
{"id":3595,"date":"2017-08-20T22:17:19","date_gmt":"2017-08-20T22:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pages.uncc.edu\/aaron-toscano\/?page_id=3595"},"modified":"2017-08-28T21:43:16","modified_gmt":"2017-08-28T21:43:16","slug":"engl4182-5182august28","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/engl4182-5182fall2017\/engl4182-5182august28\/","title":{"rendered":"August 28th: Introduction to Information Design"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Overall Plan for the Evening<\/h2>\n<p>Below is the overview we&#8217;re going to try to stick with tonight:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/canvas.uncc.edu\/\">Canvas Posts<\/a><\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Weekly Posts<\/li>\n<li>Supplemental&#8211;if you feel you need to supplement your participation use the Canvas Discussion &#8220;Participation Supplement&#8211;Closes Tuesday, 11\/21 at 5:00 pm&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/webpages.uncc.edu\/~atoscano\/fall2013\/engl4182-5182\/hdriveaccess.html\">Remote &#8216;H&#8217; Drive Access<\/a><\/strong> (quick)<\/li>\n<li><em>Design for Information<\/em> &#8220;Introduction&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Technical Writing&#8221; vs &#8220;Technical Communication&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/pages.uncc.edu\/aaron-toscano\/engl4182-5182fall2017\/engl4182-5182august21\/#webpage\"><strong>Webpage Stuff<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/pages.uncc.edu\/aaron-toscano\/engl4182-5182fall2017\/informationdesignassignments2017\/#doc01\"><strong>Document #1: Business Card and Letterhead (2 assignments)<\/strong><\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>WORKSHOP<\/strong> next class (9\/11)&#8211;you must have a draft<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/pages.uncc.edu\/aaron-toscano\/engl4182-5182fall2017\/engl4182-5182august28\/prejudice\/\"><strong>Prejudice and Rhetoric<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/pages.uncc.edu\/aaron-toscano\/engl4182-5182fall2017\/engl4182-5182august28\/robinwilliamsintro\/\"><strong>Robin Williams Introduction to Design<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Accessing Your &#8216;H&#8217; Drive Off Campus<\/h2>\n<p>Well, the link below takes you to an FAQ on how to access your &#8216;H&#8217; drive when you&#8217;re off campus. However, this system is going away on October 6, 2017&#8211;just in time for Fall Break. I suggest using your Google Drive Storage or DropBox.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/faq.uncc.edu\/pages\/viewpage.action?pageId=3146009\">Access to MyFiles on your &#8216;H&#8217; Drive<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><em>Design for Information<\/em><\/h2>\n<p>I&#8217;ll do my best to include specific visuals from Meirelles&#8217;s <em>Design for Information<\/em> on the webpage. Of course, because of copyright, I can&#8217;t always do that. Before analyzing specific images, let me ask you a few questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Based on the &#8220;Introduction,&#8221; what is Meirelles&#8217;s goal(s) for the book?<\/li>\n<li>What does the selection of visuals say about this book&#8217;s approach?<\/li>\n<li>What is the purpose of Information Design?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Consider some specific areas for the &#8220;Introduction&#8221;:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>p. 11: Infographics and Information Design<\/li>\n<li>p. 13: Data\/Information Visualization: graphical displays of information that create meaning for an audience.<\/li>\n<li>p. 9: London Underground Maps\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/amodern.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/3_tubemap.png\">London Underground Map<\/a><\/strong> (pre-1933)<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/amodern.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/2_tubemap1.png\">London Underground Map<\/a><\/strong> (1933)<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/london\/travel\/downloads\/tube_map.html\">London Underground Map<\/a><\/strong> (today)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>p. 12: &#8220;Ghost Counties&#8221; by Jan Willem Tulp\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/tulpinteractive.com\/img\/ghostcounties_cropped.png\">Ghost Counties of Colorado<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Home&#8221; vs &#8220;Housing Unit&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/pages.uncc.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/121\/2017\/08\/Occupied-Vacant_Data.xlsx\"><strong>Pie or Circle Chart for Charlotte<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(downloads an Excel file)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There&#8217;s <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/graphicsociology\/2012\/12\/\">a great critique of Tulp&#8217;s interactive project<\/a><\/strong>. He&#8217;s praised for being innovative, but, honestly, how easy are these charts to read? <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/janwillemtulp\/sets\/72157626612248205\/\">He even has alternatives to his approach<\/a><\/strong>&#8211;yes, professionals REVISE their initial ideas&#8230;they create drafts!<\/p>\n<h2>&#8220;Technical Writing&#8221; vs &#8220;Technical Communication&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p>Before we get too far into the specific reading, let&#8217;s talk about the difference between &#8220;technical writing&#8221; and &#8220;technical communication.&#8221; Is there really a difference? Let&#8217;s focus on &#8220;writing&#8221; and &#8220;communication.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This course is not necessarily an introduction to document design because, presumably, you&#8217;ve already had that in English 2116 and other Technical Communication courses\/situations, or you&#8217;re a quick learner. Instead, this course is an intermediate (or advanced) step in your becoming effective technical communicators. Whether or not you actually become an employee with the title &#8220;Technical Writer,&#8221; is irrelevant: <strong>ALL OF YOU WILL HAVE TO COMMUNICATE TECHNICAL INFORMATION TO AUDIENCES<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Make sure you&#8217;re reading the assigned material. Your Midterm and Final (which is slightly cumulative) will be based nearly entirely on the reading. I&#8217;m going to try my best to make sure we use the vocabulary from the book because I think the concepts are very useful. In different contexts the terms might have\u00a0different meanings, but the ideas and strategies the terms describe are practically universal.