Class notes and projects

Class notes, links, resources and projects.

Cosmetic Surgery

Assignment:

Collect 1 physical (analog) image of your favorite celebrity that is scratched/damaged [you can provide the scratches].

For this project you will need to turn in three .psd files:

  1. Scan your image using one of the scanners in the Digital Media Lab. Crop/resize this image so that it is 800x600 at 72dpi. [cosmetic-scan.psd]
  2. To the best of your abilities, repair the scanned image using Photoshop. [cosmetic-repair.psd]
  3. Give your celebrity some cosmetic surgery ‚Äì explore tools, brushes, filters to transform the original image. [cosmetic-improve.psd]

Self-Portrait Collage

Assignment:

Using a minimum of 10 different images, create a composition that explores collage to make a representation of your self identity. The image should be 800x600 pixels.

False Identity

Assignments:

Develop a false or fictional identity. Create a website (3 page minimum) for this identity that acts as a dating profile (who are you, what are you looking for in an ideal mate, what are your interests). Your web site should use only "shared" or found images and should incorporate links to external sites.

Background:

In Sherry Turkle's chapter "Identity Crisis" she discusses how the ability for people to easily create multiple online personae challenges our notion of fixed identities. In the past, a strong identity was associated with stability and clear boundaries. But Turkle argues that in today's world, this concept is being replaced by a notion that celebrates flexibility and mutability. She suggests that the "home page" is a compelling manifestation of "new notions of identity as multiple yet coherent". When working on this assignment, consider your own online identity. What are the freedoms and risks associated with your online life? Are there things that are safer and easier to explore online rather than in RL [real life]?

References:

Sherry Turkle

Basic HTML tags

Web Color Codes:
http://www.visibone.com/colorlab/
http://www.webmonkey.com//reference/color_codes/
http://html-color-codes.com/

Web sites:
http://www.thing.net/~cocofusco/
http://geobodies.org/
http://www.blacknetart.com/
http://www.nancyburson.com/

Exquisite Corps

Assignment:

For this assignment you should create 3 separate animated GIF files that when stacked on top of each other create the complete body of a person - or - creature - or - animal - or - thing - or - robot. The 3 images should portray the head, torso and legs of your "being". Each file should have dimensions 300 pixels wide by 200 pixels tall. Save each body part both as a .psd file and "Save optimized as" a .gif file. You should turn in:

head.psd, head.gif
body.psd, body.gif
legs.psd, legs.gif

Background:
Animations attract attention and can enliven a web page design. Animation techniques can include motion, zooming, fading [in or out], spinning, color changes, selective revealing and more.

Exquisite corpse is a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled. It is a technique invented by Surrealists in 1925, and is based on an old parlor game called Consequences in which players wrote in turn on a sheet of paper, folded it to conceal part of the writing, and then passed it to the next player for a further contribution. Later, perhaps inspired by children's books in which the pages were cut into thirds, the top third pages showing the head of a person or animal, the middle third the torso, and the bottom third the legs, the game was adapted to drawing and collage.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse

http://blueballfixed.ytmnd.com/

http://www.futureofthebook.org/itinplace/

Do a Google search for "animated gif" to find many archives of free images.

http://k10k.net
under issues select "Font Cockpit" and "Fun Fun Fun"

http://www.cadavre-exquis.net/eng/Accueil/accueil.php

http://tiles.ice.org

Portfolio

Assignment:

Using Dreamweaver, create a personal portfolio website for the projects you've completed so far in class. You can design the website anyway you like, but it should include the following elements:

  • A homepage with some basic information about you and what this website is for, this file should be called "index.html".
  • Six additional pages, 1 for each of the previous projects - include a title and brief description about your project [cosmetic surgery, self-portrait, propaganda, cut-up, false identity, and exquisite corps] *note - for cut-up and false identity you can simply link to the pages you've already made
  • Navigation - every page should have links to every other page

!! Important !! - Don't remove any files from your original projects folders - instead, duplicate any files that you need for your portfolio. (ie you should still have your original files in your folders for project 1, project 2, etc.)

References:

http://netdiver.net/ - a great directory of innovative web design for inspiration