Proposal: Visual Argument / Rhetorical Collage

[benmiller314]

Write a brief proposal for your visual rhetoric project. What idea or argument will you try to represent? What claim will you try to make – or, at least, what is the triggering idea (starting point) of that claim?

See the full range of thought-questions in the assignment prompt for brainstorming strategies.

NB: I am asking you to include a prospective assets list, i.e. a table of the images you think you'll need and where you might be able to source them. You can choose to include that assets list here or place it as a file in your repository, to more easily track changes.

Either way, please include a link here to your visual-argument repository, making it easier to find when we get to group work.

[AlexaSpaventa]

For my project, I want to make an argument centered around protecting the environment. I did some research on specific environmental issues I may want to represent and I found some interesting facts about outdoor air pollution making up around 6% of global deaths (around 3.4 million per year). I thought this could work alongside the current coronavirus pandemic since pollutants in the air also pose another airborne threat in addition to the airborne coronavirus. I thought for my argument I will definitely want to include a person wearing a mask. I think this is pretty common imagery right now because of the virus and for that reason, it may be particularly eye-catching to realize that the image is not about the virus. I also plan to include some smog/clearly visible pollutants in the air. Additionally, I want to include text with some of the facts I mentioned above. This text will be slightly smaller compared to some larger statement. Something like “let’s not make masks permanent” or “there’s more than one reason to wear a mask”.

Link to Repository: https://github.com/AlexaSpaventa/visual-argument-2020fall

Link to Assets: https://github.com/AlexaSpaventa/visual-argument-2020fall/blob/master/ASSETS.md

[hjo6]

For my visual argument project, I plan to create an argument that calls for immediate action against climate change. More specifically, I was inspired by the concept of the Doomsday Clock (the clock symbolically represents the amount of time we have before an apocalyptic event), which has recently (and frighteningly) hit 100 seconds until midnight. The Doomsday Clock takes in more than just climate change into consideration in events that could lead to our doom, but I think it's an extremely important topic that doesn't get nearly as much serious discussion as it should. My idea for the image at the current stage is to use the idea of the Doomsday clock, overlaying clock hands over an image of Earth. Between the seconds hand and midnight, Earth will look blue, green, and beautiful, but outside of this zone, it will look desolate and uninhabitable. I want to include text somewhere on the image that brings attention to the imminent doom, either "Time is Running Out" or "We only have 100 seconds until midnight" and further text detailing the importance/significance of the Doomsday Clock and Climate Change.

Link to Repository

Link to Asset List

[peekssezin]

I plan to make a project that details the negativity that the internet can cause to people. Mainly, I am talking about how the internet seems to radicalize people and change the way that people act in person. Overall, I feel that the internet has caused people to be much more open about themselves, which has the side effect of making people more angry and emotional. My idea for this project was to make a two-part graphic. The first part would show an individual crawling into a computer screen to go into a friendly internet community. The second part will contrast this, showing the individual leaving the computer from an angry internet community, also seemingly angry. This idea is meant to show that the internet works both ways; you can influence it, but it influences you too.

I haven't really considered assets, but I imagine the idea will be fairly simple. I plan to make the graphic a more minimalistic style, to further emphasize the idea that everyone is the same when it comes to the message.

Link to Repository

Link to Assets

[leiawerner]

For my project I want my argument to be about breaking the stigma around mental health, particularly men's mental health. Though mental health in general has a pretty big stigma around it, I think men's mental health in particular has one that is even bigger. Stereotypes and societal norms have made men and their emotions a pretty controversial concept. Men tend to hide their emotions more than women, and it can be hard enough as it is to tell what someone's mind is like from the outside. More than 4 times as many men as women die by suicide in the U.S and over 6 million men experience depression symptoms every year. I want to include some text with these facts and then I will have a major tagline. For my images, I few specific ideas in mind as I am using a personal experience as inspiration for this. I want to portray a man feeling sad behind the scenes of what other people portray from the outside as a perfect life.

Link to Repository: https://github.com/leiawerner/visual-argument-2020fall

Link to Assets: https://github.com/leiawerner/visual-argument-2020fall/blob/master/Assets.md

[Maials268]

I want my visual argument to be centered on a call to action. My goal is to draw people’s attention to how the United States as a first world country is majorly lacking in a specific area: maternal care. “The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world, with some 700 women dying from pregnancy-related complications every year. But a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests the majority of lives lost—approximately three out of five, or 60 percent—could have been saved if the mothers had access to better medical care” (Solly 2020). I think it's an issue a lot of people might not be aware since they may assume that because we live in a first country we can’t possibly be dealing with pregnancy-related deaths and what's the need for a solution if you don’t know there’s a problem? I want the argument to be very attention-grabbing, so I was thinking of doing something where there is a sketch/clipart image of the side profile of a pregnant woman holding her baby bump. She’s either looking down at the bump or her eyes are closed, either way, I want to present the image of calm unawareness. Then overlayed on top of the image is a scythe. I think these two images in combination should be quite jarring and emphasize the message. I’m not exactly sure what I want the color scheme to be so that's something I’m going to continue to mull over. I know that I want to include the facts and statistics I mentioned above underneath the image but I’m still thinking about other stylization and formatting details.

