Top Banner
31

Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Dec 18, 2014

Download

Technology

Phill Alexander

 
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Page 1: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide
Page 2: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

What we need to do

The next several slides contain the info we’ll need to focus on as we revise the ACE materials.

What I’d like to do is give you an overview and a proposed plan of attack, then we’ll see if that will work/make adjustments. If you have questions along the way, stop me at any point and we can explore further.

Page 3: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

First off…

… one of our major problems is one of clarity of understanding. So let me put this forward:1.No one applies to ACE2.ACE is a vehicle to get from not accepted to accepted3.They want it pretty much phrased like that, even if that lacks elegance.

Page 4: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Big things…

The numbers (any numbers) need to all be consistent. There is a whole wide range of numerical variance in our documents. The URL, http://www.miamioh.edu/ACE should be on EVERY SINGLE THING. The fact that it isn’t sort of confused me. I did a double take when Dr. Porter asked about it.

Page 5: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Another major problem…

… is that somewhere along the way some of you may have misunderstood the project.

Some of your documents have EXACTLY the same text as the ones they gave us, including the one we specifically talked about being too wordy. We need to copy-edit and rework so that these documents read well and we don’t replicate previous errors, such as casting things in negatives instead of positives. If there’s confusion on this point, please ask. It was a little disheartening to see people copying, word-for-word, stuff that we critiqued as a class.

Page 6: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

So we need to…

…refocus on “conditional admission” in a number of places, and publicize Miami over ACE.

This won’t be particularly difficult, but it will take a bit of finesse.

Let’s talk colors and logos first.

Page 7: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

ACE liked 3 logos

And made some tweak suggestions for each one.

What we will do is send them high quality PSD and PNG files of the three altered logos, and we will leave the logo spaces on the documents we send to them blank so that they can insert what they settle on.

Page 8: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

ACE was fond of this logo, but they did notlike the letters being “jagged” on theside. They’ve requested a slight revision with the letters in a vertical column.

Page 9: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

ACE really liked this logo, but Dr. Porter and I agree that there’s some potential for reading it “CACE.” To correct this, ACE would like to see the swoosh extended a bit, the book on top of the swoosh at the bottom, and the words moved over just a touch so they sit in the thick part of the curve. Just also realized we might be able to center is so the swoop is on the real C. That could work.

Page 10: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

ACE also liked this logo, though we (Dr. Porter and myself) share the fear that while it is striking, it might be difficult for branding since it doesn’t scream ACE. Still, they’d like a version of it, as well as potentially a version with the white space closed in.

Page 11: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

This is the color palette they liked (not so much the yellow) assuming the red is the correct Miami red (which I believe it is).

Page 12: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Onto specific documents

Dr. Porter really liked one of the pre-post data sheets more than the others. It appears on the next slide.

Page 13: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

They were very pleased with the overall look of this, with the red and blue contrasts, with the solid color bars, etc.

It’s not without some problems, of course. And I’ll address those in the next few slides. But three big ones, which are design points, here:

1)Centering = bad on paperwork like this2)Less ACE at the top, more Miami (maybe a small picture… I actually have an idea)3)The block M and the bottom bar are different shades of red– that just drives ME crazy (not sure if Dr. Porter mentioned it or not, but it looks bad on my screen right now)

So far, easy fixes. :)

Page 14: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Other things for the pre-admission/post-admission sheet

• better introduction by wrapping in some material from later in the piece• less words overall—lean and mean• Will also incorporate some of the information

from pages 22-23 (see next slide)• Will make sure there is a better

differentiation between pre-and-post-admission, though visually the two forms will remain stylistically identical

Page 15: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide
Page 16: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Another big no-no…

…was with some of our images. Two things:1)No photos of all Asian students2)Some of the photos are still crazy grainy

Also generally they’d like to see more photos. So we might have to go get some, now that the campus isn’t snowy and ugly.

Page 17: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Some other stuff they loved

They LOVED seeing rankings. One group used the logo from one of the magazines. They ATE that up! They liked a number of the post cards, though no one design was definitively “it” due to some image quality issues. But these are some of the “close” designs:

Page 18: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Dr. Porter liked the information and general blocking here, though there’s some text weirdness on the front that would need to be fixed, of course. And that’s one of our pixel-troubled photos.

Page 19: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Dr. Porter liked the layout here, too, though we have to be careful with phrases like this, as they’re sort of idiomatic and might not resonate with international students.

Page 20: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Dr. Porter also really liked the look of this, other than the lack of text, and the grainy photo problem again (same photo)

Page 21: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

So I said…

We will rework a set of postcards based primarily on the idea of a single image with some flair and a URL on the front and info on the back. We will target 4 similar designs with slightly different sets of information. We will make fliers to match (either a set of two with multiple images or four fliers with roughly the same info but layouts to match the postcards).

Page 22: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

And…

We will generate a new invitation format. While Dr. Porter didn’t specifically choose one—or point out flaws—I personally don’t think we did so great with that part of the project.

Page 23: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

So we need1. The 3 logos in PNG and highest possible resolution PSD format2. The pre-admission and post admission sheet, in InDesign file

format, based on the slides here with tweaked information3. 4 total post cards, with good photos, in indesign format4. Fliers to match the post cards, essentially, with the URL and key

info or dates, also in indesign format5. A new invitation that matches all of this stuff and doesn’t look

rushed (sorry, folks, but all of them kind of do look like you left them for last)

6. We need to find, or otherwise take, a number of good photos. Let’s look at the ones Bizzie shot again. Some of them look great (Dr. Porter loved the one of the students around the computer)

Page 24: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Do you folks like this? I tossed it together as potential Miami flair for the paperwork

Page 25: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Your task:

Divide up the labor. Choose tasks. Form teams. Forge alliances.

Then TELL ME YOUR PLANS via EMAIL.

Before we break, I want to have names of people responsible for pieces and assurances that on the 19th I will have said pieces in my mailbox. Let me know how I can help. I’m an able body here in the room, if we need to get some stuff pulled together.

Page 26: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Now, then, the video…

Knowing what we know now, I think we need to sort of reshape the video plans. I also think we have a lot of wheel spinning happening.

So let’s reframe that process just a bit, shall we?

Page 27: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Let’s envision…

… the video not being based on the interview material.

Instead, let’s build the video from photos, voice overs, and carefully constructed titles that mimic and compliment our print materials.

Think of the interview footage as fringe– it’ll be great to punch this thing up.

Page 28: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

We need to think, though…

…about how we can use still images, titles and voice-over to make the key elements of ACE clear and easy-to-follow.

Remember the keys of what ACE wants…

Page 29: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

1. Stress Miami and conditional admission first2. Don’t talk about ACE as something one applies to… it’s something that helps with conditional admission3. Stress what ACE can do for the students/the curriculum, but don’t worry about crazy detail.4. Stress the reputation of the school, with awards and numbers.5. stress that the students get a full semester of credit6. Stress that 98% of them go on to full admission

Page 30: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Do not, I repeat, do not:

1. Try to sell ACE as a thing. It only happens to students who don’t have good enough TOEFL scores. There is no ACE recruiting. 2. Over-stress China3. Worry about using too much of the interview video. It’s just not going to mesh with the message. Use small bursts to humanize.

Page 31: Visual Rhetoric: Worlds Collide

Next meeting…

… we need to have close-to-final videos. We’ll spend some time working on them in class, but it’s about that time.

Make sure to do the reading, which has changed since last week due to WordPress making a change in their codex.

The clock is ticking. *ticktickticktick*