kathleen.zimmerman

Explanation of My Audio Story

For my audio story, I chose to interview my mom about her experiences with technology. I made sure to ask questions related to Ready Player One. A few questions I asked included: Did you play any video games as a child, like Pac-man etc? Which ones? Where do you think technology is headed? What do you see life like in the next 10-20 years? Etc. I made sure to focus specifically on technology. In Ready Player One many video games were referenced from the 1980s. In my interview, my mom spoke about Atari, Pac-man, and Donkey Kong which were also things mentioned in Ready Player One. I also asked her how she saw technology in the future since Ready Player One is set in the future.

In the StoryCorps project, the interviews focus on stories people have about certain topics, their personal antidotes. In my interview, I included personal stories from my mom (about her grandfather and father) like they do in the StoryCorps project.

I chose to interview my mom because she grew up in the 1980s and is familiar with the time period of the novel. I asked her questions related to the novel as well as questions about technology in general. A lot of our conversation about technology was focused on technology in schools since both my sister and I are both in college. My mom is observing how technology is affecting our learning in college compared to when she went to WSU. I had a list of about 12 pre-written questions which I asked my mom. I then edited it down to fit within the time constraints as well as to create a smoother flowing story.

I was already familiar with Adobe Audition, so I knew the basics going into this project. I had also already worked with my audio recorder, so that made the process simpler and enabled me to focus more on the interview itself. In editing the interview, I first split up the track into individual segments where my mom answered a specific question. I staggered each segment onto a different line in Audition which helped me visualize as well as edit the track better. After I had chosen the tracks I wanted, I edited them individually, taking out long pauses or excessive filler words. I then put in music to the beginning and end of my story and made sure to fade-in and fade-out the music.

I decided to find creative commons music to introduce and end my audio story. I chose music that eluded to the sounds of a video game which I thought was fitting. I only added one sound to supplement my interview because I didn’t want the sounds to detract from the interview itself and I also wanted to follow in the footsteps of the StoryCorps project where they usually only use an intro and outro song.

Creator: Mativve

Title: Cheerful Song

URL: https://freesound.org/people/Mativve/sounds/391538/

Creative Commons License Name: Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)

Link to Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Critique of Classmate’s Audio Story

Sophia’s audio story was really good! She chose to interview her mom who has a background in banking. I didn’t find a specific part of Sophia’s audio story that relates to the book Ready Player One, but her mom does describe the physical and digital difference between technology from past to present. As a child, her mom would find her balance with a booklet called a “passport” so they could see their transactions in a physical form. The physical difference throughout history in regards to technology is apparent in the interview. This is like Ready Player One because Wade lives in a physical world but in the OASIS everything is digital. This shows how in the past things were more physical but now things are more digital.

Sophia’s interview mirrors the StoryCorps project because of her mom’s storytelling. Her whole interview is about banking which is a specific topic and lends itself more to the story format. The StoryCorps projects are all focused on a specific topic. Once she edits it down more, it will resemble the StoryCorps project even more.

Sophia’s interview with her mom was very fluid and interesting to listen to. Sophia chose her mom because of her background in banking. The conversation between the two was very fluid and I liked hearing the questions she asked her mom (something I need to include in my final story) and her mom’s response. The subject was a good one to choose since her mom is so familiar with banking and knows a lot about the technology involved with it.

Sophia’s audio is very clear and is good quality. She hasn’t edited her audio story yet, so her story is a little too long for the final audio story. I think it will be good to take pieces of the most important parts of the narrative about the history of banking and just make it more condensed. I liked how her mom compared the difference between the past and how canceled checks were handled when she was younger compared to online banking now. It was interesting to see how much banking has changed. I think it might be fun to include some sounds that relate to banking. Like cash register noises or something like that!

Critique of Classmate’s Web Portfolio

Olivia did a great job of changing the original WordPress template and making it her own. She has a clear, easy to find menu labeled, “explore,” “portfolio,” “blog,” and “about.” In the “explore” page, it would be good to change the link labeled “projects” to “portfolio” since it goes to the portfolio page. I would get rid of the “recent posts” link as well as “archives” since these are features more associated with blogs instead of websites. It may also be good to categorize the “portfolio” tab into classes or types of programs like “Illustrator” and “Photoshop.” I would also consider moving the “about” tab beneath the “explore” tab since viewers usually like to know about the person before viewing their work; also, this would also be good since the first thing on the main page is “about.” Changing this would keep the order consistent in the menu tab.

Olivia created her portfolio around WSU’s colors of crimson and grey. This looks really good and also shows how much she manipulated the original template. She also changed the color of the text to fit with her color scheme, while still choosing a color that was readable. One recommendation I have would be to change the font into a san-serif font. This would be more readable and make the site look more modern.

Olivia used hierarchy on her website especially on her main page where she displayed a picture of herself, then projects, and then her blog. This order makes since because it is in order of importance. In “The Principals Of Design,” John Lovett explains how contrast plays a big part in design. Olivia used this technique when she contrasted the crimson background against the white text background and then the black text. She also used repetition on her home page with the square pictures. I may consider adding one more picture associated with the “blog” link. You could find something online with a creative commons license or a picture that you took yourself.

