ENGL 4182/5182: Information Design & Digital Publishing » Major Assignments for ENGL 4182/5182 (Fall 2017)

Major Assignments for ENGL 4182/5182 (Fall 2017)

Assignment Table of Contents

Weekly Canvas Posts

Starting Tuesday, August 30th, you’ll have prompts to respond to on Canvas. Click on the forum to see the prompt. You have until 5:00 pm on the Thursday of the week of the Discussion to respond in 250 words. Therefore, for August 28th’s post, you have until Thursday, August 31st by 5:00 pm to post your response.

Late posts will not be counted. Likewise, posts that aren’t the appropriate length may not be counted, but, if counted, they won’t get full credit.

Your last post is the November 20th prompt on Canvas. It’ll be due November 21st because of Thanksgiving Break.

All Portfolio Documents

All your documents must be accompanied by a project assessment memo. This memo provides me with the context for the design of the document as well as a rationale for and evaluation of the use of each application employed. By the way, I don’t care if it’s in memo format–just cover the pieces I’ve asked you to cover. It’s “done” when you’ve discussed the design choices critically. This is where you will identify how your design choices match your intended audience and purpose. You will also, if applicable, analyze the rhetorical strategies and cultural elements of your document. More details for these memos are provided with the directions for Documents #1, #2, and #3 (below).

Without the project assessment memo, the assignment is incomplete and will not be accepted or reviewed. Make sure this gets to me when the document is due. Please do not turn in a document and then get the memo to me days later…that defeats the purpose of this assignment.

Your final portfolio will have an overall reflection that will include your revision strategies (as a whole) for your documents and your Web sites.

Document #1: Business Card and Letterhead (workshop 9/11, Due 9/18)

Design a business card and letterhead for an organization. The business card and letterhead should be for the same organization–anyone you choose or create using your over-active imaginations. Be creative and use the products available in the lab.

Project Assessment Memo Requirements

  • Describe the organization for which you’re creating the business card and letterhead.
  • Describe the (assumed) audience and purpose for the assignment.
  • Describe the software you used when and to what extent for creating the assignment.
  • You need graphics for this assignment, if you’re not ready to create them using Photoshop or Illustrator, acquire them online, but YOU MUST TELL ME EXACTLY WHERE YOU GOT YOUR IMAGES. What do I mean by “EXACTLY“? Well, “google images search” isn’t enough. Use a style guide of your choice to cite images.
  • Explain the changes you made to the graphic and the document: did you change colors, opacity, fonts, etc.
    • By “explain” I mean what you did and, more importantly, why you did what you did.
    • What is the dominant element of your documents? Explain why that element is a good choice for your document (see Williams p. 124 [4th ed] or p. 118 [3rd ed]).
  • Explain what suggestions (if any) you made based on peer-review–have a draft ready next week for this informal workshop.

This memo should be about 1 1/2 pages single spaced (double spaced between paragraphs). September 11th’s page has the following format guidelines for this memo:

Please do not copy and paste this. Take the time to type it out.

Audience & Purpose

My audience is…
My purpose is…

Distribution

Ideally, I would most likely display my documents…

Dominant Element in the Documents

What is the dominant element of your documents? This isn’t just the biggest design element. Consider what draws readers’ attention in your document. Maybe it’s an image, logo, text, color, etc. that is a focal point (see Williams, “Create a Focal Point,” p. 124). Whatever it is, describe it and explain why you think it is appropriate for your document.

Rhetorical Analysis

Why do your design choices convey the message you intend? First, state your intended message. Then, explain how you convey a particular ethos (professionalism, artistic, academic, etc.) with your design choices. You will have logos, but you most likely won’t have any pathos appeals. Focus on ethos for your first documents (business card and letterhead). You’ll discuss logos and pathos (in addition to ethos) for Documents #1 & #2.

If you don’t use the word “ethos,” you’re doing something VERY wrong on this assignment. We will discuss ethos in class.

