I believe I already posted the link but to make it clearer, here is the link to my portfolio.
wwwstu.tcu.edu/ksgeorge/gallery/index.html
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The End...Or Is It?
Now that I think about it, that Reflections post should have been the very last post. Hmm...oh well.
It's hard taking photographs that have the kind of meaning I want them to have. I'm really more used to taking pictures of places and people I've visited. That doesn't really require much skill, other than being able to hold the camera still.
Although actually, that can be hard if you're trying to take a picture of your own hand. My final image is of me and my roommate Libby holding hands. We went through at least ten pictures before I found two that could work. Half of the images were just so blurred that you couldn't tell what was going on! I mean, there was the vague shape of a hand, but the rings were blurred out, and our hands looked really weird. Both of us had that problem. I don't know why - some of the pictures were perfectly fine, and when I was just taking pictures of my own hand I didn't have that problem. So that was weird.
Lighting is also a problem. I had wanted a lot of contrast in the hand image so that it would be easier to cut out the hand. Well, we took all the pictures in the same place at the same time, and some of them came out dark like the one in the viewer, and some were pretty light like the one I posted earlier. Just a slight change in angle completely changed the lighting. I'm a little worried now about taking a photo of a sunset (or at least an evening photo). It looks like there's plenty of light still, but sometimes the image is just way too dark to see anything. Also...the image that I see on my camera and the image that gets uploaded to my computer look different. So sometimes I'll think a picture is too dark, then I'll load it onto the computer and it'll be fine. So weird...but in this case that's probably a good thing.
(Okay...someone turned the thermostat down again. I can feel the freezing air being blown in on me. Grr....)
I like my idea for this project, because it is something that I am very interested in, and one of the main reasons why I think America still has a long way to go before we are worthy of being called a "great" nation (there are lots of other reasons though, don't get me started). I just hope my final product can convey some of that feeling to my audience.
(The nachos were very good, by the way.)
Good night and farewell!
It's hard taking photographs that have the kind of meaning I want them to have. I'm really more used to taking pictures of places and people I've visited. That doesn't really require much skill, other than being able to hold the camera still.
Although actually, that can be hard if you're trying to take a picture of your own hand. My final image is of me and my roommate Libby holding hands. We went through at least ten pictures before I found two that could work. Half of the images were just so blurred that you couldn't tell what was going on! I mean, there was the vague shape of a hand, but the rings were blurred out, and our hands looked really weird. Both of us had that problem. I don't know why - some of the pictures were perfectly fine, and when I was just taking pictures of my own hand I didn't have that problem. So that was weird.
Lighting is also a problem. I had wanted a lot of contrast in the hand image so that it would be easier to cut out the hand. Well, we took all the pictures in the same place at the same time, and some of them came out dark like the one in the viewer, and some were pretty light like the one I posted earlier. Just a slight change in angle completely changed the lighting. I'm a little worried now about taking a photo of a sunset (or at least an evening photo). It looks like there's plenty of light still, but sometimes the image is just way too dark to see anything. Also...the image that I see on my camera and the image that gets uploaded to my computer look different. So sometimes I'll think a picture is too dark, then I'll load it onto the computer and it'll be fine. So weird...but in this case that's probably a good thing.
(Okay...someone turned the thermostat down again. I can feel the freezing air being blown in on me. Grr....)
I like my idea for this project, because it is something that I am very interested in, and one of the main reasons why I think America still has a long way to go before we are worthy of being called a "great" nation (there are lots of other reasons though, don't get me started). I just hope my final product can convey some of that feeling to my audience.
(The nachos were very good, by the way.)
Good night and farewell!
Reflections
Oooh, this is really late but I remembered the last not-serious suggestion I was going to make for the Unit 2 project: oil the hinges of that stupid white gate at the top of the stairs. It hurts to listen to it four times a week.
I've really enjoyed this class, and overall I'm definitely satisfied with the way my projects have turned out so far. I liked learning (and re-learning) how to use Photoshop and Dreamweaver, and even though they've given me some troubles before, it's been a pretty good experience. Of course, this class wasn't really about learning how to use those programs by themselves. Using them properly to create persuasive arguments wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. Take the layers aspect of multimedia values. Working with Photoshop forces you to consider layers. (Obviously, given the name of the textbook.) I've done some projects similar to the ones we did in class before, but I hadn't had to use Photoshop, and so layering was really more of an afterthought, if it even got a thought. Not so here. It's layers layers layers layers. Got a problem? Check the layer. Need to fix something? Make a new layer. Of course, this makes an image very tidy - just turn off any layers that are distracting and focus on, say, the image of a ring instead of an entire hand.
Dreamweaver defnitely helps with the try try and try again aka patience value. Maybe it was because I'm not familiar with the program, but I had a lot of what seemed like simple problems that ended up taking forever to solve - even if the solution was really simple. I'd try one solution and it would look okay, but still not right, so I'd try something else, which fixed that problem but caused a different problem, and so on. But that just made the final project even more satisfying. It's a really good feeling to pull up my own website and tell people, "Hey look what I made!"
I've really enjoyed this class, and overall I'm definitely satisfied with the way my projects have turned out so far. I liked learning (and re-learning) how to use Photoshop and Dreamweaver, and even though they've given me some troubles before, it's been a pretty good experience. Of course, this class wasn't really about learning how to use those programs by themselves. Using them properly to create persuasive arguments wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. Take the layers aspect of multimedia values. Working with Photoshop forces you to consider layers. (Obviously, given the name of the textbook.) I've done some projects similar to the ones we did in class before, but I hadn't had to use Photoshop, and so layering was really more of an afterthought, if it even got a thought. Not so here. It's layers layers layers layers. Got a problem? Check the layer. Need to fix something? Make a new layer. Of course, this makes an image very tidy - just turn off any layers that are distracting and focus on, say, the image of a ring instead of an entire hand.
Dreamweaver defnitely helps with the try try and try again aka patience value. Maybe it was because I'm not familiar with the program, but I had a lot of what seemed like simple problems that ended up taking forever to solve - even if the solution was really simple. I'd try one solution and it would look okay, but still not right, so I'd try something else, which fixed that problem but caused a different problem, and so on. But that just made the final project even more satisfying. It's a really good feeling to pull up my own website and tell people, "Hey look what I made!"
Artist Portfolios
I think my favorite image of all the portfolios was Peter Baustaedter's Princess' Palace. I also liked his Smog City and Squeed, and I found John Crane's images very interesting as well. The three Baustaedter images all make me think of fantasy and technology mingled together. Squeed looks like a cross between some fantastical creature and a machine. Smog City has pollution, but it doesn't look like a modern city - it looks to me more like a castle. Princess' Palace has more of the fantasy element than the technology, although the architecture seems real rather than just randomly drawn, if you know what I mean. I remember reading that Baustaedter worked on designs in some video games, and I think this images would fit well into that category, although I don't know that that was their original purpose. Besides, this is just the type of image that I like. I have lots of posters in my room of unicorns, fairies, dragons, castles, etc. I'm a fantasy junkie :)
John Crane's images are more futuristic, which is very cool as well. Flying Under the Radar may be a modern image, but it doesn't look like it! Maybe it's all the pink and orange. Looking at that, I am not reminded much at all of Earth-based technology. It seems more fitting to an alien device of some kind.
It was very interesting to see these examples. I haven't ever really paid much attention to digital media before - I've mostly stuck with paintings and more natural photographs. But these were different, in a good way. Some were just weird, but I liked the majority of the images presented in this chapter. Sometimes I forget that image editing doesn't have to mean keeping the original subject the same, and it's good to see reminders of what a professional can really do with these programs.
John Crane's images are more futuristic, which is very cool as well. Flying Under the Radar may be a modern image, but it doesn't look like it! Maybe it's all the pink and orange. Looking at that, I am not reminded much at all of Earth-based technology. It seems more fitting to an alien device of some kind.
It was very interesting to see these examples. I haven't ever really paid much attention to digital media before - I've mostly stuck with paintings and more natural photographs. But these were different, in a good way. Some were just weird, but I liked the majority of the images presented in this chapter. Sometimes I forget that image editing doesn't have to mean keeping the original subject the same, and it's good to see reminders of what a professional can really do with these programs.
