2013
author
Mateusz Słowakiewicz (PL)
title
Pyeniny – a design for a multimedia guide for smartphones with Android system
degree
M.A. project
e-mail
school
Academy of Fine Arts in Katowic
supervisor
profesor Marian Oslislo
This application to promote tourism in the Pieniny Mountains is based on the GPS system. It gives the user his location in the mountains in real time. A special advantage of the program is its additional functions. The designer collected information on the history of the mountains and their associated legends in thirteen chapters. Each concerns a different place on the routes. The simple, though charming graphics are a good match for the nature of the work. The designer invited the editor of the texts, who is a professional reader, to contribute his voice to the audioguide, and a camera operator to help in making the promotional film. A web site design rounds things off. “I wanted the information to be presented in a pleasant way, for it to affect the senses, and yet to avoid distracting the user from admiring the mountain scenery,” the designer writes. The choice of soundtrack might be debatable (the Icelandic group Jónsi & Alex). Though the music is a good fit, would it not have been possible to choose something closer to home? The films accompanying the web site are somewhat weaker – both the promotional piece, which tells us very little, and the one presenting the design, which could use some trimming. The audioguide would certainly find favor with iPhone users as well.