Estimated Cost

I expect 200 business cards will cost $$$.$$ and 1000 sheets of letterhead to cost $$$.$$.

Style

Make sure you identify the following for each document:

  • Typeface
  • Font size(s)
  • Font color(s) (C=__, M=__, Y=__, K=__) or HEXADECIMAL
  • Stock–paper or substance cards will be printed on

Software Used

My creation came to life through the following computer tools…. [Make sure you tell me what area or section or component was created by which computer tool, assuming you used more than one]

References/Citations/Sources

You must reference where you found images or other information used in your design(s) that you did not personally create from “scratch.”

Document #2: Flyer or Advertisement (Due 10/16)

*You will also have time for an informal workshop after the Midterm Exam on 10/02.

Create a flyer or advertisement. Just around the corner from class is a huge board with many flyers. I’m sure there’s one or two of you who like to argue about whether there’s a difference between a flyer or an advertisement. That’s like arguing the difference between “reading” and “interpretation.” We don’t need to go there. Flyers should be no more than 8.5″ x 11″ in size. Advertisements should be sized so they may easily be placed into a magazine or newspaper, so please have a source in mind for your project assessment memo. In fact, you could actually paste your ad into the newspaper or magazine where the ad belongs.

Your content is not as important (I didn’t say NOT important, btw) as the overall design. Choose whatever you’d like as a subject, and be creative. I encourage you to consider using the Adobe Suite of products for this assignment.

Chapter 8 of The Non-Design’s Design Book has information on flyers (pp. 125-128 [4th ed], pp. 119-122 [3rd ed]) and newspaper ads (pp. 141-144 [4th ed], pp. 135-138 [3rd ed]). Read those sections for advice.

You should have the following documents:

  • A sketch of the ad or flyer (yes, I want an actual hand-drawn rendering of this)
  • A written comment from one student about your document (at least 100 words)
  • The actual document (flyer or ad)
  • A project assessment memo

Your project assessment memos should included the following:

***********************************************************************************************

Audience & Purpose

My audience is…
My purpose is…

Distribution

Ideally, I would most likely display my documents…

Dominant Element in the Documents

What is the dominant element of your documents? This isn’t just the biggest design element. Consider what draws readers’ attention in your document. Maybe it’s an image, logo, text, color, etc. that is a focal point (see Williams, “Create a Focal Point,” p. 124). Whatever it is, describe it and explain why you think it is appropriate for your document.

Rhetorical Analysis

Why do your design choices convey the message you intend? First, state your intended message. Then, explain how you convey a particular ethos (professionalism, avant-garde, youthful, the opposite of youthful, etc.) with your design choices. You should be able to discuss ethos, pathos, and logos, but you might not have all appeals.

Estimated Cost

I expect this flyer (or ad) will cost $$$.$$.

Style

Make sure you identify the following for each document:

  • Typeface
  • Font size(s)
  • Font color(s) (C=__, M=__, Y=__, K=__) or HEXADECIMAL
  • Stock–paper or substance cards will be printed on

Software Used

My creation came to life through the following computer tools…. [Make sure you tell me what area or section or component was created by which computer tool, assuming you used more than one]

References/Citations/Sources

You must reference where you found images or other information used in your design(s) that you did not personally create from “scratch.”


***********************************************************************************************

Include all the information above in the project assessment memo. Questions???

Document #3: Tutorial or Brochure (workshop 10/30; Due 11/06)

Tutorial

Remember, you do either the Brochure or the Tutorial.

Create a tutorial for a lay audience, an audience with no technical expertise in the subject. Using our wonderful Adobe Creative Suite, make a tutorial that shows a user how to do something. Ideally, you ought to have an actual user test for Oct. 31st’s workshop, but that isn’t required. However, I would like for you to have two (2) classmates comment on your tutorial (100 words). While your tutorial may be of any size, please consider something doable for the time you have (two weeks). The Vonage Tutorial I showed the class is a great example but probably a bit too involved. Consider a tutorial on any computer program, gadgets, appliance, or similarly simple device. Please avoid the following subjects:

  • recipes (unless you’re describing the science behind cooking/preparing food)
  • changing the oil in your car
  • how to put up webpages

Alternatively, as the dozen or so of you know, you may do a description of a technology or science instead of a tutorial. The goal, of course, is to deliver highly technical information to a non-technical audience–aim for a freshman reader. For instance, you might consider describing the water cycle, how volcanoes erupt, etc. Just limit your descriptions to scientific or technical arenas.