Okay, I lied
Well I was going to go get nachos but then the room was invaded by noisy roommates and friends of roommates and I'm kind of scared to draw any attention to the fact that I'm actually in the room (as of yet, they haven't noticed and I'd like to keep it that way).
So without further ado, I present:
The Visual Argument I Hope to Convey Through My Website of Images
I talked about a few of the images already, the flag and the group fountain image so I'll skip over those here and just talk about the other ones.
The basic overall argument is simple: promote equality for the LGBTQ community (although I may narrow it down to just 'L' since that's where most of my images are actually focused). The individual images promote different aspects of that equality, in no particular order.
The first image is of a wedding cake with two bride figures on the top. Unfortunately, when I got the picture of my best friend in her dress, I didn't think to get a picture of the cake. I think the argument here is fairly clear: lift the ban on same-sex marriages.
Next is the American flag, colored in as a rainbow. Already talked about this, so I'll just summarize: we're all Americans, all equal, it's a matter of national pride, etc.
The locket image, which probably needs the most work. When it's finished, the left side (the larger side) will show Elizabeth in front of a bookshelf in my room, filled with books and other stuff. The top shelf will be the main focus, and on it will be all the trophies and awards and such I've gotten over the years. There's a nice 2nd place for a youth soccer team, some smaller soccer awards, lots of little academic awards, some medals, and I may be able to dig up a few Math Team ribbons or something like that. If I need more, I think my mom might have some swimming awards or something I can use. Elizabeth will be wearing a locket, which I'll have to blow up a bit b/c it's not really noticeable right now. This side of the image is working to show a successful, healthy, and happy (hence the metal smile) child. The other side is just a close up of the locket being held in someone's hand. Inside will be two pictures, one probably of Elizabeth again, and the other with a family picture of her and her two moms. Argument: two moms can raise a child just as well as a mom and a dad or just a mom or just a dad. Allow same sex couples to adopt children.
The fireplace and stockings! This was actually for our door at Xmas time, I'm just lucky that neither of us wanted to get rid of it because it looked so cool (even if we didn't win the contest). In the fire are a small group of protesters holding pro-Proposition 8 signs, some anti-gay signs, a big red X, etc. I'm going to "damage" this image some, maybe warp it or put some flames over it. Above the flames rise two stockings, for Karen and Katie, showing that we need to rise above such protests. I hadn't thought of this before, and it's kind of a weak argument, but one could relate the stockings to Christianity (through Christmas), to maybe imply that one can be lesbian and a Christian at the same time. (I wouldn't know, not being either, but I think I turned out okay!) I know that religion is a big issue when it comes to LGBTQ rights.
Already talked about the group fountain photo, more of the equality stuff.
Final image is of two girls holding hands with matching rings. Meant to symbolize wedding or promise rings of some sort. (And I am jealous - Libby's wrist is so tiny that it makes mine look fat in comparison!! I have small wrists too but it doesn't look like it here!) Right now the background is just plain black, but it will be changed to something else more suitable. A sunset would be great. This image isn't arguing for any specific change like some of the others were; it's just there to give closure to the argument.
And NOW I can go get nachos. Hurray!
So without further ado, I present:
The Visual Argument I Hope to Convey Through My Website of Images
I talked about a few of the images already, the flag and the group fountain image so I'll skip over those here and just talk about the other ones.
The basic overall argument is simple: promote equality for the LGBTQ community (although I may narrow it down to just 'L' since that's where most of my images are actually focused). The individual images promote different aspects of that equality, in no particular order.
The first image is of a wedding cake with two bride figures on the top. Unfortunately, when I got the picture of my best friend in her dress, I didn't think to get a picture of the cake. I think the argument here is fairly clear: lift the ban on same-sex marriages.
Next is the American flag, colored in as a rainbow. Already talked about this, so I'll just summarize: we're all Americans, all equal, it's a matter of national pride, etc.
The locket image, which probably needs the most work. When it's finished, the left side (the larger side) will show Elizabeth in front of a bookshelf in my room, filled with books and other stuff. The top shelf will be the main focus, and on it will be all the trophies and awards and such I've gotten over the years. There's a nice 2nd place for a youth soccer team, some smaller soccer awards, lots of little academic awards, some medals, and I may be able to dig up a few Math Team ribbons or something like that. If I need more, I think my mom might have some swimming awards or something I can use. Elizabeth will be wearing a locket, which I'll have to blow up a bit b/c it's not really noticeable right now. This side of the image is working to show a successful, healthy, and happy (hence the metal smile) child. The other side is just a close up of the locket being held in someone's hand. Inside will be two pictures, one probably of Elizabeth again, and the other with a family picture of her and her two moms. Argument: two moms can raise a child just as well as a mom and a dad or just a mom or just a dad. Allow same sex couples to adopt children.
The fireplace and stockings! This was actually for our door at Xmas time, I'm just lucky that neither of us wanted to get rid of it because it looked so cool (even if we didn't win the contest). In the fire are a small group of protesters holding pro-Proposition 8 signs, some anti-gay signs, a big red X, etc. I'm going to "damage" this image some, maybe warp it or put some flames over it. Above the flames rise two stockings, for Karen and Katie, showing that we need to rise above such protests. I hadn't thought of this before, and it's kind of a weak argument, but one could relate the stockings to Christianity (through Christmas), to maybe imply that one can be lesbian and a Christian at the same time. (I wouldn't know, not being either, but I think I turned out okay!) I know that religion is a big issue when it comes to LGBTQ rights.
Already talked about the group fountain photo, more of the equality stuff.
Final image is of two girls holding hands with matching rings. Meant to symbolize wedding or promise rings of some sort. (And I am jealous - Libby's wrist is so tiny that it makes mine look fat in comparison!! I have small wrists too but it doesn't look like it here!) Right now the background is just plain black, but it will be changed to something else more suitable. A sunset would be great. This image isn't arguing for any specific change like some of the others were; it's just there to give closure to the argument.
And NOW I can go get nachos. Hurray!
Frog Fountain Group Image
Okay, this image isn't up on the website, because I pulled a stupid and forgot to take a picture of the fountain!!! ARGH stupid Katie. I just realized that last night, when it was already too late to do anything about it. But when I do get that silly fountain picture, it will be the background for the group image. Ideally, I would take the group picture at the fountain, thereby negating the need to edit people into the picture. But come on. This is college. I'm never going to get all these people together at the same time. So editing it is.
I'm hoping to include a female couple here, but none of my friends here are lesbian, and I think it would be a bit too much trouble to drive over to Virginia to get a picture of Kaelyn, so I may try and bully some friends into acting for me. I'll bribe them with chocolate or something. Nick is easier, since he's not only here at TCU but in class with me! Yay Nick. I haven't decided exactly how to arrange people yet; it'll depend on what kind of photos I can get.
I wasn't going to make this a photo of just LG couples; I was going to include some other images - single people, friends hanging out, implying that (again) there's nothing different about being LGBTQ (wow that's hard to type). Someone, I forgot who, suggested highlighting around different people in different colors that don't have to correspond to anything about them. I have mixed feelings about that. I guess I'll try it and see what it looks like. Maybe a caption would help with that.
And now I am off to eat some nachos. I hope.
I'm hoping to include a female couple here, but none of my friends here are lesbian, and I think it would be a bit too much trouble to drive over to Virginia to get a picture of Kaelyn, so I may try and bully some friends into acting for me. I'll bribe them with chocolate or something. Nick is easier, since he's not only here at TCU but in class with me! Yay Nick. I haven't decided exactly how to arrange people yet; it'll depend on what kind of photos I can get.
I wasn't going to make this a photo of just LG couples; I was going to include some other images - single people, friends hanging out, implying that (again) there's nothing different about being LGBTQ (wow that's hard to type). Someone, I forgot who, suggested highlighting around different people in different colors that don't have to correspond to anything about them. I have mixed feelings about that. I guess I'll try it and see what it looks like. Maybe a caption would help with that.
And now I am off to eat some nachos. I hope.
Flag Image
Okay I've also got to do something about those transitions. It looks so weird!!! Especially when I first navigate to the site.
Anyways, the flag image is mostly done, but I had some other ideas. Here they are!