Explanation of my Web Portfolio

For my web portfolio, I wanted to keep it minimalistic and aesthetically pleasing. I chose the Twenty Fifteen theme on WordPress for my website. I created a static home page featuring a logo which I made especially for this project. Underneath I explained a bit about myself as well as what viewers can expect to find on my portfolio site. On the sidebar, I included Home, About, Portfolio, and Blog tabs. I ordered these in order of importance as well as what I thought users would be used to. I made the Portfolio tab so that it wouldn’t open as a page from a tutorial here. Under the Portfolio tab, I added four more tabs labeled, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and Photography. I chose these names since I had media for each one and wanted to show that I am familiar with each of these platforms/categories.

I chose to keep my site black and white to show off my portfolio work. I also removed many widgets that had come with the theme such as “search,” “categories,” etc. This makes my site look more like a website rather than a blog. I also changed the font of my website by editing CSS to Montserrat sans-serif from google fonts. Since we were required to include a widget on our site, I put my stop motion video on the sidebar. This kind of disrupts my color scheme, but I think it was the best widget to include. I was struggling to find an image that looked professional and not out of place on my website. I was experimenting with different images as well as transforming images in photoshop. I inadvertently created the logo you now see on my site which I think tuned out great and looks very professional.

In the reading “Hierarchy” I used contrasting weight for my home page by bolding letters in the introduction of my site. This brings the viewer’s attention to certain words. From the “Design Elements and Principles” reading I implemented contrast in my design. By using black and white, my site has high contrast and also looks simple. I also used harmony by using only greyscale colors for my logo, this ties my site together visually.

I really liked WordPress’s predesigned templates because it makes it easy for someone with little knowledge of web design to create a professional looking site. WordPress also allows users to edit the HTML as well as CSS which is a huge feature for those with more knowledge of web design. There were some things I wish I could have changed but crimson pages was limited in that regard. Some things I would have liked to change were, hiding the “Home” title on my static homepage as shown in this how-to. I also would have removed the “powered by WordPress” section at the bottom of my site but wasn’t able to do this. Other than a few limitations, WordPress is a great template for creating professional looking sites.

Critique of Classmate’s Avatar

Jocelyn’s character is very well developed and she has a great idea going forward for her final project. She created a human avatar to be her avatar in the OASIS. Her character is a girl who is still in school who is a part of the Easter egg hunt. Jocelyn may still need to include more information about who her character is in the OASIS and her purpose in the story onto her poster. She can do this by adding pieces of text on her poster to give some background information about her character.

Jocelyn went for a more realistic look for her character. She did this because she was already familiar with illustrator. I think the drawing style she chose for her character is appropriate for the assignment because her avatar would fit well in the OASIS. Her style also shows her skill working in Illustrator. She explained to me how she was going to draw more gear and maybe weapons for her character. I think this is a good idea and will help flesh-out her character’s personality visually.

Jocelyn was still working on her ideas for her poster design around her avatar. We discussed how looking at example posters online and going back over the readings will help with finishing our poster design process. We also discussed the possibility of downloading free fonts online to make out posters more unique and personal. I think doing these things will help with finishing the entire poster.

Jocelyn mainly used the pen tool for her avatar. This gave her the freedom of creating a character exactly as she envisioned it without having to morph individual shapes. She also used the paintbrush tool to give her character shading to make it look more life-like.

Explanation of my Avatar Poster

There are many different types of characters in Ready Player One, including Sixers, Gunters, and Innovative Online Industries (IOI) employees, among others. I created my character to be a Gunter in the OASIS. She is in search of Halliday’s egg but prefers to search for it alone. She doesn’t have any close friends like Wade are Aech are to each other; this is because her main character flaws are that she is aloof and arrogant. People are not naturally attracted to her personality by any means. Although she is lonely she brushes that away and focuses on her true passion. She loves archery and practices constantly when she isn’t searching for the egg, which is rarely. Luckily her arrow will always hit its target whether she aims directly at it or not. She created her screen name Arci3re to reflect her love for archery; arciere is an Italian word meaning archer.

The drawing style I used is somewhat realistic, but thoughtfully simple as well. My character design was inspired by an Illustrator video I watched. From this video I learned how the pen tool can be used to create an interesting character. I drew my character with a bow and arrow to show motion, that way my poster would be visually interesting instead of static which I think turned out great.

I researched a lot of different Illustrator poster designs to give me inspiration for this project. I also wanted to focus around a specific color pallet so that my poster looked put together and visually appealing. I used the complementary colors blue and orange. In the diagram reading, I learned that scale and color play an important part of the design process. I used scale to bring attention to my avatar’s name. I used color by making all of the text boxes the same color. This helps my viewers differentiate between the text and the digital art. In the Hierarchy readings, it explained how placement is very important. I created hierarchy by placing my text boxes slightly behind by avatar so that my viewers could tell that my avatar is the most important figure in the poster. I chose a font that was already provided in Illustrator. I was considering downloading a font, but I ended up loving the way the provided font looked. I wanted to also create a text box that described exterior features. I always loved learning how old, or what height a fictional character was as a child. I wanted to add this information because I know I would have loved it as a child.

