Author: Jordan

Social Media

 

  1. Choose your platform, and explain why you think this platform would be effective for the GSR and your submission. Consider choosing the platform that you are familiar with, but that will also address a specific audience of the Greenspring Review. Who might be interested in reading your piece, and what platforms do they interact with most?

I choose to use Instagram because people are used to seeing and clicking on advertisements. Also, it is easy to advertise because you can post a link directly to the website. I am using Instagram because I know that a lot of people who are my age, creative, and who go to Stevenson follow me so they will see the message and be receptive.

  1. Craft a pitch that fits the constraints of the platform. Consider the common conventions for that site. Will you use text as a caption or an overlay? Do you have a character or space limit? Can you manipulate the font or color of the text? Should you include emojis and punctuation?

There is a character limit in Instagram, however, it is very long and I do not think that it will be a problem. Also, I will be posting on my Instagram story so I can manipulate the colors, font size and font style of the words. I will be including emojis also because it is a good way to grab people’s attention. Another way that I will grab peoples attention is by using both a picture and text.

  1. Craft media for your post. Should you use an image? A video? A screenshot? A GIF? What works best for this platform?

I used a link to a video of the COVID-19 contest that was on the English departments Instagram account.

  1. Consider when and how often to post. What time of day does your audience use this platform? How can you increase likes and comments? How can you get more views?

I would make mid-day post for social media, around 12pm, and then another one in the evening between 4-5pm. This is because most students check their social media as soon as they wake up but because of the online schooling most students are waking up between 10am-12pm. I will post around 5pm because this is usually when most students are done with classes and are getting bored so they will check their social medias. To increase my views of the post my goal would be to get other SU students to share the post.

GSR Submission

Fall

By Jordan Mitchell

Black and white photography falling leaf autumn fall time | Etsy

We began as green and vivacious,

Overflowing with life.

We were one part of something many

We were Untouchable.

 

Taking so much for granted

We were unaware.

When the end times approached

We were unprepared.

 

Fall.

 

From green to yellow

From yellow to brown

From soft to brittle

 

We spiral towards the ground.

 

I twirl this way and that

The wind catches my sides

My landing is soft.

 

No reason for me to cry.

 

My friends drop all around me

And they can’t say the same.

Some get crushed,

 

Things probably won’t be the same.

Foliage,ground,abstract,black and white,fallen leaves - free image ...

 

 

 

Style Guide

https://1drv.ms/w/s!Ai3qhO56bJ4onT5npK_PJlQ5WnsX

This was a familiar assignment for me as I have experience with the editing process. However, using the Style Guide did make the process far more difficult. There are a lot of things to look for and I understand why editors have to read the same document multiple times. It would be hard to look for all of those things at one time. Something that I learned was how to in text cite things using the Chicago style. It seems like a mix of APA and MLA formatting as it involves elements of both.

Overall, if I were to be an editor I prefer to be a creative fiction editor. I do not really like reading non-fiction in general and science journals are even worse.

Coding Reflection

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11G-NJ_sn_d2MLC6IAztwGFjm_Xrdctt3sYOaqi1ymBY/edit

This assignment was a little confusing for me but easy at the same time. First, I had to familiarize myself with what exactly these coding processes did, like what the goal of changing certain words or not changing words was and what it would actually affect on the other screen. Once, I understood the patterns of HTML however, things got less confusing. I do not have all of the codes memorized so I would more than likely not be able to do it off memory alone, but if I saw it again, I might be able to understand and explain to someone else what to do.

I used a different “Try it Yourself” document every time and I just practiced the little changes and adjustments on a new document. I spent on average 20 minutes on each lesson so that I could learn as much from it as I could. The most difficult section for me was the “subscript” section because there was a lot of information thrown at me at one time and because of my failure to memorize the codes and my limited experience with coding, in general, it made that section even harder. My biggest problem with working on this alone and over spring break was distractions because as I already stated, I do not have a lot of experience or interest in coding, so I was easily distracted. This was not my favorite assignment to do as it was extremely unfamiliar and time-consuming for me but there were certain features, like changing the colors of words or the color blocks, that I found easier and would enjoy playing with again.

