Prototype Evaluation

Having made the prototype and tested it myself I wanted to see if it worked well in a public space.  I especially wanted to see what other peoples reaction, if any, would be. 

I decided that filming the reactions of passers by would be the best way to document the test.  The prototype testing proved to be very useful and showed a variety of results, it has also helped to show definite areas of the poster design that need to be looked at in more detail.

A number of key issues were identified during the prototype testing.

-When filming I discovered that some people did not take any notice of the poster. When the noise from the poster was played some people had already walked past it, and were not interested in walking back to see where the noise came from.  This was mainly because there is a slight delay in the speaker playing the sound. Separating the poster and the speaker could also solve this.  Instead of having them together the speaker and sensor could be placed just before the poster. 

I think that passers-by also did not notice the poster because of the type of sound being played from the speaker.  The noise that was played through the speaker was of people shouting, which actually fitted in with the posters surroundings when placed in the corridor.  This sound is not the final sound the will be played in the real poster.  I must however make sure that whatever sound is played that it will be unique and not just fit in with the posters environment.

-I also noticed when filming that when people did acknowledge the poster they seemed a bit confused when they looked at it.  The graphics on the poster will need to be quite obvious and explain what the campaign is about.  This will mean that the passers by will be able to connect the sound coming from the speaker to the poster.  I think at the moment it seems a bit too random and separate.  The sound and graphics should help explain the campaign and work together.

-When testing the prototype I put it so that when people walked past it they would be doing so from the side.  This did not work that well as the passers by only noticed the sound when they had walked past it so did not have chance to read the poster.  It would be better if the poster faced its audience and as people walked towards it the sound would play.  This would mean that they would have more of an opportunity to take more of the poster in.

-One element of the prototype poster that worked particularly well was conveying the annoyance and irritation of nuisance noise.  I found that people sitting near the poster became very annoyed at the noise continually playing.  Groups of people walking past the poster were also irritated by the sound.  This was the type of reaction I was hoping for.

The undertaking of the prototype testing has given me some great results in terms of improving my poster design both physically and graphically.