I found myself rather tasked by this project. Looking earlier into my designs, I realized that the Ikea project I originally was going to do was a little over my head. The entire project would have required me doing 3d modelling and interactive modelling with the brochure and so ultimately, I decided to scrap it.
Going forward, I decided to take my dad’s idea and create a pamphlet that had interactive maps that I could have the user quickly click on that would have all points of interest on the map as well. I decided to take this idea and run with it as we had a lot of trouble particularly last year with Yosemite and not being able to navigate around easily. Most maps were not available and the vast majority being confusing or hard to use. While I do think it’s important to be able to read a map, I think the ease of use that Google Maps provides is what many users will be drawn towards.
To start, I found myself wanting to draw the users eye with an attractive image of the beauty of Yosemite. I did some quick looking and I found the image above to be a perfect example of what Yosemite has to offer; the beauty of El Capitan and the waterfalls crashing below is the exact embodiment of Yosemite that I wanted.
However, I didn’t really know what to put on the front of it. I did some looking and found inspiration on another brochure that had the simple words “Exploring Utah.” It was simple, and to the point of what the pamphlet was about. So, I decided to add “Exploring Yosemite” to the front of the pamphlet, to explain to users what they were getting into without wasting their time.
Next, I decided to add a back page to the pamphlet. It gives a quick overview of nearby visitor’s centers in case of emergencies, and a map location of where Yosemite is. If you wanted to go into the heart of the park, scan that code and it will take you there.
I did this as I wanted something more the user could interact with, as the rest of the brochure is all about different hike locations. While I found this to be important, it did get a little repetitive at times visually, so throwing in the back page really helped switch things up while still being informative.
Lastly, the maps. The majority of this brochure is broken up by 4 different hikes that Yosemite has to offer. I did some research online and I found that the Yosemite website had some great overviews of each hike which I incorporated into my design. I think having a brief understanding of what each hike entails allows the user to pick and choose based on their own taste that day.
Further, each section on the hike has a point of interest that when scanned, a map will display with all those points labeled on the map, lined out in an order that allows the user to simply follow along if they wish to see every point of interest. Again, I wanted to focus on simplicity of use, so displaying all points of interest on my map makes it a simple point and click and you’re on your way.
Each map has a different interactive Zapcode that the user can scan to allow them to see the map. However, if the user wishes to simply look at the map, that is also provided. I think this gives the user a quick look at the map without forcing them to use their phone every time if they don’t want, or if they don’t have a phone to use.
Overall, the design is simple, but I find it to be incredibly valuable. Having fast access to a map and interesting points with the map as well I find to be incredibly valuable. I think that going out and getting even more areas of interest and fleshing out the map with my own custom map could really take this to the next level. Unfortunately, with the lack of being in Yosemite in the first place, it does make some things difficult to find online, even though I remember seeing it while I was there. I hope to be able to flesh it out later on in my own time as I would like to try and present this design to national parks around the U.S. If anything, it will be a great learning project and may be a great way to put my name out into the public.