You should have the following documents:

  • A sketch or computer-rendered template of the tutorial or description layout
  • Two written comments from two different students about your document (at least 100 words)
  • The actual document (tutorial or description)
  • A project assessment memo

Brochure

Remember, you do either the Brochure or the Tutorial.

Inform an audience about a topic in a folded brochure–double sided. Take a look at the brochure from our midterm. Think of a company, organization, event, activity, disease, procedure, etc. that you’re interested in. This assignment asks you to create a brochure that informs a lay (non-technical) audience of anything you deem important. I would like for you to have two (2) classmates comment on your brochure (100 words) during the October 30th workshop. While your brochure may be of any size, please consider something doable for the time you have (two weeks).

You should have the following documents:

  • A sketch or computer-rendered template of the brochure’s layout
  • Two written comments from two different students about your document (at least 100 words)
  • The actual document
  • A project assessment memo

Your project assessment memos should included the following:

***********************************************************************************************

Audience & Purpose

My audience is…
My purpose is…

Distribution

Ideally, I would most likely display my documents…

Dominant Element in the Documents

What is the dominant element of your documents? This isn’t just the biggest design element. Consider what draws readers’ attention in your document. Maybe it’s an image, logo, text, color, etc. that is a focal point (see Williams, “Create a Focal Point,” p. 124). Whatever it is, describe it and explain why you think it is appropriate for your document.

Rhetorical Analysis

Why do your design choices convey the message you intend? First, state your intended message. Then, explain how you convey a particular ethos (professionalism, avant-garde, youthful, the opposite of youthful, etc.) with your design choices. You should be able to discuss ethos, pathos, and logos, but you might not have all appeals.

Estimated Cost

I expect this brochure (or tutorial) will cost $$$.$$.

Style

Make sure you identify the following for each document:

  • Typeface
  • Font size(s)
  • Font color(s) (C=__, M=__, Y=__, K=__) or HEXADECIMAL
  • Stock–paper or substance cards will be printed on

Software Used

My creation came to life through the following computer tools…. [Make sure you tell me what area or section or component was created by which computer tool, assuming you used more than one]

References/Citations/Sources

You must reference where you found images or other information used in your design(s) that you did not personally create from “scratch.”

***********************************************************************************************

Information Design Critique…Ethos, Pathos, Logos (Due 11/20)

After nearly three months of discussion of ethos, pathos, and logos as they pertain to visual rhetoric (with)in information design, you’re more than ready to pick a document and analyze it rhetorically. Remember, this isn’t a discussion of your tastes and convictions. You may explain why a document’s design choices were ineffective, but don’t let your pet peeves, tastes, and convictions dominate this critique. You must consider how an audience (a specific one or a broader one) might generally conclude or come away with meaning as a culturally constructed group. For instance, children might interpret images of children differently from adults. Also, we know there’s a difference between an ethos of childhood and a childish ethos.

Expectations for the essay:

Your essay should incorporate theories we’ve discussed this semester and properly use course-specific vocabulary to convey the “rhetoric of” the text you’ve selected. Your Works Cited page will include a proper citation (MLA, APA, Chicago, your style guide choice) for the document you’re analyzing and any additional resources you choose. You don’t need to provide the document if it’s online–the Works Cited will give me information on how to find it. If your document isn’t online, you’ll need to turn it in with your analysis. Your analysis should be 4 pages (typed, double-spaced, 12 pt font, 1-inch margins).

