What is Multimedia?

I believe that multimedia is, as implied by its name, multiple forms of media used within one general area or in a specific project. For example, sounds and music mixed with text and visual data. In art, multimedia is the use of different mediums in one piece, such as watercolors mixed with oil pastels and clay sculpture.Businesses can use multimedia to make their presentations and their products more interesting- adding music or a voice recording with a tutorial, animating their advertisements, etc etc.No matter where it's applied, multimedia usually attracts more attention to the item, which makes it great for business, art, and everything inbetween.

DTP Assignments- Favorite And Least Favorite

I have to say that my favorite assignments were the menu and the can label. I feel as if they were the most unique out of the assignments I completed, and I was mostly satisfied with them. For the can label I created a "Dilophosaurus in a Can", and I thought it was a cute idea. The fact that I found the perfect image for the can also made me happier about creating the label. With the menu, The Pixel Palace, I also found a lot of great "pixel art" images to use, and I got to create silly videogame-related names for foods, which was nice. After creating the menu I wished that the fake restaurant I made it for was real, because it would be a really cute place to go and eat.
I think my least favorite assignment was probably the magazine cover. I had trouble finding a good image, and even when I found one I could use I had lots of trouble picking the right text colors to keep the text from blending in with the background. Also, when I tried to convert the .pub file into a word document it distorted all the text and even the images, which frustrated me quite a bit. I feel like creating it took longer than it should have, and the finished product wasn't something I was incredibly proud of. However, I did get to use a picture of my bulldog Sam in a knitted dog sweater, which was pretty great.

Desktop Principles/Elements

On the can label I created, I used text boxes, a watermark, and a caption. The text boxes are on the middle of the label, and I used them to add information about the product without simply pasting a bunch of text there. This makes the can more interesting to look at, while also splitting up the information into smaller, more readable chunks. The caption is inside of a spiked bubble next to the picture of the Dilophosaurus; that is there to describe him a bit more, as well as cause the viewer's eye to be more likely to first go towards where the bubble and the dinosaur are. Lastly, I added a watermark of a jungle scene in the background of the label, because it's much more interesting than a plain white one, and it adds more of a prehistoric theme to the label.

On the special event ticket, I used reverse text and a sidebar. The reverse text is on the edge of the ticket, and is used to make the title of the event easier to read and more attractive in general. The sidebar contains the technical information about the event, i.e. the event's title, location, and date. Separating this information into a small sidebar allows there to be more room for the "ad" part of the ticket, and also allows the more important information to have it's own little corner on the ticket.

Purple

1. What shape represents the primary color PURPLE?
1. Oval
2. What is the complementary color of PURPLE? (best friend)
1. Yellow
3. List 2 things PURPLE was “hired” to represent.
1. Aristocracy
2. Dreams
4. What are 3 positive character traits?
1. Artistic
2. Enchanted
3. Majestic
5. What are 3 negative character traits?
1. Arrogant
2. Mourning
3. Melancholic
6. List one additional fact about the color PURPLE (“Around the World”) 
1. In ancient cultures purple represented wealth, because only the very rich could afford purple dye.

Write a 5 sentence reflection on the color after watching the movie
Purple, though it has it's good traits, seems to be one of the colors that represents more negative things than it does positive. It represents being melancholic, aloof, and somber, behavior that's often caused by depressing things happening. It also represents wealth and luxury, as well as the vanity that comes with great fame and riches. On the brighter side, it also symbolizes intelligence as well as artistic ability. It also represents femininity, fragrance, and fantasy, three things that often have happy connotations of prettiness and joy.

Rules

Most families set rules for their children, especially regarding behavior and responsibility.  Do you long to stay out later, go out more, or dress any way you like?  Which rules do you find particularly annoying? Write about rules that you consider unfair and why?  Which rules do you find that are fair and why?

I'm pretty okay with the rules my parents set- none of them really keep me from doing the things I like to do, and even when they hold me back it's usually for my own good. Sometimes I want to hang out with my friends, but I can't because my sister or brother have something going on and my parents can't drive me around- that is really the main thing that irks me. But even if I can't connect with my friends or hang out with them in person there's always IM and videochat, and considering that I'm a bit shy and introverted I don't have any problems with staying out late or dressing oddly. I'm not a big fan of picking up dog poop every other week, considering that my brother and sister hardly help at all sometimes, but I guess it has to be done. Pretty much 99% of the rules are fair in my eyes, considering they're only there to keep us safe and healthy and happy, so, I'm not complaining.

Red

1. What shape represents the primary color RED?
1. Square
2. What is the complementary color of RED? (best friend)
1. Green
3. List 2 things RED was “hired” to represent.
1. Agression
2. Beauty
3. Love
4. What are 3 positive character traits?
1. Passionate
2. Rebellious
3. Romantic
5. What are 3 negative character traits?
1. Evil
2. Violent
3. Offensive
6. List one additional fact about the color RED (“Around the World”) 
1. Red represents good luck in China and India, and is a very popular dress color as well as a color for chairs, parasols, cup lace, and in firecrackers used for weddings.
7. Write a 5 sentence reflection on the color after watching the movie
1. Red is obviously a very strong color compared to the others. Since it's so bold and attention-grabbing, it's a great color to represent revolution and other things that need to be noticed, such as firetrucks and stop signs. Red also represents heat, which is obvious, since things (and people) usually turn red when they get too hot. Romance is frequently represented with the color red as well, because love is such an intense feeling. Lastly, while red can symbolize many good things, the main bad thing it represents is evil and violence, since red is the color of blood and war.

