When searching for assignments together, Brianne Comden and I came across the “Google History Maps Story”, which we thought would be perfect for our characters, as they were connected in our radio show as grandmother and granddaughter. We also thought it would be great to collaboratively work on this assignment because it would allow our … Continue reading You Follow the Map…It Knows the Way!

When searching for assignments that would ideally combine my character with another, I found the prompt, “You’re a Pinteresting Character”, which states: Build a Pinterest page of at least 20 pins for a character of your choice. Search for pins that relate to your character and things that he or she would want to pin for themselves. … Continue reading Can I Pinterest You in Our New Board?

After viewing the video this week, I thought that the “Design an Invoice” assignment would be perfect for the work that Julia James does for women who are verbally abused by their degrading husbands. She has to get paid for her services, so an invoice is crucial. The prompt states: Create an invoice for a transaction that … Continue reading Give Me Your Money! Seriously…Here’s an Invoice.

Kathy Onarheim is an active tweeter, so I frequently view her pieces and get inspired by her detailed posts and creative work. To choose just one of her masterpieces is difficult, but I really enjoyed her “Sketchy Dr. Groom on Assignment” design project. It is definitely worthy of being submitted on the IN[SPIRE] website: Kathy’s creation inspires me because … Continue reading You Inspire Me, Kathy!

I always enjoy when my peers add comedy to their assignments, since the theme of noir can be so dark and serious! While searching for IN[SPIRE] works, I remembered one of Brian Christiansen’s that literally made me laugh out loud. It is the photo with Professor Groom as the Godfather. “THE GROOMFATHER” is definitely well done … Continue reading You Inspire Me, Brian!

I found July’s website using Twitter and began browsing through her work because of her interesting tweets. I felt confident that at least one of the completed assignments would fittingly belong on the IN[SPIRE] website. The catchy jazz track of her Radio Bumper promptly caught my attention. Not only is the music perfect for a noir-themed bumper, the message is conveyed in a … Continue reading You Inspire Me, July!

When searching for pieces to submit on the IN[SPIRE] website, I utilized Twitter to find people who have shared their work and have utterly amazed me with the quality. This is where I found Emily Bostaph’s “What is black and white and red all over?”. First, I want to start by saying that all of Emily’s … Continue reading You Inspire Me, Emily!

At first listen, the radio show, “Dead Silence”, captured my attention immediately with the prominence of the sound effects. They are clean and crisp, and the combination of the voice-overs flows nicely. As for my experience as a listener, I enjoyed the show mostly for the intricacies of the plot, as it evolves from a typical heist, … Continue reading Dead Silence: A Twisted Plot with Twisted Characters

The Daily Create prompts for this week were extremely interesting. I wished for  time to do more, but am very proud of the three assignments I chose. They drew from all categories, including photography, drawing, and videography. The first photography Daily Create that I chose prompted me to display several different sides of myself. When … Continue reading Several Sides, One Moment, Lots of Laughs

Week Seven of ds106 was a doozy! Although the amount of assignments and posts paled in comparison to previous weeks, the amount of work that I put into the radio show was beyond measure. I worked on some aspect of our group’s show every night for the past two weeks. Whether it was a commercial, … Continue reading Noir YOU Talking to Me?!

This second week of working on our radio show definitely proved challenging and a lot more rigorous than week one. Since our group, consisting of Aubrey Howland, Amanda Layton, Brianne Comden, and myself,  used week one to create the commercials, radio bumpers, and basic idea/storyline for our show, week two consisted of all of the … Continue reading Imagination and MaNOIRpulation

The Daily Creates for this week were a lot of fun. Once again, they drew from several categories of creativity: videography, writing, and photography. They were all fairly easy to complete, as these are areas in which I have interest and experience. It is rewarding to work on assignments that develop creativity and technological prowess. The first assignment … Continue reading 5 Joys, 5 Emoijs, and 1 Teal/Orange Photo

This DS106 week, being the first of our radio show weeks, was different from all others in the past. Although it may seem like fewer blog posts and written work, it was approximately the same amount, if not more, with all of the group project work that we started. After forming a group with Aubrey Howland, Brianne Comden, and … Continue reading Check…1…2…Check…Radio Show Week 1

As a contribution to my group’s radio show and the five points of character assignments this week, I decided to complete the “DS106 Radio Commercial”. However, instead of inventing a product for a movie or TV show character, I fabricated one for my own character, “Jewel”. The prompt states: Create a commercial featuring an item … Continue reading NO-NV Does the Trick!

