Confession: I’m not into the whole Black Friday and Cyber Monday thing.

Yes, I said it. Don’t get me wrong, there are some decent deals, but I will not be lined up outside of a store at 8 AM to be one of the first 25, 50, or 100 people in line. I think it comes from working in retail for so long and not being a fan of crowds. (Not to mention that I actually had to work Black Friday at one of my jobs this year, but that’s another story…)

While I was not outside of a store at 8 AM, I was online switching my former Adobe plan to the Black Friday deal they had on and I succeeded! I am the proud owner of ALL the Adobe CC programs for the same amount I was paying for both XD CC and InDesign CC 2019 prior to the switch. For those wondering, I held on to the rest of the CS5 suite all these years until I couldn’t stand it any longer. With that said, I’m going to be putting the programs to good use. Will I use all of them? Probably not. I do know that it’s time to level up, in terms of jobs, the programs I use, and many more areas going into the new year and decade.

[Alt: Woman saying “Level up” and gesturing up with her hands.]

Now, about this map - I took the easy route. While I wanted to create my own map in Illustrator and thought it would be a nice touch, I did not have the time nor the energy to sit and do that. Sorry, not sorry. The map is courtesy of our dear friend Google, and while my original goal was to sit and complete this in about 3 hours, life happened. I managed to knock this out with only two screens - one for the basic wireframe and the other to craft the prototype.

I chose the ROM because it’s one of the best and popular attractions in the area. I put myself into the shoes of a person who could be a newcomer to Toronto or a tourist. Let’s say this person had gotten off the subway at Bay Station and wanted to view the sights. They opened up the app, shared their location, and was presented with attractions nearby.

Here’s an interesting fact I learned a few days ago: a rectangle with rounded corners is easier for the brain to process than a rectangle with sharp corners. Could be the reason why people love scrolling through Pinterest. 😂

Seriously, here’s a article I found which goes more in depth. (FYI, the comments are entertaining.) That interesting fact must have been in my head while I was creating because I did end up rounding the corners of the card as well as the “Things to Do Nearby” and “Museums” badges.

Something I missed during the creative process: how long it takes for the user to get from Bay Station over to the ROM as well as the best route to take. I know this because I’ve done it many times but someone who is unfamiliar with the area needs to know. If I decide to explore this idea in additional screens, I will show names of the current exhibitions and admission prices as well. But maybe I’m getting too far ahead of myself.