Reflecting on Time Without Dr. Grant

I think I did a pretty good job at focusing on the website project while Dr. Grant was gone. I managed my time pretty well and mapped out my website. I probably could have used the time that was meant for class to work on the project, but I ended up working on it at other times instead. I used the class time to cross things off my to-do list that had been on there for a very long time, so I used that to justify not working on my website. I had a few questions about design while creating my website, but I found it helpful to ask my peer what they thought about the design.

Serial Art- Notes from Class

Information is constantly travelling from one computer, to the next, to the next, and so on. 

Whenever you publish something on gmail, it is sent to a server. This server stores everyone's documents and creates a lot of heat.

Comics are considered serial art. They use "the gutter", which is the space between each frame, to let the reader to fill in the blanks.

"The gutter" concepts is related to words. Letters are just letters until the reader fills in the spaces between them to form words.

Example:

D                      O                       G .....this is dog, but not until the reader fills in the gaps.

Examples of Bad Visuals

This is an example of a bad visual because the signs are not informing people whether or not these activities are acceptable. 

This is an example of a bad graph because it was way to busy.

Visuals

March 25, 2013

Visuals in documents are very important. If there is a graph or diagram on a document I usually look at that first.

• Always use zero as a baseline on a graph.
• Space out the numbers on the side so the graph does not look over exaggerated. (ex. Fox News graph)
• Framing an image is important. (ex. the Saddam statue picture)
• Keeps graphs simple. Use the K.I.S.S. method!

Font & type

What is the difference between serif and sans serif?

Serif has tails. For instance, Times New Roman has tails. Sans serif does not have tails, such as Arial font.

You need to know what fonts look good together and how to emphasize things to get your point across.

Helvetica is basically taking over the world or advertising.

Redesign Project- post handing in

My group and I chose the recipe project for the redesign assignment. Our group worked really well together, and I feel like we did a fairly good job on the project. When comparing our project to other groups', I felt it lacked different design features, but my group was not sure how to create those features on the computer. We ended up just keeping it simple. It wasn't as flashy as the other recipe group's, however, I think the simple look makes the recipe more usable and readable. I liked that the groups were asked to create contracts. It helped to hold people accountable for their responsibilities.

Post-Writing

     There are many things that I learn about the writing process each time that I have an assignment. In the resume and cover letter assignment, I have learned more about writing in the professional world rather than the academic world. I learned a lot of things from the reading we were assigned in the textbook and from various articles. I also learned a lot from doing multiple drafts and being able to discuss each draft with another person.
     The textbook for class was my main source of reference while creating my resume and cover letter. When composing my first draft, I had no idea what to include, and the book helped by giving solid examples of other resumes and cover letters. The one thing that I found really helpful is how the book will not only explain what is necessary to include, but also what is supposed to be excluded.
     For the next writing assignment, I would like to discuss my drafts with more than just two other people. There is a lot of good that can come from getting feedback from others. Even getting opinions from people outside of this class would be beneficial. Another thing I would like to work on is drafting more. I only had three drafts, but even before I printed my last draft, I was making more corrections. If I continued to make more drafts, my finished product could be stronger.

Resume Development

Resumes are very essential when it comes to landing a job, so it is important to include the correct information. It can be often difficult to use another person's resume as a template for creating your own. For instance, I tried to set mine up like my sister's, but she is in a completely different stage in her education, employment, and personal life. So when I looked at my resume draft, I felt like I had failed or missed out on something because I did not have as many listings as she did. I had to realize that I had to build up my resume over time.