Project #3: Aesthetic Mapping (download here)
Congratulations! You have been hired as an intern at a design firm. You’ve been assigned to work on a project to develop an app that offers suggestions for better routes to help people have better experiences in their surroundings. Since you’re a City Tech student, your supervisor expects you know its surroundings well enough to be the representative for the greater Downtown Brooklyn area.
Your first assignment: the route
Research possible locations to include in your route. Use first-hand investigation and with Internet and library information to select five possible locations, and pin these on our shared map. Share with your teammates (via a blog post) information about the five locations you have contributed to the map. Due M 11/2
Figure out a route that maximizes one approach to what you think is important for users to experience, whether that involves beauty, quiet, happiness, nature, history, etc (focus on one). Consider the different parameters that will make that experience preferable. Write descriptive instructions for someone taking that walk, making sure to emphasize the aspects of the walk that you want the app user to notice. Be sure to include how much longer this walk is than the direct route, if at all. Include images (photographs, sketches) to entice app users to take your walk. This post should be approximately 300-450 words. Due W 11/4
Your second assignment: the pitch
Now that you’ve decided on the route, write a persuasive argument for beta testers of the app to convince them that they would want to take your proposed walk, and what the reward or rewards will be for that extra investment of time and effort. This should be approximately 750-900 words. Due M 11/9 for peer review
Your third assignment: group meeting
At the group meeting, everyone on the team will give a short presentation to hear what other ideas are circulating in the group, and to offer feedback about ways to improve the pitch or the route itself. The presentation should be approximately 1.5-2 minutes. Delivered M 11/9
Your fourth assignment: shared annotated bibliography
One idea your supervisor has is for each pitch to incorporate outside sources that boost the authority of the pitch, so now you need to find authoritative sources to incorporate their expertise into your persuasive argument. These can be sources that comment on the value of this kind of walk, or about the aesthetic principles, or other relevant aspects of the location you’ve chosen to focus on. Contribute 5 sources to the team’s annotated bibliography, at least two from library databases or print sources. Include for each MLA-formatted entry a summary of the source and an indication of how it relates to the project goal. Include five keywords for each entry—this will help teammates identify which sources they want to find and use for their pitches. Due W 11/11 M 11/18
Your fifth assignment: revising the pitch
You now have the chance to revise your pitch based on all the feedback you got, including your supervisor’s request that you incorporate authoritative sources. Use the shared annotated bibliography to find sources to bolster your pitch, and your teammates’ suggestions to guide your revision. This revised version should be approximately 900-1200 words. Revised Pitch Due M 11/16 W 11/18
Your sixth assignment: self-evaluation
Before you move on to the next part of the internship, your supervisor asks for a self-evaluation of the work you completed. It should include a description of your work process, the amount of time you spent on each assignment within the project, what you think you need to work on further, what you think you excelled at, and what you would like the supervisor to know about your work. This should be detailed, and should be approximately 300-450 words. Due M 11/16 W 11/18 by the end of the day (this can be a private post if you prefer).
All written and visual components of the project should be posted on our site by the start of class, unless otherwise indicated. Additionally, some components should be brought to class for peer critique and group work.
Project #3 = 15% of your course grade
Presentation = part of the 5% of your course grade
Skills developed through this project:
- Descriptive writing
- Process writing
- Persuasive writing
- Oral communication
- Peer critique
- Information literacy
- Research skills
- Responding to outside sources
- Incorporating quotations
- Using citations
- Revision
- Reflective writing
- Collaboration