1) Make the flag a little bigger, cut out more of the background if necessary since it's not important to the image.
2) Since the rainbow colors I used were so bright, it might make sense to brighten the blue star background (since it is standing for the 2nd "blue" in the rainbow). That's what I did for the red stripes. I had thought of just leaving them alone but next to the bright colors, that red looked way too dull. So that's something to consider. I can do that with Seashore, which is what I used to change the stripes' colors.
3) The biggest and most time consuming change I was going to make was to edit in small images of people's faces onto the stars. They would be tiny, since the stars are so small, and I don't know for sure how well it would show up, so that's something I would need to test before actually deciding. I would need 50 faces, and I've already got a lot, just from pictures of people that I've taken. I can reuse faces, like Elizabeth's (the locket girl) or the other people who show up elsewhere in the site. And I have lots of friends and coworkers who've let me take mugshots :) So nice of them :)
The point of that, of course, is to emphasize that the LGBTQ community is just the same as everyone else. We're all human and (in this case at least) American (joy...). To that end, I tried to get a diverse range of people in the shots. More than just white college students, which make up the majority of the people I know. So I got a few older coworkers from the store, a few younger, I have different ethnicities, although it will be hard to tell the difference so I'm sticking with three major categories: white, African-American, and Asian/Indian/etc. There's no point dividing it up further than that because, small as the images will be, no one would be able to tell the difference between Samreen, who's from Bangladesh, and Long, who's Vietnamese.
But like I said before...this is the absolute last thing I would do. If I even do it. It would make a cool addition, but all the other images have to be done first. So there.
Anyways, the flag image is mostly done, but I had some other ideas. Here they are!
1) Make the flag a little bigger, cut out more of the background if necessary since it's not important to the image.
2) Since the rainbow colors I used were so bright, it might make sense to brighten the blue star background (since it is standing for the 2nd "blue" in the rainbow). That's what I did for the red stripes. I had thought of just leaving them alone but next to the bright colors, that red looked way too dull. So that's something to consider. I can do that with Seashore, which is what I used to change the stripes' colors.
3) The biggest and most time consuming change I was going to make was to edit in small images of people's faces onto the stars. They would be tiny, since the stars are so small, and I don't know for sure how well it would show up, so that's something I would need to test before actually deciding. I would need 50 faces, and I've already got a lot, just from pictures of people that I've taken. I can reuse faces, like Elizabeth's (the locket girl) or the other people who show up elsewhere in the site. And I have lots of friends and coworkers who've let me take mugshots :) So nice of them :)
The point of that, of course, is to emphasize that the LGBTQ community is just the same as everyone else. We're all human and (in this case at least) American (joy...). To that end, I tried to get a diverse range of people in the shots. More than just white college students, which make up the majority of the people I know. So I got a few older coworkers from the store, a few younger, I have different ethnicities, although it will be hard to tell the difference so I'm sticking with three major categories: white, African-American, and Asian/Indian/etc. There's no point dividing it up further than that because, small as the images will be, no one would be able to tell the difference between Samreen, who's from Bangladesh, and Long, who's Vietnamese.
But like I said before...this is the absolute last thing I would do. If I even do it. It would make a cool addition, but all the other images have to be done first. So there.
Drafts
Okay, well now that we've got the publishing issue worked out, I just have to finish revising the images. Some of the posted images are currently missing parts that I can't get until I go home this weekend, but here's what I've got so far:
Looky looky!
Okay, I don't know why the locket image is so small. It should be the same size as the other images. Okay, one more thing to fix. I also need access to a better photo editing program than the one I have right now (Seashore) because it's just a very basic program. I can get Photoshop at home, so I guess I have lots to do this weekend! (Because frankly, it's a pain to try and get a computer at the library with Photoshop. Three cheers for whoever did that for their university reform project.)
Anyways, I also need (or at least, really really want) a real cake for the first image. That's just a little image I drew in Seashore to stand in for the real cake image, which I haven't been able to get yet. I need to edit out the brides more, but other than that, that image is finished.
The flag image is okay as it is, I have more ideas for it but they will have to wait until all the other pictures are finished.
The locket picture needs the background picture from my house so obviously I can't fix that yet. Then it needs to be resized, and that is really bugging me because I know I didn't make it that small. Grr.... Then I need to edit the family image into the locket, and that will pretty much do it for that image.
Again with the resizing issue. Silly fireplace. That image is mostly done, I wanted to make the protester's picture look more damaged, like if it was actually in the fire but otherwise there's not much that needs to be done there.
You would not believe how many pictures my roommate and I took of our hands, just my hands, and all the different angles and poses we tried before we settled on this one. Actually, there's another image that I thought about using, but I think I've decided on the one that's up in the viewer. This is the other one.
Our hands look much paler here. Ahhh, I don't know which one is better. When I get the background finished, I'll probably cut both hand images out and test them out, see which one looks better.
Well, that's my website draft for now! I kinda like how the flag turned out :)
Looky looky!
Okay, I don't know why the locket image is so small. It should be the same size as the other images. Okay, one more thing to fix. I also need access to a better photo editing program than the one I have right now (Seashore) because it's just a very basic program. I can get Photoshop at home, so I guess I have lots to do this weekend! (Because frankly, it's a pain to try and get a computer at the library with Photoshop. Three cheers for whoever did that for their university reform project.)
Anyways, I also need (or at least, really really want) a real cake for the first image. That's just a little image I drew in Seashore to stand in for the real cake image, which I haven't been able to get yet. I need to edit out the brides more, but other than that, that image is finished.
The flag image is okay as it is, I have more ideas for it but they will have to wait until all the other pictures are finished.
The locket picture needs the background picture from my house so obviously I can't fix that yet. Then it needs to be resized, and that is really bugging me because I know I didn't make it that small. Grr.... Then I need to edit the family image into the locket, and that will pretty much do it for that image.
Again with the resizing issue. Silly fireplace. That image is mostly done, I wanted to make the protester's picture look more damaged, like if it was actually in the fire but otherwise there's not much that needs to be done there.
You would not believe how many pictures my roommate and I took of our hands, just my hands, and all the different angles and poses we tried before we settled on this one. Actually, there's another image that I thought about using, but I think I've decided on the one that's up in the viewer. This is the other one.
Our hands look much paler here. Ahhh, I don't know which one is better. When I get the background finished, I'll probably cut both hand images out and test them out, see which one looks better.
Well, that's my website draft for now! I kinda like how the flag turned out :)
.......
(I wasn't planning on having this count toward my graded entries - I just really needed to rant to someone/something.)
Well today was a lovely day. A truly fabulous, thrilling, exciting day. NOT. I think just about anything that could go wrong today did go wrong. And the day's not over yet!!
So let's see. What happened first...
I did MiniProject 6, got it all finished, typed and ready to go last night. Emailed it to myself before class so I could print it and turn it in. Well somehow in transit all the pictures vanished! I don't know why - they weren't very big images or anything. So I had to scramble around at the last minute trying to find the photos (which I eventually did). Stupid Word 07. I am not a fan.
Speaking of Word 07, people really need to remember that not everyone has the latest updates in such programs. Granted, it's usually students trying to send the dreaded .docx file, but I had a TA send our test review in .docx. So I had to email her to get that review for our test that I just finished an hour ago. Lovely.
I was also going to turn in a revised copy of my Unit 1 paragraph, but for whatever reason, it did not save as a Word document. I haven't the faintest idea WHAT format it ended up in, or how in got in that format, since it was clearly typed in Word, but that was annoying too.
The thermostat for the stairwell closest to my room has been locked at 62 degrees for the past week. It is FREEZING!!! And I go up and down that stairwell almost every time I leave/enter the dorm! Wahh there's no need for that! Especially when it's 80 degrees outside!
Customers at the bookstore can be so rude and evil. It's not MY fault we don't have dressing rooms. Get over it! It's also not my fault that we don't sell official baseball jerseys, or that I don't have the slightest clue where one might find such a thing. And gosh, I am so sorry that we're out of your size - and yes, you're right - it was intentional. We saw you come in and immediately hid all items of clothing in your size because we're just cruel like that. Uh huh. Suuure.
