#ids26 Semiotics Assignment

Semiotics Assignment Specifics

In this assignment, students individually are going to bring together what we have learned about semiotics (McCloud and Hall), evidence presentations (Tufte), mapping (Turchi, Pearce, and Wood), and presentation design (Tufte) to create something unique that they will showcase through a digital presentation.

Students can choose from 4 different ways to approach this assignment:

Option 1: A Narrative Atlas
Students will create an atlas of 5 maps of a space of your choice in the vein of those composed by Denis Wood of Boylan Heights. The space should be one that you have regular access to and feel safe being in. The maps will be accompanied by an ~4 minute presentation in which you present the maps and analyze them in terms of theories by McCloud, Hall, Tufte, Turchi, Pearce, and/or Wood.

Option 2: Storytelling Map of SJU
Students will create a new map of SJU that is based on the storytelling practices and process (renaming, interviewing, making the invisible visible) employed by Pearce and designed for a particular audience (students, first year students, families, botanists, environmental engineers, etc.). The map will be accompanied by an ~4 minute presentation in which you present the map and analyze it in terms of theories by McCloud, Hall, Tufte, Turchi, Pearce, and/or Wood. You can see the current SJU map.

Option 3. Redesigned and Mapped Evidence Presentations (based on Tufte)
Students will redesign and re-map 3 evidence presentations that they find and believe do not adhere to the standards set by Tufte. The originals and redesigns will be accompanied by an ~4 minute presentation in which you present the your work in terms of theories by McCould, Hall, Tufte, Turchi, Pearce, and/or Wood. Merely adding a scale is not enough of a redesign; it must be substantive.

Option 4. A Semiotic Analysis of a Series of Maps and/Evidence Presentations
Students will analyze 5 evidence presentations (3 graphics, 2 maps) in terms of the theories by McCloud, Hall, Tufte, Turchi, Pearce, and/or Wood. Bill will choose 1 of the graphics and 1 of the maps; the others will be up to you but with Bill’s approval. The analysis will be in the form of an ~5 minute presentation.

The maps and evidence presentations do not need to be works of art, but their quality should be commensurate with the option you choose and the audience. Do not reply on digital tools; paper, pens, pencils, markers, and/or other art supplies might be better depending on your project.

The project will include three phases:

• a Proposal, completed in class Monday, 2/16
• the Design Phase
  • 3/27: Draft of just the mapping and analysis work due in class
  • 4/10: Final maps and atlas due with presentation by 11:00pm
• a Digital Presentation, due Friday April 10 by 11:00pm

Both will have specific instructions, which will be included below.

The Proposal

The proposal will be short and will be completed in class on Monday, 2/16

The Design Phase

Everyone in the class has chosen Option 1: A Narrative Atlas, Option 2: Storytelling Map of SJU, or Option 4. A Semiotic Analysis of a Series of Maps and/Evidence Presentations. Here are some guidelines for creating each of these.

For Options 1 and 2, save all your drafts. The presentation will be the Story of you Map/Atlas, and the drafting is part of the story.

Option 1: A Narrative Atlas
When creating your maps, use Wood’s approach and creativity as a guide. That is, think expansively about what you are mapping. Really look into the neighborhood you are creating–that is, look past the obvious, look through the obvious, present you are seeing it anew in all it’s splendid wonder, like a child, or a bug, or a bird. Poetic? Yes, but that is what Wood is all about: mapping as poetry. I think about when my sons were little and how they were able had the opportunity to see the small things that were invisible to me. A poetic narrative atlas makes the invisible, the unseen, the overlooked visible. So, use his technique when looking your maps as they will help you create and you will need to discuss them in your final presentation.

Option 2: Storytelling Map of SJU
When creating your map for whatever audience you have in mind and with whatever subjects you include, make sure you are looking to/thinking about Turchi’s, Pearce’s, and Tufte’s ideas, approaches, and techniques about mapping, storytelling, and evidence presentations. Be intentional in how you present objects, words, features on the map and the stories those objects, words, and features tell. Be aware that in creating your map that you will obviously be leaving things out. That is okay; each map has a deliberate goal. Don’t limit yourself to the physical boundaries presented in the the current SJU map; and don’t feel like you need to map the whole campus. Choose what works for you based on your audience. Feel free to use whatever medium and implements (pens, markers, paint, etc.) you would like. Don’t limit yourself to something digital. However creative you make it, remember it is an evidence presentation and should be treated as such.

Option 4. A Semiotic Analysis of a Series of Maps and/Evidence Presentations
Your task is more straightforward than the other two options. The key for you is to choose your graphics and maps wisely so there is enough you can discuss. If you have chosen this option, I’d like to meet with you to talk about them, so see me after class and we can set up a time.

The Digital Presentation

As we have discussed in class, too often presentations are stale and dry events where people read bullet points that are on the screen. We’re not doing that. We’re going to borrow from model of presentation that encourages storytelling and the narrative form: a modified version of a Pecha Kucha (pronunciation). On the Pecha Kucha website you can watch sample presentations, including the excellent one by Emma Carlow that we watched in class describing the process behind one of her designs.

A Pecha Kucha is comprised of two parts:

1. a narrative, which is read aloud
2. a slide presentation, which advances while the narrative is read

Depending on which option you have chosen, your presentation will have:

• 13 or 14 for Option 1; 15 or 16 slides for Option 4
• slides that last 15 seconds
  • 13 slides at 15 seconds is 3:15
  • 14 slides at 15 seconds is 3:30
  • 15 slides at 15 seconds is 3:45
  • 16 slides at 16 seconds is 4:00
• slides containing only images (including images that have text on them, such as screenshots) but no bullet points, titles, or other written content
  • you are allowed adopt Tufte techniques of mapping your slides so you can help focus the viewer’s attention, add scale, and so on. These be arrows, outlines, or other objects.

To prepare your narrative, you must you write out exactly what you are going to say, so you can read it aloud. (A 4 minute presentation is about 2 double-spaced pages read aloud.) You cannot present this off-the-cuff. The challenge will be for you to time your narrative so topics change in synch with the slides.

Rubrics

• rubric to be used for options 1 (atlas) and 2 (sju map) (.pdf)
  • presentation will have 13 slides and total 3 minutes and 15 seconds
• rubric to be used for option 4 (analysis of graphics and maps) (.pdf)
  • presentation will have a total of 16 slides and total 4 minutes

Submission

Please submit your work using:

• final project and presentation submission form (due April 10 by 11:00pm)

Creating the Presentation

You are required to use GoogleSlides in combination with the Awesome Screenshot plugin on Google Chrome for the presentation. Here’s a short tutorial on how to set up and record your presentation:

Your final presentation will be accompanied by the final map or atlas and a brief reflection on the assignment.