Re-upping the commenting video because it’s important
1/24/25-1/31/25
All work is due by midnight on Friday, 1/31/25
This week we will be looking at visual storytelling, specifically storytelling through images and design. We should consider how technology impacts both of these. Photography used to be the gold standard for evidence. Can we trust images now, when they’re algorithmically generated right out of the gate? Is it a photo if it was made without a camera? What does technology mean for design? Design is a deliberate decision-making process to achieve a desired end. Is using a template truly designing? Is it design if a machine does it?
We should also consider the relationship between tech-noir/cyberpunk and imagery and design. Here’s a tutorial on Cyberpunk: how to master the futuristic style which takes a rather superficial perspective, IMHO, although the author has a related article that does make some good points about visual aesthetics and narrative meaning. The term tech-noir suggests a collision between the past and the future or the old and new, even though tech has been around since The Dawn of Man. I’d like to think there’s more to that concept than just neon and glitch.
Below is a detailed list of what’s to be completed this week.
Instead of writing for designers, designer Chip Kidd wrote a book on design for young people. There is a Brain Pickings article about Kidd and his book with links to further design related articles. (Brain Pickings is great for sending interested people down rabbit holes. Also a great example of the power of the hyperlink in digital storytelling.) The book is also in the SImpson Library. It is worth looking at, if you can get to the Library, because it communicates design concepts with great clarity and illustrates them on nearly every page.
Between the Lines: Chip Kidd interview https://umw.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://video.alexanderstreet.com/p/XQVQVO4g8
This interview is good for getting a glimpse at the connection between design and storytelling. A companion video Designing books is no laughing matter. OK, it is. | TED Talk shows some of what he’s talking about.
Here is a look at the design of movie posters found through Open Culture, which has further discussion. The designer notes how things like space and color convey meaning, and how designs connect over time
Here is a quick look at the design of the title sequence of Stranger Things. It flashes on the decision-making process at work in design
- Write a reflection on what you learn about design from these articles and videos and tag it designthoughts.
- Do a 20 minute Photoblitz. Be sure to grab the code and include the seven tasks you were assigned in a blog post, along with the photos you took. Include your reflections on the exercise in your post. Tag this post photoblitz. Thanks John Johnston!
- Assignments
Choose three visual or design assignments from the assignments.ds106.us bank, making one or two of them about the character you have created. You have a lot of options here – note that there are 32 pages of assignments between the two categories.
Note: Most of the assignments in the bank were created by students. You can create assignments too, at any point. If you find something cool on the web and want to figure out how to do it yourself, make an assignment out of it. The Bank could probably use more AI-related assignments. If you have ideas, feel free to submit them to the Bank.
- Daily Creates: Let’s do 3 this week. As has been announced, the Daily Create is moving to https://mastodon.social/@[email protected], so everyone should start following that account.
- Commenting: You should all be following each other’s work and offering each other feedback, ideas, support and encouragement. Several people have been doing this already, which is great, but more is better. A good habit is to visit the course site every day to see what people have posted. Click through to a few posts and share your thoughts on the work, and ideas that it may inspire. We all appreciate positive feedback, and we can all be inspired by each other. This should take no more than a few minutes a day.
- Vote! Show some love to the rest of the class by acknowledging the posts that impressed you the most. Use this form to vote for this week’s Best of ds106. Just don’t vote for yourself.
- Write your Weekly Summary: This is an every week thing. Your summary should link to or embed all your work for the week, and give your thoughts on the week as a whole. Submit the URL for this post to Canvas by the end of the day on Friday.