C.A.P.

Clarity

The literal, stylistic and themantic messages of this piece are clearly and efficiently presented. Each design is working towards the same overall goal  of "delivering meaning or mood from the observed to the observer." I think overall, my designs do an accurate job of representing what they mean. However, there is some room for misinterpretation because everyone views things in their own way. For example: if a person is looking at the XXL example, and see a whale as one of the X's, they may be confused as to why it is there. However, I personally put it there because whales are very big creatures. But XXL to them may be something much larger. I think there is only one overall message being portrayed. I believe the theme of conveyance is simple enough to create a strong impact. I do not think that it needs to be altered.

Audience

The target audience of this piece is college students because they are the ones viewing my blog. If there were a client involved their target audience may also be college students. I say this because each design could apply to a college student. For example: the word Atom could apply to a student taking chemsitry, XXL could apply to clothing, Lightly could be a motivational saying for college students who are under stress, etc. They key point is that if this work were to be sold, I would choose college students as my target audience as well. Each picture has its own visual taste, because they all are representing a different word. To be sure of my conclusions, I could make my blog private so that only people of my choosing are able to view it. The overall tone, is interesting and creative to keep college students intrigued. They will respond to short lingo, to facilitate readability and avoid long boring passages. I think they prefer bright/lighter colors to catch their attention. The concept of this piece does not talk down to the target audience. It is relatateable. This announcement can evoke pleasurable moods. This design stands out from what the audience has seen because I used a mixture of san serif and serif font. I gave greater weight to some texts, and made sure to keep all text legible, to create aesthetically pleasing visuals. I also made some of the typefaces italicisized. If this piece represented a person, they would be put together, funky, and act unique. The target audience would like this person, and want to get to know them better.

Purpose

As stated above the purpose of this work was to take a word and alter them to represent what they mean in a creative way. Kraus says that when it comes to typographical conveyance the use of visual media is to convey a meaning or mood from the obserserved to the observer. This work was not created to sell. The purpose of the work could be both to inform and persuade. The audience can learn to look at a word in a different way, which could cause them to act differently or change their view on something. I have informally discussed the purpose of this piece with Dr. Estes. However, I have asked her for help on ways to improve my work. The purpose, as stated in the first line, has been adequately narrowed so that it can be given the utmost attention and power.

Typographical Conveyance

Kraus says "With visual media, conveyance is the delivery of meaning or mood from the observed to the observer."

The purpose of this work was to take words and alter them to represent what they mean in a creative way. 

For shred I decided to apply bevel and emboss effect to make the word appear rugged. I then used the eraser tool -4pt, and made lines through it so that it would appear shredded. For the last step I added a pattern overlay. 

For this design, I first googled a picture of an atom online. I then opened it up in a new window. I then added a text box and wrote the letters A,t, m in bold black font. I then free transformed the atom, and moved it to where the letter O would usually be in the word.

For this design, I first used the shape shape tool, and chose one that looked similar to the shape of a pillow. I then used the paint bucket tool and made it light blue. I was not quite satisfied with this because I thought the blue was too bold, so I changed the opacity to 16. This made my pillow appear a lot lighter, and more realistic. I then added and inner and outer glow, and changed the noise to 69. For the last step I added a text box and wrote the word pillow in a serif font.  

For this design, I first found a picture of killer whale on google. I then saved it to the desktop and opened it up in photoshop. I then magnetic lassoed the whale and free transformed it to be the size I preferred. I then took the paintbrush tool and made the letter XXL around it. I thought it was neat to include the whale within the first X. I thought this looked nice, but I wanted to make the overall design "pop" more. So I added a blue glass effect to the background with the paintbucket. I then added an outerglow to the letters.  

For this design, I first found a brick background online and saved it to my desktop. I then used the eraser tool and spelled out BRICK within the background. When I was done I was pleased with the work, but decided that I would crop the image for a greater emphasis on the word brick. 

