Exhibition Benchmark #1: Troy Davis Article & Visual Elements. Due Next Class

Re-read the Troy Davis article you are reading in Government. This time, you will be identifying the important parts of his case so you can create a photoshop collage which expresses his story (and answers the following questions) in a single frame.


Who are the main players in Davis' story?

What happened when he was arrested, and what has happened since?

Where are we? What scenery or backdrops are present in Davis' story?

Why is he still incarcerated? What evidence exists that might prove his innocence?

Which argument against capital punishment does Davis' case exemplify?

Answer these questions in a blog post, then collect images from the internet (6 minimum) which show your answers, and Davis' story, visually.


For extremely useful tips on smart web searching techniques, check out this video.

Final Campaign Ad Due today, September 25

Post your completed Final Campaign Ad to your blog in .jpg or .png format.
Make sure you have experimented with layer masking, adjustment layers, and your fonts.

Assignment-- Final Campaign Ad due Thursday 9/25

As part of the mini-Artist Statement, you reflected on what you would do differently if you got a chance to revise. Well guess what? YOU DO!

Take the techniques you learned creating your three images and create a new one from scratch which incorporates the best elements of your 3 previous designs. I will be looking for evidence of layer masking, transparency, and the thematic cues of the campaign ad genre (stars, stripes, red white & blue).

I also want you to experiment with the new Photoshop technique we are learning today-- adjustment layers.

Assignment for Mon./Tues., 9/15, 16- Feedback using the ESGP Rubric

Go to the Student Work Reader and find your block's tab at the top. Choose three fellow students to grade using the ESGP Multimedia Project rubric. Give them a grade for each of the criteria on the rubric, as well as detailed comments that link specific details of their work to the tet of the rubric. Make sure you give only constructive criticism, no put-downs. Sign your post with your name for credit.

Free Apps Blog!

If you want to see Free Apps from days past, check out my Free Apps blog at http://freeappoftheday.blogspot.com.

Campaign Ad Assignment & Artist Statement, due 9/12

Finish your three variations on your Campaign Ad.
Make sure you:
1) Experiment with Transparency, Layers, and Layer Masking in at least 2 of your images
2) Follow the conventions of the Campaign ad genre (patriotic color, symbols, themes)

Post all three images to your blog.
If you don't have a blog, get one! If Blogger is giving you problems, try tumblr.com.

Email your blog URL to me at tcurran@es-cat.org
it should look like http://yourownpersonalizednamehere.blogspot.com

Campaign Art Mini-Artist Statement

Write a 250 word reflection on the process of creating your campaign ads. Be as specific as you possibly. Discuss:
1) What were the style elements you took from the example campaign ads? How did you make yours different from the examples.
2) Which tools did you use to create your image? Talk about specific techniques you used (layer mask, quick selection tools, etc.) and how you used them to create a specific effect.
3) Discuss the experimentation you did on your three different campaign ads. What changes did you make? After creating all three images, compare and contrast them. Discuss what you like about each and what you would change if you had a chance. Which would be your "final version"? Or would you make a new one that is a combination of different parts of these?

Campaign Art Assignment: Do 3 Variations on your design using transparency and layers

You will produce 3 variations on the Campaign Art Ad you began last class. Experiment with layering and transparency in Photoshop. Experiment is the key word here-- try new things! This assignment is about experimenting with a few looks and seeing which one looks best.

Post your three completed ad images on your blog, like I did below....

Political Campaign Graphic Design

The Art of Political Campaigns

Below is a list of links to campaign art websites. The elements these campaign logos have in common is pretty obvious--
red white & blue, flags, etc... *Yawn* What makes one stand out
from another? How could you create a campaign logo that stands out from
the rest while still fitting into the genre of a political logo?

Create
a political logo which shares the conventions of the campaign art genre (flag inspired colors and graphics, serif fonts, patriotic themes) while pushing it forward with your own unique ideas. Use Keynote to play with fonts, letter size, spacing, color, etc. Use photos from the web to fill out your design. Post the finished product to your blog as a JPEG image.


