Typographical Conveyance

For this assignment we were to create a concept theme using typography, to create "typed base images that reflect the meaning of the words they portray."I chose to create an umbrella using only letters and words. To create this image I used Microsoft PowerPoint. As you can see I first created the edge of the umbrella with the letter C. For the handle of the umbrella I used the letter J, and the letter V for the top of the umbrella. Then on the inside I decided to have every letter of the alphabet scrambled about, I used repetition as well as angling/rotation of the letters. Then I added in certain words that reflect the theme of an umbrella. I adjusted the size as well as the color to give it a greater effect. I really believe I was able to establish and reflect the shape of an umbrella, if you were to look at this from far away you may not realize that it is created all out of letters and words.

In regards to Kraus questions on clarity, audience, and purpose, I think I was able to tackle all three effectively. Everything in this image is working towards the same overall message and goal of the umbrella. I do not think anyone would misinterpret this for something else. I think this is easily recognizable to my target audience, which is this class, and I tried to use basic lingo to reflect the theme. The purpose of this image is to reflect a certain object or theme without using any visuals, and I think this image would be more informative rather than persuasive. I am informing my target audience of my theme through clear distinctions of letters and words.

HARTS visuals

For this assignment we were to develop instructional signage for HARTS (Harrisonburg and Rockingham Thermal Shelter) locations to inform, explain, guide, teach, and generate awareness among the participants, volunteers, and donors. Each groups signage was designed for a specific location. My groups location was the Faith Community located on S Main Street. For the Faith Community we were supposed to create signage for Emergency Exits, Restricted Areas, Trash Location, No Smoking signs, No Weapons, Alcohol, or Drugs signs, Location of the Breaker Box, and a sign locating where to pick up Linens and Toiletries. In order to create all of these images we decided that each sign had to have the same repeating font to make sure that they all would look like they were connected, even though they were all conveying different messages. The Font that we used for each sign was Arial Black, and we also made sure to have all the words capitalized. For signs that were mainly words and similar colors, such as the Restricted Area signs, Emergency Exit, and No Weapons, Alcohol, or Drugs sign we used the eye dropper tool in Photoshop to make sure they all were filled with the same color red. We also tried to add a visual to the mainly words signs to convey the meaning of the message more effectively. We also added to the bottom of each sign the Faith Community logo as well as the Harts logo. In order to stick with the theme of each sign we altered the colors of the logos to reflect the same color scheme of the message. As for the images on the Breaker Box sign, Trash Collection, and Linens we used the magnetic lasso tool on Photoshop to crop out the image from the background and free transformed it to fit the scale of the sign. Below is the final product of all the signs we were able to create for the Faith Community!

Faith Community

Breaker Box Sign

Faith Community

Restricted Area Sign

Faith Community

No Smoking Inside Sign

Faith Community

Trash Collection Outside Sign

Faith Community

No Weapons, Alcohol, and Drugs Sign

Faith Community

Emergency Exit Sign

Faith Community

Pick Up Linens and Toiletries Here Sign

In regards to Kraus questions on Clarity, Audience, and Purpose I believe the my group and I were able to effectively convey and answer all three categories. In terms of Clarity there is definitely an overall stylistic and thematic message included in each piece reflected in the font that we chose as well as adding the Faith Community logo and the Harts logo. I believe we were able to convey the overall message of each sign very simplistically without any misinterpretation of the message. I don't think that one poster is fighting for more attention than the other because we tried to use different colors on each sign. In terms of Audience, I believe our target audience would be the participants, volunteers, and donors of the Faith Community. I believe the lingo and visuals that we used are very tasteful and appropriate for the target audience. I don't think that it talks down to the audience and it fulfills the wants, needs, and desires of the audience conveyed through images and words. In terms of Purpose, I believe these images reflect exactly what they are supposed to do which is to be informative. All of these signs are used to inform the participants where to go or put certain things. There is no ambiguity within each sign and overall I believe they effectively reflect what the Faith Community asked of us.