And last night my computer kept going spastic on me. It would freeze up, then unfreeze, then Firefox just died (I have never seen any program need that many updates that often) because I hadn't updated it yet. One of my teachers keeps giving us these huge (40-60 page) reading assignments that are online (it's not that much to read but...) and that she wants us to print out and bring to class if we don't have a laptop!! I'm sorry, I'm not printing that much for an assignment that will last only one day! That's ridiculous. I don't have the paper supply to support that kind of reading!
And I've had this nasty headache practically every day this week. It goes away now and then but it keeps coming back. And I still have 4 hours of class tomorrow (including a presentation and a test) plus 4 hours of work, and another 6 hours of work on Saturday. And this project to finish, a project in my other English class, homework for Japanese, a 10-12 page research paper for Religion, another paper in English, and finals. And work. AHHHHHH!
Whew. Okay. Better now. I'm going to do the real blog posts now.
Well today was a lovely day. A truly fabulous, thrilling, exciting day. NOT. I think just about anything that could go wrong today did go wrong. And the day's not over yet!!
So let's see. What happened first...
I did MiniProject 6, got it all finished, typed and ready to go last night. Emailed it to myself before class so I could print it and turn it in. Well somehow in transit all the pictures vanished! I don't know why - they weren't very big images or anything. So I had to scramble around at the last minute trying to find the photos (which I eventually did). Stupid Word 07. I am not a fan.
Speaking of Word 07, people really need to remember that not everyone has the latest updates in such programs. Granted, it's usually students trying to send the dreaded .docx file, but I had a TA send our test review in .docx. So I had to email her to get that review for our test that I just finished an hour ago. Lovely.
I was also going to turn in a revised copy of my Unit 1 paragraph, but for whatever reason, it did not save as a Word document. I haven't the faintest idea WHAT format it ended up in, or how in got in that format, since it was clearly typed in Word, but that was annoying too.
The thermostat for the stairwell closest to my room has been locked at 62 degrees for the past week. It is FREEZING!!! And I go up and down that stairwell almost every time I leave/enter the dorm! Wahh there's no need for that! Especially when it's 80 degrees outside!
Customers at the bookstore can be so rude and evil. It's not MY fault we don't have dressing rooms. Get over it! It's also not my fault that we don't sell official baseball jerseys, or that I don't have the slightest clue where one might find such a thing. And gosh, I am so sorry that we're out of your size - and yes, you're right - it was intentional. We saw you come in and immediately hid all items of clothing in your size because we're just cruel like that. Uh huh. Suuure.
And last night my computer kept going spastic on me. It would freeze up, then unfreeze, then Firefox just died (I have never seen any program need that many updates that often) because I hadn't updated it yet. One of my teachers keeps giving us these huge (40-60 page) reading assignments that are online (it's not that much to read but...) and that she wants us to print out and bring to class if we don't have a laptop!! I'm sorry, I'm not printing that much for an assignment that will last only one day! That's ridiculous. I don't have the paper supply to support that kind of reading!
And I've had this nasty headache practically every day this week. It goes away now and then but it keeps coming back. And I still have 4 hours of class tomorrow (including a presentation and a test) plus 4 hours of work, and another 6 hours of work on Saturday. And this project to finish, a project in my other English class, homework for Japanese, a 10-12 page research paper for Religion, another paper in English, and finals. And work. AHHHHHH!
Whew. Okay. Better now. I'm going to do the real blog posts now.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Textbook Thoughts
I have mixed feelings about this Dreamweaver textbook. On the one hand, it does give a good introduction for people new to Dreamweaver. I also like that it includes screenshots (which I can now do and I am so happy!!), because that lets you follow along with what the book's talking about. On the other hand, I feel like there's so much stuff the book doesn't address that would have been useful to have. It doesn't talk about how to attach a file to be downloaded. And although it does talk about creating and editing your own template, it doesn't talk about the templates that are already included with the software and how to edit/manipulate those. Of course, I haven't really looked at any other books for help or reference so I don't know if there are any better intro books out there or not. I think I definitely liked the Photoshop book better. But this book is still helpful, and I'll definitely keep it instead of selling it back to the bookstore at the end of the semester. I just think the author could have included more than he did - the book's only got 140 pages to the Photoshop's 250.
Internet Musings
Even after reading the two chapters in the Digital Media book about the Internet, I still feel like I have no comprehension of how it works. Although I don't think that's an uncommon way to feel. I mean, I understand the basics of setting up a site, and I don't have problems using the Internet, but the scope is just beyond me. (I guess it's a good thing I dropped that Computer Science major!) How would you even go about designing it? Or thinking about it? And the speed at which those people developed the Internet for common use is just incredible. Thinking about it is kind of like thinking about electricity for me. I know basically how it works. Other than that, how someone came up with this kind of idea, how they went about implementing it, how it grew and spread to the entire world...I just can't imagine it. I like to think I have a good grasp of the way computers work, but every time we read a new chapter in any of textbooks, I realize just how much there is out there that I don't know about. There are so many different programs to learn about for computers, and upgrades for existing programs, and new breakthroughs in technology. It's almost overwhelming. For now, I will settle with being able to handle common programs like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and being able to navigate other programs like Illustrator, Flash, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc.
Reflections on Web Design Tips
Since a lot of people turned in sites that dealt with web design errors, things to avoid, or tips, I thought I would go over them and compile a list of common entries and then comment on them.
*Usability and usefulness
*Clear navigation
*Readable/professional fonts
*Few images
*White space
*Good search engine
*Avoid text blocks
*Avoid distracting backgrounds and images
I think those were the biggest issues, although I would argue with some of them. Some are obviously good things to keep in mind - the clear navigation and a good search engine. Text blocks aren't a bad thing I don't think, but when there isn't any spacing it can be a pain to try and wade through. I don't mean just space between paragraphs either, although that always helps. Dreamweaver temples have this already built in so no one should have to deal with this, but spacing between the lines of text is a great way to spread the text out and not have it all scrunched together. This is actually a problem I encounter on fanfiction websites, where some poor soul doesn't understand how to space paragraphs and so has text text text all over the place with no breaks anywhere. I don't care how good the story is that hurts to read! Text doesn't have to be double spaced - that's probably overkill, but just a small space between lines can make all the difference if you do find yourself using large chunks of text. Spacing between paragrpahs helps too.
About the fonts...the article that was from complained about fonts like Comic Sans. Personally, I love Comic Sans. True, it may not look that professional, compared to Arial or Times or something like that. But I think that statement about fonts is too strict - it doesn't take into account the different types of websites. If your site is about maybe a kids' art project, I think Times would be a bad choice. It really depends on your audience for font, and for color choices as well.
The stuff about images, white space, and distracting backgrounds is more complicated. Few images aren't always a good sign. And while you do want some white space to separate different elements in your page, too much can be just as offputting as not enough. Distracting backgrounds...I think we went into this during our presentations of the generation websites. If the background is too interesting/distracting, then your main content will be overlooked. Unless the background has some vital detail about whatever your website is discussing, then background images should not be that attention grabbing. (In my humble opinion, that is.)
*Usability and usefulness
*Clear navigation
*Readable/professional fonts
*Few images
*White space
*Good search engine
*Avoid text blocks
*Avoid distracting backgrounds and images
I think those were the biggest issues, although I would argue with some of them. Some are obviously good things to keep in mind - the clear navigation and a good search engine. Text blocks aren't a bad thing I don't think, but when there isn't any spacing it can be a pain to try and wade through. I don't mean just space between paragraphs either, although that always helps. Dreamweaver temples have this already built in so no one should have to deal with this, but spacing between the lines of text is a great way to spread the text out and not have it all scrunched together. This is actually a problem I encounter on fanfiction websites, where some poor soul doesn't understand how to space paragraphs and so has text text text all over the place with no breaks anywhere. I don't care how good the story is that hurts to read! Text doesn't have to be double spaced - that's probably overkill, but just a small space between lines can make all the difference if you do find yourself using large chunks of text. Spacing between paragrpahs helps too.
About the fonts...the article that was from complained about fonts like Comic Sans. Personally, I love Comic Sans. True, it may not look that professional, compared to Arial or Times or something like that. But I think that statement about fonts is too strict - it doesn't take into account the different types of websites. If your site is about maybe a kids' art project, I think Times would be a bad choice. It really depends on your audience for font, and for color choices as well.
