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Using Visuals to Communicate Regardless of where you work or what your career is, learning how to communicate effectively and professionally is important if you want to succeed. Further, learning how to successfully utilize visual media in your communication can dramatically enhance the effectiveness of your message. As you will learn, preparing and packaging visual communication is critical to the success of the message being delivered! Take a moment to read the instructions for your final project in Week 5.
Throughout the next five weeks, you will work on preparing a message of your choice, through the use of effective visual strategies. For this discussion, identify at least one specific message that you might communicate in the workplace – one that could benefit from the use of visuals. (Note: This can be in either a past, current, or potential future workplace. ) For instance, maybe the message involves typing up job-aids and sending them out to your colleagues. Or perhaps it involves delivering a presentation to your boss on your department’s achievements for the previous quarter.
Or, maybe it’s related to designing an advertisement for your own business. Whatever you choose to communicate, address the following items in your post: Describe your message in as much detail as possible, being sure to explain what your desired results for the message are. Describe the intended audience for your message. Explain how you think the use of visuals could help you effectively deliver this message to your audience. The Evolution of Media Over the past several decades, communication media have evolved significantly.
In addition to communicating messages through books, newspapers, and Gaines, we now have the ability to communicate through blobs, websites, and social media like Faceable, Twitter, and Youth. Now, more than ever, the average person is capable of creating and distributing professional-looking visual communication. This supports what your textbook identifies as perhaps the most significant change; these “new technologies are forcing journalists, advertisers, PR professionals, and entertainment executives to relinquish their role as ‘gatekeepers’ of information (P. 21-22).
Taking a look at one of the professions listed in this quote, or even your own reversion, reflect on how the role of “gatekeeper” is being redefined, given these new technologies. What are the benefits and challenges associated with this change, both from a business perspective and a social perspective? Are there any ethical concerns associated with this shift? This journal entry should allow you to thoroughly reflect upon what you have learned thus far in class, and provides you an opportunity to relate this learning to your professional and/or personal experiences.
Your journal entry may be written in a more informal style, with a focus on clearly conveying your ideas. PAP formatting elements are not required for your journal entry, but you are expected to adhere to conventional rules of grammar, sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation. Why is Visual Literacy Important Watch Brian Kennedy’s Talked: Brian Kennedy: Visual Literacy and Why We Need It (http://www. Youth. Com/watch? V=Feldspar’s), and address the following questions: 1. Compare and contrast Kennedy’s definition of visual literacy with the textbook’s definition. . Explain how visual literacy can be considered a universal language. 3. Examine how visual literacy can impact communication ND global understanding. Your paper should be 1-2 pages in length, excluding title and reference page, and formatted to PAP style. Week 2 CADGES Week 2 IQ Typography in Business Oftentimes, we can’t avoid using words to communicate messages. And sometimes, we’re even limited with the visuals we can include. So, how can we make our messages as clear and aesthetically pleasing as possible?
Incorporating typography can assist us in this… Especially in the business setting. Take a look at the following documents and examine how strategic use of typography and white space has affected the second document. Example: Sample A: How to Make a Latte Before Typography Sample B: How to Make a Latte After Typography Now, select one of the documents below, and utilize typography and the information in the Practical Typography Tutorials (http://desktop. About. Com/ website to improve the way it communicates its message.
Option 1: Using Styles training document Option 2: Email to Danville Keep in mind the differences between display type and text type, and be sure to consider the two elements of readability and legibility and as you complete this activity. Then, post your revision to the discussion forum as an attachment or your classmates to see. Describe at least one editing choice you made, and explain why you made it. CADGES Week 2 Q Bauhaus Manifesto Your textbook describes design in light of the Bauhaus manifesto. According to the Bauhaus Design History (http://designator. Org/ Bauhaus. HTML), what was so new about the Bauhaus modern art school “was its attempt to integrate the artist and the craftsman, to bridge the gap between art and industry. ” It goes on to explain that “mass production was the god, and the machine aesthetic demanded reduction to essentials, an excision of the entitlement choices and visual distractions that cluttered human lives. ” Keeping this in mind, explain the concept of design in your own words. Compare and contrast it with art, and explain how “cluttering” a design with unnecessary elements can have a potentially negative impact on the message it bears.
Finally, depending on the first letter of your last name, use the Web to find at least one visual communication piece (e. G. , a website, an advertisement, a logo, etc. ) that either exemplifies Bauhaus’ concept of design or does not. Then, describe why. Last Name: A-L: Find a visual communication piece that exemplifies Bauhaus’ concept of design M-Z: Find a visual communication piece that does not exemplify Bauhaus’ concept of design Final Project- Step Two Last week, you discussed a possible message to communicate in your final project.
For this assignment, you will develop an outline that clarifies your message and expands upon it, filling in any gaps that either your classmates identified in the discussion forum, or you identified over the past week. Your outline should include the following elements: A description of your message, and the desired results A description of the intended audience for your message A description of the typography you plan to use in your message (e. G. , this might include the font or typeface you plan to use, the tone you want the type to achieve, etc. An explanation of how you plan to utilize visuals to support your message The platform/medium you plan to use to communicate your message (e. G. , Word document, Powering presentation, Web application, etc. ) An explanation for why you selected the platform/medium you did Week 3 CADGES Week 3 IQ Photography and Composition When considering magazines like National Geographic, or social media like Pinsetters, it becomes evident that photography plays an instrumental role in visual communication. However, creating an impacting photograph is not always easy.