Infographic and Conceptual Framework

For this challenge we were to apply what you have learned about designing visuals for learning, and about creating icons, connection, alignment and priority, to design a solution for students. We were to create visual icons to represent the competencies in the COE conceptual framework and chose to represent our final format to be like a poster. Within each of our icons we chose to stick to a JMU color scheme of purple and yellow. We picked up the same colors by using the eyedropper tool in photoshop. We also left some other colors within each image to give it subtle differences. We placed each image into a circular shape and title surrounding it on Microsoft PowerPoint and then copied and pasted it to work with the final image on Photoshop. To describe each icon to the COE students we took out certain sentences from each competencies and then italicize the keywords that we thought were most important. There were originally 11 competencies but we condensed some that we thought were similar in definition. We chose to align the images to the center and have the definitions centered to the icon. We then added a paper looking background to give it a schoolwork effect. Overall, after creating this poster I can definitely say that I have improved immensely on my Photoshop skills.


In response to Krause questions on connotation, attributes, and placement I believe we have been able to incorporate all of the elements. In terms of connotation the visual style of this component does tie in with the theme it is conveying. I don't think we need to alter the colors to make it reflect the theme more, I believe we did a good job at choosing a color scheme to reflect the JMU theme. In terms of attributes I believe that we chose the right font size as well as style for the viewer. It is simple and easy to read and we have enough variety of fonts to make it appealing and not boring. In terms of placement I don't think we could have placed it any better. Originally we had all the icons on the side and captions in the middle but we noticed that made it very wordy and unattractive so we re-placed it to have the icons placed aligned with each other and centered.

Colors

 

For this assignment we were to create a sign for our individual HARTS project and alter it to reflect a different color echo. My groups HARTS assignment is to create signs for the Faith Community, and involved in that is to create a sign designating smoking is outside. So at first I just added some words and then input a no smoking icon in the center of the poster. For the first image I chose to use a primary color palette including red, blue, and yellow. I chose a lighter hue of blue for the words and part of the cigarette and then red for the bottom words and the remainder of the cigarette. I then added the final touch of yellow in the center of the icon, leaving the background just plain white. To alter the colors I used the basic color swatches on the side panel of photoshop and then used the paint-bucket tool to fill in the same colors throughout the poster. For the second image I had the same game-plan with a different color palette. For the second image I changed to colors to be complementary. So once again, I used a very light hue of blue for the words and part of the cigarette, and then the complement is orange so I used to same hue of orange to match the blue. Then I made the icon yellow and the complement of yellow is purple so I made the background purple.

Regarding Krause questions about connotation, attributes, and placement I believe I was able to adhere to his principles. All the colors are working together in each image to reflect the primary color theme and the complementary color theme. Everything is thickened enough, including the words, to reflect the urgency and importance of the message and the backdrop is simple white so it doesn't distract from the message. Everything is placed to be aligned in the center so it is easily read and understood.

Special Topics Presentation

For the Special Topics assignment each group was assigned a specific article reflecting the nature of the topic. My groups topic was Middle School education. In a creative format we had to present our topic using text and relevant visuals at our computer station area, as people walk around to see our work.  We had to include the topic or genre name, a thematic design that clearly reflects the nature of the visuals/visual genre described in our article, and key words in a font and style that reflect the nature, purpose, impact and significance of the genre. We also had to incorporate 10 high-quality visuals that exemplify the genre or topic, and state briefly why they do in a caption near each visual. Our article was all about YouTube and how it is being integrated into the classroom. So my partner and I chose 10 images that reflected technology-based learning and captioned each image to relate it back to the article. Some examples from our poster were graphs, charts, and different pictures involving framing techniques that the students learned from watching YouTube. We also incorporated a video on educational technology in the classroom which related to our topic perfectly. To make our poster more visually appealing we created it to look like they were on the computer on the YouTube website. We also added different colors and borders to make our visuals pop.

In terms of Krause questions on connotation, attribution, and placement I definitely think there could have been things to improve upon. I do think that our components tie in with our theme of YouTube and technology based learning. However I think we could have improved some of the attributes such as font and backdrops to make it more crisp looking. I think our alignment was overall good and followed the theme but could have reflected a realistic computer screen more.