USA political election logos 2008 - 1960

The Hardest Working Presidential Candidate Logo

Blog Post: "Webbies"

As you surf the Webby nominated blogs from 2007, ask yourself:
What makes this site successful? Why do you think it was nominated?
What about the writing and art is effective? What isn’t?
Do they make a good connection to their audience? How?
How could you use what you’ve seen here to make your blog more compelling and powerful?

What does a successful blog look like? Webby Award Nominees 2007

These are the three blog categories for the 2007 Webby Awards nominations. Surf through them to find what makes a blog successful.

Your first post on your own blog will quote one or many of the sites you liked (or hated). You will think critically about what makes this blog successful (or unsuccessful) and explain your position using evidence from the page. In light of what you have seen today, give some principles for how your blog will successfully reach people and communicate your ideas.

BLOG - CULTURE/PERSONAL (scroll down a little....)

PostSecret http://postsecret.blogspot.com/	PostSecret
People's Voice Winner
PostSecret http://postsecret.blogspot.com/	PostSecret
Nominees
Anthony Bourdain's Top Chef Blog http://www.bravotv.com/blog/antho...	Bravo
Design Observer http://www.designobserver.com	Design Observer
Indexed http://www.indexed.blogspot.com	NA
Laughing Squid http://laughingsquid.com	Laughing Squid
PostSecret http://postsecret.blogspot.com/	PostSecret

• back to top

BLOG - POLITICAL

Webby Award Winner	Agency/Credited Organization
The Huffington Post http://huffingtonpost.com	The Huffington Post
People's Voice Winner
The Huffington Post http://huffingtonpost.com	The Huffington Post
Nominees
Comment is free http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment...	Guardian News and Media
Danger Room Blog on Wired.com http://blog.wired.com/defense	wired media
The Huffington Post http://huffingtonpost.com	The Huffington Post
The Swamp http://www.chicagotribune.com/swamp	Chicagotribune.com
Why Tuesday? http://www.whytuesday.org	Why Tuesday?

What is Art Project Description

What is Art Project

Publish at Scribd or explore others: School Work Other art teaching

Homework: Due 9/2-3: Get Tech Agreement Signed

Make sure to talk to the text, either on the GoogleDoc or on the paper itself. I need all of these by the end of the week for you to continue using computers in class.

Go from browser to blogger in no time! [ScribeFire, GToolbar]

Most people are wary of the idea of blogging because they think of it as another, separate activity they have to do on top of their other responsibilities. The term "blogger" has become an acceptable job title, like "journalist" or "pundit". The beauty of blogging, however, is that it's so easy you can do it as part of your everyday web travels.

I think of blogging as leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for others to find the very best of the web, with my voice as a guide. The trick, then, is to find a way to quickly and easily save your web travels in a way that's easy for others to follow. For me, the answer is a couple of great plug-ins to my Firefox browser that let me quickly grab, comment, and post from right inside the browser window. Let's look at a couple....

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Post to your blog without ever leaving Firefox

ScribeFire, an extension of Firefox ®, can pop up right in front of the pages you're browsing, allowing you to drag photos, video, and text right into a blog post, then comment and post. I love it because I can post to multiple blogs from this one window and it quickly and easily handles all the formatting for me.

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Part of the Google Toolbar extension (for Firefox and IE) is a great little button called "Send this" which allows you to send anything you find in your web travels to your Blogger blog (or to your friends via email or text message).

Again, this makes it incredibly easy to make sure that those great
sites don't get away, and that your audience can see them in an easy-to-read format.

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Finally, the beauty of most major online blogging software is that you can post to your blog with a simple email address. Blogger, Wordpress, Tumblr, (and probably all the rest) just give you an email address that you can send messages to and instantly post to your blog. This makes it easy to post from your cell phone or your Inbox.

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I hope these tools help you start to think of blogging as an easy way to share your personal taste with an audience of people who are interested in the same things you are.