For this design, I chose the font Zapfino becuase the cursive typer make it seem gentle and elegant. I then added an outer/ inner glow, and chose light pink for the font. Lastly, I cropped the image for greater emphasis. 

I am very pleased with how each word came out. I think I thought of some clever designs. I am glad that we were given a couple class periods to work on this assignment because I was able to improve my work, to make sure I was fully satisfied with the outcome of each word. 

C.A.P.

Connotation
The visual style of my blog has remained the same since last semester. It is pink stripes with white font. This suits my personality- upbeat. This being said, it also suits my work because all of my designs are created and formed with my own individual style. Every sub-component follows the same theme, so therefore it is working towards the same thematic goal. I do not think that the theme is too particular or overly broad. Many girls can relate to my theme, and the pink can bring about calm feelings to those who may have not particularly chosen the color. I think the only think that could be changed to make the images stand out more is for the border around images to be a darker color, because the border that surrounds the text is beige. It would definitely be helpful to show the logo or compositional element to others to see if they perceive it the same way I do. It is always helpful to get at least one outside opinion. It helps make ones work stronger because it gives the designer contstructive criticism.

Attributes
Overall I am pleased with the visual weight, structure, color, and presentational style of my blog. Linework could be made to some designs to enhance the elements aesthetic and thematic aggreement. For example, thickening the lines around the flower in color echo, could make the flower stand out more. I think the designs do flow nicely with the backdrop. Since my back drop is light pink, many colors blend well with it. The only visual that does not really go with it is the Second Life Object, the colors in this design are dark red and green which contrast light pink. Color options for each component have been explored. I tried out a variety of colors until finding ones that I thought were aesthetically pleasing. The colors of each element do for the most part flow together nicely with the overall blog. All of the designs can serve for many different puposes for example, Combining Fonts and Images could be used as an advertisement, Emotional Design could be used for a poster, and Legibility and Text Safe Areas could be used for an invitation. The text in all components of the blog, is an appropriate size for the intended audience to easily read. The look and feel of the type does go with the overall message, in each piece of work where text is included. It is specifically chosen for the overall design. However, the font for my narratives is simple so that it does not take away from the design. I do think it is always time to explore new fonts though, because a font used in a particular design should correlate with it. 

Placement 
Each design should be looked at and taken in individually. However, some may need to be viewed longer than others. Some pieces of work were more time consuming, with more attention given to them. This is what makes the difference between and exemplar design, and a good design. I am proud of all my designs, but I am most proud of the Emotional Design. I think Shelby and I did a good job portraying the emotion of confidence as explained in the narrative. I would like for viewers to take a little more time when looking at this design. The boxes that group each concept together are essential without them the blog would look chaotic and be hard to follow. Therefore, the edges should not go together with other elements within the layout. I do not think grouping the elements together would result in conceptual or aesthetic gains. I think each design deserves its own box, with its own narrative. Making it simple and easy to understand. I am pleased with how the designs are placed within the layout. The only thing that I may want to change is how thick the border is around each design. It varies depending on design.

Combining Fonts and Images

The purpose of this exercise was to choose a shape and then to combine it with words to create a logo for a business. I used photoshop to construct this logo. To do this, I first chose the shape; I decided to use a paw print. I then opened a new layer and spelled out Puppy Pound for the name of the company. I chose the color purple for the text, because I think it is calming.I want the customers to feel that their pets are going to be in a comfortable, organized atmosphere. I then put the paw print in place of the letter o in pound. To make the advertisement "pop" I added and inner and outer glow to the word puppy pound. After, doing this I decided that the paw print should also have the same effects done to balance the overall ad. I am very pleased with how the advertisement turned out.I like the purple font against the black paw print.

Word Portrait

The purpose of this piece of work was to make the word appear opposite of its definition. To do this I chose the world wild, and made it look really plain and boring. I did this by first choosing a shade of grey from the formatting palette. I then chose a simple font, American typewriter . I chose that because when using a typewriter, there is only one font and one color to choose, black. Both are very boring features.