In conclusion, this beginner’s HTML program has shown me that although, I might not enjoy it the coding, at least on a basic level, is not as difficult as I originally thought. I do not think that I could put this on my resume just yet as I think that I still need more practice and understanding. And I would not feel completely comfortable applying this to a real website on my own. I would definitely need someone else who is more experienced or comfortable with HTML to help guide me along.

Designing for the Autism Spectrum

The audience that I choose was members on the Autism spectrum. I choose to use the spectrum because I did not want to specify the severity. The website is mainly for grade school-aged children, but gender does not matter. Although, because of the website coloring it may attract more males, however, the color was chosen in lew of April 2nd which is world autism awareness day where people wear blue. It is important to design websites with this audience in mind because according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) 1 in 59 kids are identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

The do’s/don’ts of my poster were chosen with the purpose of not overwhelming my audience with too much clutter and dynamic, functions as I did not want them to feel trapped (Vasile). The first do/don’t is to use simple navigations over complex navigations. This is because websites that take a lot of work to figure out how to move around can cause extreme stress and frustration. My second do/don’t is to use plain English and simple sentences instead of puns, figures of speech, or idioms. This is because if you try and explain something important to a person on the spectrum they may have a harder time understanding exactly what you are trying to say. This can lead to a miscommunication of important information. It is always important to consider what the linguistic needs of your audience are (Ball 13-14). The third do/don’t is to use soft colors over bold colors. This is because people with autism can suffer from sensory overload a lot easier and faster than those who are not. Therefore, to help them have a comfortable experience on the website you need to avoid colors that can overstimulate like bright yellows, oranges, pinks, and greens. My fourth do/don’t is to use consistent layouts instead of dynamic ones. This is also because of sensory overload and frustration. A website that is constantly rotating a slide show of pictures or images may make it harder for a person on the spectrum to focus. Lastly, I said to use the principles of scale to indicate what is more important than other things instead of making every button the size. This is because it makes it easier to navigate the site if you can visually see what is most important without even reading.

Aesthetically, I made several choices to show my audience that I listened to my own do’s and don’ts. First, I kept the background a solid color and design. This is because I did not want the design to be too busy that my audience gets frustrated trying to read the poster. Secondly, I choose all straight lines so that they would not clutter the poster and take away from the words. However, I chose thinner horizontal lines because the thicker ones made the poster really hard to look at and I did not want too much sensory information. I used large and bold lettering instead of thinner font because it is easier to read and quicker which will cut down on frustrations of reading. My decision to choose white lines over black lines was based on the fact that the black lettering and black lines made all of the words and lines appear to blend, but white lettering and black lines were too hard to read. So, in order to create a balance, I used black, white, and navy blues to keep the poster consistent but easy to read. Lastly, I did not give every line an image because I did not want the center of the poster to be off-balance with the sides.

 

Works Cited

Ball, Cheryl, Jennifer Sheppard, and Kristin Arola.  “Writer/Designer: A Guide to Making Multimodal Projects.” Massachusetts: Macmillan Learning, 2014. Print.

Data & Statistics on Autism Spectrum Disorder. (2019, September 3). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html

Vasile, Christian. “Learning the Basic Elements and Principles of Graphic Design.” 1stWebDesigner, 4 Mar. 2019, 1stwebdesigner.com/graphic-design-basics-elements/.

Usability Summary: 5 Principles of Visual-Design UX

“5 Principles of Visual-Design in UX,” defines and discusses the five visual-design principles that impact UX specifically, which are scale, visual hierarchy, balance, contrast, and Gestalt. The principle of scale uses size to signal what is and is not important. A bigger size communicates to the user that they should pay attention to that signal and it is also easier for the user to notice. In order for a design to be visually pleasing, it should have no more than three different sizes. This will help in establishing a visual hierarchy, which is the next principle. Visual hierarchy refers to the process of guiding the user’s eye in a way that it takes in information in the order of what’s most important to least important. There are many different ways that this can be accomplished through scale, value, color, spacing, placement, etc. When creating a visual hierarchy, it is suggested that you use a 2-3 typeface size to indicate which information is most important. Balance is when the designer equally distributes visual signals on both sides of an imaginary axis to create a satisfying arrangement of design elements. Even though the elements are equally distributed they do not have to be symmetrical necessarily. Asymmetrical elements can create a dynamic and engaging website design that has a lot of energy and movement, while symmetrical elements can give a more static and quieter vibe. Radial balance always manages to guide the eye back in a circular direction. Contrast is the concept of using signals that are visually different to communicate that they are different elements. This principle is most commonly applied through color. Lastly, the Gestalt principle is an explanation for how humans arrange complex images into a whole in order to simplify what we are seeing. There are several Gestalt principles, but proximity is the most important for UX as it refers to the fact that items that are closer together visually will be perceived by our minds as a part of the same group.