The stuff about images, white space, and distracting backgrounds is more complicated. Few images aren't always a good sign. And while you do want some white space to separate different elements in your page, too much can be just as offputting as not enough. Distracting backgrounds...I think we went into this during our presentations of the generation websites. If the background is too interesting/distracting, then your main content will be overlooked. Unless the background has some vital detail about whatever your website is discussing, then background images should not be that attention grabbing. (In my humble opinion, that is.)
Unit One Revision
Our talk in class about revising the Unit 1 project made me start thinking about what I can do to revise mine. It'll be a little difficult, simply because my point deductions were all over the place. Just minus one or two points here, another few in that section, and so on. There isn't one thing I can fix that will give me a significant point boost. Of course, I only need a few points to bump my grade up to an A, so I suppose that's ok.
One thing I could easily do is fix the design narrative. I only lost 3 points, but that would most likely be the easiest thing to fix. I can also increase the type size on the rest of the poster, since it was definitely too small. It's so hard to tell when you're looking at something on the computer screen if it'll be big enough when it gets printed out. And for some reason, whenever I tried to stretch the banner and Word Art text design over two pages, it would not work. The second page would just get cut off. So I can scrap the banner and just print some text. I don't know that I can easily remove any of the things on my poster, but I should be able to cover it up pretty well. Those are probably the two easiest changes to make.
Then of course, I can switch the middle pictures around. I hadn't planned on the patient holding the teddy bear to be the central image (or to be as big as it turned out) but after (and during) my presentation, I realized that it would make more sense. So if I reprint those things, and I do still have the edited versions, I can switch those, maybe make the teddy bear image a little bigger, even, since the post-operation woman is kind of a large image on its own. Oh and increase the text size in each of those images too.
The other place I got deductions was in layering, or rather the lack of. And since that's part of this current project too, I should probably think a little more about that as well.
One thing I could easily do is fix the design narrative. I only lost 3 points, but that would most likely be the easiest thing to fix. I can also increase the type size on the rest of the poster, since it was definitely too small. It's so hard to tell when you're looking at something on the computer screen if it'll be big enough when it gets printed out. And for some reason, whenever I tried to stretch the banner and Word Art text design over two pages, it would not work. The second page would just get cut off. So I can scrap the banner and just print some text. I don't know that I can easily remove any of the things on my poster, but I should be able to cover it up pretty well. Those are probably the two easiest changes to make.
Then of course, I can switch the middle pictures around. I hadn't planned on the patient holding the teddy bear to be the central image (or to be as big as it turned out) but after (and during) my presentation, I realized that it would make more sense. So if I reprint those things, and I do still have the edited versions, I can switch those, maybe make the teddy bear image a little bigger, even, since the post-operation woman is kind of a large image on its own. Oh and increase the text size in each of those images too.
The other place I got deductions was in layering, or rather the lack of. And since that's part of this current project too, I should probably think a little more about that as well.
External Links
So I've been thinking what kinds of external links I can include, and today in my Environmental Science lab we took a quiz that tells you how big your individual ecological footprint is and other little tidbits. It was kind of fun, actually, because after you answer a set of questions, a corresponding graphic plops down on your screen, and your little avatar walks around. Anyways, that's not exactly related, but since one of the reasons I wanted to push recycling was because of environmental reasons, so I think this quiz might be a fun thing just to have somewhere on the site. Go here to take the quiz.
So there's that link, and I think I may include some links to informational sites about recycling, and then this site with a list of 50 ways to go green. I don't want too many sites, but I think those two in particular would be good ones to use because they aren't an exact repetition of what my own web site will say. I may have to include some links to some of the stuff I found on the TCU website, because it's so hard to find that stuff again - especially the guidelines page since it's no longer linked anywhere that I could find. I think most of these links would go under the Action/What Can I Do page, since that's what they would relate to the most, although if I can find some information about what Fort Worth/Tarrant county do for recycling that might go under the guidelines page.
Notes:
*Color issue is fixed, or will be whenever I get access to a library computer with Dreamweaver.
*I can upload a PDF file for others to download.
*I'm thinking of using a picture of me that a friend drew, because it's not a totally realistic picture (I'm a lily fairy) but is still recognizably me, sort of like Karen's picture. I don't know for sure though. Really though, I don't have many good pictures of myself. Oh well, worry about that later.
So there's that link, and I think I may include some links to informational sites about recycling, and then this site with a list of 50 ways to go green. I don't want too many sites, but I think those two in particular would be good ones to use because they aren't an exact repetition of what my own web site will say. I may have to include some links to some of the stuff I found on the TCU website, because it's so hard to find that stuff again - especially the guidelines page since it's no longer linked anywhere that I could find. I think most of these links would go under the Action/What Can I Do page, since that's what they would relate to the most, although if I can find some information about what Fort Worth/Tarrant county do for recycling that might go under the guidelines page.
Notes:
*Color issue is fixed, or will be whenever I get access to a library computer with Dreamweaver.
*I can upload a PDF file for others to download.
*I'm thinking of using a picture of me that a friend drew, because it's not a totally realistic picture (I'm a lily fairy) but is still recognizably me, sort of like Karen's picture. I don't know for sure though. Really though, I don't have many good pictures of myself. Oh well, worry about that later.
Unit 2 Project
My reform for Unit 2 is about recycling. My thinking is that even though TCU is supposedly promoting a greener lifestyle, it's not really happening. I want to change that. My main goals for the website are to increase awareness of recycling, to make people aware of what they can recycle and what they can't, and to suggest increases to the types of products that can be recycled. The biggest thing there is newspaper. We cannot recycle newspaper at TCU right now. That's ridiculous. Also, in most class buildings, the only recycling available is for paper. That means that faculty cannot recycle glass or plastic drink cans at all. It's a little better in the dorms, because we have a recycling bin along with the rest of the trash cans, but people throw trash in there as well. And since I'm betting a lot of people don't know what they can or cannot recycle, they toss stuff in there that can't be recycled.
Some of the things I want to suggest are:
*Easy to access list of guidelines for recycling
*Increase the types of materials we can recycle
*More recycling bins (one outside for every trash can)
*More recycling bins inside the dorms (clearly labelled)
*Promote recycling in general
Of course, TCU's website is evil, so it's hard to find things: I had to Google the list of guidelines that I have right now, and it's only for paper recycling. It's supposedly from the Risk Management website, but when I went there, there's nothing there that deals with recycling so I have no idea where this list comes from. It's weird. Oh well, all praise Google!!
Some of the things I want to suggest are:
*Easy to access list of guidelines for recycling
*Increase the types of materials we can recycle
*More recycling bins (one outside for every trash can)
*More recycling bins inside the dorms (clearly labelled)
*Promote recycling in general
Of course, TCU's website is evil, so it's hard to find things: I had to Google the list of guidelines that I have right now, and it's only for paper recycling. It's supposedly from the Risk Management website, but when I went there, there's nothing there that deals with recycling so I have no idea where this list comes from. It's weird. Oh well, all praise Google!!
Notes to Self (and any stalkers-I-mean-blog-followers)
OK! Here's some things I need to do/remember/ask about.
1) If I get enough other stuff done, figure out how to get rid of the stupid pink font. Priority: low.
2) What kind of stuff should go on the about me page? Right now I've got my name and a few sentences about TCU stuff. I saw that Karen's putting a picture up, not a photo but a created image. I'm not sure I want to put a real photo of myself up on this page, but I could do a "fake" one easily enough. On Facebook, I don't have a picture of me, instead I have this dead smiley face I made. (By dead I mean x's for eyes and a tongue sticking out.) I wouldn't use that for this though. Priority: fairly high.
3) Ask around about how often you guys recycle. I know most, if not all, the dorms have or should have a recycling bin with the regular trash bins, but how often do you use it? I know I don't use it enough, just because I don't have room in my room for two separate trash cans, and it's a pain to walk all the way down the hall every time I have something to recycle. My roommate last year just collected her used water bottles in a bag on the door until it was full and worth a trip over to the Student Center (because Milton didn't have recycling bins that we knew of), but that was for water. Water doesn't smell, water doesn't get moldy. Also, I don't buy water bottles anymore since the meal plan changed. Anyways. Priority: fairly high.