The purpose of this piece of work was also to make the word appear opposite of its definition. I first chose the word plain. I then rotated it, to give it spunk. I then chose the font  Curlz Mt, and chose the color green. After that was done I thought it looked pretty funky, but I decided to make it even more original by adding and inner glow. 

The purpose of this work is to have the word portray its definition. I chose the word strong. Synonyms of this word are sturdy and robust. I think the color black gives the word a sturdy appeal. I then chose a san-serif font arial, and added bevel and emboss to add a glow effect to the word. This make the word appear mighty.

The purpose of this work is also to make the word portray its definition. For lovely, I chose an elegant looking font and made it light purple. I then added an outerglow and drop shadow. 

Emotional Design

Original

The purpose of this piece of work was to create an emotional design for a specific targeted audience. Shelby and I decided to choose women ages 25-40. We then googled a simple image. We decided to use a lamp. We gave the lamp shade a cheetah texture, because cheetah's are fierce. We then changed the lamp stand to a curvy woman using the paintbrush tool. It now appears that the woman is wearing the lamp shade on her head, the cheetah now embodies her. We made the woman looking away, because it shows that she is her own person and does not care what anyone else thinks. We then made a light around her using the outerglow effect. For the light coming out of the lamp, we used outerglow feature. But instead of having the light come directly out of the lamp, we have the glow radiating off the woman. We then used the gradient tool to pick a deep red for the background because it is bold. We then added a text box and wrote a bold phrase "Be wild. Be You" to encourage women to not be afraid about being their true self. I am really pleased with the outcome of our design. I think it is very unique, the colors blend well together, it is creative, and successfully portrays confidence. It took multiple attempts to get it exactly how we wanted it, but the outcome was worth the effort. 

Color Echo

The purpose of this piece of work was to borrow colors from a simple image, to create a poster. First, I opened my flower image in photoshop. I then used the magnetic lasso tool to trace along the outside of the flower. I then inversed the selection and deleted the background. I then used the eye dropper tool to find a color for the background. I then filled then used the gradient tool/ paint bucket tool and filled the background. After I created a rectangular box at the bottom of my poster and used the eyedropper tool to pick a color fro the flower. I then added a text box to the rectangular box. I then used the eyedropper tool to find a good font color from the flower. Then I chose a font that I thought was elegant because I think the overall poster has an elegant look to it. I wrote Cosmo Flower, because that is the kind of flower it is. I am pleased with the outcome of my poster, I think it looks  simple, but also aesthetically pleasing. 

Legibility and Text Safe Areas

The purpose of this work was to create a back drop that would "contain and direct attention to a piece's content and message." I chose this icy blue background to signify water. I then cropped out the portion of the picture that I wanted. I chose the portion that was majority light blue. I then added a text layer. In the layer I wrote "You're invited to Elizabeth's Pool" because the blue reminded me of water. I then changed the text to something that I thought went well with the backdrop. I am pleased with how the image turned out, I think the color blue, makes people feel like the water would be refreshing on a hot day, and would want to attend. I think the glow of the text helps it stand out against the blue background.

Hue and Saturation

Original

Hue

The purpose of this work was to use RGB colors to change the hue of the cheetah. Here I decreased the hue to 89. This made my cheetah more green. The lower the number, the darker the hue. "it takes a combination of two or more RGB hues to create lighter tones." I change  the color of the hue, a few different times. I am now really satisfied with the light shade of green I chose.

Saturation

         

The purpose of this work was to show how a picture's color can be altered by increasing or decreasing an images hue and saturation, which is the purity of a hue. "A hue that is in its most intense, literal form, is considered fully saturated. A hue that is mixed with its complement, black, grey or a neutral tone becomes muted, less saturated." To change the hue (color) I increased the hue to 94. This photo is less saturated because it is mixed with black and grey. It took me a couple attempts to chose which number of saturation to change my picture to. I am now pleased with the coloring of my picture.