Repo: https://github.com/Maials268/visual-argument-2020fall

Assets: https://github.com/Maials268/visual-argument-2020fall/blob/master/ProjectAssets.md

[LDib]

The idea I'd like to convey is, essentially, that we're all going to die soon. That's right, all of us. There aren't that many years left, and nothing is guaranteed. I think we spend too much time ignoring and not enough time worrying about this. I recommend a healthy amount of worrying about your impending death, because many people live as though they were going to live forever, and you're simply not going to. You are going to die soon, even if that's 60 years from now, because that's really soon, and I want to illustrate that visually to encourage myself and other people to go do something with their life, and invest themselves more fully into what they're doing right now. There will be a last time you will get to do anything that you do, and knowing that should invest each thing you do with a certain intense meaning. I know that's not sustainable, but meditating on death is something I recommend for most relatively stable people. I've seen images before that represent this visually really well by showing you how many more times you get to do x if you're lucky. It can be really stunning how many more books you might read. Even if you're an avid reader, you might only read enough books to stack about as tall as you for the rest of your life. I'm going to find a creative thing to use to illustrate that, maybe books, maybe something else.

Link (proposed assets in there): https://github.com/LDib/visual-argument-2020fall

[briansostek]

My visual argument is going to be about pushing the stigma that you don't have to go to college. This notion is unhealthy and can have bad results on our economy. We need trade jobs and they are in low demand, because parents want their kids to go to college, even though trade workers sometimes earn more than college students in the long run. In addition, trade school is only a fraction of the price of college tuition, meaning that any debt can be absolved by the first year of work. I don't want to say that one is better than the other, but I want to show that they are both great options, and they both have enormous benefits for the economy. I plan to use something like a receipt to show what an average person's financial status is after their first year out of college vs. first year out of trade school, and I think it will make parents greatly reconsider their children's plans for the future.

Repo: https://github.com/briansostek/visual-argument-2020fall Proposed assets: https://github.com/briansostek/visual-argument-2020fall/blob/master/ASSETS.md

[KyleMaxwell1224]

My visual argument is based around how a lot of Civil War monuments are being taken down recently. I grew up in a very rural area in Pennsylvania. In my hometown, there's a large amount of people that celebrate the Confederacy by donning the Confederate flag. Recently, with the removal of a lot of Civil War Confederacy monuments being taken down, I've heard from many, many people back home that they feel personally offended by this. However, many people also are unaware that these monuments were not made to honor the history of our nation; they were created around the 1890s-1950s, which also aligns with the time of Jim Crow segregation. My visual argument is going to try to shed light on this issue by using pictures of monuments and posting statistics about them. These monuments were cheaply made and built in a time period that aligns with segregation, so I also want to show big news stories that were happening around that time.

One information source: https://www.history.com/news/how-the-u-s-got-so-many-confederate-monuments

Repository: https://github.com/KyleMaxwell1224/visual-argument-2020fall Planned Assets: https://github.com/KyleMaxwell1224/visual-argument-2020fall/blob/master/ASSETS.md

[bschatz17]

For my visual project, I would like to make a relationship between mental health and music. Specifically relating artists and lyrics in a semi-genreless design, I want to show the positive/negative outlook on mental health through these examples. Music is strong industry with a platform to discuss mental health, and I would like to show their messages through visual design. The majority of people either have mental health discussions with themself or listen to music that discusses mental health. My visual project will aim to be relatable to a wide audience with a viable, relevant message.

my repository: https://github.com/bschatz17/visual-argument-2020fall asset list: https://github.com/bschatz17/visual-argument-2020fall/blob/master/ASSETS.md

[shreyababu]