At a minimum, you ought to address the following in this essay:

  • Ethos, Pathos, and Logos (as we’ve seen, logos is not as prominent)
  • Discussion of the culture(s) from which the document comes

Remember, texts are cultural products and, therefore, offer insight about the cultures from which they come. This critique is not about the “nuts and bolts” of the document–how it’s assembled; instead, you’re demonstrating how it communicates its message. This essay should show that you’ve been paying attention to the need to separate discussion on ethos, pathos, and logos–don’t lump them together.

Website (ongoing)

There are two parts to your “website” grade of 50 points: 1) your actual website and 2) the classwork you display on your website.

Your Actual Website

Your website is an ongoing project and is supposed to get you to create a series of webpages that show your understanding of digital information design. While the end result is up to you, I have guidelines for this assignment:

  • Using text, graphics, sound, etc.,* to show your understanding of what we’re covering.
  • Showcasing your web-development skills.
  • Incorporating the theories and goals of this course–effective information design.
  • Reflecting on the site design so as to be conscious of the tools you’re using and the ways in which you present information to a certain audience.
  • Being creative–this should be fun.

The above are for the rest of the semester; don’t think you have to incorporate them all within the first week. Although I don’t grade you on your website weekly, you should try to update your it weekly.

*You need not use all, but I want you to maintain an engaged online presence.

The classwork you display on your website

Throughout the semester I’ll ask you to create small documents with the various Adobe software packages. These will be in-class activities that I’ll demonstrate to a point and then let you finish. When you complete them, you’ll put them online and link them to your homepage. The following assignments will be part of this requirement:

  • Fancy logo (Sept. 11th) [We didn’t get to this…]
  • UNCC Logo
  • 5 x 5 Picture Frame
  • Doctoring or Digital Graffiti–All Your Base…, church signs, other signs, etc.
  • InDesign Table (from Nov. 20th)
  • Various links to classroom assignments (groupwork stuff)
    • Link to typeface analysis [Did we do this?]
    • Link to UNC Charlotte’s homepage
    • Link to our ENGL 4182/5182 page
    • Link to your Department’s webpage
    • Link to a classmate’s webpage

The above assignments will be explained on the appropriate daily activity pages when we get to them. If you have to e-mail and ask, it means you weren’t paying attention in class, or you weren’t in class. I’m sure you can find the information on the website somewhere.

Leading Class Discussion (After 10/16)

***This assignment is for ENGL 5182 students only***

***This assignment is for ENGL 5182 students only***

***This assignment is for ENGL 5182 students only***

I would like you to open up discussion on the reading (or readings) for a class after Fall Break. Those of you in ENGL 5182 should choose a chapter to begin a discussion:

  • 10/16–“Maps”
  • 10/23–“Typography” with Jen H.
  • 10/30–“Spatio-Temporal Structures”
  • 11/06–“Color”

I don’t expect an exhaustive pontification in your discussion. Instead, I’d like you to lead the class for at least 15 minutes on a topic related to the reading. You don’t need to have a formal activity for the class, but showing visuals, asking questions, and (possibly) having a web page devoted to your discussion (your notes) would be good. Consider the following goals as you prepare: Think about what you are familiar with and explain how that experience or lens gets you to think about the topic–career, education, major/discipline, etc. Make connections to other examples outside of the textbook, and explain the significance in the connections you make. Of course, you should focus much of your attention on cultural and rhetorical aspects of design as they relate to the specific chapter. Mentioning ethos, pathos, or logos would be prudent.

Remember, you’re leading the discussion; you don’t have to finish it. It’s more effective to go into greater detail about a few aspects of a reading than to skim the entire reading in 15 min.