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s consider a document we have on us all the time:\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.textileaffairs.com\/c-common.htm\">International symbols for laundry<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/pages.uncc.edu\/aaron-toscano\/engl4182-5182fall2017\/engl4182-5182august28\/robinwilliamsintro\/\">I also have a page to introduce Robin Williams&#8217;s principles of design.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Webpage Assignment<\/h2>\n<p>This might be a good time to go back to your webpage requirements from <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/pages.uncc.edu\/aaron-toscano\/engl4182-5182fall2017\/engl4182-5182august21\/#webpage\">last week&#8217;s page<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>Adobe&#8230;A Suite Introduction<\/h2>\n<p>The computers are updated with the Adobe Creative Cloud. Remember, the following Adobe products are available to complete your assignments:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dreamweaver (webpages)<\/li>\n<li>InDesign (multi and single page layouts)<\/li>\n<li>Photoshop (bitmap graphics)<\/li>\n<li><del>Illustrator<\/del> (vector graphics)&#8230;actually, you most likely won&#8217;t be using Illustrator<\/li>\n<li>Premier Pro (video editor)&#8230;not sure you&#8217;ll need this one, but it&#8217;s here in case you want to try it out<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What&#8217;s the difference between bitmap graphics and vector graphics? Chapter 7 in your book covers that, so I&#8217;m going to hold off on that for now.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of which products you use, don&#8217;t forget that each assignment has a memo explaining your document&#8217;s creation. More detail is given on the <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/pages.uncc.edu\/aaron-toscano\/engl4182-5182fall2017\/informationdesignassignments2017\/\">Assignments Page<\/a><\/strong> for these memos. Don&#8217;t blow off that step! Reflection is a way to get you to be conscious of the design choices you make.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Adobe InDesign<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The first time I taught this class I had InDesign CS2 in my office (the computer lab had CS3&#8230;). Finally, I have CS7 in my office and on the Instructor&#8217;s computer, and\u00a0you have CS7 on the lab computers. I&#8217;m no expert at these products, but I continue to learn new things. There might be slight differences in my tutorials&#8230;Oh wait a minute&#8230;<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/webpages.uncc.edu\/~atoscano\/fall2013\/engl4182-5182\/InDesignQuickStart.html\">I don&#8217;t do tutorials<\/a><\/strong>, so there&#8217;s no problem. Let me go over your <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/pages.uncc.edu\/aaron-toscano\/engl4182-5182fall2017\/informationdesignassignments2017\/#doc01\">first assignment<\/a><\/strong> and set you loose.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, I expect you to work the entire time. If you&#8217;re &#8220;finished,&#8221; let me know&#8230;I&#8217;ll fix that. Additionally, I&#8217;m not going to be on facebook or ESPN.com , so you shouldn&#8217;t either. Your participation grade can go negative, so use your time wisely. Integrity violations will stick in this class&#8211;just like a four-game suspension for a\u00a0cheating quarterback.<\/p>\n<p>At a minimum, I want you to have a sketch of your business card and letterhead&#8211;at least images&#8211;by the time you leave. Keep everything for your portfolio.<\/p>\n<p>And don&#8217;t downplay these business cards&#8230;they&#8217;re serious business <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qoIvd3zzu4Y\">as these guys will show you&#8230;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Next Week&#8217;s Readings<\/h2>\n<p>Make sure you read Ch. 1 in <em>Design for Information<\/em>\u00a0and Ch. 3 in\u00a0<em>The Non-Designer&#8217;s Design Book<\/em> before coming to class in two weeks (9\/11)&#8211;remember, 9\/04 is Labor Day, so we won&#8217;t meet. These chapters serve as an introduction to visual design, and they&#8217;re short. The assignments are what you&#8217;ll create to show that you understand the material from the books and our discussions. Remember, while the material may seem like &#8220;common sense,&#8221; don&#8217;t think that you can dismiss the reading. The theories the textbooks offer are important.<\/p>\n<p>Please have something (an idea, a rough sketch, a draft) to work with when we return to class on 9\/11 for your <strong>Document #1 Workshop<\/strong>. You&#8217;ll have one or two classmates look over your designs (Business Card and Letterhead).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overall Plan for the Evening Below is the overview we&#8217;re going to try to stick with tonight: Canvas Posts Weekly Posts Supplemental&#8211;if you feel you need to supplement your participation use the Canvas Discussion &#8220;Participation Supplement&#8211;Closes Tuesday, 11\/21 at 5:00 pm&#8221; Remote &#8216;H&#8217; Drive Access (quick) Design for Information &#8220;Introduction&#8221; &#8220;Technical Writing&#8221; vs &#8220;Technical Communication&#8221; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":598,"featured_media":0,"parent":3590,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3595","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P2HAOx-VZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/598"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3595"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3683,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3595\/revisions\/3683"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}