I used the pen tool mainly for this assignment. I found it very helpful in creating the exact shapes I was envisioning. I also used the gradient tool to create more dimension on certain parts of my avatar. My main inspiration came from the YouTube video I mentioned above. I added detail to my avatar where I thought it would enhance the image. When creating her eyes, I added white ellipses to show light glinting off. I created these with the ellipse tool. I also drew individual eyelashes as well as pieces of hair to give more detail. I used the shaper tool to create the arrow tip. The shaper tool ended up being a very handy tool along with the pen tool. Overall, I am very happy with my avatar and how the poster looks like a real graphic design piece.

Critique of Classmate’s Collage

Christian decided to create a utopian collage for his project. He seems to have a good idea of what he wants his project to convey and what it means to him. His collage shows a good sense of balance which is one of the design principles we read about in class. His collage is balanced by a road going down the center of his image. On both sides of the road he is placing different images like a stadium, to add to the interest of the piece. The main background is a rural area. The stadium contrasts the background since it is odd for a stadium to be in a rural area. He explained to me that he learned how to put the stadium into the image without it looking too out of place. Since he wants to make his project utopian it would be good to make sure that the images on both sides of the road are similar sized and balanced, so not to create uneasiness to his viewers.

I really liked his idea of adding a moon at the end of the road. I think this will add a whimsical feel to the utopian theme of his collage. Placing the moon lower on the horizon is very creative since it is not natural, but does make the image look utopian. He uses repetition through the cars he lined down the road. This creates interest in the image. Christian did a good job of incorporating what he learned in the readings into his final project. I could tell that he had a good grasp of the techniques and that he went the extra mile to make sure his images all fit together well. I am excited to see Christian’s final project and how he incorporates what he learned in class, the readings, and our class book Ready Player One. It was helpful to get creative inspiration from Christian’s ideas and study the design material provided on the course website.

Explanation of my Collage

A collage is an art piece created from many different materials. The first artists who made collages would use any material that could be pasted or attached to a surface like stamps, rope, and even gingerbread. Artists which were called the Berlin Dada group used photomontages to address politics and societal ideas. A photomontage is a collage composed only of photographic material. Although my collage is in a digital format, I used both photographic and physical materials. Physical coins and a ticket stub were scanned and placed in my piece. There is also a postcard and a map in my collage which I found online. The rest of the images were photographs which I also found online, except for the sunflowers which were part of a photograph I took. I made my piece both a collage and photomontage.

In the book “Graphic Design: The New Basics,” we read about layers. I incorporated many layers into my completed image. The area in my design where layers are most apparent is in the postcard. Here I cut out pieces of the postcard to show the map behind. This gives the image a more 2D feel, a crafty look, and incorporates both of the images together. In the postcard, I also put in a new background scene of mountains which was not there originally. This gives the image more depth and dimension and incorporates the naturalism technique. The naturalism contrasts nicely with the cut-out parts of the postcard showing the map. This was my favorite part of my collage.

Direction and balance play an important part in my image as well. As we learned in the reading, horizontal direction creates feelings of calmness and stability. I used horizontal direction mainly at the base of my image. I placed many of my images at the bottom to create a sense of stability. I also placed my images so that the piece looked balanced to the viewers. For example, placing the flowers and camera in the bottom left-hand corner, balanced out the hotel building in the center-right.

I focused my piece around the 1980s and tried to convey the feeling of a utopia. I used 1980s imagery to show that my piece was set in the 80s. The MGM hotel, old black and white picture of the girl, and the Nikon camera are all from the 1980s. I placed a ticket stub from a Star Wars film to reference Ready Player One. The book is all about 1980s pop culture, like books, music, video games, and movies. I am a big Star Wars fan and two Star Wars films came out in the 80s so I thought it would be a perfect personal piece to add to my collage. I used the lasso tool and the content aware fill tool to remove the date of 2015 from the ticket stub since it would take away from the 1980s theme. I then moved “Sun Dec 20” over to make it centered. I did this by using the “content aware move tool”. I also added a hot air balloon and sunflowers because they gave me a sense of utopia, and the added color also made my piece visually pleasing.

I really loved working with Photoshop since there are so many creative techniques possible. I used the magnetic lasso tool to trace the parts of the images I wanted to cut out. I then used the vector mask tool on all of the images which was a new feature to me, but I loved how it worked. After I cut out the images I went back over them with the paintbrush tool to erase the pixels which the magnetic lasso tool left behind. I did this by painting with black on the vector mask. I also used this technique to cut away parts of the postcard to show the map behind, as well as place the mountain scene in the background of the postcard. There was definitely a lot of trial and error here. I added filters on a few of the images to make them blend in better with the other images or to give them more contrast so they were not as flat. Overall I really like how my collage incorporated the idea of utopia and the 1980s into one image.