Design a Button that Reflects your Personality
Exercise Objectives
| Design and implement an ActiveX control button that reflects some
aspect of your personality. |
- You will generate sketched designs in your sketchbook of several buttons
that reflect some aspect of your personality
- You will implement and package one of these designs as an installable
ActiveX control (an .ocx), and you will include a program that demonstrates
this control.
- You will create a document that describes the API of this control.
- You will create a portfolio summary of this design.
Pedagogical Objectives
- Use lateral thinking to produce a design
- Acquire first-time experiences brainstorming ideas via sketches in a
sketchbook
- Learn how to implement, package, install and document ActiveX controls in
VB
- Acquire first-time experiences creating a portfolio summary
| Lateral thinking: seeking to solve problems by unorthodox or
apparently illogical methods. It is about moving sideways when working
on a problem. It encourages people to apply different perceptions,
different concepts and different points of entry to
problem-solving. |
Criteria
- In you sketchbook, jot down several words that you (or your friends) would
use to describe your personality.
- For each of these words, visualize in your head how different
professionals would create a caricature of this personality trait
e.g., a Disney cartoonist (animating a person, an animal, a flower, a
rock...), an architect (building a home, a high-rise, a garden shed, a
city), an industrial designer (creating a shovel, a tea kettle, an
action figure), a computer scientist (hey, that's you!) and so on.
- Then sketch out some graphical explorations of buttons that somehow
capture the essence of these personality traits. Label these sketches, and
annotate them if necessary.
- Feel free to generate as many sketches as you wish i.e., you may wish to
sketch several designs of one personality trait. You can exaggerate these
traits: the buttons can be caricatures. Humour is allowed!
- Choose your best design. Implement it in VB as an ActiveX .ocx control.
Also implement a VB program that demonstrates this control.
- Document the API for the control.
- Package the control, its source and its documentation so that they can be
easily installed anywhere.
- Create a portfolio summary of your design.
Evaluation
Your exercise will be loosely based on the following breakdown. However,
great successes --- or failures --- in one exercise criteria will likely affect
your total grade. Note that a successful implementation is required: if you
cannot demonstrate your system, you will automatically receive a zero.
- Sketches: ~1/5 of your grade
- Design creativity: ~1/5 of your grade
- Implementation, documentation and packaging:: ~2/5 of your grade
- Portfolio summary: ~1/5 of your grade
Example Solution
