Hello Everyone!
I’m May Bacon and this semester I’m taking my 8th and 9th MET courses. I live in Ottawa where I am currently beginning a Pre-K curriculum with my 3-year old daughter while searching for work. I’ve been a stay at home mom for a few years now, but before that I was a second grade teacher in the Montreal area.
I chose this lovely photograph because it represents the type of writing I enjoy most: typographical layouts. Since high school, I have been interested in design, graphic editing, video editing and digital artwork. I’m particularly curious about the juxtaposition of design and writing, and how layout can affect text perception (as in the case of advertisements, logos or signs). Recently I’ve become more observant of the importance of layout to communicate, since I’ve started making and editing graphics for display at my church. I’ve also noticed that no matter how well-written texts may be, if they are not laid out in an aesthetically pleasing (or at very least, aesthetically neutral) way, the message is harder to retain and decipher. This includes everything from graphics to weblog interfaces, all of which are fascinating for me.
I also chose this image because it refers to obsolete technology and is somewhat nostalgic. Paradoxically, I find old technologies charming (though sometimes comical in their size and design) but I am also very interested in the effects and affordances of emerging technologies. I am really looking forward to examining the effects of technology further through this course.
Looking forward to getting to know you,
May
Hi May,
Nice to meet you, and I am just as fascinated with obsolete technology and the old, charming ways of doing things. A week ago, I read this line in one of Sherlock Holmes’ Adventures, “A Case of Identity”:
Of course, hard to make the same distinction now with electronic word processing and blog posts, but perhaps some skilled cyber-detective can trace back all of our words to an IP address? I am sure many doubtful readers in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s day were surprised to read the above line and learn their typewritten messages were not as anonymous as they would like to believe, as the villainous Mr. Windibanks discovered in the story.
All the best,
Kyle