This week in EdTech 506 we studied typography and the use of
shapes in images. I created a graphic to communicate the M-A-I-N causes of WWI:
Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism. My intended audience
consists of high school students (primarily Juniors) in grades 9-12 taking U.S.
History. Most of the students can read at or near grade level, with assistance
provided to those who require it. The students will have encountered many
graphics throughout the year before studying the World War One unit so they
will be already be familiar with concept maps at this point in the school year.
However, I attempted to create a graphic that any student, regardless of
background knowledge of World War One, could read and interpret clearly.
For the typeface used in the squares for each cause I
decided on the sans-serif font style Impact
for its great legibility. (Lohr, pg. 228) I also incorporated a type size of 36
to make sure that the lettering was legible on a projection. (Lohr, pg. 241) I
used sentence-case rather than all caps as per gestalt theory. For cueing
devices I highlighted the first letter in each word in red, emphasizing M-A-I-N,
the acronym to help the students remember the four causes of World War One.
Within the squares I chose images that captured the essence
of each of the causes mentioned. For Militarism I chose the 12 inch guns of the
H.M.S. Dreadnought battleship, signifying the buildup of Europe’s militaries
leading up to the outbreak of war. For Alliances I chose a map with different
shadings highlighting major allies prior to the war. For Imperialism I chose a
map of colonial Africa which the students would have been exposed to prior in
the year and signified the competition between European powers for new colonies
to support industrialization. For nationalism I first chose a recruiting poster
which looks very similar to our “Uncle Sam” recruiting poster signifying the
nationalistic and patriotic duty of men to come to the aid of their nation in
time of conflict. However, in reflection I decided that the assassination of
Archduke Ferdinand would be a much better choice. I searched and found a
newspaper headline that fit the part perfectly.
Regarding shape tools, I utilized square outlines to contain
the information (Lohr, pg. 250) and make the graphic look organized. I also
incorporated arrows to point to the WWI explosion image in the center to make
the connection (Lohr, pg. 250) that each cause helped lead to World War One. Within the explosion i incorporated Stencil typeface for "WWI" to give it a military touch.
I showed the image to my wife (she used to be a graphic
designer) and she suggested that I should maybe resize the image and text and
then reintroduce the images within to make them clearer. She was able to
clearly identify what the image was for and what the main idea of the graphic was
about. For Militarism she stated that the guns were from a ship and it meant
that Europe was building armies in the time leading to World War One. For
Alliances she stated that the map shadings identified the major allies before
World War One. For Imperialism she stated that the map was of the areas in
Africa controlled by European powers and that they had fought over those during
that time period so they were mad at each other leading up to World War One.
For Nationalism she stated that the image was of King George (she is British) and that it was a recruiting
poster which meant that it was trying to reach the sense of patriotism in the
citizens to fight. On the revised version she stated that the newspaper
headline was telling of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the
nationalistic ideas of the assassin. For the overall idea of the image she stated
that she recognized that each of the boxes had a cause which led to World War
One.
This solution should work well because it helps students make connections using images, cueing devices and the use of acronyms. The students will also be creating their own concept maps using other resources from the unit to reinforce what they learned and to display mastery of the topic.
Works Cited
Lohr, L. (2008). Creating graphics for learning and performance: lessons in visual literacy (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall.
Typography and Shape Assignment Graphics
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