Introduction #2

Thanks Aurianne for starting the ball rolling with our blog. I'm very excited that we are already starting to post; it's so great to be working with such passionate students.

A little about my background - I finished my undergrad in 2006 at McGill in History and Political Science. Since then, I have worked in the non-profit sector, at first as a program assistant in international development organizations, and then as a communications officer. I now manage communications at Motivate Canada, an NGO that focuses on promoting youth engagement.

I'm taking this class because I want to research the impact of communications and information methods on the public. What interests me the most is the social impact of the Internet, which is an incredibly broad but very topical field. Specifically, what I keep coming back to is wanting to explore the relationship between graphic designers/information architects and website users. A few questions include: how do culturally (or other) appropriate visual cues determine the success of a website? Is there a link between preferences in physical and online environments? How can knowledge sharing be enhanced through colour and structure?

I hope to be able to discuss these and other ideas with you all further during the semester!