5182 Bibliographic Essays (assignment and presentation due 11/27)

***This assignment is for ENGL 5182 students only***

***This assignment is for ENGL 5182 students only***

***This assignment is for ENGL 5182 students only***

The Bibliographic Essay

This essay will be an exploration of a scholarly topic in the field of technical communication. You will summarize and discuss at least seven (7) articles concerning your topic, situating them in relation to each other and also offering your own opinions/analysis (14 pages, double spaced). If you go over, don’t worry, but ask yourself the following:

  • Am I doing too much summary?
  • Can I tighten up my prose–make it more concise?
  • Can I reorganize and combine ideas?
  • Examples of topics we’ll cover this semester include the following:
    • Rhetoric/rhetorical analysis
    • Technology and technical/professional writing contexts
    • Histories of technical/professional writing
    • Information Design
    • Visual Rhetoric
    • Typography
    • Layout and Design
    • Technology and Information Design

This assignment is similar to a literature review. There are some differences, but the assignment asks you to review a body of related literature and discuss connections among the different texts.

In addition, you must do a 5-6 min presentation. You get up and speak for 5-6 minutes about the essay–you choose what’s important to say. Don’t go over 6 min and don’t go under 5 min. See below for scoring criteria.

–OR–(you choose the one above or below…not both)

The Rhetoric Project

This is a much longer and involved analysis than the Rhetorical Analysis the class does. This requires outside research and would be most effective if it analyzed multiple documents to make an argument about (assumed) audience(s) and purpose(s) based on the documents’ visual rhetoric.

This essay is a bit shorter than the Bibliographic Essay choice, but it comes with an 8-10 minute presentation. The goal is to analyze the visual rhetoric of a document or series of documents similar to the ones we’re creating in this course–flyers, business cards, brochures, websites, etc. You will do a 7-page essay that provides some research on visual rhetoric and an analysis of the rhetoric of a document or series of documents.

Expectations for the essay:

Your essay should incorporate at least 4 sources in addition to our main course textbook (Document Design), which provide the theoretical framework or support for your argument–consider it a mini-lit review. Your analysis should properly use course-specific vocabulary to convey the “rhetoric of” the text or texts you’ve selected. At a minimum, you ought to address the following in this rhetorical analysis essay:

  • Ethos, Pathos, and Logos (as we’ll show, logos is not as prominent)
  • Discussion of the culture(s) from which the document comes
  • Big picture–national, Western, global, etc.
  • Local picture–occupation, region, age group, etc.
  • E/Affect on/of an audience (this is, of course, debatable)

Remember, texts are cultural products and, therefore, offer insight about the cultures from which they come. This analysis is not about the “nuts and bolts” of the document–how it’s assembled; instead, you’re demonstrating how it communicates its message.

Portfolio Requirements (Due 12/04)

I could go into great detail about the value of portfolios, but I’m going to concentrate on the reflection that’s important in portfolios. Let me get the basics down right now. Include the following items in your portfolio (these are all hard copies except the revisions may be online or printed out and turned in):

  • Original copies of your documents 1-3 (the ones with my comments)
  • Original memos for documents 1-3 (the one with my comments on them)
  • If possible, include your classmates’ reviews
  • Don’t worry about including the sketches, but you may
  • Reflection (aka. the reflective cover letter)
  • The revision of documents 1-3 (printed or online)

Yes, you must turn in a hard copy of your reflective cover letter–don’t just put that online. Print it out and put it in your portfolio folder–not a binder, rubber band, plastic sheath contraption, etc.–a folder with pockets on both sides works best.

The goal of the reflection is for you to show me that you’re aware of not only your revision process, but also the perceptual, cultural, and (most importantly) rhetorical design choices you made. In order to increase your critical reflection and, therefore, thinking, I have some guidelines for you. I’ve decided to ask you to concentrate on specific topics for the different documents instead of having you reflect on every document the same way. The comments I made on your project assessment memos were for you to reflect more broadly about the rhetorical and cultural aspects of your documents. You aren’t answering those comments, but they should be helpful in guiding you to analyze your documents more thoroughly.

For each document, I want you to reflect on how your design choices carry out your message. Do not feel the need to give me play-by-play steps; instead, you should focus on what your design choices mean. Again, do not narrate your design process.