Week one of Radio Days…check! I started this week’s work early, by searching for a group on Monday. Luckily, I have a couple teammates in this class, and we knew that it would be ideal to work together because we have the same schedule. We joined up with another student, as well, and together we are…”the maNOIRpulators”. … Continue reading Pros of Progress

When considering the five points to be dedicated to my character this week, the “Character Bird Calls” assignment grabbed my attention because “Jewel” is attracted to specific things in life, given her nature and profession. By completing this assignment, I am able to add a bit of depth to her character, as well. The prompt … Continue reading “Jewel’s” Calling…G.W.D. (Gym, Work, Drink)

In the midst of the first radio show week, I tried to focus my audio assignments on prompts that would contribute to our show idea. Therefore, the first assignment I decided to complete was the “Create a DS106 Radio Bumper”. This would be round two for me with this assignment, as I created one during … Continue reading A Sultry Bumper for a Sultry Show

After experimenting with the FreeSound website during audio week, I could not wait to get back at it! I found so many cool sounds when completing the assignments that just did not fit with what I was doing. I took advantage of them this week, however, with the “Emotions Through Sound” assignment. The prompt states: Try … Continue reading Can You Feel It!?

When deciding on which type of promo to make for our newly developed radio show, I immediately knew that I desired to create a logo that would represent our entire show. Posters and bumper stickers are useful, but the logo is the main visual representation for any medium.  It didn’t hurt that I already had … Continue reading “The maNOIRpulators”

The focus on design this week changed my perspective. Even on short car rides, rather than just looking at advertisements and signs, I analyzed their use of color, balance, typography, and proportion, just to name a few. Don’t worry, I focused on my driving, as well! To start off the week, I introduced myself to … Continue reading Ready to Resign from Design!

Copyright is a very complex subject. We touched on it a little bit in my Freshman Seminar class last semester, and I came to one conclusion then: copyright is restrictive and does not even get fully enforced. After reading and watching the materials for this post, I came to a similar conclusion. However, these resources give … Continue reading Copyrights and Copy-wrongs!

This week’s Daily Creates encompassed a number of different methods to test my creative abilities. I was very picky with which ones to choose. So picky, in fact, that I waited to complete Sunday’s. You can call me a rebel if you like, but I think it was more because I was unsure of how … Continue reading David, Hands, and AppleJacks

I never realized all that goes into the advertisements, signs, and billboards in Fredericksburg before undertaking the DesignBlitz this week. I went on a journey through all parts of town, searching for different mediums to individually represent four design elements. There were many options, but the clearest examples I could find include a movie poster, a billboard, an advertising sign, and … Continue reading Design Blitz-krieg Bop

Upon suggestion by the professors in the weekly post, I chose to complete the “One Story/ Four Icons” assignment. I liked the challenge of breaking down a movie into its basic parts and assigning four icons to represent the story. The prompt specifically states: This idea was first suggested by Tom Woodward and has been a long … Continue reading 1, 2, 3, 4…Guess What Movie These Icons Stand For!

I began my search for design assignments by trying to find one worth 4+ stars, as required this week. I sorted the assignments by star value and looked at all of the 4-star assignments first and found the perfect one! The “Create Your Own DS106 Wallpaper!” seemed like an ideal way to relay my understanding of the class, … Continue reading Peek-A-Boo DS106… I See You!

I struggled finding a third assignment to contribute to my six stars of character design assignments this week. However, after much searching, I decided on “The Best Way To Spread Cheer Is Making Cards For All To See”. With Valentine’s Day approaching, I thought that the sexy and sultry “Jewel” would definitely have someone to send a … Continue reading My Dearest Valentine…

As part of the twelve stars required for design assignments this week, six needed to be devoted to our noir characters. Considering the nature and profession of my character, “Jewel”, the “Create your own business card” assignment was ideal. The assignment states: We’re reaching a time in our lives where where professionalism is key. Use photoshop to … Continue reading James… Julia James

When searching for additional assignments to contribute to the six stars of design assignments devoted to “Jewel”, I seized the opportunity to present a new side of her through the “Let’s See Some ID” prompt. It states: Create some form of ID for a fictional character that seems believable, knowing your character’s environment or circumstances. … Continue reading Freeze…Let Me See Your Gym Membership Card!

When watching a comedy like “The Big Lebowski”, one does not think of it as a particularly noir-type film. The humor and cursing call attention away from the environment and film design. However, once I got into the mindset of thinking like a designer, it was fairly easy to pick out the Los Angeles built environment and … Continue reading Did You Notice That?

Massimo Vignelli is a man of much knowledge and opinion about the world of graphic design. In his short booklet, “The Vignelli Canon”, he outlines several key principles to this area of study that are relevant to ds106, but also creating anything of visual merit. After reading this work, I realized that I agree with … Continue reading This Canon Explodes…With Ideas!