Icon

For this activity, we went on the internet and chose a single object that we felt had identifiable traits. I chose a sailboat i the water. The most identifiable part of the sailboat is definitely the sails. Other important parts are the stern and the rails on the boat. The tiny windows are also a classic characteristic along with the steering wheel even though it is hard to identify in my picture. 

Next, we were told to make an icon using basic shapes that would identify the sailboat. I took a triangle and elongated it to make a sail and then used two lines to identify that there are two sails next to each other. I enjoyed this activity and feel like my icon is a clear representation of a sailboat.

Gestalt principles: closure

I chose the closure principle that says we attach meaning to visual displays. I used Powerpoint and chose a shape that was copied 4 times and then put into a square like shape that made an illusion of a diamond. I took my finished product to Photoshop and cropped it to focus more on the shape. This was a fun activity and if given more time, many more examples could have been made. Also, taking a second look at my work, I felt I also covered the proximity principle that says we group things that are physically close to one another, in a meaningful way. When I look at this I also see a frame-like shape that my eyes naturally group the separate shapes together.

C.A.P. Critical Reflection

Connection:

          So far in my visual literacy class I have done many activities that have broadened my knowledge and skills with making and editing visuals. Along with a scrapbook we are doing for the class, we also have this blog that we post the activities we do in class and discuss what we did and how we feel about our work. The activities we have done so far are horizon lines, golden section, grouping concepts, alignment, and color & emphasis. Some of the visuals I created in the grouping concepts could be more direct and have better connections to represent the words that I portrayed with shapes. The theme with the alignment activity is clear but could have been more connecting to the viewer. Overall, the majority of the visuals could be slightly adjusted but I am happy with the outcome. Each activity was posted separately to flow right and prevent confusion to what the goal was for each post. Many of the visuals were cropped to keep the focus on the finished product. 

Alignment:

          For each activity I have done on the blog, I look at it afterward and make corrections if I feel it is needed. Alignment is one factor that I have focused on and several times I have edited my post to make the visual more visually appealing by adjusting the size and placement of the images and text on my blog. I would have a clear answer for any alignment questions that a potential client might have for me. Some of the visuals I did in the beginning of the semester could be adjusted and cropped to have more of a focus on the visual but they were done on Powerpoint and I did not save them properly to edit them. I am satisfied with the alignment of the majority of my visuals.

Priority:

          I believe that each of my visuals are appealing and have connection, proper alignment and good choices of color to reflect the skills I have learned so far. The background of my blog is a water-splash green and I personally think it is better and more appealing than a bland background. I made the postings background a light green that is complementary with the purple text so that the color difference wasn’t severe and blocky. I sized the visuals appropriately to make them the right size compared to the text and other visuals. Many of the visuals are cropped to show the main focus of the skill used but others are appropriately sized to show what is important. Some of the visuals in the grouping concepts could be sized differently to show emphasis. I took my time when I chose the colors that are complementary to each other.  I also made some backgrounds black or another color to focus on the visual. I reviewed each post and made some adjustments that made the overall post better visually including text size and position of pictures.

Color & Emphasis: Past and Present

For this exercise that we also did in class, we took a "street scene" color image from the internet. Then we chose one aspect of the photo to keep in color that looked aged and made the rest black and white or anyway to make it look from the past. Next, I used the magnetic lasso and cut out the stairs in the middle of the image and then "Select" "Inverse" and made the background black and white. I was very pleased with the image afterwards and thought it looked better than the original.

BEFORE

AFTER

Color & Emphasis

In this exercise that we did during class, I took a picture of a flower from the internet and used the magnetic lasso from Photoshop to cut out only the flower. Next, i opened the picture with Powerpoint and made several copies of it and made them all the same size. Then I lined them up horizontally and made the second to last flower on the right a black and white flower. The point of this activity was to use color to emphasize an object and make it stand out from the others.

                                        BEFORE

AFTER

I enjoyed this activity and think it will be useful in the future for a creative project or making an image on Photoshop or Powerpoint more interesting. 

Alignment

For this assignment we focused on alignment and how to properly use it. We looked at good and bad techniques from the book and then used PowerPoint to create our own slide with proper alignment. I went to StockVault and found a heart and put it on to PowerPoint and then found a ring and used Photoshop and used the magnetic lasso to isolate the ring and then opened it onto Powerpoint. Then, I created a text box and made up a slogan for the image "Valentine's Day" themed, and center aligned the text. I felt that my slide was too plain so i added two line on the left for visual appeal. Finally, I changed the color of the  shape s to match my font. I am not thrilled with the quality of my work due to the color options on Powerpoint and I couldn't get rid of the background pink color behind my heart so I think the

 colors were not the best but overall it was ok work. I 

do not think this would actually be used for a real ad.

Grouping Concepts

In this activity, we were told to make 7 slides, with 10 shapes on each slide. The shapes could be different for each slide but within the slide they needed to be the same. The activity was to use shape,color, background, and spacing techniques to show 7 emotions.

This slide represents unity. I chose the circle shape and combined all 10 of them to look like 1 barrel. Then, I used the United States colors in sequential order to stand for unity. I think the combination of the colors and the shape signify unity.

This image represents celebration. I had a hard time coming up with a slide for this word using the shapes provided but I decided to go with the sun shape and use bright colors in the background to show happiness, or celebration. This pattern reminds me of a poster or tablecloth that would be at a child's birthday which is a celbration. I stand behind this slide but I also believe this was my least clear portrayal of emotion.

For the isolation slide, I chose the same circles i used in "unity" but made the isolated circle black which stands for desparity and the other 9 circles a green pastel. I didn't choose that color for a particular reason other than a complete oppisite emotion of black. I then chose a gradient background that reminded me of static and "nothingness" to try and emulate how the black circle would feel if it had emotions.

For the "escape" slide, I used 10 arrow shapes pointed in an upward direction. I chose a bubble background that reminded me of the water or ocean and then placed the shapes to look like they were reaching the top of the water or escaping from the water. This concept was the easiest for me to think of and clearly shows what is happening.

This slide is my favorite emotion that I portrayed because I think it is the most clearly conveyed emotion I did. It is lightening shapes combined to look like a giant lightening bolt going down to earth. It reminded me of Zeus casting down his lightening on earth when he was angry or trying to show his power to those who disobeyed him. I chose a black background to emphasize the lightening bolts.

This slide was another challenge for me to make. I had to look up what anarchy meant and even after learning the meaning I found it hard to illustrate the emotion. After trying a few different things, I chose to have 10  "X's" sprawled out randomly on the slide, each a different color to try and convey anti-unity and confusion. I then chose a background that looked like fire because whenever I see protests or "anarchy" in videos of other countries there is usually a fire set by someone.

For this last slide, I chose to take 10 cloud shapes and make my attempt at a brain. I  made one cloud shape big and then fit the other 9 cloud shapes within the large one to try and make texture. Then i used the scribble tool and tried to make the different portions of the brain and make the cloud shapes a "brainy" color. I wasn't sure if other people would think it was a  brain but I asked to classmates what they thought it was and they told me it looked like one so I went ahead with it. The brain represents thinking and logic so I think it is a clear representation of logic.