Second Life Prim

The purpose of this work was to build a simple object in Second Life. To design it I first chose the shape which is a cylinder. I then stretched my object to make it wider, and moved it. I then titled it Penguin because I proceeded to add a penguin texture to it. I then added a little transparency and glow, but not much because I wanted the picture to still be sharp. When it was finished i thought it would look better smaller, so I applied that change. I am very pleased with how it turned out. I think the penguins make it look unique. Unfortunately, the penguins are hard to see, I could not get any closer to my object.

Gestalt Principle and Icons

The purpose of this work is to represent similarity. "The law of similarity captures the idea that elements will be grouped perceptually if they are similar to each other." I created this piece of work in Power Point. I first chose the heart shape and copied ten hearts. I then copied ten rectangles. I then aligned the hearts on one line and the rectangles on their own line. I did this because I wanted to link together similar shapes. Once I was done doing this, I decided to color the hearts red to make them appear even more separate from the blue rectangles. Overall I am very pleased with how my work turned out.

Original

The purpose for this concept was to find an image of an object and create an icon out of it. I chose scissors.

 

 Immediately a person can tell that these are scissors, even with the bottom half of them cropped out. That is the point. To do this I used Adobe Photoshop. I then cropped the bottom half of the scissors out. I then used the paint bucket tool and chose a light pink to fill in the handles. I thought this looked good, but to made the scissors stand out, I used the paint brush tool and outlined the scissors in black. I am very please with how the icon came out. I think I achieved the objective of this assignment by making it recognizable to the target audience.

Critical Reflection

1.     Connection-All elements that are thematically connected are placed in association with each other visually. Each themed visual is put under the labeled concept. I do not think any adjustments need to be made to create more relevant connections between elements. The piece does not feel scattered; the background design is simple so that it does not take away from the pictures. Each concept has enough spacing between image and text so that it does not appeared cluttered. Mostly everything is centered. I made it so that connections between elements were cut off by different titles, otherwise the purpose of each piece would not be as clear. All visuals are on the same blog page, but there is a strong visual and thematic connection between the concepts. Each represents a step on how to create an effective visual. Structural conventions are consistently applied since all pictures are centered, however do to technical difficulties there is a random white box around the last part of the narration for the horizon variation, and gold sections post. Fixing this would give the overall blog a better visual flow.

2.     Alignment- I do have a clear answer for any question that a client might ask me about the alignment and placement of each component. The concepts are placed in descending order from how we learned them. And the visuals are all centered, because I wanted to keep each piece of works alignment consistent so that it would be easy follow. I think there are exceptions that could be allowed to enforce the message, like if I flushed the photos left or right and put the title of the concept next to them instead of on top. I don’t think there are areas of trapped space that could be eliminated, I think the amount of space evens out the blog, and makes it look neater.

3.     Priority- I think my blog would catch a lot of attention when looking at it from across a room. I think that someone would be intrigued by it if they looked at it in depth on a lunch break. There is a clear hierarchy between elements. They go descending order from when we first learned them. Each concept was taught in the order of Krause’s Design and Basic Index book. I do not think any elements need to be made any larger or smaller. I think there is a pleasing sense of visual flow throughout. The viewer is able to look at one piece of work and then the next while understanding the concept and enjoying the beauty of the work. The eyes do not feel pulled in opposing directions or drawn off the page by the composition. Everything is aligned, centered, simple, and to the point. 