4) Hmm...well, what kinds of things are people doing for their downloadable file? I have some ideas, but I don't know if any of them are good ideas. Also, make sure I know how to do that in Dreamweaver. I overheard instructions for that since it's apparently not in the textbook, but I need to make sure I can actually DO that. Priority: medium/high.
And I think that will be all for now! (I hope.)
1) If I get enough other stuff done, figure out how to get rid of the stupid pink font. Priority: low.
2) What kind of stuff should go on the about me page? Right now I've got my name and a few sentences about TCU stuff. I saw that Karen's putting a picture up, not a photo but a created image. I'm not sure I want to put a real photo of myself up on this page, but I could do a "fake" one easily enough. On Facebook, I don't have a picture of me, instead I have this dead smiley face I made. (By dead I mean x's for eyes and a tongue sticking out.) I wouldn't use that for this though. Priority: fairly high.
3) Ask around about how often you guys recycle. I know most, if not all, the dorms have or should have a recycling bin with the regular trash bins, but how often do you use it? I know I don't use it enough, just because I don't have room in my room for two separate trash cans, and it's a pain to walk all the way down the hall every time I have something to recycle. My roommate last year just collected her used water bottles in a bag on the door until it was full and worth a trip over to the Student Center (because Milton didn't have recycling bins that we knew of), but that was for water. Water doesn't smell, water doesn't get moldy. Also, I don't buy water bottles anymore since the meal plan changed. Anyways. Priority: fairly high.
4) Hmm...well, what kinds of things are people doing for their downloadable file? I have some ideas, but I don't know if any of them are good ideas. Also, make sure I know how to do that in Dreamweaver. I overheard instructions for that since it's apparently not in the textbook, but I need to make sure I can actually DO that. Priority: medium/high.
And I think that will be all for now! (I hope.)
(Belated) Ideas
So I had all these cool ideas for reforms that I was going to post here and debate with myself (or any comments) in order to decide which one I wanted to do. Then I mixed that paper up with some history doodles and never got around to finding it again until now. Thank you room cleaning! Some of these ideas are a little less serious than others, or aren't really good ideas for this type of project, but maybe they could be a part of a bigger idea.
First, I wanted to increase the classes offered for the Classical Studies minor. There's hardly any classes being offered, and two of them are Honors classes (which is ok for me) but I think non-Honors students would have a very hard time getting in to such a class because they would probably fill up quickly. There are a few History classes, a few English and Religion classes, and Greek. Of those, maybe 3 or so (not counting the 2 honors classes) have been offered since I've been at TCU. But....of course this reform doesn't really affect that many people, and mostly it would involve hiring more faculty or making current faculty teach more classes, or substituting Classical Studies classes for more popular ones, so in the end, I decided against this.
I thought about reforming the food service because let's face it: it kind of sucks. The "Corner Store" (what's wrong with Frog Bytes, huh?) is basically a candy and junk food store. What happened to the real food that we could get last year? And no, instant ramen does NOT count as real food. I'm thinking of the pasta boxes, like hamburger helper, or cake mixes (ok so that's still junk food), the baking supplies, the sliced deli meats, stuff you could actually live on. Not rows of chips and candy bars. This could actually have been a kind of fun reform to do, but I still ended up doing something else.
A less serious reform: tell someone at Market Square that the black floor mats they have for you to wipe your feet on don't do any good when THEY'RE OUTSIDE IN THE RAIN. Seriously. The mats are outside. Soaking wet (even after the rain's stopped) so students walk in with wet shoes and make a mess. Why aren't the mats inside?? Sure, maybe a wet mat gets more dirt off than a dry one (maybe), but dirt + water = mud. That just doesn't make any sense to me.
And then there's the reform that I actually decided on: recycling. Increasing both awareness of the importance of recycling and the amount of recycling done on campus. More details to come :)
First, I wanted to increase the classes offered for the Classical Studies minor. There's hardly any classes being offered, and two of them are Honors classes (which is ok for me) but I think non-Honors students would have a very hard time getting in to such a class because they would probably fill up quickly. There are a few History classes, a few English and Religion classes, and Greek. Of those, maybe 3 or so (not counting the 2 honors classes) have been offered since I've been at TCU. But....of course this reform doesn't really affect that many people, and mostly it would involve hiring more faculty or making current faculty teach more classes, or substituting Classical Studies classes for more popular ones, so in the end, I decided against this.
I thought about reforming the food service because let's face it: it kind of sucks. The "Corner Store" (what's wrong with Frog Bytes, huh?) is basically a candy and junk food store. What happened to the real food that we could get last year? And no, instant ramen does NOT count as real food. I'm thinking of the pasta boxes, like hamburger helper, or cake mixes (ok so that's still junk food), the baking supplies, the sliced deli meats, stuff you could actually live on. Not rows of chips and candy bars. This could actually have been a kind of fun reform to do, but I still ended up doing something else.
A less serious reform: tell someone at Market Square that the black floor mats they have for you to wipe your feet on don't do any good when THEY'RE OUTSIDE IN THE RAIN. Seriously. The mats are outside. Soaking wet (even after the rain's stopped) so students walk in with wet shoes and make a mess. Why aren't the mats inside?? Sure, maybe a wet mat gets more dirt off than a dry one (maybe), but dirt + water = mud. That just doesn't make any sense to me.
And then there's the reform that I actually decided on: recycling. Increasing both awareness of the importance of recycling and the amount of recycling done on campus. More details to come :)
Small Annoyances
Well, I think I've pretty much got a decent grasp of Dreamweaver. The templates are helpful, because I really wouldn't know how to organize my site without them. There's just a few things that are bugging me. First is the date thing. It's automatically included in the templates (or at least the ones I've been using) which, okay, fine that's not a big deal. But the date doesn't show up in Dreamweaver. I didn't know it was there until I was previewing my site on the Internet and a random date just popped up right next to my home page link. They were squished together because I hadn't been expecting something other than a date to go there. And I couldn't just delete the date either, or move it or the link away from the edge. I think that's built into the template, and I can change that, but I kind of wanted all the links to be in that same spot. Anyways, I finally figured out how to get rid of the date everywhere except the home page, where I don't have a link and so don't mind the date. I had to go into the code and just comment out the write date command. So really, it's not that big a deal, it's just a minor annoyance that I have to remember to do for each page.
The other annoyance is just plain weird. The default font colors for the template are green, grey, and red. I like the green and grey, but the red has to go. I'm pretty sure I've changed all instances of red font to a nice blue font, which frankly looks much better than the red ever did. But before I decided on the blue, I was testing out a pink font (making my website done in the same colors as my blog). I tested the pink on one of the web pages, decided I didn't like it, and turned it back to blue. While I was working with my first two pages, the pink was fully gone. So I kind of forgot about it. But when I created the next two pages, changed the red font to blue, got rid of the date, and previewed the page, what do I see but PINK FONT???? The links to return to the home page keep showing up in pink!! I don't know why, these websites never used pink, ther's no pink anywhere in any of the CSS rules, and the hover color is the correct blue, so I don't know where this stupid pink color came from but I don't appreciate it. Unfortunately, this is just a small issue, so I won't get around to trying to fix it until everything else is done, because two links just aren't that important.
