Dorothy Baker

Interpretation of Technology: Annotated Bibliography
Dorothy Baker
Stevenson University

User Testing. “UI vs. UX: What’s the difference between user interface and user experience?” 16 October 2018. User Testing Blog . Document. February 18 2020.

The article defines the term User Interface (UI) and User experience (UX) in terms of the world of technology. User intelligence pertains to anything that the site user interacts with when using the product (graphics, mouse, keyboard, sound,etc.). The user interface has been modified throughout the years: in 1970 the user interface of the computer consisted of coding on a screen that people had to interpret, in the 1980’s the UI consisted of limited graphical aspects such as check boxes, and in 1984 apple released the first computer that utilized a point and click mouse. The article then explains that there are User Interface designers whose job it is to evaluate and create the user interface on specific items.
User experience, I learned, was defined as how the users feel about the UI. People who are concerned about the UX will ask questions such as, what is the use of the technology like for the user? This article discusses how some people in the field have varying views of the definition UX and those definitions have been expanded to encompass other aspects. Among these expanded definitions are ones that “encompass all aspects of end-users interaction with the company, its services, and its products”. Most
notably the UX is centered around the human being/user and the UI and UX designers must work together.
The article also explored some key differences important to the redesign of the Greenspring Review: people should be interacting with the products final design, and UI focuses on all elements that enable the user to interact with the product. While the User Experience focuses on what the users take away from the product were.

Li, Jacky. “3 practical tips for product builders when designing in an era of digital exhaustion.” 7 January 2020. UX Collective. Document. 18 February 2020.

The article focused on giving tips on how designers can be more successful when designing technology in todays era. The article focused on the need for designers of technology to understand the well being of the user when they are to be using the product. The first tip that was offered in the article was “know the current landscape of mental capacity” which meant that the designer must create their product with an eye to how the user will receive it. People create their own routines because they are creatures of habit. One person may be able to incorporate a piece of technology into their lives while another person does not have the ability. Therefore, when creating new technology, the designer must keep this idea in mind.
The second tip talks about behavioral design. The focus of this step is to urge designers that the way to achieving change is not always creating and marketing new tech. Some change can be done through little nuances such as pictures on a bill. Designers can work
on shifting people’s behavior to urge them to practice the desired outcome through inspiring the people to want to observe that outcome. Said outcome can be focused on or around improving a habit the individual already maintains each day through methodology such as printing pictures on the individuals electric bill that compares their usage to the neighbors.
The third step discussed in the article was that of the emotional piggybank. This step stressed that users of technology are people and people crave human interaction. Make users lives easier with technology is the goal of any designer, however the technology should not get to the point where people are dependent on it. People should spend time looking at one another rather than looking at their technology screens. The article emphasized that technology should be used to benefit human relationships not replace them.
I learned that it is important to focus on people when creating new technology. This will help with the redesign of the Greenspring review because it is people that will be viewing the website. Without people technology in the world has no purpose and no one to use it. Therefore, when new technologies are being designed the designers and team must be very careful in considering what ways the technology will benefit and/or possibly harm the people.

Guernica Rhetorical Analysis- Dorothy Baker

http://drive.google.com/open?id=1MTfYumPk_kcGRE4lFNgfSMvLd8oyTfBd

When writing or compiling a literary document the author has a purpose in mind for their work. This purpose can vary for many reasons, some may include: the authors preference and creative decision making, why the work is being created, and what types of sources are being used to create the work. Guernica is a literary magazine that introduces elements of artistical mediums such as photographs, story’s, and poems with the hope that people will seek their site above others for the persuasive, political, activist nature that it exhibits. This rhetorical analysis will seek to examine the ways that different stylistic elements combine to invoke certain emotions that encourage the reader to walk away with messages, thoughts, and ideas that align themselves with the sites purpose which will have been fostered from viewing and exploring the site. It is this purpose that will guide this video and serve as a reminder for us that there is always an underlying purpose to creative mediums in this world whether the purpose is on the surface and proves to be quite obvious, or the purpose requires some examination and deliberation to seek out.

