Assignment 2, Wait
Design an animated graphic that means “Wait.”
This is a new assignment, not a continuation of Assignment 1. Where the Stop and Go signs were static symbols, the Wait graphic is dynamic, an animation designed for an electronic screen.
Week 1: Begin by looking at a range of animated wait graphics. Prepare three letter-sized sheets of pencil sketches to develop ideas. Building on your pencil sketches, draw your ideas on a computer as a series of discrete frames in an animation. Assemble the frames into a moving graphic. Prepare at least three alternatives.
Week 2: Based on feedback, select one animation from Week 2 and prepare a final Wait graphic at both 400 × 400 pixels and 40 × 40 pixels. The smaller version can be adjusted from the larger to account for its low resolution. The final product is two animated gif files.
What does your computer show when the system is busy? The “spinning beach ball of death” is a small animated graphic which comprises a rotating rainbow pinwheel. The animation that displays when loading new posts in the infinite scroll of Instagram is another example. Another is the animated ellipsis of Apple Messages. These graphics are called perceived responsiveness icons and indicate “in process,” “busy,” or “thinking.”
October 11, 2022