Color and Emphasis

                                                                                                Original Image

          Krause says "Color is an extremely effective tool when it comes to making one element stand out above others." So the purpose of this piece of work is simply that, to add emphasis to a particular object to make it stand out from the rest. The viewer is directly drawn to the different colored image. To create this image I started out with a basic umbrella, as seen at the top of the page. I then magnetic lassoed the umbrella and moved them all into one window. I clicked on the four different layers I had created to move the umbrella's so that they were placed exactly how I wanted them. I then chose color overlay in the toolbar, lessened the opacity (so that the umbrella appeared realistic), and then changed the umbrella to purple.  Now that my work is done I really like the shade of purple I chose, and how the purple umbrella really stands out from the rest. I also think the placement of the umbrellas are visually pleasing.

Past and Present

 

The purpose of this work is again to make one object stand out in the visual by making it a different color. To transform this picture I first selected a street image, then chose the magnetic lasso tool to outline the pink apartment (the building that is highlighted in the black and white photo) I then selected image, adjustments, then black and white. My photo was then complete. The black and white background really makes the pink apartment building pop, and stand out. In the original photo on the top the pink building is barely recognized. The viewers eyes may not directly go to it. Throughout this piece of work I made several different changes to it. At first I tried magnetic lassoing the brown building, but realized it would not be emphasized enough when I turned the image black and white. Now that my visual is complete I am very pleased with the building I chose to stand out, my eyes are directly drawn to it. 

Krause Alignment Assignment

The purpose of this work is to put an emphasis on the object that you want the viewers eyes to go to first. This is done by making your main object the largest, and the rest smaller. Alignment is very important to make sure that your piece of work is organized. To align my visual, I pulled the textbook to the edges on both sides. I then clicked: fomat, alignment, then center. This aligned my entire visual. While forming my image I had to make changes in the size of the objects to make sure that the final product emphasized the shoes. I wanted to choose a simple background, so that the viewers do not get easily distracted from my message. Overall, I used the centered alignment approach (centered visual, heading, and logo) to avoid distraction. I avoided stair-stepping for both text, and images. In the end, I am very pleased with my visual. I think the pink in the shoes is very catchy to the eye. I think the fun fonts represent personality, and I tied both the font and the color of the shoes together in my company name.

Grouping

GROUPING:

Each pictures purpose is to represent the power of grouping. Where objects are placed in a piece of work has a profound impact on the meaning of the image. Viewers tend to link images together based on their placement.  For this activity I used the shape tool to draw the myriad of shapes, the formatting palette to change the colors, and Word art to write the labels.

The purpose of this slide is to represent anarchy. To represent anarchy I placed the shapes in random spots to show chaos. I chose a shape that has an uneven outline to add to the chaotic seen, and show disorder.

                                                                        

The purpose of this slide is to represent celebration. To represent this theme I chose the sun shape, because the sun generally tends to make people happy. I arranged the suns into a smiley face to represent joy. I then used light colors such as yellow and pink which give off a cheerful vibe.

                                                           

The purpose of this slide is to represent escape. To represent this I chose to use clouds, because they are out of reach to us. I then arranged eight of the clouds into a two by two pattern, the remaining two do not follow the two by two pattern. I did this to emphasize that the last two clouds are trying to escape the conformed pattern. I also made the two clouds that are escaping red, along with the escape logo. I did this because when people think escape they usually associate the word with an exit sign which is red. 

The purpose of this slide is to represent intimidation. To represent this I chose to use lightning bolts. They give off a fearful vibe. I had nine of the lightning bolts corning one lightning bolt to show that all of them are ganging up against one.

The purpose of the slide below is to represent isolation. To represent this I had nine of the arrows grouped together, and then the other completely alone on the opposite side of the slide. This emphasizes that this arrow is not linked with the other arrows. I also placed the word isolation under the lone arrow for a greater impact.

The purpose of this slide is to represent logic. To represent logic I used an addition sign because mathematics is known as a logical sign. I placed six of the addition signs on top, and four of the bottom to trigger people to think of 6 plus 4 equals 10. As opposed to if I placed them in random order, people would be less likely to think of addition.

The purpose of this slide is to represent unity. To represent unity I chose to use a heart symbol, because people who come together must open themselves up to another person. A heart shows caring, and love. Both of those traits are found in close relationships between people. I also placed the hearts on top of each other to represent a tight bond.  

