Typography

(Before)

(After)

This assignment involved creating a visual out of words.  The words that you used had to represent the visual you were creating.  I decided to use a tree as my visual.  I used a simple picture of a tree as a basic outline as to where to place the words and how to create the image.  The words that I chose were "grow" and "branch."  When I think of a tree both of these words come to mind.  Throughout the visual, I varied the size of the font, curvature of each word, and angle.  The typography was kept to simple black and white colors.  I believe that my final visual of the tree represents clarity.  The words used, clearly convey a tree.  By using different sizes of the font, depth becomes present and also helps represent the different bumps and clusters in the leaves of the tree and sizes of the branches.  The audience that my visual would appeal to is child or adolescent.  The different sizes of the font and arcs used throughout create somewhat of a playful environment.  There was no specific audience stated when the assignment was presented and in the end, the final visual could be used with almost any audience.  Finally, the purpose of this assignment was to use typography in unique ways.  I believe that I definitely fulfilled this purpose by using creative words to represent such a simple visual.  

HARTS Visuals

This assignment required designing visuals for HARTS.  We created several visuals to be hung up around the site.  We decided to keep to the color scheme of blue and orange.  Using the same colors allowed for a sense of cohesiveness throughout the signage and floor plans.  We also used the same font throughout.  The first visual above is the kitchen floor plan.  The bright colors and key allow for easy access to various elements throughout the kitchen.  The colors work well with each other and stay in the color scheme that is used throughout the visuals.

This visual is a simple sign that will be hung in the kitchen.  It clearly states the chores needed by the volunteers.  Staying within the color scheme, the blue font pops off the orange background.  

This visual is of the floor plan of the location.  It simply states where each room is.  This will be a sign that will be helpful to the volunteers to know how to go about the HARTS location.

This visual is for the guests who come to HARTS.  It clearly states the smoke breaks and what to do when they occur.  The colors stay in the scheme.  The bold blue and orange boxes allow for the text to pop off the sign.  The small image of the cigarette adds a simple touch to the sign.  

These two visuals above are very helpful for the volunteers and guests.  The orange words allow for the targeted people to be aware of where to go.  The text is aligned center and pops off the sign.  

This visual will be placed next to the downstairs bathroom indicating that the showers are upstairs.  It is a simple, but clear visual that ties in with the rest of the signs.  I like the different hues of blue used throughout the visual and the orange catches the viewers eye.

This visual states the instructions for the coffee maker.  The lines clearly indicate the buttons that need to be pushed when making coffee.  The instructions are clearly stated in a light blue but also pop off the subtle orange background.  The pictures are also clear and a useful visual to the volunteers.

This last visual is a simple sign for the time schedule.  It is a simple visual that boldly states the times.  The color of the text is cohesive with the rest of the visuals to tie everything in. 


This assignment definitely has clarity.  Each individual poster clearly conveys its message while still relating to every other poster.  The cohesiveness of the colors and text allows for the posters to convey clear messages.  The audience for these visuals are the volunteers and guests at the HARTS location.  Each poster is eye-catching but sophisticated at the same time.  Finally, the purpose of this assignment was to create posters that will be placed at a local HARTS location.  The posters have to help aid the guests and volunteers while attending HARTS.  The posters we created definitely state directions and rules clearly and cohesively. 

Color

This assignment called for experimenting with color.  The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue.  They each complement with other colors (across form each other on the color wheel).  The first two visuals are the same, but the colors are alternated.  This also experimented with color trends.  Applying different colors to the same image can have a tremendous effect on its presentation.  The first visual is an example of complementary colors.  The big image is blue and the smaller staircase and writing is orange.  I like these two colors together.  They work well and form an eye-catching image.  The blue that I used is bright and light.  The saturation is pretty intense, almost fully saturated.  The orange is more rich and a bit darker.  The second image uses somewhat of tertiary colors.  The blue and grey colors are not exactly next to each other on the color wheel, but they also work well together.  I believe that the first image stands out more and the second is more muted.  I like both but they just vary in hues and saturations.  These visuals were also created in Photoshop using the CMYK color mode.  CMYK colors are achieved through the mixing of process color inks as they are applied to paper.  The next two visuals mainly use primary colors.  The third visual uses all three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) and they work really well together.  They are eye catching and bright-high intensity and almost fully saturated.  The sign is simple but very appealing.  The last visual is my favorite.  I really like the different combinations of yellow, blue, and white.  It is very eye catching, once again using mainly primary colors.  The bright blue and yellow boxes make the white text pop off the page.  The colors used also work well with the image of the cigarette.  The sign is very simple but I like all the attributions displayed throughout.  The placement and alignment of text work well with each element on the page to create one cohesive visual.  

