Visual
Visuals play a large part in incorporating information into our memories. Many people learn best by looking at pictures or diagrams. Organizing text into graphics aids in remembering a process rather than a description. Visuals help people picture what the author is trying to convey.
Businesses, advertising companies, etc. all use visuals so that they can reinforce the information they are saying with a picture. Unique pictures can often jog a person’s memory. This is the reason why visuals are used so often.
JumpStart Project
The projects our class created for JumpStart were meant to help children in the program with early childhood education. In other words, the audience that we were catering to were young children who had very short attention spans (this was explained in the studies that were looked at before designing the project).
The first version of our design was a felt board with 26 sections, one for each letter in the alphabet. The felt was dark green and the velcro was a creme color. After presenting our project to our class we received suggestions to add color to our board.
The final version of our design was the same except it was more colorful and visually pleasing. There were two sets of alphabets, in bright colors such as blue, orange, and yellow. Since the purpose of the activity is to teach the children their letters, the brighter colors will encourage them to be more interested in the activity and they will take part in it more actively.
Our design used different colors that were visually appealing to foster the interaction with the kids. Not only that, we took into account exactly which font would be best for the children to learn and read. We also tested how big we would need to make each letter to make the indoor activity a success.
Two processes that were used extremely effectively in composing the final draft of the JumpStart Project was revision and research. We researched every aspect of child attention span and learning capabilities and took all of the facts into account when designing and redesigning our alphabet board. Moreover, we continually revised the design until we felt as though it would be the best method to teach the kids alphabet, rhyming words, and spelling.
Network Prezi
The final version of our design for the Prezi was more effective at using visuals than our earlier design. Since we were still learning how Prezi works, we had many problems with formatting and design.
There were many minor problems such as the corners of graphs, pictures, and other visuals being cut off. Additionally, the color and font of the text was not kept consistent throughout the presentation.
Another problem we fixed in the final version of our Prezi was the legibility of certain fonts. Our thesis and subtitles were written in a semi-cursive font which was difficult to read even on the projector.
After fixing these problems in the visuals, we were better able to convey our thesis. Moreover, our presentation looked much more professional.
The purpose of a Prezi presentation is to provide the audience with better visuals. Prezi has many capabilities that a powerpoint does not have. As a result of this, the Prezi keeps the attention of the audience much better. Moreover, it provides the audience with images and visuals that are rememberable.
We used the revising technique very well. The revision process in class was very efficient and provided our group with a lot of feedback that we needed to improve our Prezi.
Our group also collaborated well. We met outside of class in order to split up the tasks and to practice the presentation. When I have to deliver another presentation, I will use these two processes again because of how much it helped our group.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Activity
For the activities that our class did for the book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, my group was selected to redesign the front and back covers of the book. We had to take many aspects of aesthetics into account when designing the cover.
We not only wanted the cover to reflect an important theme in the book or portray a significant event that occurred in the novel, we also wanted it to be a book that people pick up at the bookstore. We wanted it to be an attractive cover that leads people to read the book.
Web Portfolio
Redesigning is a significant part of creating web portfolios. The final version of my design for this web portfolio was about the same as the first version. However, I did make a few changes based on the critiques I received in class. These changes did make the website more effective because it allowed the viewers to go through it with ease.
The class suggested that I bold and make the font of the subtitles on the page larger. The reason they suggested this was because the smaller titles made the text on the page look very squished. After this slight change, the pages looked more inviting. It seemed as though more people would be inclined to read through it.
Web pages contain much more than just words. They consist of graphics, design, and pictures. My design definitely incorporates visuals that make the webpage more inviting. I have images that correspond with each section of text that enhance the point the text conveys. Overall the visuals enhance the effect of the text and it also encourages people to look at it. If a webpage contained nothing except for text, people would be much less inclined to read or look at it.
One of the processes that I have used effectively while composing the final draft of this webpage was editing the webpage. I created the webpage section by section to ensure that I did not make any mistakes on the subpages. I typed the text first, added it to the website section by section. As a result of this, I was forced to review my work as I added it to the website.
ALIZEH'S PORTFOLIO