Below are questions to guide your reflections:

Introduction

  • Overall, what do your changes show about your growth as a student of information design? Be specific…show don’t tell.
  • This is your chance to think broadly, so don’t go into too many specific examples. This intro is your sense of yourself as a technical writer who just spent a semester in an information design class.
    • Yes, even without the job title “Technical Writer” each of you will engage in many forms of technical communication on and off the job.

Document #1

  • Because this assignment was early in the semester, you probably think differently about information design. Point to the choices you made in the original draft and discuss what theories you learned since the beginning of the semester that led to changes.
  • How do these documents show your information design skills? In other words, how are these representative of your information design abilities?

Document #2

  • Analyze your document and explain it’s visual rhetoric: ethos, pathos, and (possibly) logos.
  • How is your document appropriate for your audience? Here you should be thinking about visual culture and the elements of your document that make it a product suitable for your document’s audience. That means you should explain how the document is effective for your intended audience based on cultural characteristics you’re aware of.
  • How have you paid attention to the perceptual elements of your document design? In other words, how does the design work for human vision?

Document #3–Tutorial or Brochure

  • Analyze your document and explain it’s visual rhetoric: ethos, pathos, and (possibly) logos.
  • How is your document appropriate for your audience? Here you should be thinking about visual culture and the elements of your document that make it a product suitable for your document’s audience.
  • What makes this document a good representation of the capabilities of InDesign, Illustrator, and/or Photoshop as opposed to a simple Microsoft Word creation? If you didn’t use the Adobe software, explain why.
  • How have you paid attention to the perceptual elements of your document design? In other words, how does the design work for human vision?
    {Some of you might be able to cut and paste this from your document #3 memo, but please don’t cut and paste without thinking hard about what you’re telling me…I definitely don’t want you to go over ever detail and every tool you used to create your document. Do not narrate your process. Explain your choices.}

Conclusion–Information Design Critique

Your Information Design Critique assignment is a separate grade, but you should still be able to answer the following:

  • How does your Information Design Critique reflect your understanding of the design choices you’ve made throughout the semester?
  • Feel free to discuss your proclivities and limitations regarding software, background/experience, attitude, diligence, etc. How did reflecting on Documents #1-3 in your Project Assessment Memos help you think CRITICALLY about the document you analyzed for the Information Design Critique assignment?
  • How have you contributed to the course–assignments, participation, etc.?
  • Anything else?

As you can see, this reflection is very important. Be concise and efficient, but make sure you’re able to discuss rhetorical and cultural elements of your documents. Think of this as 3 summaries with a “head’s up” intro and a final summary of your understanding of visual rhetoric as a designer in the conclusion. I would be surprised if this went over 6 pages double spaced. I would also be surprised if you NEVER used the terms “ethos” and “pathos.” Please double space the reflection.

Examples

Click here to read some examples for how to discuss you design choices.

Presentations (Due 12/04)

In 4-5 min, highlight the theories that guided your creation and re-vision of your portfolio documents. Here’s where you should stress the rhetorical, cultural, and visual elements of your designs. This isn’t a speech where you go over every change; in fact, you can do a good job just explaining how your final documents convey the message you think is conveyed. Think ethos, pathos, logos…It is your job to select the appropriate examples and not go over (or under) time.

In case there was some confusion, the 5182 students are doing a 5-6 minute presentation on 11/27 before the portfolio workshop, and on 12/04 everyone will be doing 4-5 minute presentations. I will score your presentation on a scale of 1 to 5 based of the following criteria:

  • Appearance of preparation
  • Eye contact
  • Voice Projection
  • Relevance
  • Time—don’t go over five minutes and don’t go under four minutes (practice so you get it just right)

Although it may seem like too much extra work, you should practice your oral presentations in order to gauge how long your part will take. You can’t possibly convey all the choices you made as an information designer in the time you have. Therefore, you must choose your points wisely. Whether you’re finished talking or not, I’ll cut you off if you go longer than your time limit (4-5 min). I will stop you mid sentence if need be. Again, preparation is crucial. I can’t stress enough how important it is to be prepared for all oral presentations.