Visual principles are important because it increases usability because it makes the website layouts easy to use, they provoke emotion and delight, and it strengthens brand perception as it builds the users trust and interest in the product because it represents the brand accurately as well as reinforces it.

 

World Leaders in Research-Based User Experience. “5 Principles of Visual-Design in UX.” Nielsen Norman Group, www.nngroup.com/articles/principles-visual-design/.

Access Article Summary

This article talks about how even students who go to higher education institutions can still have problems with accessibility online. There is an organization called Open University Australia (OUA) that the author discusses and they are made up of seven universities and fifteen institutions that teach higher education to students completely online across both undergrad and postgrad. They attempt to help students with disabilities by giving the options upfront of disclosing any disabilities prior to the student’s enrollment. However, a problem comes in because of privacy legislation that prevents OUA from passing this information on to the institution the student has chosen to study at. To acquire data to help solve this problem OUA conducted an online survey for students who had registered as needing support because they were disabled. The survey focused on two things: the accessibility of the online platforms that are used for teaching, and what the motivation was for students who either chose to disclose their disability or not. The results of the study were that a little less than half of OUA students decided to respond to having a mental illness. The author, Mike Kent, then went on to examine the advantages of eLearning for those with a disability. He found that the biggest advantage of online learning was that the information could be formatted a variety of different ways to help a variety of different disabilities. There was visual formatting through images and text, audio formattings such as vocalized words or sounds, or even physical touch through a wearable technology they have. One of the main points the author made was that the design of the online platform was the biggest decider of whether eLearning was accessible to the student.

Mike, Kent. “Disability, Mental Illness, and ELearning: Invisible Behind the Screen?” The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, 17 Dec. 2015, jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/disability-mental-illness-and-elearning-invisible-behind-the-screen/.

UX/UI

Team 1

Likes:

    • The Greenspring Review logo with the year it was established
    • The link to the Spring 2020 magazine is the first thing you see
    • The search bar
    • The event count down
    • I like that all of the menu options are laid out to see

Dislikes:

    • The books on the side
    • The layout of the submission guidelines
    • The About Us page group picture
    • The “Contact us at this email”
    • The Lack of Social media presence

Team 2

Likes:

    • The Greenspring Review logo
    • Featured issues
    • Share the story buttons
    • The Submission section
    • The font that important words are written in like “submit” and “featured issues.”

Dislikes:

    • The large size of the Greenspring Review logo
    • The navigation of scrolling and the logo disappearing
    • The way the magazine’s Issues were organized
    • The quotes on the about page
    • The website is too bright

Team 3

Likes:

    • The linking of social media to the home page
    • The circles for the profile pictures
    • Being able to like post
    • The pictures that accompanied every issue
    • The search bar

Dislikes:

    • The blue font of “The Greenspring Review”
    • The Typewriter image
    • The submission guidelines being under the submission form
    • The pale colors of the website
    • There are no names or information about the team members

Overall, my favorite website was team one’s website because, although the books were overwhelming, the website had personality. I liked the logo especially, I felt like it was both very pleasing to look at and entertaining but professional. I also liked the message behind the oak leaf. I like that the website was very functional as well. The platform was nice. However, there are a lot of things from Team three that I feel would benefit team one such as the use of pictures to accompany the issues and post, the circle format around the pictures of the team, and the ability to “like” post which I feel like is very important. Also, the emphasis on social media was nice. What I liked from team two was the idea of having featured work being the first thing you see.

