Tuesday 4 December 2012

HOW TO: RESEARCH

For our brief we were assigned as a group to identify a problem from our individual research and provide an answer to it in a engaging and interesting way. Our research was based up on the word 'Routine'.

After presenting to our group each route we decided to explore, we decided to chose Ewan's research as we felt we could work with his topic successfully according to the 'How To' brief. 

We were asked to make people try something new and immediately we knew our audience would be for students as there busy and hectic lifestyle can often lead them to not being able to look after themselves. As a group we wanted to create something innovative that would solve this problem. Initially we decided that we would make an interactive poster and an app which specialised in helping students incorporate exercise into their weekly routine. 

To kick start our research we decided to set up a survey and find out if students already exercised and what would they need in order to convince them too.

SURVEY LINK

HEALTH & FITNESS








From our research we found that there is a high interest in students exercising and one of the big factors that effects them from doing so is financial reasons. Majority of students spent between £20-40 a month for gym membership. These results urged us to look at an alternative way to make our design stand out and came to the conclusion of making it quick, easy and completely free for all.

DESIGN DECISIONS.


In our discussion about what we wanted to create, we wanted to include a downloadable app that allowed you to receive rewards for workouts as a convincing factor for our audience.



The results from our primary research prompted us to explore what type of exercises and design and content decisions to include. 

INFOGRAPHICS RESEARCH.

I decided to begin researching infographics to influence the design of the work outs and to see how different genres of work outs were presented.


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iPHONE APP RESEARCH.


In our initial ideas we wanted to create an app that provided more routines for students with iPhones and in return for following these routines they would receive a reward.



I began to download already excising, exercise apps and analysed the style, routines and generic features they shared. 


MI COACH.




Mi coach is a app sponsored by Adidas that gives you the opportunity to have your own personal trainer to make workouts easier. The app provided different voices from athletes to robots that would encourage you to train harder. I really liked the element of including a section where there would be an interactive coach that would motivate the student in our own app. The design of the app used cohesive primary colours that worked well together and gave off a sporty look.



PUMP IT UP.







This app was a danced theme work out sponsored by Ministry of Sound. The app provided many different aspects that were interactive and innovative. There was videos that could be downloaded and watched whilst working out compared to mundane instructions. There was opportunities to download the music you was listening to for the workout. A progress chart to see how far you have come and what you have lost which would be a interesting aspect to include for the design of the app for our brand as it could be a log to see if it is successful.


BUTT WORKOUT.


This app provided a specific detailed routine for one particular area of the body that someone could focus on. The app provided all the appropriate exercises that locacted the butt area and had detailed instructions and included a video to replicate. I liked how it focused one specific area and was a specialist to all the exercises to tone the bottom. However the design of the app was underdeveloped and lacked a professional look.

BODYFITNESS.



 

Body fitness was a knowledge filled app, providing exercises for all parts of the anatomy with detailed diagrams of the human body and what areas would be effected by them. The app also included the feature of a lot where uses could record their progress and look back at where they started. The app was quite overbearing with all the knowledge it had, however it was specialist to health and exercise. The design of the app was also quite dull and lacked a aesthetically pleasing edge, however the tone of voice was serious and it was made clear by the style choice.

RUNTASTIC.




Runtastic was a innovative and creative app that really caught my eye. The design was modern and replicated a sport and exercise genre. The colour scheme flowed consistently and relevantly due to the use of blue,which replicates water and rehydration and the green which is associated with grass and outdoor activity. The app provided a heart monitor and pedometer to see how much work you was doing and how it affected your body. It also offered a talking coach to direct you on where was when walking. The features and style worked cohesively and stood out to me as a student.


ROUTINE RESEARCH.
We decided to research into quick and easy exercise routines which can easily be done at home due our target markets busy lifestyle and expenses. After our own individual research on routines and genres we identified the routines we wanted to incorporate.


  • Sit ups
  • Press ups
  • Crunches
  • Invisible chair / Wall sit
  • Jogging
  • Lunges


I looked at series of YouTube videos and online articles. 

I also researched the layout of how these written routines were presented.

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I then focused on three exercises and wrote out a version from my research to be used in our work.

SQUATS 
This routine affects every muscle in the body from the legs, arms and core.

1. To begin keep your feet and shoulder width apart, with the weight on your heels and your arms stretch out in front.
2. Drop down with your hips going back, still keeping all the weight on your heels
3. Try to avoid the forward lean and keep your posture straight and upright.
4. This routine can vary between your ability to do them, as a beginner 2 sets of 5 squats is a good starting point and when you feel more confident increase the sets

SIT UPS
This routine focuses purely on the lower and upper abdominals      


1. To begin find a flat surface to lay on, preferably the floor with a matt to protect the back. 2. Next put your arms behind you head and interlock the fingers to support the head. 
3. Then pull your legs up towards the buttock with them approximately 5 inches apart.       
4. Finally move the upper core of the body to the central and hold few a few seconds before going back down. This routine can vary between your ability to do them, as a beginner 2 sets of 5 squats is a good starting point and when you feel more confident increase the sets.


INVISIBLE CHAIR
This routine benefits and firms core muscles, gluts the thigh areas increasingly. Doing it for 1-2 minuets a day can have a quick and fast effect. (So no excuses!)

1. Find a wall, door or flat sturdy area where you can lean all your body weight onto.
2. To begin lean against it with your arms by your side and legs approximately 15 inches apart.
3. Slowly bend down into the sitting position as if there was an invisible chair there.
4. Hold the position firmly for 60 seconds and you will begin to feel your leg muscles tighten. If they begin to tremble that’s normal and an indication the routine is working. If you can’t feel it then move down lower. Also if you can’t do the full 60 seconds, the exercise can be performed at any time or place without the hassle of equipment.

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