As per usual in my design process, I always like to complete detailed sketches on paper with many iterations before moving on to digital design. I reviewed the way in which I structured the content in my previous planning to lead my sketching.
<aside> đŸŒ Look for the blue writing! I have labelled the macro and micro interactions I plan to create in sketches with blue pen.
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Above, I was ideating an impactful opening to the prototype. I experimented with different graphical layouts initially, then I drew inspiration from the composition of the plaque left on the moon by the astronauts. To me, this is an iconic piece of design and something I wanted to pull into my final design. Using the motif of the two spheres in the opening page which would then evolve into a recreation of the plaque was the idea I landed upon.
Lunar Plaque Inspiration
I wanted to incorporate some dynamic data visualisation in my prototype, which starts with planning on paper. Going into this project, I wanted to create a detailed Saturn-V rocket vector, to utilise in my design in a dynamic way. I focused on potential type layout on these screens also, as I think interesting typography and written data go hand in hand.
Furthering my inspiration taken from NASA graphic design, I wanted to present the content from the ‘launch’ in a format also inspired by the flight manuals of the Apollo mission. I found that there was a lot of information in ‘the launch’ section that was very interesting but hard to present in a visually interesting way. I felt that using a similar table format to the flight manuals would be a very appropriate way to present this information.
Apollo 11 Flight Plan
Throughout my sketches, I also wanted to pay attention to the composition of which I would be placing paragraph text and images in relation to each other, rather than placing these at random. There is a lot of large blocks of written content so placing images strategically will allow me to place breaks in the reading of the content.
Considering typography even further, I wanted to consider my type scale, using larger text to emphasise important quotes in the content. Contrasting this with smaller body text beneath would make this even more emphatic.