For my rhetorical argument, I want to create a visual about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Due to her recent passing, there is an open seat on the Supreme Court and the Trump administration is rushing to fill it instead of waiting for the election to see if there will be a change in administration who would be able to choose a replacement. This issue is very important to me because RBG was a trailblazer in the legal field and is a hero for women’s rights. However, Trump’s pick of replacement is Amy Coney Barrett—a woman who stands for essentially everything RBG fought against. This visual will be social/political commentary. My plan is to depict RBG as Lady Liberty, but dressed in RBG’s iconic look. She will be wearing the justice robe, RBG’s favorite white jabot (collar), glasses, and possibly RBG’s signature hair bun. In place of the book Lady Liberty holds, she will be holding a book of her own. I am currently planning for it to say “My most fervent wish,” to symbolize her final words to her granddaughter which were “my most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed”. In place of the torch will be a stack of book spines (maybe 4-6). Each book title will be the name of a groundbreaking supreme court case about women’s rights that RBG was a major influence in. Coming in from the right will be some sort of wrecking ball symbolizing the political move that is being attempted, which stands to undo a lot of the work RBG did and completely dishonor her legacy. I might have it say “ACB” (Amy Coney Barrett) or something about Trump. On the platform where Lady Liberty stands (or underneath), I am thinking of making it say “Ladies’ Liberty” instead or some other play on words to symbolize the work RBG did for women’s rights and the dire political situation women in America may face if Barrett is sworn in.
The basic argument is that RBG's legacy is not being honored and the work she has done for women will be destroyed if Trump swears in a new supreme court justice.

Repository: https://github.com/shreyababu/visual-argument-2020fall Assets: https://github.com/shreyababu/visual-argument-2020fall/blob/master/assets.md

[heh44]

For my Visual Argument project, I will create an advertisement that promotes travel to the pacific ocean. Its main goal is to show American tourists how accessible pacific islands are and how intertwined with American culture they are. I want to make the argument that Americans are missing out on vacationing in the pacific. When compared to popular tourist destinations like Western Europe, Canada, and Mexico, it seems that the pacific islands receive considerably less attention. Despite dozens of pacific countries with English as an official language, I rarely see advertisements for pacific island vacations.

I plan to have one large dominating statement at the top of the project. It will include the words "There's a hemisphere waiting for you". Below that, there will be 3 sections that stretch vertically and are side to side. One section will show off American territories and states in the pacific. There will be a comment that says "American Territories". This section is designed to show off the safety and ease of travel. There will be icons which show a passport and the word "customs" with a red x or slash through both of them. The next section will depict countries and dependencies of previously British territories. This includes islands and destinations which are owned by Australia and New Zealand. I hope to showcase lesser known areas by reminding the viewer that these islands are dependencies of more well known travel destinations. I am not yet sure how to depict this through images. My third section will showcase the many English speaking islands. There will be a comment which will say "English as an official language" I will include about a dozen flags in this section to show that these islands can offer a great opportunity to explore. I want to include different transportation options like cruise ships, airlines, and sail boats throughout the project. I also want to include landscape pictures of the natural beauty.

https://github.com/heh44/visual-argument-2020fall/blob/master/assets.md https://github.com/heh44/visual-argument-2020fall

[jkomalley]

For my project I plan to make a visual collage illustrating Pitt Band's dedication to marching and discipline. My starting point will be the phrase "no one breaks the ranks", which is a phrase members of the band learn from day one. It means that no individual within the band breaks from attention unless instructed to, and that no one from outside the band is permitted to walk through the band while in formation. Whenever someone attempts to walk through the band we are supposed to yell that phrase as a warning to them so they don't get hurt or hurt a member of the band on accident.

My rough idea for the design of my collage is to have NOBTR in bold letters in the center of my image, then layer multiple images of individual bandies in uniform overtop an image of the entire band on the field using various transparencies and cutouts.

-Link to repo -Link to assets

[LLP37]

For my visual argument project, I want to create an argument that calls for more women in STEM (more specifically tech fields). I want to have some sort of quote/statistic featured on there that will make the argument of the visual more apparent. In addition, I want to have some sort of digital background, I’m thinking I will try and make it look like a computer screen (as if everything on top is on your computer) as I think this will fit the theme well. From the top to center, I want to do something similar to the example we looked at in class about Education and Period Poverty, with a bunch of “stick figures” and have one of them be female and be a brighter white. While the others are all men and are sort of grey (muted) like the example I spoke about. The bottom of the image will include the writing portion such as the title, and statistics I spoke about earlier though the title and color of the writing I have not yet decided on as I think the background color will determine the scheme that I am going for.

Link to repo: https://github.com/LLP37/visual-argument-2020fall

Link to Assets.md: https://github.com/LLP37/visual-argument-2020fall/blob/master/Assets.md

[kevdliedel]

For my visual argument project, I'm planning on creating a piece centered around the hypothetical idea of sending humans to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons. I think it will be less of a realistic argument for an immediate call to action, but instead a piece that would be created in a future where we ruin the planet to the point where we have to look elsewhere to live. With that in mind, I'll likely use images of wildfires in California or other disasters like that caused by human action, and juxtapose that with the icy climate of Europa. Another possibility would be to envision a future where we've burned down the rainforests and are running out of oxygen, and I could make the point that Europa is believed to contain Oxygen and Nitrogen within it's atmosphere. Again, this would be more of a dystopian look into the relatively near future than an argument crafted for our current situation, since we still have time to change it. I'll also have text within it with something catchy to persuade people to make the move.

