Visual Communications

Though I have enjoyed all of them so far, this semester has definitely been the most fun regarding classes. Though there haven't been any classes that I dislike and though there are several that I really like, Visual Communications has been my favorite. Even more than sign language and Creative Writing...well, that's pretty close.

When I signed up for it (rather randomly, since I needed something to fill a requirement and thought I might like it), I did not realize it was only an 8 week course.  I am rather sad to come to the end of it. Naturally, my 8-week course was actually more like 9 weeks, since you could spend any amount of time on it, and my professor is a very wonderful, patient, sweet woman.

Our assignment for the course was to create a photo album (a great trial for me, as I am sure you know), a brochure, and a website, all revolving around the same theme. You could choose an organization or a theme ("world hunger," for example) or a sports team or a business-whatever could use a website.

What could I do? I considered doing the Visualization Project. (When speaking of the class, I often accidentally called it my Visualization class, mixing Visual Communications with the Visualization project.) But really, the Visualization Project's blog is sufficient. Then, it came to me.

Of course. I would do Tiny Glimpses Photography.

If I used the website and brochure, then all is well and good. If not, it'd still be fun.

And fun it was. I spent every moment of class that I could and much lab time, discovering the glories of a good version of Photoshop (I'm spoiled now, doubtless) and enjoying designing. I went through pictures, trying to find families and animals and so forth.

Once when I was getting my website to come together and quite excited about it, I completely forgot I had sign language that day, until my mom sent me a message and it suddenly struck me: it's Monday, not Friday, so I have another class! I was over half an hour late. "There she is!" my professor said. I signed to her that I was having so much fun in Vis Com that I forgot. She teased, "How could you forget us?" but she understood. She is also taking a class from my Visual Communications professor. Thankfully I already know some sign language so it wasn't a problem.

On what was (supposedly) the last day, the lab assistant sat next to me at my spot at the Mac in the last row of the computer lab. ("I'm going to creepily sit next to you again," he says, as he comes into an almost empty lab and sits at the computer next to me. Previous days he had said, "Don't think I'm being creepy sitting next to you. I have a lot of stuff saved on this computer.")

"You fail!" he says. Surprised, I looked at him. "You're not the first one in here. I think that gives you an automatic failure."

I looked, and indeed there was already another guy in the lab. (Normally I was the first one in the lab.) I found it amusing that he would say that. As Ruthie would say, "That just happened. I'm so glad that just happened!" Ach, you can't understand, unless you can hear Ruthie's voice in your mind, because it doesn't have the same effect otherwise.

Anyway...

This is a copy of my brochure. It's a tri-fold, so in the first page the middle section is the back, the left is the flap, and the right is the front. The second page is the center.

I ended up being pretty happy with how it turned out, compared to how it was earlier, at least.

Doing the website was fun. I got to gather photos of different subjects and edit them. Most of the photos I picked were from this past year, though I thought it was appropriate to go back to 2009 and get the Heyerlys' picture for my family shot, since they were my first official job. I forgot how little they were.

There were so many pictures that I wanted to do. In order to include a gallery of photos that you can scroll through, you have to use Flash, which my professor said is part of Visual Communications II. But you can do rollover images, so I did that for my gallery, and thus fit in more without making it hugely long.

I think I'll look into doing something more next semester...

Today I officially finished, sent in my brochure and uploaded my website. It's tinyglimpses.zxq.net. Check it out and let me know what you think!