The other annoyance is just plain weird. The default font colors for the template are green, grey, and red. I like the green and grey, but the red has to go. I'm pretty sure I've changed all instances of red font to a nice blue font, which frankly looks much better than the red ever did. But before I decided on the blue, I was testing out a pink font (making my website done in the same colors as my blog). I tested the pink on one of the web pages, decided I didn't like it, and turned it back to blue. While I was working with my first two pages, the pink was fully gone. So I kind of forgot about it. But when I created the next two pages, changed the red font to blue, got rid of the date, and previewed the page, what do I see but PINK FONT???? The links to return to the home page keep showing up in pink!! I don't know why, these websites never used pink, ther's no pink anywhere in any of the CSS rules, and the hover color is the correct blue, so I don't know where this stupid pink color came from but I don't appreciate it. Unfortunately, this is just a small issue, so I won't get around to trying to fix it until everything else is done, because two links just aren't that important.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Project
Okay, so I've gotten several reviews about my project. The t-shirt background idea is a definite. And after checking out the Susan G. Komen website, I found that the official logo is a multi-colored pink ribbon, tilted to the right with a pink dot on top of it. So I can use plain pink ribbons for the project. The pink ribbon is tied to breast cancer, but it is not the same as the official logo. I will take some pictures of the 2008 Cure shirt, and use the 2007 Cure shirt for the background. I got some suggestions about different photos that I could use from the Internet: a woman after surgery to remove the cancer, or a hospitalized patient vs a healthy woman/mother. Danielle told me about a story of a woman who cured herself of breast cancer just by believing that she could. She said everyday that she was healthy and eventually it actually worked. I don't know how I could incorporate that whole story, but I could just add a simple subtitle to the poster saying "Believe." It's a short message, but sometimes short messages are sometimes the best ones. So now I'm off to Hobby Lobby to see what sort of odds and ends I can find.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Font-y and Text-y Stuff
The font biography of Helvetica that we watched in class was surprisingly cool and interesting. And I would just like to point out that spellcheck recognizes neither Helvetica nor its own name. How sad. Back to the video. It was personally interesting to me because when I was younger (much younger) my mom and I used two fonts: Geneva and Helvetica. We never used Times. But I can't remember the last time I've typed something in either of those fonts. Everybody wants Times or Times New Roman. I'm willing to bet that at least 90% of the assignment sheets I've been given since freshmen year in high school have specifically requested Times. Why? Blogger doesn't use Times, it's set at Arial right now. Okay, I take that back. I just switched it to Courier. But Times is one of the few options there. Where did Helvetica go? Did it disappear again? The video mentioned that people got tired of seeing the same old Helvetica so they went kind of crazy with fonts. Well, I'm not looking that closely (I've never thought to before) but I don't think that's happening now. So we're not using crazy fonts, but Helvetica is not a school standard. Is it just in schools, or is it more widespread? I'll admit it - I have a hard time telling some fonts apart. Mostly for two reasons: one, I don't know what's different about them, and two, I've just never really looked before. I think this is going to bother me for a while.
I'm not dead set on using this font, but I had been thinking of using Lucinda Handwriting for any text on my unit 1 project. It's not a messy handwritten font - it's still very neat and orderly, but it's not Times either. To me, it seems more real and soft or gentle or something like that. That's what I wanted for the poster. It's supposed to persuade viewers to help out or at least be aware of breast cancer, but I didn't want a big strong bold font that screams of masculinity. I wanted a more feminine style. That's why I choose Lucinda Handwriting, and not Lucinda Cursive. The Cursive is more loopy and intricate and all that, while the Handwriting is somewhat connected but also separate. I just think it works really well. However, I am still willing to reconsider. I really like the Papyrus and LegerD fonts, but I don't think either of those would really be right for this project. If I still have or can find it, Apple Chancery might be nice. It's kind of in between Lucinda Handwriting and a generic plain font. Looks kind of italicized, I think. Ah well. It all depends on what the poster looks like, I think.
I'm not dead set on using this font, but I had been thinking of using Lucinda Handwriting for any text on my unit 1 project. It's not a messy handwritten font - it's still very neat and orderly, but it's not Times either. To me, it seems more real and soft or gentle or something like that. That's what I wanted for the poster. It's supposed to persuade viewers to help out or at least be aware of breast cancer, but I didn't want a big strong bold font that screams of masculinity. I wanted a more feminine style. That's why I choose Lucinda Handwriting, and not Lucinda Cursive. The Cursive is more loopy and intricate and all that, while the Handwriting is somewhat connected but also separate. I just think it works really well. However, I am still willing to reconsider. I really like the Papyrus and LegerD fonts, but I don't think either of those would really be right for this project. If I still have or can find it, Apple Chancery might be nice. It's kind of in between Lucinda Handwriting and a generic plain font. Looks kind of italicized, I think. Ah well. It all depends on what the poster looks like, I think.
Materials
Here's what I'm thinking of right now to use for the project. (And the requirements so I don't forget anything.)
4+ materials
4+ photo-edited of others
4+ original images
*I could actually buy one of the leftover Cure t-shirts (they're only $3) and put that on the board instead of just taking a picture.
*OH. I can use one of the lanyards ($1) to make a hook to hang the poster.
(So, $4 plus 35% percent off...ahahaha I love employee discounts.)
Why do we say plus a percentage off?
Isn't that backwards? Am I the only one who notices stuff like that?
Why is English so weird??
4+ materials
4+ photo-edited of others
4+ original images
*I could actually buy one of the leftover Cure t-shirts (they're only $3) and put that on the board instead of just taking a picture.
*OH. I can use one of the lanyards ($1) to make a hook to hang the poster.
(So, $4 plus 35% percent off...ahahaha I love employee discounts.)
Isn't that backwards? Am I the only one who notices stuff like that?
Why is English so weird??
*I was going to knit a mini ribbon thing, but I don't have pink yarn and I left the white at home. I do have some red left over from Xmas - it's got either gold or silver flecks in it. That's still usable, though.
*We had to wear little pink ribbons on a safety pin on our nametags at work for months this summer, so I could stick that somewhere. It's tiny, maybe 1 1/2" tall at the most.
*During the FWAGLL (Fort Worth American Girl Luncheon League) last Saturday, the girls (24 of them, good grief!) made little heart shaped pillows out of felt, stuffing, and yarn. They were really cute, and I don't know about anyone else, but when I think of breast cancer, I can relate it to the image of a heart pretty easily. I mean, that's in the right area of the body, and I'm not really comfortable getting a picture of a naked breast, and who wants to see what it really looks like on the inside? So, a heart. Besides, it's almost Valentine's Day.
*Then there's the 4 photos/images that aren't mine...I might try to get an image of the founder, Susan Komen's sister. Then I can arrange some text near her face so it's like she's speaking to us. Or maybe that would work better with Susan Komen herself...hmm.
*I also want a photo that I can Burn, so maybe a before/after sort of thing, although that's awful common...probably because it works.
*Huh. I just had two good ideas, but the stuff I need for them is at home. Maybe one of my parents won't mind being a packmule...? I could either make tissue paper flowers (simple ones), or I might have some dried flower petals still, or maybe even potpurri. I'm thinking of scented things, and obviously tissue paper isn't scented but that's what perfume is for :).
*Textwise, I don't plan to include much. There's the paragraph of course, but other than that...The name, of course, and maybe a website right under it (b/c websites are shorter, and better for info sharing). There's the slogan I used for the mini-project: "Promise to Fight" which I could use, or I might be able to come up with something different.
To summarize:
1) t-shirt
2) lanyard
3) knitted ribbon
4) mini store ribbon
5) pillow heart
6) Susan Komen/sister pic
7) Burnable photo
8) flower/potpurri/scented thing
9) text - paragraph, title, web, slogan
Okie dokie then. Farewell Monday!
*We had to wear little pink ribbons on a safety pin on our nametags at work for months this summer, so I could stick that somewhere. It's tiny, maybe 1 1/2" tall at the most.
*During the FWAGLL (Fort Worth American Girl Luncheon League) last Saturday, the girls (24 of them, good grief!) made little heart shaped pillows out of felt, stuffing, and yarn. They were really cute, and I don't know about anyone else, but when I think of breast cancer, I can relate it to the image of a heart pretty easily. I mean, that's in the right area of the body, and I'm not really comfortable getting a picture of a naked breast, and who wants to see what it really looks like on the inside? So, a heart. Besides, it's almost Valentine's Day.
*Then there's the 4 photos/images that aren't mine...I might try to get an image of the founder, Susan Komen's sister. Then I can arrange some text near her face so it's like she's speaking to us. Or maybe that would work better with Susan Komen herself...hmm.
*I also want a photo that I can Burn, so maybe a before/after sort of thing, although that's awful common...probably because it works.
*Huh. I just had two good ideas, but the stuff I need for them is at home. Maybe one of my parents won't mind being a packmule...? I could either make tissue paper flowers (simple ones), or I might have some dried flower petals still, or maybe even potpurri. I'm thinking of scented things, and obviously tissue paper isn't scented but that's what perfume is for :).
