FINAL POST

FINAL POST!

The end of the semester means it is time for my last blog post! I have learned so much this semester and this can be seen through all of my posts that I have created during my time in this class. For my final post, I have chosen to reflect on Shelby Spruiell's and Katie Kassler's IW8.

SHELBY SPRUIELL IW8

Design:

Shelby's blog has an awesome design. I really like the background and choice of font for the blog title. The design is simple and professional which appeals to ethos and her credibility. I also like how she chose to make the boarder and the post title red. It is subtle enough (because of how thin it is) that it looks nice how it is matching the red in the background.
If I could add a few things to the design, I would edit the gifs so they go inside of the writing. The big white spaces are distracting and makes the format look a little bit funky.

Content:

One of the reasons I chose Shelby's post to reflect on was because she added so many gifs (I love gifs and always incorporate them into my posts)!
This use of these funny gifs appeals to the audience pathos. I like her tone in her writing as well because it is casual and fun.
In the third paragraph, Shelby talks about how she was worried that her unit 3 project's point would not be understood easily because she wasn't allowed to use words. She says that she has to use the images to describe her point but she doesn't say how. I would add more to this!

My Additions:

Although I do love the gifs, I would add more images and links that can be related back to the points she has made in her post.
For example, she could have found an image online that has a very powerful argument and pointed out how she tried to incorporate similar content in her own images.
Here is an example of an image I found online that could have helped brainstorm ideas for her "Eat Local" project:

Shelbys blog is great and I really enjoyed reading it. She has a lot of great points!





KATIE KASSLER IW8

Design: 

I was drawn to Katie's blog because of the blog's design.
I really like her background. It is simple but it is also colorful. It is not distracting but it also is not boring. I think that this appeals to the audiences ethos. The background is professional and it helps her credibility. If the background was distracting and messy, I would not trust the blog as much.
I also like how the post is organized. The photos and gifs she added are professional and all have a purpose. They also all are placed well. I think that is is great that she put a photo on each opposite side, this helps with the flow of the post.
One thing I would change about her design would be the color of the post title. I understand why she would make it purple, because one half of the background is purple. I am not a fan of the way this looks only because the blog title is in black. If I were her, I would change both titles to the same color.

Content:

The first paragraph of Katie's post is very powerful and a great example. This example is important to me as a journalism major. Images are powerful and it is important that we use this power to express the truth. I really like how she added the image to the post as well, this helps her audience understand her point further. Her point about snapchat is relates to her audience. As young people, most of us use snapchat all the time. We all are guilty of distorting images of ourselves with the use of filters.

My Additions:

I would expand more on the first paragraph and talk about social media and images.
People can use social media to portray themselves a certain way. For example people can distort and edit photos to change their appearance or post only photos of them doing a certain things to come off a false way on social media. They use images to tell a story but usually these stories are fake
In this photo on the right, this woman's Instagram looks like she is on a gorgeous rooftop but in reality she is not.

Overall I really enjoyed reading Katie's blog post. Her points were smart and to the point. She added a good amount of links and images that were relevant to the topics.

IW8

Class Reflection

Rhetorical Power of Image:

During this semester I feel like I have broadened my knowledge of how to use an image as a tool to persuade. An image can be more powerful than words or an explanation because it can evoke feelings so quickly. 

As a journalism major and creative writing minor, all I do is write. I do not have a lot of experience with creating my own images to persuade because if I want to explain something, I just use words.

At first, I struggled a lot with how to execute the ideas I had because of my lack of experience with computer programs.





This was me....







Through seeing the work of other students in the class I have discovered many different and creative ways to create these images.


Shout out to my awesome PEERS!

Rhetorical Power of Hypertext:

With images, interaction, and design, websites can have a more powerful effect than traditional types of media. In my opinion this lesson was one of the most important things we have learned.
The most eyeopening project for me was when we had to find the different types of websites and point out what generation they were. This showed me why and how the more advanced websites were more persuading.

Here is my unit one project:

https://tcu-reform-steckbeck.000webhostapp.com

Unit 3:

Because the unit three project required that we could not use any text, I wanted to make my images simple but powerful. I feel that images that are more simple but work with other images can evoke powerful feelings.

For example, in my project I photoshopped a photo of a flame onto a photo of a dollar bill. By having this image with the rest of my images, I was able to show how we are wasting money by not taking care of our environment.

Here is my unit two project:

https://choose2recycle.000webhostapp.com

Adobe Skills: 

Before this class I had zero experience in Dreamweaver or Photoshop. I struggled tremendously with these programs at first but now I feel much better about using them. 

With both of these programs I feel like I still have a lot to learn and my work may have seemed sloppy even though I spent hours trying to figure out how to do something as simple as changing a text color. 

I was incredibly frustrated with Dreamweaver after the unit two project and was scared to even use the program for unit three.

But after I started using it again I realized how much I learned and now I am much more comfortable with the program.

I am grateful for my time in this class because I am definitely going to be using these programs in the future.