Piping Shrike Poetry Poster

The brief for this task was to re-design a poster for the university poetry club. The audience is university students who can get the chance to be published in the annual UniSA piping shrike. The old poster design consists of non-attractive colors and does not stand out from the clutter. It is very plain and not catchy enough.

This is why the poster had to be re-designed. By carefully choosing fresh young colors the new design I have created looks much better not only in terms of color choice but also overall attractiveness.The poster should communicate properly its purpose - to attract students to take part in the "competition". The meaning and wording of the old poster has been kept the same in the new design. However, the words have been separated in a couple of sections. Major part of the poster takes up the question "Do you want to get published?" and it's got a primary location in the center. The stars on the background are supposed to draw the attention straight to the major question. At the bottom of the poster are placed the details such as contact e-mail and closure day for submissions. 

You can see the old and new poster compared below.

Old Poster

New Poster

Changes made in design:

• colors - light blue and yellow/orange instead of black and white, blue and red
• title - "Creative writing" instead of "Calling all poets"
• typography - sans-serif fonts instead of cursive for title and body text
• positioning of information 

CWA brochure

The task for this class is to create a brochure for the Country Women's Association which covers the requirements of the company. During the brief it was made clear the following:

• the brochure has to be modern
• provides information on what the Association offers



SACWA logo

• include the way the Association contributes to the community

The aim of the brochure is to attract new members as well as inform the public of their activities. By carefully taking the requirements into consideration I have decided to use fresh colours, which attract younger women. In this case I tried to incorporate the SACWA logo which consists of pink and white with the overall design of the brochure.

Deciding on the information that has to be included in the brochure was the next step I did. The first page of the tri-fold brochure has the name of the association, the logo, a picture of a young woman with a horse (Image 1) and the slogan of the association.

The second page of the brochure consists of an image of scones (Image 2) which are significant for the association as this is one of their major activities. The page has a text which is taken from the association's website - it is concise information which describes in brief what the association does and who they are. The inside paes of the brochure are filled with the major activities and the membership opportunity and benefits. There are two images of a home made jam (Image 3) and a woman baking (Image 4) again representing SACWA's activities. The back page has again the logo and the contact information of the CWA. 

There is a lot of space left throughout the brochure to assure separation of sections and make it easier to read. The colours of the design are chosen to match the logo and the purpose of the association. It should attract younger women - fresh colours and typography. 

Images used in the brochure 

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

SACWA Brochure

SACWA Brochure 1 side

SACWA Brochure Side 2

Media Issue - week 9

This week has brought many media issues in the spotlight, some global concerning the death of Osama Bin Laden or addressing the royal wedding of Prince William, others more locally oriented.

Source: http://goo.gl/rl2cp

The issue I chose to discuss this week can be described as a social media issue. It concerns Facebook and its security. The article addresses Symantec which has observed a security issue with Facebook and its apps.  According to the security company some Facebook apps leak private users' information. Facebook's response to that has been that there is no such evidence and that they have looked into the issue already.

An ethical issue comes to mind when talking about security and privacy of private information. First of all, exposing one's personal data without having their permission is illegal by itself. However, Facebook always asks the user when entering an app whether or not they permit this app to access the user's basic information, That basic information consists of their name, contact details, and maybe demographics. I would say for myself that I have never permitted any app to access my basic information, however I can't be 100% sure that any of my personal data has leaked since I have opened a Facebook account.

It is up to the users to take care of their profiles and information, Sharing data today is very easy and could be done everywhere. The world hasn't been more exposed than ever but users should be aware of the disadvantages of the Internet. It is up to the various website to state somewhere visible what the terms and Conditions of an entry are as those change from website to website. Creating profiles and sharing personal information all over the net could cost one his or her reputation. This is why people should be cautious when using such websites. I do not say that I don't trust Facebook, but I expect everything happening under the table. it's always a matter of time for one to investigate if anything dodgy was happening.

