TESTING

- Test rip-off paper
- How is the calendar bound? Binding yourself, gluing or using material together
- what type of paper will be the best (and is able to rip of easily)?
(one sided / two sided)
- Matte paper/glossy paper
-Newsprint

- Mockup of the layout:
- fact of the week
- illustration or digital map from the route
- Pictures
- Information with activities, co-ordinates
- Use typography
- size of the calendar

Feedback:

No every day calendar but weekly/monthly. The user doesn't need a route every day. The can weekly or once a month! The paper would be thrown away and they would miss very nice routes
No extra QR code that leads to a website with the map. to much effort

Flowchart
of my Calendar interface

And more... go to my microboard!

I tested it myself and 3 other expats from another country tested it and give me feedback.

Me:

1. I printed my calendar design on a white aqua relic paper and white matte paper. Both 300 grams.
Result: The matte paper was to simple but it printed well, the aqua relic has a nice texture in it with makes the print more interesting and look a bit off- white colored. It looks a bit like newsprint a little bit old-fashioned an distorted. I am going further with this paper.

2. At the top I left 1.5 cm and cut a serrated edge with a cutting knife, so that you can tear the paper off.
Result: Due to the thick 300 grams paper, it is sturdy enough so that the paper does not tear off quickly. If I tear it off myself, it's easy and fast. I have noticed that if I cut through the paper too thick or don't cut the serrated edge carefully, the paper tears off. and it has to stay together well to be able to use it for the usergroup

3. Does the font choice fit to my design?
Result: I experimented with 2 different fonts, a sans-serif font and a serif font. This combo makes it looks more proffessional. I placed the texts on every page different to make it more playful and not too standard so that every page is different.

Aquarel Paper Design with texture.

Matte Paper Design without texture.
Here you can see the strip that was torn off too far because I cut too deep.

Feedback and results from expats:

1. The user tore off the paper from the calendar by means of the serrated edge. The first test is a bit more difficult because the user first has to feel how you tear it off and it was still firmly attached to the paper. In the second test it is already easier the paper is just as firm as the other but now she knew well how to tear the paper off.

2. What do they think of the colour use?
They thought the bright use of color on the one with the gradient was beautiful and interesting to look at, but it doesn't give a clear picture that it is about nature.
I could use these colors a little more natural. Doesn't have to be too literal like green etc.
The bright colour use with the gradient is more suitable for children and teenagers or graphic designers. The 2nd version without colour at the back is too formal and really more businesslike for adults who might use the calendar for business purposes. This is due to a lot of white space and the less striking colors.

3. They found the font I used on my calendar interesting and beautiful especially the sans serif font but the combination of sans serif and serif makes it more playful and interesting and less formal.

Binding:
Japanese binding is an ideal form for binding books, booklets, reports and magazines. I wanted to use this technique to make the calendar look handmade.
Result: It was easy to tie the calendar this way. It only takes up space of the paper so I should have cut less paper. I also tied the calendar first and then made the serrated edge, this was very inconvenient, I should have made the serrated edge first. Now the calendar does look handmade and fun!

4. The cutting of the paper also needs to be improved by measuring it well and making sure it is in the size of an A4 so that everything is straight.
- Printing must be done on a professional printer.
- Indicate what kind of paper it is (I use quite thick paper)
- it must be one-sided paper
- I have to put the paper in myself.

5. The front page does not show that it is about nature or routes, nor that it is for users in the Netherlands. On the front page I could make an illustration such as a route or map to clearly indicate that this is a nature routes calendar.

6. To add some extras to the calendar makes it interactive.
Scenario: Families on toilets in the house see the calendar hanging every day if they can fill in some vote / quiz / puzzle each week that they feel like doing or discuss where they want to go.

7. Most books are A4 or somewhat squarer formats that are quickly sought after for serious and formal purposes. This target group might be looking for something that stands out but can also be serious.

>>CLICK ON THE VIDEO'S <<

Testing placement:

1. For the first test for a placement, I placed next to the backdoor, hanging on the wall. Most people would walk by the calendar every day, So it is possible that they look in it a lot. But they wouldn't look in the calendar every day because
- they can be in a hurry
- they don't have much time when they walk by
- it doesn't stand out

Toilet:

2. For the second placement, I placed the calendar on the door of a toilet that could be in an expat's house. A user goes to the toilet more than once a day.
most people sit still and sometimes for more than a minute in this room, which is a reason to watch and observe. Enough time to go through the calendar. Here they also have the time to complete the quiz. What I noticed is that standard toilets do not have a pencil, a solution can be:
- hang a pencil on a string on the calendar yourself
- have a pencil made with the calendar and hang it on for the user, or put one in the toilet when buying the calendar.

Scan QR code:

3. To lend the users a hand, I made a QR code for each route that leads to the official map of that route + more information about the route. Those routes are on Staatsbosbeheer.nl where I got all my routes from. But because Staatsbosbeheer is a Dutch website and cannot read my usergroup, I have translated the routes into English on my calendar.

Here you can see a video of my QR code test. You scan with your phone's camera or download a QR code scan app.
Result: all codes work, each code has its own route to Staatsbosbeheer.nl