Kaylie Mason

UI/UX DESIGNER

"I felt this class was a good opportunity to have the flexibility to design anything."

Passionate and capable of creating ideas and incorporating originality into projects. A designer with a background in illustration and fine art. Goals include balancing efficiency and with modern expectations with building a unique identity. Persistent for improvement. Inspired by designers of all kinds. Prefers to let work speak for itself.

Vietnamese Learner's Guide

LANGUAGE POCKETBOOK DESIGNED FOR ENGLISH SPEAKERS

Project Overview

I intentionally challenged myself. I had to do a lot of research for a topic I had very slight knowledge of. I also wanted to expand my knowledge on other types of design. I haven’t printed something like this before. I have much more experience with poster and website design, but those skills proved more useful for this project than expected.

My first goal was to design a competent language resource. Most resources are lacking and have a major bias towards the Northern Dialect. It’s a myth that everyone in Vietnam can understand that dialect well. Many people in America don’t know much about Vietnam besides the Vietnam war. Although, Immigrants from Vietnam represent one of the largest foreign-born demographics in the United States, about 3% of the population. I also noticed issues that many textbooks had and wanted to improve upon it. They tend to be overly formal and lack clear and concise methods of teaching.

Process Work

RESEARCH

I didn’t have any formal interviews, but I did have many conversations with native speakers. Some were also kind enough to help give input on what I’ve written. However, I did conduct a survey to help me start with the visual design and identity of the book. Unfortunately, I didn’t get colorblind participants. The survey showed colors and asked which colors they associated Vietnam and which ones they associated with Learning.

Original Survey

DESIGN PROCESS

It’s interesting to work with information design in this context. I knew that using and explaining examples would be the best way to help someone understand something foreign. The more I wrote, the clearer it was for laying out the information. I still had to go back and make edits of course. The illustrations were very time consuming, but I did at least want to experiment before making my final images.

Deliverables

I simply made a pocketbook. After analyzing the pros and cons of books vs online resources, it felt logical. It’s easier to travel with, leave on a desk or table and use with other informants. But I do think it could benefit to be available for kindle.

Conclusion

I do feel that I’ve reached my goal. I would like to expand on the information in the future. I planned another section initially, but it was low priority, and I had a deadline. It’s important that the information is accurate. The chapter was about culture and would include sections about manners, idioms, saying, as well as religions and other unique aspects of Vietnam like their water puppets.

If I were to rethink an extension of this book, it’d be a section dedicated to making your own test questions. It’s would have a similar vein to the vocabulary section. It also would tie into a goal of making a modern book to aid with other resources. I could also add more complex grammar for more intermediate learners. But I’m content with how the book has completed for this project.