The website Guernica is a forum in which many authors may publish their work. They do this with a mindfulness to their audience. The target audience for the site is a radical, mainstream, activist group. This is not to say that there will not be ideas that are both conservative or liberal in nature but that the main purpose of the site is to explore ideas in both arts and politics that align to the ideas that they are being published without a qualm to how proper socialite members feel about them. This audience is proven through examining such works that the site has to offer which include articles entitled “My Mothers Secret Ballet” (Parsons) that explains a young woman’s disbelief as to how her mother could have voted for Donald Trump in the past election and her negative opinion of her mother for doing so. Another example of an art form that supports my claim that Guernica is a forum for radical, mainstream activism is an article located on the arts page of Guernica entitled “Here We Abandon All Destinations” (Feinman). This article discusses the art form “drag” that is frowned upon in many circles, especially those that consist of conservative middle-aged individuals, but that is accepted by those who subscribe to a more radical or even moderate activist view.

Guernica has a main purpose to make a statement. Through the articles and visuals that are available on the website it is apparent that the creators of the site want visitors to leave with some information that they did not know before, and to be pondering issues that afflict them and this society in ways that cause them to ask questions, explore and possibly challenge their own beliefs. The collection of stories Guernica offers shows this purpose; one that stood out to me specifically was entitled “Thirteen” (Yi-Seoul). The story was accompanied with a photo of people walking around a train station and at first glance it did not make sense to me until I read the article and discovered that it was about a thirteen year old girl who gets pregnant due to the fact that she has lived most of her life at a train station, and as a result to combat and attempt to alleviate her poverty, she takes to prostitution. This is just one story that Guernica has to offer but it gives an example of the types of works that are available and the nature of these works. Upon further examination of the site, the works are similar in nature with the way that they share a purpose to question the difficult and/or deeper meanings of topics that many people in society consider to be taboo which can be seen as a common theme in all of the works that have been mentioned thus far.

When examining the context of the site one must take note of certain pieces and their meanings. Guernica is a website that is a collaboration of works from multiple authors. In todays society where the internet can be used to reach large numbers of people in short amounts of time the medium was probably chosen with this idea in mind. The website allows for ease of accessibility which in theory should increase readership. Similarly, the website is meant to be read with an eye towards current events. This is evident through the chronological organization of articles and works, and through the slogan of the website “15 years of global arts & politics”. To understand the context of the site it is also important to understand the overall genre. The overall genre of the site is nonfiction because the site exists to convey information (the articles and works that are provided on the site) to their audience. However, as a result of a collaborative website there are other sub-genres that exist which include fiction and poetry.

We will now focus on analyzing the layout of the Guernica website by utilizing a chronological method in which we will begin our analysis on the home page and continue until we reach the last tab to the right. When one clicks on the home page the screen that comes up is primarily black, white, and orange. However, there is a purple and yellow banner advertising a video that appears periodically in green and was probably put in this color to stand out from the rest of the information. This page also includes featured articles, text and, images which will change periodically throughout the day, and subsequent articles that are arranged as one scrolls down the page. One the home page there are five real instances of color (including the advertisement on the right-hand side) but if one takes a closer look the photos that do have color feature primarily orange and yellow coloring. This fits with the overall theme of the website design as the donate button (located in bottom left hand corner and top right-hand corner of the site, and the LARB banner are orange. The home page uses two types of font, the first includes a blockier style that could possibly qualify for times new roman and the second consist of a thinner style more reminiscent of Calibri. The color of these fonts also differs. Depending on the purpose for the font it will either appear in white, gray, or black which is a distinguishable feature that promotes user ease of access because the distinction allows one to tell between the summary/synopsis of the work and the tile of the work.

