Moving Visuals
Use Adobe Photoshop (or an alternative image editor) to explore the ways that words and images can be mixed to create messages with immediate impact. This assignment will help you understand the power of both words and images when distilled down to essential, economical components. The project also invites you to think critically about aspects of internet culture, particularly the spread of viral images. The tasks also require that you develop literacies for working with visual editors, including working with layers and selecting and masking visual elements. As you become familiar with these moves, you will also think through a number of visual and design strategies.
You will start by becoming familiar with two intellectual concerns: viral images and visual rhetoric. You will then move on to composing your own and images.
| Genre | Purpose | Audience | Role | Rhetorical Situation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GIF | You have been tasked by a public relations firm to make a viral image. | General Public | Marketing Intern | You have approached by a public relations firm about creating a new viral image for their newest client or product. Your assignment is to come up with a new viral meme by better understanding the genre. |
Feeder 1: Understanding Viral Images
To get started, explore this study on predicting the success of memes. As you read, think about critiques that associate the internet with soundbite culture and the decline of literacy. How might the conclusions of the article inform these debates? After you have thought about the spread of viral images, look over this article related to wordplay. As you read, revisit your thinking about critiques of internet culture. How might aspects related to wordplay inform these debates?
You can conduct additional research online into viral images or playful language. Once you have a good sense of some of the characteristics of viral images, complete these tasks: Search online through sites containing viral images and other memes. Identify one image that includes wordplay, and then copy its web address. Submit a posting providing the address of the image and a one- to two-paragraph analysis. In the analysis, explore aspects of the image that might contribute to its likelihood of becoming viral. Finally, offer some conclusions about what the image suggests about internet culture and composing visuals designed to create instant impact.
Feeder 2: Understanding Visual Rhetoric
First, look over this blog posting to become familiar with some basic components of graphic design. Also, look over this article focusing on emphasis. Next, explore this article on the importance of contrast. You can explore other concepts of design as you work through these materials or conduct additional research later as you submit the feeder assignment.
Next, search online for viral images and identify several items: choose 1) an image that features principles of emphasis, 2) an image that features principles of contrast, and 3) an image that makes use of one additional design priciple. (Conduct additional research into design principles if needed.) Copy the web addresses of these images, and then submit a posting providing the address for the first image. Compose a few sentences describing the image’s use of emphasis. Repeat the process for the image featuring contrast. And complete the posting by providing the address of the third image and discussing the design principle you have identified for it.
Unit Project: Create a Viral Image
In this assignment, you will create at least two images that use graphic design and wordplay. The aim should be to develop images with characteristics that lend themselves to going viral. The assignment, however, does have additional requirements that will help you develop your facility with using layers and working with visuals. Specifically, you will need to create a composite image that includes two or more visual elements in addition to words. For instance, you might layer an image of a cat over a cityscape, and then add a clever caption.
First, you need to develop ideas for the images you want to create. Start by working up some possibilities on your own based on your research into graphic design and viral images and your interests and experiences. You can also consider whether modifying existing memes can create some possibilities. You can always adjust and pick new images to create as you work, but start by brainstorming some lists of possibilites. You may also want to use some paper and pen or pencil to sketch out some lo-fi designs for potential images.
Next, compose your viral images. Follow these steps:
Begin by downloading images that you want to mix together. Select one image that will serve as a background–a street scene, a dining table, a landscape, etc. Also select an image that has a concrete element (a person, animal, artifact, etc.) that can be overlaid on top of the background scene. As you select images, seek out items that are appropriate in size–i.e., square or rectangular, at least 800 pixels wide or high, not more than 1920 pixels wide. As you work, explore and pay attention to these resources for using materials online.
Next, open Photoshop. You can use an alternative image editor but make sure that it supports layers and masking.
Open the image that will serve as the background for your composite. Resize the image to be 1080 pixels wide. Save the image with a title something like meme1.
Next, open the image that contains the foreground element you will use. Use the Image menu to resize the image to be 1080 pixels wide. Next, select all of the image using selections tools, and then copy the entire image to your computer clipboard. Next navigate to your meme1 background image. From the Layers menu, select New > Layer. From the Edit menu, select Paste. You should now have an image with two layers. The background image should be beneath the foreground image in the Layers palette. (If needed, go to the Window menu and select Layers to bring forward the layers palette.) Next, in the Layers palette, select the layer with the foreground image. Next, choose the Quick Selection tool, and select relevant parts of the image to create trace lines around the element that you want to isolate in the forground. Next, from the Layer menu, select Layer Mask > Reveal Selection. See what happens. Next, choose the text tool from the toolbar, and add the text for your meme. Draw upon your research and experience to create a phrase that uses wordplay. Experiment with the fonts, sizes, color etc. Once you have a text layer in your composition, experiment with some of the effects available at the bottom of the Layers pallete.
When finished, Export your image in either PNG or JPG format.