v

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COLLECT

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

FEATURES

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When you’re exploring the database, you can save pretty much anything that you find interesting with a simple click. With the creation of an account you can make files for special categories of your choosing, and have an easy to find place for all of your sources, images, and research points. These are like elevated Pinterest boards, and your files can range from inspiration for paintings, to citations for a scientific research essay.

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ARCHIVE Visitors can browse the Archive section of the website to look at public collections. The landing page shows recommended and sponsored archives. Contributors follow guidelines and photo tutorials when uploading their collections.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

FEATURES

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These archives can be shared or kept private, and are committed to memory using the same practices as the rest of the sources on the site.

Users follow a few simple instructions to upload their treasures with archival quality, guaranteed to stand the test of time. Users have the option to submit a supplementary essay to add further context and backstory to their collections.

SPONSOR Sponsored archives are a way for The Archive to make a real world impact on the world of collecting, data management, and preserving the everyday objects that we might take for granted. A sponsored collection is a collection found or brought to the attention of The Archives archivalist group, and are professionally photographed and archived by specialists.

These collections are a cut above the average collection; meaning that they are significant either in the volume, rarity, context of items.

These are often accompanied by a short length interview and expletive essay as provided by the collector.

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Real world impact:

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

FEATURES

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Encourage the public to interact with museums and archives, on and offline.

PROCESS

IDEATION

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

PROCESS

SKETCHING

60

My primary prototyping issue was simulating a successful user scenario where two separate search styles would feel integrated and simple. I eventuallly hypothesized that if you can figure out how to use it once, that's all it takes.

Then you've got it. So I opted for two separate search buttons with different information architecture and result formats. This seemed controversial, but I felt that they had two separate functions, and when used together would yeild amazing research results.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

DRAFTING

When sketching I tried to keep in mind the interactivity, first and foremost. I wanted everything to be simple enough for the learning curve to happen quicky, but not compromise or sacrifice any of the utilitarian features that I found so useful on other search portals.

The aesthetic design choices I made, and continued to strive towards, were based on web brutalism and the subversive notion that “the worse looking a web page, the more reliable you know it is.� Not that I wanted the website to look ugly, but it definitely needed to be simple in order to let the information and tools shine. I think that making the website sing to the current trend of web brutalism attracts younger users. According to my feedback, the graphic design of the website was attractive to millenials, and made them feel like they could potentially use this website as a supplement to their Pinterest and Google searching, and foresee it entirely replace their JSTOR and Library of Congress usage.

FINAL

IDEATION

62

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

PROCESS

The blue and green cue colors remained in play for the entire prototyping process. I tried to pick two colors that felt educational but didn’t compete for attention.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

DRAFTING

SEARCH This illustrates my initial struggle with the search buttons.

Initially, I decided on a toggle system. Feedback dictated that the user should be informed which search function they’re presently using, and that cued a color coding direction to show the difference between EXPLORE and RESEARCH modes.

The toggle eventually was laid to rest in lieu of two separate buttons, but I still think that the idea could work just as well in theory. I also originally had descriptions for the different functions directly on the homepage to help with learning curve, and realized that wasn't totally necessary.

FINAL

EXPLORE The explore page originally had the same image formatting as a Pinterest result page, maintaining proportions of the original images while all aligning to the same vertical grid. I decided against it and opted for a more rigid grid with a uniform image size because I felt this was too visually "busy".

IDEATION

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

DRAFTING

64

RESEARCH

CONCEPT

PROCESS

EXPLORE The explore search result page was one of the most robust prototypes in my entire project. Making easy to digest information similarly to a Wikipedia page. It was really diffigcult to decide what kind of information to include, and what categories of information would be applicable to most, if not all, entry types.

FINAL

These are screens meant to simulate the scrolling of an entry under the explore category.

IDEATION

RESEARCH

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

DRAFTING

66

I wrote numerous iterations on the “About Us” pages for all tools. It felt imperative that these descriptions be as simple and concise as possible.

CONCEPT

PROCESS

FINAL

FINAL

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THE ARCHIVE

The Archive is a big digital library. We're a sort of memory institution, meaning we essentially immortalize anything and everything we get our hands on. By collaborating with libraries, academic archives, public and private collectors of all sizes, museums, and other search engines, we've developed the most robust online resource available.

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Memory institution; an organization maintaining a repository of public knowledge, part of a unified documentation network.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

AUDIENCE

We aim to provide an enjoyable and highly useful portal for research and exploration. By making all of our information free and easy to access for everyone, and providing simple tools for our users to conduct meaningful, fun research, we hope to inspire the excitement only found in learning something new.

The Archive acts as a simple replacement for more complex and dense search engines. It inadvertently acts as a digital library thanks to its design, protecting and archiving information in a public database. By utilizing practices of memory institutions, the Archive backs up and protects all information in its digital library with the use of "spiders" that archive live web pages, and data management pipelines like KAFKA Apache.

FINAL

PRIMARY LETTERMARK

the Archive SECONDARY LETTERMARK

The shape of the logomark was an early iteration that stuck with me.

I made an association between the circular turning motions of a news network logo, and the authority and reputation that a spinning logo carries with it.

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TYPOGRAPHY

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGH abcdefgh 72

ABCDEFGH abcdefgh

ABCDEFGH abcdefgh

Maison Neue Extended Family

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

FINAL

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGH abcdefgh Maison Neue Family

This type family was selected for its wide variety of weights and its future forward feel. The contemporary extended weight appeals to a younger audience.

ABCDEFGH abcdefgh

ABCDEFGH abcdefgh

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGH abcdefgh

ABCDEFGH abcdefgh

GT Sectra Fine Family

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGH abcdefgh Maison Neue Mono Bold

ABCDEFGH abcdefgh

IDEATION

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CONCEPT

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COLOR PALETTE

I chose a bright and engaging color palette. I felt like academic websites too often resort to subdued palettes that offer little to no visual stimulation, and create a vibe that's boring and diesngaging.

THE ARCHIVE PROCESS BOOK

FINAL

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The two primary colors were chosen because they are both somewhat serious, organic, academic, calming, and do not compete with one another. They are close to each other on the color wheel, and can be interpreted to mean the same thing. Although all of the colors are light and cheerful, I felt like they are vibrant and youthful.

FINAL

Primary Color Selection

Secondary Colors

Thank you.