Blue

1. What shape represents the primary color BLUE?
1. A circle
2. What is the complementary color of BLUE? (best friend)
1. Orange
3. List 2 things BLUE was “hired” to represent.
1. Cooperation
2.  Intelligence
4. What are 3 positive character traits?
1. Peaceful
2.  Mature
3. Powerful
5. What are 3 negative character traits?
1. Melancholic
2. Depressed
3.  Dull
6. List one additional fact about the color BLUE (“Around the World”) 
1. Blue is often used on flags, such as the UN flag, to represent peace and cooperation
7. Write a 5 sentence reflection on the color after watching the movie
1. Blue is one of the more serious, less playful colors out of the main six. It resembles strength, mystery, and depth, as well as freedom and peacefulness- all traits which people look up to, and often wish to have. Continuing this thought is the fact that blue also represents technical thinking and authority. However, blue also means depressed and lonely- two things that often come with power and freedom/peace. Other than those two connected parts, blue can also mean educated and clean. Blue in general is a peaceful-but-powerful color that gives off an air of seriousness and formality.

Winter Olympics

1. Where are the 2014 Winter Games being hosted? Sochi, Russia
2. Where were the 2012 SUMMER games hosted? London, England
3. The first Winter Olympic Games were held in Chamonix, France, in 1924
4. The FIRST Winter Games to be televised were the 1956 Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
5. Only four athletes have ever won medals at both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games. Were any of them American? Yes; Eddie Eagan
6. Who is the only person to win medals at the Winter and Summer Games in the same year? Christa Luding-Rothenburger, from East Germany
7. What country has held the most number of Winter Olymipic games? How many times has the country hosted? The US has hosted the most Olympic Games, with 8 games being hosted in the country.
8. Which US city has hosted TWO winter games? Los Angeles
9. What country is hosting the 2018 winter games? Pyeongchang, South Korea
10. 6 countries are in the running to host the 2022 winter games.  Which ONE was a prior host? What year? Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing, China; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm, Sweden. Norway held the winter games before, in 1952.

Superbowl Commercials

Although I don't usually watch the Superbowl, sometimes it does have some pretty cute commercials. I have to say that my favorite ones this year were the one with the German engineers and the one with the weird chihuahua dog things. They were both very funny and playful, in my opinion- a bunch of serious-looking engineers suddenly sprouting wings during the middle of work, and a bunch of teensy-bodied dogs with huge heads terrorizing people. Both of those things aren't really ideas that show up that often, and the unique-ness of them added to the funniness, because they aren't things you see in most other commercials. I also really liked Axe's commercial about making peace and love and not war, but due to the intense sexism that I've seen spew out of their commercial 99.9% of the time, I can't say that any of their commercials would ever be one of my favorites.

However, I have to say that the commercial I liked the least was the sodastream commercial. The introduction had the vibe of a generic commercial for hair or makeup, and the random closeups of Scarlett Johansson with that deep voice saying who-knows-what just made me a little annoyed. I like Scarlett a lot, but it's hard to take her seriously in a commercial with her sipping soda through a straw. Overall the commercial made kindof annoyed and confused. Also, saying "Sorry Coke and Pepsi" was kindof odd, considering that I've never even heard of Sodastream before, and that statement just made it sound like they were trying too hard to be the best ever. Maybe that's just my personal opinion, though.

Orange

1. What shape represents the primary color ORANGE?
1. Rectangle
2. What is the complementary color of ORANGE? (best friend)
1. Blue
3. List 2 things ORANGE was “hired” to represent.
1. Humor
2. Action
4. What are 3 positive character traits?
1. Festive
2. Excited
3. Communicative
5. What are 3 negative character traits?
1. Exaggerated
2. Outrageous
3. Tiring
6. List one additional fact about the color ORANGE (“Around the World”) 
1. Orange represents humility in Buddhism, and love and happiness in China and Japan

Write a 5-sentence reflection on the color after watching the movie

From this movie, I can tell that orange usually represents vibrant and active things, and is good at catching people's attention. Generally it represents festiveness, which is why it's the color that represents Halloween. It also represents motivation and stimulation, and it's a color that makes you want to get up and move around a bit. However, orange isn't always 100% positive; it also represents danger, mainly the danger of a burning fire. It's also used as a warning on signs- safety orange signs are put up near construction zones, and the construction workers themselves have to wear vests/hats of the same color. However, overall orange is a primarily joy-inducing color meant to give people energy and peppiness.

Technology

"Technology has led to the discovery of vaccines and medical treatments.  It has brought computers and televisions into people’s homes, and it has provided us with electricity, the internet, phones, cars, planes and much more.  But an argument can be made that technology has largely worsened the quality of our lives, polluting the air, making our lives needlessly stressful, and dampening our enthusiasm for books. 

If you had to give up one technological advantage that you use all the time, what would it be? Do you think you would be better off without it? Why?"

 If I had to give up one piece of technology, I guess I would have to go with television. I feel like TV makes me very unproductive- at least with video games I can train my hand-eye coordination, and with the computer I can do research, write papers, and draw. When I watch TV my mind goes almost completely blank, and I'm so mesmerized by it sometimes that I can sit there for hours doing nothing at all. If there was no TV in my life I could focus more time on drawing or writing or programming. And even then, if I really wanted to watch a show I could probably find episodes of it online if I searched hard enough.