*Textwise, I don't plan to include much. There's the paragraph of course, but other than that...The name, of course, and maybe a website right under it (b/c websites are shorter, and better for info sharing). There's the slogan I used for the mini-project: "Promise to Fight" which I could use, or I might be able to come up with something different.
To summarize:
1) t-shirt
2) lanyard
3) knitted ribbon
4) mini store ribbon
5) pillow heart
6) Susan Komen/sister pic
7) Burnable photo
8) flower/potpurri/scented thing
9) text - paragraph, title, web, slogan
Okie dokie then. Farewell Monday!
MiniProject 2
While I was working on this project, I thought of another organization I might have done, if it was local enough. It's called Edun Live, and the only reason I know about it is because the bookstore keeps getting shipments of t-shirts from them that do not sell. At all. So I thought it would be interesting to promote Edun Live in hopes that that would encourage students to go buy t-shirts. (I definitely have worked there too long ^__^.) But it's way too late to change now, so I shall stick with Susan G. Komen For the Cure.
Anyways, this project gave me two ideas that I might be able to use for the big unit project. My mini project was prettty simple: a photo of a race event, with the middle group of people all in pink, and faded out over that was a decorated pink ribbon. It wasn't the exact ribbon logo - it was all one shade of pink and had some swirls on either side. I blurred the people on the outside of the first photo and sharpened the ones wearing pink in the middle. Then I used Burn, I think, to darken the right side of the photo. It was kind of supposed to show three stages or types: first is the average person, not really involved (blurred, left side), then there's the aware ones who are trying to make a difference (sharpened, middle, pink), and then there's the ones who either don't care or who have been hurt by the carelessness/uncaring/whatever of the people on the left (blurred, darkened, right side). I hope it came close to portraying something like that, even if it came across as simply healthy vs. unheathly.
Back to the ideas: I liked how the ribbon looked, faded over the whole image. I know we can't use an actual logo, but what about someone else's similar creation? I shall ask tomorrow. If that won't work, then maybe just a pale pink tinge would work, or maybe a bow or something like that.
Second, I remember talking to several people about their ideas, and something they had in common was use of color vs blacks and whites. I don't think I want my images to be B&W completely, but I think the result I got using Burn for the mini project was pretty cool. I think it could send a pretty strong signal about the seriousness of breast cancer.
So those are two things I want to try and incorporate into my unit project.
Anyways, this project gave me two ideas that I might be able to use for the big unit project. My mini project was prettty simple: a photo of a race event, with the middle group of people all in pink, and faded out over that was a decorated pink ribbon. It wasn't the exact ribbon logo - it was all one shade of pink and had some swirls on either side. I blurred the people on the outside of the first photo and sharpened the ones wearing pink in the middle. Then I used Burn, I think, to darken the right side of the photo. It was kind of supposed to show three stages or types: first is the average person, not really involved (blurred, left side), then there's the aware ones who are trying to make a difference (sharpened, middle, pink), and then there's the ones who either don't care or who have been hurt by the carelessness/uncaring/whatever of the people on the left (blurred, darkened, right side). I hope it came close to portraying something like that, even if it came across as simply healthy vs. unheathly.
Back to the ideas: I liked how the ribbon looked, faded over the whole image. I know we can't use an actual logo, but what about someone else's similar creation? I shall ask tomorrow. If that won't work, then maybe just a pale pink tinge would work, or maybe a bow or something like that.
Second, I remember talking to several people about their ideas, and something they had in common was use of color vs blacks and whites. I don't think I want my images to be B&W completely, but I think the result I got using Burn for the mini project was pretty cool. I think it could send a pretty strong signal about the seriousness of breast cancer.
So those are two things I want to try and incorporate into my unit project.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Ink Accident
Well, I found out last Wednesday that my printer was out of ink in a rather dramatic way - I tried to print my collage for class and no black ink appeared! After a few moments of panic, I realized that the collage, or some parts of it at least, actually looked kind of cool. Specifically, the picture of the woman in the lower left corner had white eyes. It looks really creepy. And in the right bottom corner, the shadows of people watching the flag burn look more like ghostly images than just normal shadows. I have examples! But because Preview is stupid, they won't face the right way no matter how many times I rotate and re-save the images. So...tilt your head?
Although to be fair, I think it's easier to see the shadows from this angle. If the rest of the collage hadn't been even more messed up, I would have been tempted to turn it in like this. These are definitely weird effects that I bet I could reproduce in Photoshop, but I doubt I would have thought to do something like this. So I guess it is a good thing that my ink ran out when it did.
Although to be fair, I think it's easier to see the shadows from this angle. If the rest of the collage hadn't been even more messed up, I would have been tempted to turn it in like this. These are definitely weird effects that I bet I could reproduce in Photoshop, but I doubt I would have thought to do something like this. So I guess it is a good thing that my ink ran out when it did.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
NGO Idea...Maybe?
My first idea for this project was a small group that my high school's National Honor Society worked with my senior year. Unfortunately, I can't remember much about it - no name, no idea where it was located (other than somewhere in Fort Worth), or anything remotely useful. What I DO remember is this:
*It was during Christmas, and the manager made us sing carols as we helped people load up their stuff.
*Each family received a turkey and a bag of canned food. This was what I helped with, and believe me, carrying 20 pounds of frozen turkey outside gets old really fast.
*Families had to sign up to come get things; some just got food, others were able to pick out a certain number of toys for their kids. There were a lot of toy donations crammed into the rooms, which were pretty small.
But that's it. And knowing how unorganized the NHS was, there won't be any records for me to check. So unless someone by some random chance someone out there recognizes this place, I will think of something else. Possibly the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer foundation. I'm familiar with that organization through the TCU Bookstore where I work in the clothing dept. Every year we get a T-shirt to sell. We have cups and lanyards as well. We still have leftover t-shirts from 2008 and 2007 (because the store manager won't let us sell them, but also won't let us get rid of them...grrrr!) so I could get pictures of all those items. That way my project would be really local! There is a location in Dallas, so I don't know that I could just drive over to get any pictures there, so I like the possibility of nearby pictures.
*It was during Christmas, and the manager made us sing carols as we helped people load up their stuff.
*Each family received a turkey and a bag of canned food. This was what I helped with, and believe me, carrying 20 pounds of frozen turkey outside gets old really fast.
*Families had to sign up to come get things; some just got food, others were able to pick out a certain number of toys for their kids. There were a lot of toy donations crammed into the rooms, which were pretty small.
But that's it. And knowing how unorganized the NHS was, there won't be any records for me to check. So unless someone by some random chance someone out there recognizes this place, I will think of something else. Possibly the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer foundation. I'm familiar with that organization through the TCU Bookstore where I work in the clothing dept. Every year we get a T-shirt to sell. We have cups and lanyards as well. We still have leftover t-shirts from 2008 and 2007 (because the store manager won't let us sell them, but also won't let us get rid of them...grrrr!) so I could get pictures of all those items. That way my project would be really local! There is a location in Dallas, so I don't know that I could just drive over to get any pictures there, so I like the possibility of nearby pictures.
Layers and Photoshop
Like a lot of people in this class, I am already fairly familiar with Photoshop. Having said that, it's been a while since I've used it (almost 3 years I believe) so when we had some class time last Thursday to play around, it took me a while to remember how things work. But I LOVE the Layers book. It is simple and easy to understand. (And the author uses a Mac. What could be better?) Like Karen said, the author even has a website where you can download the pictures he used to make following along even easier. This book really makes me want to buy the Photoshop software so I may have to look into that before the semester ends.
I wish I had some of the projects I created in my high school class where we learned how to use Illustrator, Photoshop and Flash, but all that stuff was saved to our student drives and deleted at the end of the year. The final project we did involved all the software to make a little movie with voice overs, sound clips, animation, original drawings, edited pictures, etc etc. But I bet that after I finish this class I'll be able to make an even better version of that project. So that's one of my goals for this semester.
I wish I had some of the projects I created in my high school class where we learned how to use Illustrator, Photoshop and Flash, but all that stuff was saved to our student drives and deleted at the end of the year. The final project we did involved all the software to make a little movie with voice overs, sound clips, animation, original drawings, edited pictures, etc etc. But I bet that after I finish this class I'll be able to make an even better version of that project. So that's one of my goals for this semester.
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