Competency Icons/Poster

For this activity, we had to design icons that described the 11 competencies for the College of Education.  The icons then had to be displayed on a poster in a creative way.  We wanted to keep a constant theme throughout so we decided to make each icon the same shade of blue, this would create homogeneity.  The icons also had to be simple but portray the message of each competency.  We came up with the idea of using a brain as our main visual and then relating each icon to the part of the brain that corresponds with.  We did this by color-coating the brain with the boarder of each icon.  The colors that we incorporated are bright and playful which target the younger age.  The pictures/visuals that are used for each icon are also child-like.  By making each icon the same size, shape, and color an element of consistency was displayed throughout and it is easily distinguishable that each icon belongs with one another.  Connotation is a big component of this assignment.  I believe that we did a pretty good job at representing each competency through a simple, square image.  One attribute that I maybe would have changed was the blue color used for each icon.  We decided to go with blue because the College of Education flag is blue and white.  I would have liked to use a color that would have popped more.  The border of bright color around each icon definitely made them unique but overall, if changes were made, I would alter the color.  The placement of each icon on the poster seems to fit well.  I believe that the poster may have looked better with less writing.  It was almost too crowded, but I do really like the end result.      

Special Topics Presentation

The special topic that I was a part of was Data Visualization.  Data visualization is all about visualizing information to see the patterns and connections that matter.  Through space, alignment, typography, and grids, complex information becomes easier to understand.  The three visuals that are shown above were part of the special topics presentation.  We made our project with Prezi, which is a data visualization program in itself.  The first visual presented above, I created using Microsoft Excel.  It represents JMU Tuition and Fees in an organized and color coordinated manner.  Overall, the visual represents the changes in tuition between in-state and out-of-state students from year to year.  The next two visuals were found online.  They are more complex visuals and professionally done.  The second visualization is a form of mapping which "maps" your twitter friends in the regions and states that they are from.  The last visual exerts a lot of information, but when enlarged, is quite easy to read.  The color coordinated lines, icons, shapes, and text help simplify information and facts.  There are many forms of data visualization.  Some are more complex then others, but they all help decode complexity.  The full presentation can be found at http://prezi.com/05ptvdknxhln/visual-literacy-data-visualization/ 

Practice with Photoshop Color Shapes

This assignment called for experimenting with color, style, and texture in Photoshop.  We could choose what shapes we wanted to experiment with.  The first element I tested was style.  I used the thumbtack shape.  The original color was a bright pink.  I then experimented with the "style" button in Photoshop and thought that the rainbow wash was a unique touch.  The next element I experimented with was color.  I started with a yellow flower and then transitioned into a bright green.  I think both colors looked appealing and exerted a playful/young feeling.  The last element was texture.  This is probably my least favorite visual out of the three.  My original lightening bolt was a light/muted pink color.  The lightening bolt after I added texture was a bit brighter and had depth.  I think that it would have looked more appealing if I had chose a different, more brighter color.  I do think that the light pink exemplifies the "texture" element well.  I am satisfied with the connotation of the visuals-they clearly represent the different elements.  Like I said previously, I am satisfied with most of the attributes such as color and presentation but some colors could have been brighter.   

Gestalt

The main idea of Gestalt is "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts."  The first principle examined is closure.  Gestalt believed that in closure, we attach meaning to visual displays.  To exemplify closure, I used the diamond shape to create what either could be one large diamond or an "x."  When you first look at the visual, it looks like 4 small, black diamonds that are arranged in a way to form one large diamond. After looking at the visual for a few seconds, the "x" begins to appear.  All of the diamonds (the whole) form an "x" which is greater than the parts.  The next principle is proximity.  Gestalt believed that we group things that are physically close to one another, in a meaningful way.  To exemplify proximity, I used the cross symbol.  I arranged the objects in straight lines in one visual and diagonal lines in the second visual.  each represent proximity, but the shapes are just arranged differently.  The third principle is similarity.  Gestalt believed that in similarity, we group similar objects together in a meaningful way.  I represented this principle by using two different star shapes.  Each shape alternated with one another, creating a pattern but are grouped together meaningfully.  The last principle is continuity.  Gestalt believed that in continuity, we look for unity in objects.  I used the heart and arrow shape to exemplify continuity.  It looks like the arrow is split by the heart, but when you look at the whole picture, the visual comes together.  Each visual was done using black and white which allowed for conformity, unity, and simplicity.  I believe that it was a good idea to keep the colors neutral to clearly display the 4 principles.  I believe that there is strong connotation throughout my visuals-everything is working toward the same goal of "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts."