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Project #4

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TCBP #5

OPTION G: Somebody App

Miranda’s Somebody app is incredibly interesting. I think July is responding to the texting/technology culture we have all become so accustomed to. People often hide behind screens & have  more courage saying things over text that should really be spoken in person. This is interesting because this app gives people the opportunity to hide behind the screen and have their message be spoke in person, just not by them. I think this may be one step forward but two steps back for society. As impersonal as it is to receive important information over text, I think it is even more impersonal to receive it from a stranger in person. In the video, there is a woman who is proposed to by a stranger. That to me, feels like 30 steps back. But I do appreciate the app as an art form. The app has enabled people to act, talk more to strangers, and be involved in what seems like a real life video game. I can also appreciate the idea as a whole. It’s a very unique concept that questions norms in our society. I think I would be open downloading the app & possibly taking part in an easy, non-life altering, message delivery. But I don't think I would ever be okay with being the person who ends someone else’s relationship or delivers any sort of important personal information. I would feel very uncomfortable. Which perhaps was one of July’s intentions. Not only does the app go against norms of how people receive information, it crosses the line between a personal and public conversation. I was beginning to question why anyone would ever want to put themselves in that situation (being the deliverer) and I suppose, it’s just another form of entertainment for them. I also think I would be very unhappy with someone if that is how they chose to deliver any important news to me. I think this app could potentially ruin many relationships and to be honest, I’m glad it isn't the next ‘Pokemon Go.’ It is unique and entertaining enough, in my opinion, to become something big, but in the end I think it would cause much more harm than good to it’s users which is probably why it didn't last very long. On the other side, I came across Somebody’s tumblr page. This page is a collection of the apps user’s and experiences with the app. They are surprisingly positive and it gives a more realistic look at the app rather than the movie posted on Somebody’s website.

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Additional Post #4

This is a helpful tutorial for some tips & shortcuts on Adobe Premiere Pro. It may be helpful in the editing process of project 4.

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“Steal Like an Artist”

Additional Post #3

There is a blog post on brainpickings about artist and author, Austin Kleon’s book, that I have recently read and really enjoyed. His book is titled “Steal Like an Artist.” Kleon created this list of advice he wished he knew when he was a young creator and being a graphic design student I found it gave me a little piece of mind. I often get discouraged/doubtful when starting a new project and reading what he had to say helped a lot. Number three on the list is, “Write the book you want to read.” This resonated with me, in a non-literal way, because I firmly believe that passion drives success. No matter if the project is for a grade or a future client, it should be the (blank) you want to see/use. There are many other incredibly helpful & thought provoking ideas Kleon talks about and I recommend giving it a read. 

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Additional Post #2

As an advertising minor & millennial, I find vintageadvertising’s page so interesting to scroll through. There has been so much progression in the way ads are created and designed, as well as, societal progression. I could look at old advertisements for hours and I think I'm one of few people these days, who actually enjoys reading & watching ads. 

The simpler times of the 50s..

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Mock Website Splash Page

Additional Post #1

For my Media Design course, I created a mock home page for a calendar I deigned. The calendar is an appreciation for women in graphic design. Each month displays a different designer & gives information about previous work and their impact on the industry. I wanted the essence to be modern, clean, and feminine. If the website was actually on the web, a visitor would notice as they scroll over each hexagon the image would flip to either the designer’s name or photograph. The bottom, center two hexagons would display the current date. When the visitor clicks on each hexagon they are brought to a page that gives more information about each designer, as well as, links to their social media/websites. I am pleased with the way this sub project came together and found it relevant to share for my Foundations of Media Art course. 

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TCBP #4

OPTION E: Texting Culture

I text a lot more than I call people on my phone. I think this is generally the case for most people my age in the U.S. My parents and grandmother are the only people I have phone conversations with that last more than 2 minutes. This is because they have not grown up with texting and are not very efficient at the task. Other than that, I call when I have a urgent question for someone and Im looking for the fastest answer possible. While texting is fast, there is sometimes a lack of understanding between the two people. Texts are sent quick, often times there are spelling errors and typos and other times its hard to read the tone of the person you are texting. Phone calls are great for this because you can clear up any confusion quickly, without waiting for the other to type back. The other great thing about phone calls is the fact that you can physically hear the persons voice. Its a more personal action than texting. That is another reason I don't mind the calls with my grandma because I don't get to see her as often as id like & hearing her voice means more than reading words off a screen. 

While phone calls can sometimes clear up confusion & be quick, they are often drug out and hard to escape. Its much easier to say goodbye over text than it is over the phone. Texting also gives you the opportunity to think before you respond. Where as, if someone asks you a difficult question over the phone, you might be at a loss for words. This does lead to the fact that people have begun to hide behind their phones. I think its very true that people have more courage to say things over text than over the phone. I think this has lead to more instances of cyber bullying. 

In 2014, a girl actually had a conversation over text with her boyfriend telling him to kill himself. Had this conversation been face to face or even over the phone, I have a hard time believing that she would physically tell her boyfriend that. It was a horrific story, the boy actually did commit suicide and the girl was sentenced to 15 months in jail. While this is a bit of an extreme case, I think it goes to show that people abuse the ability to text message. 

Even though most people chose texting over phone calls, there definitely is still a time a place for texting. I don't think important information should be received or delivered through a text message. I don't think I have ever shared important news over a text message because that seem very impersonal. 

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Project #3

Final Draft

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Project #3

First Draft

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Project #3

Infographic Sketch

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Pen Tool Practice

Carrot Icon

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Project #3

Research & Text

Similar to the informational and statistical infographics that were shown in class, such as, The Wonderful World of Bacon (ironically) and Alternative Facts of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, I want to convey statistics about Vegetarianism. They use flat graphics & icons to display facts, well as, a modular layout that is easy to navigate. The design elements of these two examples will be the inspiration for the overall aesthetic and format of my infographic. I have found large amounts of information on Vegetarianism and have decided to focus on the environmental benefits, health benefits, general statistics about the population of the U.S. that are Vegetarians, and some history of Vegetarianism. I have thought of a couple different ideas as to how I might display this information in an interesting visual manner. Regarding the population of the U.S., I want to compare how many men, women, and children are vegetarian by having three Icons of a body, each different color will indicate which demographic represents what quantity (% of pop). As for the history, there is potential for a creative timeline made of a long vegetable, such as, a carrot, asparagus, etc. Those are just some examples of how I will visually explain the wide rage of information I have collected. While creating, I will remain cautious of unity and hierarchy within my piece due to the many subtopics of information I plan on including. 

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TCBP #3

OPTION H: HOW TO/ WHY TO LEAVE FACEBOOK

After watching Nick Briz’s informative video about Facebook, I am beginning to question my personal usage of the social media outlet as well. In the video, he explains the four major issues he has with Facebook’s practices. The first being, the ‘filter bubble’. Nick explained that Facebook filters the posts on each users news feed based on what their algorithms believe you want to see. This leads to a ‘bubble’ of similar posts and no differentiation. Nick expressed how absurd it is that Facebook believes an algorithm can have a users best interest in mind, and I can't help but agree. Nick placed a link in his bio to an additional video where Eli Pariser discusses ‘filter bubbles’ in detail, which I am interested in watching in the near future. 

Nick then explained another issue which he titled ‘recycled likes.’ The example he gave to illustrate the situation is as follows: If one of your friends creates a post about McDonalds and you like it, Facebook then claims you must also like McDonalds. What Facebook doesn't know is that you're a vegetarian, you do not like McDonalds, and simply liked a friends’ post. It is common that you may also see ads and sponsored posts about McDonalds, cluttering your timeline. 

The third issue is ‘sponsored stories.’ Nick explained this as the process of an organic post about Apple that Fb then sells to Apple to be used as an ad. Your post can be used by major brands to earn money but you will never be asked for your permission because its already given when you agree to Fb’s terms of use. Nick offered the book, “Who Owns the Future,” by Jaron Lanier as an additional source that explains this in further detail as well as other issues of that nature, including micropayment systems. This book would be extremely helpful in expanding my knowledge on the subject. 

The final issue Nick has with Facebook is their experimentation on users. Nick explained that Fb carried out experiments where they controlled the types of posts some users would see on their timelines. Some would see all negative posts while some would see positive posts. This was all in efforts to essentially control the emotional state of the users. Fb would then monitor the content of the users posts and record how influenced they were by the posts they saw based on the positivity level of their words. This is just one example of how Facebook experiments with users, unknowingly. Aside from the additional sources that Nick supplied, I found another interesting video that explains this experiment further. 

Personally, I may want to take some of Nick’s advice and being “deleting” my account on my own terms. I was unaware of most of the information I learned while watching this video. Now thinking of my own experiences, the posts that appear on my timeline are very centered around memes, silly videos, and sappy videos of puppies or babies because I don't use Facebook as much more than a time waster or to send stupid memes to my sisters. Its rare that I see things other than those on my timeline, but I've never really thought about why until now. Im reconsidering my relationship with Facebook now because it’s a little frightening to be unaware of situation such as these. The possibility of being involuntarily experimented upon is enough for me to consider terminating my use of this outlet. This is a very thought provoking topic which I want to become more aware of.

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Project 3 Ideas

How many vegans/vegetarians there are in each state and how those numbers correlate to each state’s overall health. Or possibly, the difference in the number of women to are vegan/vegetarians as opposed to men in the U.S.

How many sweaters/long sleeve shirts are there in my closet compared to short sleeve and what that reveals about my personality/lifestyle.

How many households in the U.S. have dogs v. cats. What population of the U.S. even owns an animal. Are there more dog or cat people in the nation. Or I may possibly compare these numbers to other countries.

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Monstrous You (Final)

DopASopIYop is a herbivore who enjoys staying home all day with her dogs and avoiding people at all costs. She only speaks Boptalk and has a colorful shield that protects her from negative/ closed minded people. Some of her personality traits include: creativity, compassion, and introversion. She religiously paints her nails with holographic nail polish and eats halo top for breakfast. 

Credits

Flowers, Lips, Swirl, Globe, Chain, Eyes, Heart, Shield, and Leaves.

The photo of the body was taken of me in Maine, summer 2017.

The photo of my arm was taken Dec, 2015.

The photo of the dog paw was taken Jan, 2018.

The face is a crumpled piece of paper that I scanned to create a new texture. 

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TCBP #2

OPTION B: NEW TECH

Smart contact lenses have been recently created. These lenses have the ability to monitor the glucose levels in a person’s tears. These are incredibly interesting. They could potentially be the new breakthrough method of testing these levels for diabetic individuals. While this would not personally effect me, I find this new technology to be very helpful for others. Instead of having to prick yourself daily to measure glucose levels in one’s blood, they would have the simple task of popping a contact in and knowing that information. This technology has not yet been tested on humans and has quite a long test track but this advancement has the potential, in my opinion, to simply the lives of many people. I think this could also be the gateway to even more technological advances. 

Waymo is a company that is turning Chrysler cars into a self driving taxi service. This is something that I have heard of before but never really thought much about due to it being such a new idea a bit ago. Now, these vehicles are actually being deployed in the U.S. This scares me because I fear the safety of people around and in these cars. Im aware of the endless tests that car manufactures carry out but this technology is fairly new and has the possibility of some sort of malfunction. It also raises legal questions. If this car were to get in any kind of accident, who would be at fault if there is no driver? Many unpredictable things happen on the road at any given time and I fear that the technology may not be able to anticipate these occurrences the way a human would. I think I would need to see many years of safety tests before I am involved with these vehicles in any way. 

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Monstrous You (Draft)

I think the many sides of my personality are accurately displayed here. I plan on adding a black background to the finished image, as well as, a couple other components. I have yet to add a hand drawn image. I also want to play around with the texture of the jacket to make it look less realistic. The face of my cyborg is quite simple but I think I like that aspect, as is.