Next we will navigate to the “Arts & Culture” page. This page stays with the same them of colors that the homepage introduced however it provides graphics that include images with more diverse color tones as is noted when scrolling down and acknowledging articles and their images such as those of “Heavier Than Air” (Bernstein), and “Kristen Arnett: It Starts With an Image” (Brown). Another feature that the site offers is the bar that is located at the top. We have already examined this bar regarding theme, but it is important to note its spatial orientation. The bar is located at the top of the page with the website name and a “subscribe” and “donation” button. As one scrolls up and down the page the bar remains at the top where it can always be seen. The font style of the site remains the same, however let’s note that the site also offers a description of the works category which is located under the work in a gray box. The first category that appears is the category of the page that we are on and in some instances, there is a secondary category that if clicked on will take you to that categories page. These boxes can be found classifying all works on Guernica including those on the front page. These boxes are used to promote ease of access because it encourages easy navigation throughout the site.

Next we will navigate to the “Politics” page. This page follows the layout of the previous pages with a few notable exceptions. This page contains some articles that do not have images that are advertised with the summary of the work. These articles include: “Cities of the Future: I Didn’t Leave My Heart in Beijing: (Tuten), and “Cities of the Future: New York, My Love” (Frederic). The articles are grouped together on the page and this location allows for readers to make the conclusion that the works are part of a series. It also allows for ease of access with regards to being able to easily locate another article in the series after you have read one. When we scroll to the bottom one can see a gray box with orange lettering entitled “see more” which if clicked will show more articles under the heading of politics. These promote user ease of access because it provides the most recent articles first and requires the user to specifically select the option to see more pieces. It also limits the amount of information that is being given to the reader which promotes comprehension.

The “Bodies and Nature” page continues to follow the website theme. However, on this page the viewer is immediately greeted with pictures of nature that accompany pieces such as: “Little Gods” (Jin). This page also adopts the chronological order of article placement that is used throughout the site. “Thirteen” (Yi-Seoul) begins the order due to its publication date of January 20, 2020 and “Black Rock City” (Laughlin) ends the order (unless the user should choose to hit the “see more” button as previously discussed) with its publication date of April 17, 2017. This chronological order of articles allows for the information to be presented in a cleaner way. The viewer does not have to sift through multiple articles from many different years to find the most recent one. They can simply look to the top of the page and find the most recent article. It also promotes user ease of access because it makes the information easier to find which will in turn guide research and information gathering.

As we navigate to the “Lives page” there is one thing you as the viewer have probably noticed by now. There is a bar located towards the top of the screen that has been following us through the site. The bar consists of articles that the website recommends the for the viewer to read. This particular day the site continues to recommend article “Hanif Abdurraqib and the Performance of Grief” (Desphande) among others, but like the featured articles on the home page as those articles change so will the articles located in the bar. This page also includes a subtitle under the title “Lives” which reads “First- person essays”. This subtitle promotes readers ease of access and makes it easier for readers to comprehend information. The ease of access is promoted acknowledged when the site indicates the way in which pieces on the page will be written in the first-person point of view. If the viewer does not like that style of writing, then they can quickly make the determination to stay or leave the page. Comprehension is increased because the reader will know the point of view the article is written in and be able to synthesize and annotate said article.

The sections entitled fiction and poetry are identical in layout and mimic the same layout that has been seen previously. The pictures on both pages are listed above the publication names and serve to provide a visual representation of the publication. The photos and articles are organized in sets of 4 with an advertisement appearing on the page periodically. All of the photos are the same shape and size which allows the viewer to easily navigate the sight without having to question whether they missed a photo due to its size. The size and layout of the photos also plays an important part in the viewers evaluation of the image content. With all the images being close together the viewer must examine each one for a bit of time or else they may miss an images content because they are so close together that they tend to blend.

This leads to the Specials page. The specials page is set up differently than the rest of the site. The site provides an explanation for the specials page that explains why the publications have been selected. In this case the site believes the articles are noteworthy and bear being featured on their own page so that people will give them extended time and consideration. With this disclaimer the site is helping those who are processing the information because it is allowing these people to make a decision as to whether they want to pursue these selected noteworthy topics or remain on a specific topic page. As the viewer navigates down the page one will notice that the site has adopted more methods of making this page stand out form the others. These methods include only featuring one publication per line rather than four, assigning no category to the publication, and printing the title in orange font. All of these stylistic choices combine together to further depict the message that is at the top of the page.

