Visual renderings, such as infographics, posters, and fact sheets, are key to Environmental Justice, since scholars, activities, government agencies, and NGO’s regularly communicates complex information about climate science and racial history to non specialist audiences. While infographics, posters, and fact sheets have slightly different image to text ratios and content concerns, each aims to inform and persuade audiences about complex topics charts, graphs, figures, copy, and key elements of design (proximity, repetition, alignment, and contrast). In this project you will practice illustrating a key term of your choice, drawn from class readings, for a general audience. What choices do you have to make to illustrate a written text?
Assignment Goals
Because each Visual Rendering will illustrate a term key to environmental justice and drawn from the course reading in a web based design tool and then develop the rendering through invention, drafting, peer review, and revision, the project meets all four of the course learning goals: Rhetoric, Process, Multimodality, and Collaboration.
Visual Rendering Checklist
Introduction: Please include a 350-400 word introduction to your rendering, in response to the following: how does the term you chose illustrate the relationship between racism and environmental degradation? Please include a works cited as either a separate document or at the end of your Rendering. The introduction and any citations in the Rendering must be in MLA format.
Design Elements: Rendering must be at least 5 sections or blocks long (e.g. at least 5 slides if you are using PowerPoint and about 2 pages if you are using Canva); at least 60% different from the template in color, layout, and image; and include at least 3 key visual feature, such as a chart, map, or timeline. See the graphics in the right column on this page AND this WHO Graphic for models
Situation/Argument: Illustrate a key term you draw from one or more of the theoretical readings in unit one. While you will likely develop an argument specific to the term/reading you chose, remember you are all claiming that the term you chose is sufficiently complex to warrant illustration and key to understanding environmental discourse.
Progression: Develop your argument of the key term you chose by responding to the following visually and verbally: How does the author define the term you chose? How do you define the term you chose? What are some examples of your term? How does the term you chose signify in unexpected ways? How does the term you chose challenge basic assumptions about racism and environmental degradation?
Planning:Final drafts should demonstrate planning. In planning this Rendering, you need to post a draft to the Canvas Discussion boards by 12:00PM on Saturday, July 3st, and respond to at least 2 peer drafts by 11:59PM.
Tools
Compose your Rendering in the design software of your choice OR you may also create your poster through collage. The following are some tool suggestions:
Google Slides, Photoshop, or Power Point
Visme: lets you create block by block, either template or blank; animation function; more options for uploading video/audio; and full range of export options.
Pktochart: freehand or lots of free template design options; best map builder of the three tools; lots of shapes, illustrations, etc.; export function limited.
Canva: most work done from inside the main window; lots of shapes, boarders, illustrations, etc.; good support; templates are a bit blah; and no rich media export options.
Assessment
The Visual Rendering is worth 10% of your total grade and will be assessed according to the final criteria adapted from the Common Feedback Chart:
Rhetorical Awareness: Does the Visual Rendering address writing the situation (and assignment) completely and/or with unexpected insight? Does the Rendering fulfill the assigned design requirements and include an introduction? (20%)
Stance: Does the Visual Rendering clearly articulate a unifying argument/goal? Does the Rendering illustrate a key term drawn from one or more of the theoretical readings in unit one? Does the author provide examples? (20%)
3.Development of Ideas: Does the author develop his/her claim through by defining the key term visually and verbally? Does the author logically and progressively challenge/adapt the definition of the term to demonstrate its multiple meanings or potentially challenges? (20%)
4. Organization: Does the Rendering sustain the claim throughout? Are transitions from one piece of evidence to another clear and logical? Is there a conclusion? (20%)
5. Design for Medium: Does the Rendering use the affordances of its mode to enhance the goal/content? For example, does the author foreground visual iconography and proximity over chunks of text? (10%)
6. Process: Does the final draft demonstrate planning and revision? (5%)
7. Conventions: Does Rendering meet grammar, mechanics style, and syntax conventions with few or no errors? (5%)
Audience
Your peers and I are your primary audience, but what choices can you make to best communicate the key features of the concept/problems with futurity in popular media to an audience with only general knowledge of the issue? Also, how can you use design (color, negative space, alignment, etc.) to catch and hold audience attention?
