Project 2 - Analysis of Button Design

The button design that I have created represents my involvement in the Outdoor Adventure Club here at ISU. By wearing this button and being an active member of the club, I can advertise the club to my peers on campus. Then, if someone sees the button and has a specific question about the club, I can serve as a credible source to provide information about the club, due to my involvement in the Outdoor Adventure Club. Therefore, this button design promotes ethos. Logos is addressed because the button provides information about the name and a brief description of what the club is all about. From the picture and the words written in red, "The journey is the reward," it can be inferred that the Outdoor Adventure Club involves adventurous trips, or journeys, that result in positive experiences. The picture provides an emotional appeal, or pathos, because it portrays a hiker in nature overlooking a beautiful sunset. I used repetition by emphasizing the name of the club. This was done by including the full club name, "Outdoor Adventure Club," as well as the abbreviation for the club's name, "O.A.C." This repetition of the club name causes the focus and attention of the viewer to the club's name; thus, the repetition is a great way of promoting the club. Contrast is used in the varying font styles and colors. For each idea begin promoted on the button, I use a different font style and color. This contrast draws attention each text portion of the button and gives each portion its own importance. I also use contrast in the phrase: "The JOURNEY is the REWARD" by capitalizing all of the letters in the words "journey" and "reward" only. I did this in order to place more emphasis on the purpose of the club so that people who see the button will understand that in the Outdoor Adventure Club, you have the opportunity to go on journeys/trips that provide you with the reward of great experiences and memories. The principle of alignment is used because I decided to place the words: "The Journey is the Reward" in a way that wraps/curves around the picture due to the fact that the words and picture describe one another. Since I decided to use a picture that shows how beautiful nature and outdoor adventure can be, it only makes sense to align it with the quote that I decided to use, because the quote describes in words how journeys are rewarding, while the picture shows it visually. As far as proximity, the text is written in English, so it must be read left to right and top to bottom. Also, the four main elements of the button are placed equally distant from one another in order to create balance. The idea of balance is important in the Outdoor Adventure Club because as you go on outdoor adventure trips, you feel a sense of harmony and balance between yourself and nature, which brings out an inner peace. Also, the way that I have grouped everything together on my button design makes it easy to read; thus, the button provides a lot of information in a simple, easy to understand fashion. This connects to the goals of the Outdoor Adventure Club because we want our trips to serve as a challenge to the participants, but the trips should also be peaceful, relaxing, and enjoyable as well.

Reflection on Narrative Style

To write in the narrative style means to write about a personal experience or event using your own style to get your message across to your readers. Therefore, to me, narrative pieces are one of the easiest styles of writing because it offers writers flexibility to write about whatever is on their mind. Basically, writing a narrative is like telling a story that reveals a lot about yourself (your character, attitude, personality) to your readers. Narratives do not have to be complicated and complex in their ideas and language. In fact, the article, "How to Write With Style" in the English 101 Reader, urges writers to keep it simple when writing a narrative. Keeping it simple allows the reader to be able to understand what you are trying to say, and enjoy reading the story. Sometimes keeping sentences and ideas simple make more of an impact and reveal more about yourself to the reader than if you tried to use more flowery language to produce the same idea. For example, as I read through the narrative piece in the English 101 Reader titled, "On Being a Cripple" by Nancy Mairs, simple sentences, such as, "I am a cripple" were used throughout the piece. By using simple and straightforward sentences, Mairs successfully got her ideas across to the reader in a way that the reader could easily understand. "On Being a Cripple" is a perfect example of a narrative because the author writes about a topic that is very personal to her: living with multiple sclerosis (MS). It is important to choose a topic that you care about and is personal to you when writing a narrative because that will allow you to write with a compelling style that is unique to you and will make for a more exciting reading experience for your readers. Writing a narrative is a lot like writing in a journal or diary. It is the perfect writing style to use in order to get your emotions across about a particular situation or experience that is unique to you. One of the most fascinating aspects of a narrative piece is the fact that twenty people can write about the same topic, and reading each paper would not be boring because everyone has unique beliefs and perceptions that would make each paper unique in its own way. Writing in the narrative style does not require much thinking. The purpose of a narrative piece is to pour whatever is in your heart and your gut out onto paper. It is not the time to use as much flowery, symbolic language as possible in order to gain style points and be artistic. The hardest part to writing a narrative piece is to choose a topic. Once you have gotten past that, all you have to do is write, write, write!

