Back to the Future - Visual Analysis - Step-by-Step - for Project Binder Cover
Estimados Estudiantes,
Today I offer you a challenging but fun way to design your project cover.
I call it the Visual Analysis. It will provide your readers with a unique introduction to the contents inside your binder.
- Your visual analysis will combine an image and 300 words of text.
- Jay’s Tip: Go back to your Research Questions and Answers – there you will find important information that will apply to the meaning of your image.
Here is what you do:
- Choose an interesting image that represents your sixties topic.
- Look carefully at the details – Can you bring up something to capture the imagination of your readers?
- Think colors, shapes, sizes, facial expressions, words – What does it all mean?
- What do you notice first? What seems to be missing from the picture?
- What is the message being sent?
Below I provide a few writing prompts to get you started:
* What is the background for your image. (By background, I mean, what is happening?) Where did the picture come from? What is it about?
* What is the message it is sending? What will most people think when they see it?
* Focus on the details. Size of things. Location of objects. Colors. Shapes. Facial Expressions. Body movements.
* What is the first thing that caught your attention? Why?
* What is something you didn't see at first but saw later?
Jay’s Step-by-Step Sample:
( I wrote this for Hissie – She’s writing her research paper about the life and death of Janis Joplin.)
* What is the background for your image. Where did it come from? What is it about?
Here, Janis appears on the cover of a Latin music fan magazine, La Mosca a la Pared. The title translates to “The Fly on the Wall.” The title implies that this magazine will give the reader a candid look at the subject of each article. The phrase “Fly on the Wall,” is used to show a secret side to someone or something. When people say, “I wish I could be a ‘fly on the wall,’” they are saying that they want to see what is really happening behind the scenes.
* What is the message it is sending? What will most people think when they see it?
Unlike most of the images we see of Janis, she is not smiling or singing on this poster. She looks glum. Here eyes are dark. Her lips are turned down. Her look doesn’t match the free-wheeling, crazy-ass rock-star of her legend. In the bottom the poster, right below her name, a sub-title reads, “La Pequena NiñaTriste.” In this picture, Janis looks more like a young woman waiting in line at a community college to register for her classes.
* Focus on the details. Size of things. Location of objects. Colors. Shapes. Facial Expressions. Body movements.
The poster shows two sides to Janis. First there is the Queen of Psychedlic Soul. I mean just look at her hair. It’s wild. It’s bright. It looks like a pink fire. She’s wearing her trademark jewelry. A collection of beaded necklaces hang from her neck. But, there is also the Janis we rarely see. She looks insecure. Her face doesn’t express the same type of confidence we see on stage. She has her hand on her hip like she doesn’t know what to say or do.
* What is the first thing that caught your attention? Why?
The first thing I see when I look at this picture is the Janis we all want to see. She’s the girl with a dream. The one that ran away from home in Port Arthur, Texas to become a rock star legend.
* What is something you didn't see at first but saw later?
After studying the picture, I finally noticed the magazine cover featured two important names. The appeared to the right of Janis. Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday were both blues artists became great influences on Janis’s music and life. Both Bessie and Billie died much too early in tragic accidents. Janis would soon join them. She died of a heroin overdose at age 27.
Here is the way it looks when I copy and paste everything together:
Here, Janis appears on the cover of a Latin music fan magazine, La Mosca a la Pared. The title translates to “The Fly on the Wall.” The title implies that this magazine will give the reader a candid look at the subject of each article. The phrase “Fly on the Wall,” is used to show a secret side to someone or something. When people say, “I wish I could be a ‘fly on the wall,’” they are saying that they want to see what is really happening behind the scenes.
Unlike most of the images we see of Janis, she is not smiling or singing on this poster. She looks glum. Here eyes are dark. Her lips are turned down. Her look doesn’t match the free-wheeling, crazy-ass rock-star of her legend. In the bottom the poster, right below her name, a sub-title reads, “La Pequena NiñaTriste.” In this picture, Janis looks more like a young woman waiting in line at a community college to register for her classes.
The poster shows two sides to Janis. First there is the Queen of Psychedlic Soul. I mean just look at her hair. It’s wild. It’s bright. It looks like a pink fire. She’s wearing her trademark jewelry. A collection of beaded necklaces hang from her neck. But, there is also the Janis we rarely see. She looks insecure. Her face doesn’t express the same type of confidence we see on stage. She has her hand on her hip like she doesn’t know what to say or do
After studying the picture, I finally noticed the magazine cover featured two important names. The appeared to the right of Janis. Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday were both blues artists became great influences on Janis’s music and life. Both Bessie and Billie died much too early in tragic accidents. Janis would soon join them. She died of a heroin overdose at age 27.
Here are Jay’s Suggestions/Rules to Follow:
Here are the rules:
* Find the most interesting image you can. You will need to write 300 words.
* Font: must be 12 point (and easy to read)
* Color: must be dark color against a light background
* Title Box: Title, Your Name, Your Class
* Title to your Project: Insert your title at the top of your visual analysis.
* Background: you can match your background color with your selected image by doing this:
- Click on "Design" at top of powerpoint.
- Click on "Formato al fondo"
iii. To change colors, CLICK on the tabs under "puntos de degrado" - you can change the color for each tab by clicking on the arrow next to the "paint bucket" icon. Can you identify three major colors from your image. Here, you can create the same three major colors for your background.
Jay's Tip: Keep blank space to a minimum. If you come up short, ask your instructor what you can add to make for a fuller look.
To this announcement, I’ve attached the “Austin” Powerpoint Template you should use – We plan to put our binders up on display. Using the same template will give our presentation a professional looki.
This is going to be great you will see.
Paz,
JL