Your textbook explains the importance of design and composition in successful photography. For this discussion, locate a photograph (either on the Web or in print) that strategically uses at least three elements of design (e. G. , balance, color, asymmetry, etc. ). Then, paste a link to the photograph (or, if it is in print, upload a scanned copy to the discussion forum or the web), and explain which elements are utilized, and how they affect the overall impact and message of the hotplate. Possible Resources 13 Photographs That Changed the World (http://www. Motorman. Mom/ 2007/01 /02/13-photographs-that-changed-the-world/) Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blobs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews – TIME. Com (http:// National Geographic Photo of the Day (http://photography. Encephalographic. Com/photography/ photo-of-the-denouncer=Navaho) * CADGES week 3 Q Motion Pictures Like photographs, motion pictures are a significant medium for visual communication. Watch at least three of the documentary trailers, below: Doc momentary Trailers Food, Inc. (Trailer) (http://www. Midi. Mom/title/tt1286537/) Inside Job (Trailer) (http://wax. Mad. Com/title/TTL 645089/) Marled (Trailer) (http:// move. Midi. Com/title/TTL 1 839191) Planet Earth (Trailer) (http://www. Midi. Com/title/TTL 645089/) Waste Land (Trailer) (http://wan. Midi. Com/title/TTL 268204/) Based on the trailer, what do you think the intended message of the documentary is? What are motion pictures able to do that photos and still images cannot, and how does that impact the message being communicated? Can you think of any ethical concerns or controversial issues related to the use of motion pictures as a communication medium? Explain.
Visual Communication Today Visual communication is just about everywhere we look. Reflect on the visuals you’ve seen in your daily life over the past couple weeks, and the messages they’ve communicated (e. G. , TV commercials, billboards, magazine ads, web ads, websites, product packaging, photographs, etc. ). Do any stand out in your mind? If so, why do you think they were so effective in getting your attention? Are there any trends you are noticing specifically in today’s media? Spelling, and punctuation. Using Photographs from the Web Today more than ever, photographs and other visual media are at our fingertips.
Whether it’s through Google Images or Flicker, we have endless visual media available for us to use. Or, do we? Watch the video Copyright Basics (http://youth. Be/Uiq4206rhW4). Then, in a 2 to 3-page paper, examine the benefits and challenges associated with having so many visuals available to us today. Describe the possible ethical and legal implications of using these photos, and explain how these issues can be avoided. Week 4 IQ Brand Identity As stated in your textbook, “branding is equated with everything from creative strategy to logotype design.
It is said to exist through sophisticated color lattes, product packaging and service trademarks. Some marketers insist that branding is corporate image. Others align it with cohesive marketing communications, positioning, slogans or tastiness. ” For this discussion, select a company and create a mood board that visually conveys its brand identity. Your mood board should include images of at least four of the elements (e. G. , logo, color palettes, product packaging, slogans or tastiness) described in the quote above. Your mood board can be created through Microsoft Word, Powering, Gloater (http://www. Gloater. Mom/), or Adobe Photos (converted to PDF). Once it is created, post it to the discussion forum as an attached file or a link. Describe the elements you included in your mood board, and explain how each one contributes to the overall brand identity for the company you’ve selected. CADGES week 4 Q Advertising The textbook explains that, although counterintuitive, advertising should not focus on the product or service being sold, but should rather focus on the needs and desires of its target market. It quotes Michael Newman (2003) stating: “Don’t tell me about your manure, tell me about my flowers” View the advertisements, below.
Then, select three and explain if and how you see the above concept in action. Describe what product or service each of the three ads is trying to sell (e. G. , manure). Then, explain what you think each ad is actually selling (e. G. , a beautiful flower garden). Finally, describe whether you can think of any ethical concerns related to this approach of communication. Nikkei: My better is better (http://www. Youth. Com/watch? V=reanimating) Obama: “Hope” (Political Campaign Poster) (http://en. Wisped. Org/wick/ File:Barack_Bob) ‘We Can Do It! ” (Propaganda Poster) (http://en. Wisped. G/ wick/File:We_Can_Do_let! ) Old Spice: The Man Your Man Could Smell Like (http:// www. Youth. Com/watch? V=subterfuge) 1984 Apple’s Macintosh Commercial (http://www. Youth. Com/watch? V=Spectroscopy) Volkswagen: “Think Small” (Print Ad) (http://en. Wisped. Org/wick/File:Think_Small. Jpg) Final Project- Step Three You should now have a strong outline for the message you plan to communicate in your final project, as well as a good idea of how you want to incorporate visuals. This week, locate at least five possible visuals that you might utilize for your final project (e. G. Hotplates, drawings, video clips, corrections, etc. ), and add them to your existing project draft. Be sure to reference any visuals that you did not create. Then, 1-2 pages, explain why you selected the visuals you did, how they support your intended message, and what reaction or results you hope to gain from the use of these visuals. Week 5 CADGES week 5 IQ Social Media Social media can have a significant impact on a company’s success (both positive and negative). What are the pros of social media, and how do you think they can be harnessed to promote effective communication?