Reflection on "Writing About Visual Texts", "Montage of a Dream Deferred", and "Poem 288"

As I read the reading about visual texts, I found that I agreed with many of the claims provided by the author. For example, when the author writes, "our understanding of the world is, to a significant extent, influenced by the entities that produce the imagery we consume," I feel that this is true due to the fact that society today is highly influenced by image. Everyone has unique life experiences and emotions in which they can connect to the images they view. Visual images are very powerful because they can portray so many different meanings, which enhance the thinking/learning process by causing one to consider more than one way to perceive the image. Before reading these articles, I never realized how complex images are and how impactful they can be, but after reading the articles, the way I view images will change. In the "Montage of a Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes, the images included provide a greater understanding to his purpose. What I interpreted from this visual poem is that Hughes' purpose was to inform the reader that when dreams are deferred, nothing good comes out of it, and your dream spoils and vanishes. The reason why I interpret this is because, first of all, Langston Hughes sets up the poem and the images as a magic show. Throughout the poem, he tries to answer his opening question: "what happens to a dream deferred?" Hughes uses what I consider to be grotesque examples of what may happen when a dream is deferred. For example, he compares a deferred dream to a "festering sore", "rotten meat", "sagging load of manure", and an exploding bomb. By comparing deferred dreams to these grotesque examples and by capturing these examples in images, the purpose that jumped at me while reading the poem suggested that a deferred dream is not a pleasant thing. Finally, the comparison to the exploding bomb at the end of the poem left the biggest impact on my perception of the purpose of the poem because the image in the last box is just an empty, dark area. By seeing that empty box and considering the setting of the poem's images (a magic show), the final impression that I get of a deferred dream is that when dreams are deferred, they simply vanish all together. In "Poem 288" by Emily Dickinson, the question being asked is whether you are nobody or not. The image provided is a Picasso-style image that is very abstract and reveals shapes of people that are somewhat hidden within the image. This poem struck me as ironic in a way, because the figures seen in the image are discussing that they are nobody, so I think that is why they are somewhat hidden in the image. However, all of the figures believe that they are each nobody, and so that makes them a group of people who believe the same thing, which makes them visible. The figures are scared to be seen, but they cannot be completely hidden. This reminds me of humanity as a whole because individuals feel that they are unique and no one else understands them, but in reality, the individuals in society are more alike than different. The fact that individuals in society cannot grasp this concept causes so many problems in society.

Journal #1: Observations of ISU

A brand new semester has begun and just as I thought that I was learning the layout and structure of what the campus of ISU has to offer, as a freshman here at ISU, I return to find so many new changes to the campus. I live in the Hamilton dorm which is located right next to the construction of the new recreation building. I have been watching the progress of this construction since the beginning of the school year in the fall, but when I returned from break, I noticed that much progress was made in the month that I have been gone. For example, the entire outside of the building is just about complete, and there is glass in the window spaces. I am very impressed with how the construction is coming along, and I am excited to utilize the brand new equipment and space after the grand opening of the recreation building next year. Another new addition to the ISU campus this semester is the renovation of the Watterson Food Court. It is so much bigger and I am quite satisfied with the huge selection and variety of food choices that are now offered as well! There is even a fireplace in the seating area of the food court, which makes your dining experience cozier and reminds you of home. Finally, in the Bone Student Center, the Cage II coffee shop is officially closed, and the process of replacing it with Einstein Bagels has begun. Currently, Einstein Bagels has a temporary stand that sells coffee, bagels, and salads, which is located in the hallway outside of the old Cage II coffee shop in the Bone Student Center. All of these changes are like brand new Christmas presents right here on campus! One of the main reasons I chose to come to ISU was because I loved the campus, and these new improvements and renovations have made my love for ISU even stronger.