Lastly, the “More” button when selected leads the viewer to a page listed “Explore”. The theme of black print and information bars stays the same, however the layout of information and images changes. As opposed to previous pages in which the publication included a picture and summary of the work, there are only pictures on this page. These pictures are used to represent category’s that if clicked will send the viewer to that section which will provide them with articles about the topic. Rather than the images being four across on this page the images are five across and divided into category’s entitled: explore, topics, and specials. These categories (upon further viewer analysis) provide information that did not fit on the pages we previously visited but that the site still wanted to include. With this in mind the site has created a negative experience for the viewer due to the fact that the additional informational headings must be sought out. Without deep exploration of the website the viewer may have difficulty finding information on categories such as “family & relationships”, or “health”.

The website Guernica exists for a purpose. The purpose as defined previously is to convey information published by a collection of hosts that is a nod towards persuasive, political activism. The site seeks to persuade people to not only adopt and pursue similar ideas to the ones that are displayed but to begin thinking and empathizing with some of the stories that are written. The site designers kept this purpose in mind when they were building the site which may be the result of the sites diversity and clarity. Nevertheless, the stylistic elements of font, images, and genres combine to implore the reader to spend time on the site, and consider what each publications authors have to offer.

References

Bernstein, Roslyn. “Heavier than Air.” 17 November 2019. Guernica. 13 February 2020.

Brown, Victoria. “Kristin Arnett: It starts with an Image.” 3 July 2019. Guernica. 13 February 2020.

Desphande, Jay. “Hanif Abdurraqib and the Performance of Grief.” 10 February 2020. Guernica. Document. 13 February 2020.

Feinman, Amanda. “Here We Abandon All Destinations.” 8 March 2019. Guernica. Document. 13 February 2020.

Frederic, Tuten. “Cities of the Future: New York, My Love.” 15 June 2016. Guernica. Dpcument . 13 February 2020.

Jin, Meng. “Little Gods .” 8 January 2020. Guernica. Document. 13 February 2020.

Laughlin, Scott. “Black Rock City.” 17 Aoril 2017. Guernica. Document. 13 February 2020.

Parsons, Rachel. “Politics.” 29 January 2018. Guernica. Document . 13 February 2020.

Tuten, Frederic. “Cities of the Future: I Didn’t Leave My Heart in Beijing.” 15 June 2016. Guernica. Document. 13 Ferbuary 2020.

Yi-Seoul, Kim. “Thirteen.” 30 January 2020. Guernica. Document. 13 February 2020.

The Villager Rhetorical Analysis- Dorothy Baker

The Villager website is an online publication that gives thought provoking information about Stevenson University students, faculty, facilities, goings on such as sports and sales in the bookstore, and general information that the authors of the site feel the student body would benefit from knowing. In this rhetorical analysis of Stevenson University’s website, The Villager certain evaluations of modes of communication, affordances that these modes encourage the viewer to have and explore, design choices such as color, font, and design layout will be evaluated. Through the different types of stylistic choices that The Villager uses in its publication it achieves a purpose of informational writing that can be marketed to a group of college students.

The home page of The Villager introduces the viewer to the site by using a moving video containing graphics that give information that is covered in depth if one should decide to click on the image. Additionally, the home page includes a short summary of what the viewer may find on each page of the website if they should decide to visit that page. Pictures that describe the information that can be found on each page are located next to the title of the page. The home page uses the linguistic mode when using text to describe and announce what is happening in each area of the pages offered on the site. The linguistics help provide the reader with information on the topics that they may be interested in learning more about when they visit the site. The visual mode on the home page can be found in the different colors, layout, style, size of words and pictures on the page, perspective, and framing (the way the author sets up the visual so that the viewer will see the visual from the desired perspective of the author).