Rendering Intentionality

Braga, C. (2020, January 16). Rendering intentionality. Retrieved from https://uxdesign.cc/rendering-intentionality-1a57df40b585

The article begins with the process of how products begin. They start small and focused and are successful at what they do. As time goes on though, developers began to make the app more sophisticated by adding more features. This happens for a number of reasons, one of them being that users ask for updates and features and the developers and designers comply. However, a lot of times it is because businesses get ahold of the designers and they began to push for more features because they evaluate their performance based on the number of features and not their function or relevance. What businesses don’t realize is that with added features comes a decrease in the user’s experience on the app. Newer apps, like Tonic, have created a news app that does not even require a sign in, which makes it extremely…simple and user-friendly. Being intentional about ones’ design is knowing that the job is to solve the needs and wants of the user and not to keep the developers happy. This means that the designers need to care about the wants and needs of the user, therefore, caring about the impact of the work over the work itself.

This articles information was very informative and brier, which kept in line with the subject matter. Less is more, and for this article delivering the information was more important than trying to be fancy and use unnecessary wording.

The information in this article was very useful. Something that I learned from this article is that less is more. Adding features doesn’t make the website or app cooler or fancier, it actually makes it harder for the user to use. The simpler the application the better, as we do not want to decrease the user experience. I will apply this to the redesign of the Greenspring review by making sure that every application and feature is necessary. We do not want to turn users away because of the business of the website.

 

Paris Review Rhetorical Analysis

 

Jordan Mitchell

Dr. Licastro

ENG 256

2/14/20

Rhetorical Analysis of The Paris Review

  • Introduction: The Paris Review is a literary magazine that was created in 1953, with the express purpose of emphasizing creative works without the main point being to criticize it. The content that the Paris Review publishes is very intellectual in nature and minimalistic in design. This leads me to believe that the primary audience is upper-middle to upper class highly educated white women between the ages of 30-60.

 

  • First, the use of the color pink as being the only defining color gives the website a very feminine vibe.
  • The slightly cursive font of the “the” in The Paris Review, followed by a serif font type also further reinforces the dainty and minimalistic feel of the website.
  • The lack of color and the use of minimalism shows that the website is mainly interested in attracting older viewers as younger generations would more than likely find this website boring.
  • The ease of the site’s user experience also points to an older audience. With the majority of websites tending to move away from drop-down menus, the Paris Reviews entire site is navigated using dropdown menus, and scrolling.

TO NEXT PAGE

  • The context the Paris Review comes in, which is not only an online subscription but a physical magazine also points to older audiences.
  • Members of younger generations tend to move away from paper materials in favor of digital copies.
  • The reasoning behind the audiences being upper-middle to the middle class are because of the subscription process and price.
  • In order to fully view the majority of their creative content, you have to subscribe to the Paris Review. However, one subscription cost $49 a year and your average middle-class family will not be paying close to $50 for a literary magazine when there are numerous free literary websites available.

TO NEXT PAGE

  • The Paris Review’s primary audience is assumed to be white also because there is not a large emphasis on writers of color.
  • Even during Black history month, there is no article or mention of celebrating Black writers. Also, among their featured writers, almost all of them are white.

TO NEXT PAGE

  • Building on that, the type of content published in the Paris Review is not for the everyday person who is looking for entertainment.

TO NEXT PAGE

  • There are numerous academic interviews, such as the interview with Helen Vendler. In fact, the first article that you see is a work by Chantel Tattoli which is essentially about antique postcards.
  • Conclusion: The Paris reviews content is definitely aimed at older affluent white women primarily as the use of color creates a feminine feeling, navigation is easy, the website still offers physical subscriptions that cost at a minimum $49, there are no featured authors of color even during Black history month and the subject matter is often very dull.

 

 

Works Cited

About. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.theparisreview.org/about/

Cole, H. (2017, June 12). Helen Vendler, The Art of Criticism No. 3. Retrieved from https://theparisreview.org/interviews/1324/helen-vendler-the-art-of-criticism-no-3-helen-vendler

Homepage. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.theparisreview.org/

Subscriptions. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ssl.drgnetwork.com/ecom/TPR/app/live/subscriptions?org=TPR&publ=PR&key_code=ENAPRFX&type=S&gift_key=TESTFXG

Tattoli, C. (2020, February 13). How to Leave Your Lover with Lemons. Retrieved from https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2020/02/13/how-to-leave-your-lover-with-lemons/