Exegesis Draft

Uploading the first draft of my exegesis (is not finalized yet, that's more or less just the beginning).

The four basic design principles which are the main guidelines in graphic design have been utilized for years with the only aim to help and guide the readers throughout the document. According to Reep (2006, p. 134) readers do not pay attention only to the text represented in the document but also to the visuals which play a supportive role in the composition. Many theorists like Reep, Putnis and Petelin, Schriver as well as Kress have argued in the last decade that design is very crucial for the audience in terms of perception; the way people perceive information or the message that is to be presented relies on design and layout.

This exegesis serves as a discussion of the creation and the design process of three artefacts, each including text, visual and audio mode. The abovementioned artefacts are based on specific topics chosen from the book ‘Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home’ written by Emily Post in 1922. Emily Post has expressed and described the etiquettes of life based on her knowledge and experience at that time of the century. The essay focuses on an original etiquette from Emily Post – Balls and Dances - as well as two already rewritten by previous students– Bar and Australian Manners. The artefacts listed and explained below have been designed and created in regards with the main theories in design and desktop publishing.

The first artefact that I produced is based on Emily Post’s ‘Balls and Dances’ Etiquette. It consists of a text mode that is an up-to-date version of Post’s etiquette and is titled ‘Party Etiquette’, a visual mode that is represented in the form of a cocktail napkin and an audio part that allows the audience to be indulged into the topic by listening to a party mix appropriate for the occasion.  The text for the artefact has been written taking into consideration Zinsser (cited in Miles 1990, p. 290) and his idea of ‘stripping the sentence to its cleanest components’. By leaving only the most important information in my piece of work I have assured that the reader won’t feel confusion and even ignorance after reading through the text.  Although the artefact is a multimodal text that incorporates three different types of modes – text, visuals and audio, it is designed in a way that the reader would not be distracted from the most essential information (Walsh 2006, p.24). When written simply and concisely the final product is considered to be easier to interpret and relate to. By following the theorists I have created the text for this artefact according to the principles so it fulfils its main task of sending the right information to the audience and keeping them on path with the storyline.

Defining my project’s purpose and target audience was the first step I did before even starting to create my artefacts (Parker 1990, p.2). In order to produce good and coherent design for the visual part of the first artefact titled ‘Party Etiquette’ I had to decide on the medium I was going to use and the audience which was to be exposed to my message (the text). By carefully considering those variables I made the decision to combine creativity with more practical approach. The visual mode of this artefact is in the form of cocktail napkins which will be the medium for my message. The text will be printed on the upper side of the napkins so it is visible and easy accessible for the readers.  Incorporating some graphic elements on the sides of the text together with an image and appropriate for the topic typeface will help the target group to better understand the concept. As Parker (1990, p.7) notes clarity and simplicity are critical to every design, that’s why when preparing the artefact I tried to eliminate the clutter, highlight the main information and reduce the amount of visuals. The graphics are specifically positioned on the sides and do not overlap the text so that the reader is not distracted and can focus easily.

The thought of books being judged by their covers led me throughout the design process of the second artefact with the name Australian Manners which is based on the original etiquette from Emily Post’s book – Greetings. The text that was rewritten from a previous student represents an updated version of the etiquette specifically tailored for the Australian culture. The visual mode I chose for this artefact is in the form of a handbook. The main idea behind the creation is to give one the basics of the Australian Manners when it comes to greetings. Choosing the images and the cover for the handbook was inspired by ...

Editing and its role

Editing is very crucial to one's work as any mistakes could alter the meaning of the text. Mistakes can mislead the readers who will then feel confused. All sorts of mistakes (either punctuation or grammar mistakes) could be made unintentionally. There comes the role of the editors who edit articles for newspapers, magazines, whole books and online resources.

I believe it is a very essential part of the final product (text, article, book) as the least a publisher would like is to publish an unedited book that may ruin their image and reputation. The product has to be reliable in terms of grammar as it is an official resource (sometimes used for academic purposes).