Kraus - Composition

  

1. The purpose of this work was to crop out the sky to put emphasis on the road. I did this by using the crop tool in my toolbar. In this chapter Kraus wants us to learn the idea of composition. Every position of an element should have a purpose and support the theme of the visual. Here we have an unequal amount of road versus sky. This crop job forces the viewer to pay attention to the road. I think it is actually more visually pleasing than an equal amount of road and sky. I also think when deciding what to crop in an image the editor must decide what they want the focus of the piece to be first. I think this piece was successful in drawing the viewer’s attention to the road however before I cropped it the focus on the visual was unclear. 

2.The purpose of this piece of work was the opposite of picture number one. Here I cropped out the road to put emphasis on the sky. Since I decided that I wanted the sky to be the emphasis, it was necessary to crop out the more of the road and leave more sky. I did this using the crop tool in my toolbar. Before cropping the picture my focus was unclear, now it is clear that the sky is the focus. I think this picture successfully demonstrates my goal. I will keep using this method of cropping to show emphasis in the future.  
 

3.The purpose of this Golden Section Ruler is to create a guideline for measurements within their compositions. The division of the two colors can be determined by using the Fibonacci sequence. For this ruler, I divided the section into a 13” long line and then within that line I added an 8” mark. I then separated the two pieces by using the fill button, and paint can making one section black and one section pink. My piece of work transformed from a basic rectangle to a golden section ruler. I think this tool will be very helpful when I need to divide a piece of work into golden sections in the future.

Google Earth & Geospatial Projects on the Shenandoah Valley Event

Mapping Historical Resources, Harrisonburg, VA. - Kevin Borg

 Borg decided to use representational images of Harrisonburg, Virginia for his presentation. He did this through blue print maps. These visuals came from the Sand board map company. His goal is to give students and citizens of the community a better understanding of the area. The images that he presented represent the history and geography of Harrisonburg. The images are an accurate representation of the area; you can use Google earth to look at the area in the past and the present. I was able to get a better understanding of the subject, by this feature on Google earth. Google earth and photo shop are most likely where the images came from. He used a projection screen to display them. The size of this display screen affects the quality of the images, as well as the mega pixel capacity of the equipment. Images from 1912 were not represented in this presentation. The public view on these images was not included in this presentation either. Some vocabulary that I learned from Borg was GIS, which is a map making program, and Geo tip which is a tip file with location embedded in it.

Interactive Geologic Maps of Virginia and the Sheandoah Valley Region- Steve Whitmeyer

Whitmeyer chose to use representational images of Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley for his presentation. His goal is to integrate as much geologic and mineral information into his map as possible. Whitmeyer, his team, undergraduate students, and Google earth is where the images came from. I believe the purpose of this map is to create a geologic template of Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley for both the past and the future. Whitmeyer’s target audience is students and the citizens of this area. These maps will help them become more aware of Virginia as a whole. People can also figure out details on Google earth that they usually would need to travel to find out. For example, people can now find caverns on these geologic maps from their home. The maps are an accurate representation of the area. You can see Virginia in the past and the present day in great depth. The maps are color coded with detailed information. This presentation increased my understanding on the topic by showing me different types of rocks in the area. For example, I now know that sandstone is located on Massanutten. Google earth pro is most likely where the images came from, and he displayed them on a projection screen. The quality of the images shown is affected by the size of the display screen and the equipment’s mega pixel capacity. Whitmeyer did not mention whose voices are heard and unheard in the presentation nor did he touch on how the meanings of the visuals are affected by what is not shown. During his presentation I did learn a couple new vocabulary words. The first is geologic maps, which are maps that are color coded to show great depth of an area. People can also explore the areas past and present day data on these maps. The second new term I learned is cross sections, which is a vertical slice in the ground to show what is going on in the third dimension.