Link to Repo: https://github.com/kevdliedel/visual-argument-2020fall

Link to prospective asset list: https://github.com/kevdliedel/visual-argument-2020fall/blob/master/assets.md

[raisedDeadWizard]

My visual argument project will center around a personal philosophy. I believe that our idea of "Professional" culture in the work force as well as social standards suppress a lot of potential creativity people have. As someone who used to think the arts were practically useless, I now view them as integral to mental health as a form of expression, I also believe being creative promotes positive growth. In my opinion however, our society discourages adults from expressing creativity, focusing away from a form of relaxation and development I think is really important to all people not just kids. I will be designing some graphics that share that I believe everyone aught to have a creative outlet of some sort, and that it should be encouraged to have one. I have a few preliminary sketch ideas I dropped in my assets.md if you'd like to see those.

Link to repo: https://github.com/jeepy33/visual-argument-2020fall/tree/master

Link to assets.md: https://github.com/jeepy33/visual-argument-2020fall/blob/master/assets.md

[csk32]

For my project, I would like to bring awareness to human trafficking; it will take the form of a call-to-action. It would be making the argument that we need to put an end to this epidemic. Talking about it can be uncomfortable, but as a result, a lot of people are unaware of the severity and are undereducated on the topic. I think an important aspect of getting the point across will be through statistics and the numbers. Not only will the data shock the majority of people, but it will also attract them to the argument and make them want to learn more. The statistical evidence will definitely be included in different fonts on the project as well as images. I am thinking about having a bunch of different images that stick out and bring awareness as well.

Link to repository: https://github.com/csk32/visual-argument-2020fall

Link to prospective assets: https://github.com/csk32/visual-argument-2020fall/blob/master/assets.md

[carlystanford]

For my visual argument, I'd like to focus on encouraging people to buy locally grown and sourced food more often through farmer's markets, co-ops, etc. Buying food locally is a great solution to the question of how to eat more sustainably for many people, and in my opinion, is not practiced enough by a lot of people. In my argument, I want to emphasize that buying food locally can be affordable, environmentally friendly, and stimulating to the local economy. I'm not totally sure what I want the visual to look like, exactly, but I will probably include some statistics that show off the benefits of buying locally, and a tagline/headline that sums up the argument.

Link to repository: https://github.com/carlystanford/visual-argument-2020fall Prospective assets: https://github.com/carlystanford/visual-argument-2020fall/blob/master/assets.md

[JTH74]

For my project, I would like to tackle the current social issues that face our countries. It will be a visual representation of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as showing police brutality. I plan to show the duality within how society forces people to conform to social constructs which are inherently favorable of a certain type of person. The visual will be organized chaos with an easily seen message.

Link to repository: https://github.com/JTH74/visual-argument-2020fall

Link to prospective assets: https://github.com/JTH74/visual-argument-2020fall/blob/master/Assets.md

[trinitymccool]

For my project, I want to express the idea of 'Memento Mori'. This is a Latin phrase meaning 'remember you must die', which sounds morbid, I know, but I think there is beauty in this. My roommate and I have frequently had deep conversations about the inevitability of death and the phrase Memento Mori ever since she took a class last semester that also discussed this concept. Death is inevitable for all living things, which can be a terrifying thought (at least for me personally; the unknown scares me a bit). However, the more I discuss the idea in my head and with my roommate, the more this phrase that tells me death is incoming and inevitable is sort of inspiring to me. Death is inevitable; whether I (and all of us) will die tomorrow, in 5 years, or in 50 years, it inspires me to live life to the fullest every single day, and make each day better than the last. I want to make my life full of exciting moments and feelings, and at the end, it is my goal to never have any "what if" moments, if that makes sense. To portray this idea, I am thinking of adding in juxtaposing elements into the visual piece. A common symbol for Momento Mori is a skull, so I will add that into the piece (probably the main focus of it). I will also probably add some flowers to the piece as well (flowers are beautiful and full of life, but also die). I will also probably add the actual phrase Memento Mori in there somewhere, and maybe "remember you must die", but I am unsure on how to juxtapose that phrase with another optimistic, inspiring phrase.

Repo w assets file: https://github.com/trinitymccool/visual-argument-2020fall/tree/master