Specifically, the visual mode is used through the background colors of green and black that are used throughout the website and are featured in the homepage. The layout and style of the website lend themselves to a sleek design that features a balance of white space and a photo so as to give the viewer a break in between viewing and reading of the words and pictures. The size of the words on the page draw the viewers eye to different words that describe the featured content. Colors of the site are also important to note, although the majority of the site lends itself to the black and white of academic writing, there is some green print such as the title that gives the website a distinction. The bold print is used to write the names of titles and thus gives the title some separation from the caption. The perspective of the site, the home page in particular, is designed to be informative in nature. The site is set up to give informative pieces about the college itself and the importance of the activities that are going on around it. The text and pictures are framed in a way that adds separation between pieces. There are thick black lines that separate topics/articles from one another. The spatial mode is also used on the homepage of the site. The pictures are spaced equally apart in a way that gives balance to the publication. The white space is used in such a way that it allows the viewer to have a break in between information. As a result, one may assert that this increases the understanding of the reader because it allows for a short break between processing information.

The site continues to mimic the theme that is set up on the home page. However, pages such as Op/Ed have some differences that are worth mentioning. The visual and linguistic modes are present on this page. On this page the font is strictly black and bold. It is separated into different pieces through the use of black lines on the page. Pictures of people are used on this page as well. Upon further examination of the people on the page and the articles they have written one can surmise that these pictures are of the authors that have written the pieces on the page. This gives the viewer a face to put to the linguistics and an opportunity to reflect on the person and the opinion of said person. This page is also done in an academic, informative style that lends a hand to the college audience that is being sought after.

Due to the use of certain modes in the publication, there are certain affordances that have been made as a result. Some affordances of the visual modes used on the site are as follows: the black and white text choice allows the reader to focus on what is being said, it gives the viewer the distinction that the site is serious and there is work and important issues being discussed. The green font of the title is positive because it makes the distinction between the body of the site and the sites name. Therefore, whenever the viewer is wondering what site they have wondered onto, or forgets the name of the publication they have been browsing, one can simply look to the top left corner and see the title that has been distinguished from the other words and pictures on the site. It has been given a place of honor in the fact that spatially it is located on the top left hand corner of each page of the site. This location further distinguishes it to the viewer as being important and noteworthy. Another affordance given to the visual mode is that of the black lines that are used to divide works on pages. This is a strength of the author because it allows for the articles to easily be distinguished from one another. It adds ease of reading to the site and thus offers it to the viewer.

Another affordance is the layout of the site. The easy layout gives the viewer ease of access when navigating the site. Linguistically there are a few affordances that can also be noted. The language choice that is used is literate, however it is easy to understand. It is not the elevated language that is requested in academic papers. Therefore, people that are not enrolled in Stevenson University, or those who do not have a highly educated background need not worry because they will still be able to understand what is written. Another affordance of the linguistic mode is that the grammar used in the pieces of writing is accurate. The site boasts grammatically correct pieces that are easy to understand for this reason.

The website The Villager is a publication that uses many modes of communication. These modes include visual, linguistic, and spatial. The affordances of these modes are positive in that the modes allow the viewer ease of access and understanding when viewing the site. Ultimately, the publication is seen as being a product of the academic community because of the font choice, style, layout, and colors that the collaborators of the site choose to use. As a result, the website is easy to understand if one is part of the Stevenson community. Surprisingly, upon further evaluation it can be said that the site is informative and direct enough that those who are not part of the Stevenson community could understand it with ease.

References

Stevenson University . (2020). Home. Retrieved from The Villager Stevenson University : https://stevensonvillager.com/

Learning from Bill

Be Like Bill. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be_like_Bill#/media/File:Be-like-Bill-1lib1ref.png

This post depicts my college experience at Stevenson University. So often during research, I will find a site that I want to use in research and then find out that it is unreliable. I have often heard professors tell people that Wikipedia is not a reliable source. When I saw this image it reminded me of many professors’ classes. As a teacher candidate myself, I have come to find that Wikipedia is not reliable when students have questions about the information. Therefore, it was an accurate depiction of Stevenson student and teacher life, as well as an accurate depiction of how unreliable a source can be if anybody can change information or add it to a source. Nobody wants to rely on a site that can be changed and added to by strangers. The people that are manipulating the site may not be experts on the matter being discussed on the page. I for one have told to be cautious because one should not rely on an unscholarly, unverifiable source when they are working hard to compile their work that will go towards their degree.