With the computer era coming in many editors have lost their jobs, however I am certain that most computers, or programmes (even Microsoft Word) can make mistakes as they cannot figure out the whole meaning behind the text; those programmes can't distinguish what the author has tried to say or to see through the context of the text. In case a new more reliable programme is developed that can replace the human being editors, I would be very sceptic in using it as I wouldn't trust the machines to know better than us.

In the second part of today's class we did two editing exercises, which I didn't find very challenging as I feel quite confident with my grammar skills. But I found a couple of words that I was doubting about in terms of definition.

Below are the exercises we did; the answers I have selected are highlighted in yellow.

Exercise 1. Insert the correct word in the sentence

1. I shall complain to the head of ........................... (personnel/personal)

2. I’m not ..................... to the idea. (adverse/averse)

3. The politician was not particularly ................. about the matter. (discrete/discreet)

4. He refused to pay his ................... rates. (council/counsel)

5. I like most vegetables, but I loathe spinach and brussel sprouts. (loath/loathe)

6. They agreed in ............... to the suggestion. (principal/principle)

7. I will ............... your letter to the chairman. (forward/foreword)

8. This wine would be a wonderful ............... to any meal. (compliment/complement)

9. To mark this ............ occasion, the Queen will give a speech. (historical/historic)

10. It’s a .................. issue, and I will not discuss it in public. (personnel/personal)

11. The newspaper article included an .................. to the PM’s scandalous past. (illusion/allusion)

12. The ................ should be written by an expert in the field. (forward/foreword)

13. Our project is divided into .................. parts. (discrete/discreet)

14. The .................. will be reworked before filming begins. (scrip/script)

15.  My music teacher told me to practise my ...................... (cords/chords)

16. This is the .......... for my thousand shares in Telstra. (script/scrip)

17. These documents are of ...................... interest. (historical/historic)

18. She will ................. the student before making any recommendations. (council/counsel)

19. It wasn’t real; it was all just an ................... (allusion/illusion)

20. Poor Bill had an .................. reaction to the flu injection. (averse/adverse)

21. He paid her an unexpected .................... (compliment/complement)

22. The school ................. spoke to the parents. (principle/principal)

23. I’m .............. to give him any more money; he will just waste it. (loathe/loath)

24. The child pulled out the telephone .............. (chord/cord)

Exercise 2. Choose the correct spelling in the following sentences

1. Please let me know if (there/their) are any reports left to edit.
2. Please wait (there/their) for your orders.
3. (They’re/their) efforts to address the inconsistencies went unnoticed.
4. She was the harder worker (of/off) the (to/two)
5. The lecturer went (of/off) to teach in Dubai.
6. They should (of/have) known better.
7. The exam was (to/too/two) difficult for the new students.
8. The students were (to/too/two) nervous to read the questions carefully.
9. She went (to/two/too) close the door and stood (too/to/two) close to the dog.
10. Most students know when (its/it’s) time to hand up their assignments.
11. The leopard cannot change (its/it’s) spots.
12. The dog knew (its/it’s) (master’s/masters) voice.
13. The group is not hungry because (it’s/its) had (its/it’s) lunch.
14. We all need to (accept/except) the things we can’t change.
15. I give all students feedback (accept/except) the (ones/one’s) who won’t (accept/except) it.
16.  Can we get your (advise/advice) on how to proceed with the proposal?
17.  The manager will be able to (advice/advise) us on which strategy is best.
18.  The CEO and the general manager (compliment/complement) each other in their approach to staff management.
19.  The guests were full of (compliments/complements) for their host.
20.  He reported the incident to the head of (personal/personnel).
21.   I agree with you in (principal/principle).
22.  The (principal/principle) feature of the building is its large staircase.
23.  Do you know (where/were) we are supposed to leave our assignments.
24.  This (semesters/semester’s) exams (were/where) very hard.