Digital Writing

Revision 1

Developing Preferences

This week, I got to take a look at articles by Gita Jackson and Reece Rogers. Jackson wrote about Baldur’s Gate 3, and Rogers wrote about the Moltbook AI social media platform. Both of them did things that I took note of, although not all those notes were things that I want to do myself.

Rogers’ piece really caught my attention because of the content. What I really appreciated about it was that it told a story. The content flowed very well, and everything was placed in a way that made sense. Rogers was able to bring a sort of narrative structure to his article that felt like I was moving through a place. It has dimension to it.

What I didn’t care for as much as the aesthetic components. Now, I wouldn’t say anything was particularly wrong with it. In fact, it looked rather professional and conventional. I think it felt sterile, which is what I didn’t care for. I thought of all of the ways that the page could have been themed and styled to give off a social media application vibe.

Jackson’s article provided the exact kind of flair that I like to see. The inclusion of one of the environments or set pieces as a background photo at the beginning of the piece was quite unique. The article uses pink accents on quotation marks or block quote markers. Pictures being included throughout was really nice as well.

What I did not like about Jackson’s article was the content. Of course, the content was essentially just opinion. I certainly don’t have an issue with Jackson having an opinion, even if it’s one that I think is wrong. What really got to me was the layout.

The content is delivered in a manner that feels quite ‘stream of consciousness.’ I didn’t feel like I was being led through a story. Instead, it felt like reading Luther’s grievances to the church without the list being numbered.

I do think that this style can be effective. If you want to give off a casual, intimate voice to the reader, then I think this is one way to do that. However, I think that trying to argue a point gets a bit muddy in this specific case. It reminds me of the dialogue in the film Uncut Gems. Nothing is all that clear and the main idea is kind of hard to pick out.

Overall, what I’ve really taken away from both of these is a mix of content and aesthetic. I’d prefer to incorporate more aesthetic choices that resemble Gita Jackson’s article while using the dynamics and dimensionality found in the Rogers piece. Working with CSS for the Writing Digital Culture project should allow me to experiment more with design choices in particular, so I’m looking forward to seeing what I’m able to pull off.

Posted

in

by

LKSOC1004

Tags:

Comments

4 responses to “Revision 1”

  1. li_05 Avatar
    li_05

    It’s nice to see that while you found some valuable traits in the articles that more importantly you were able to pull out traits that you did not like as much and would not personally use. Seeing other people do things that you don’t like or messing up is a great way to learn how to do things properly in the future, but also figuring out your particular style. I find myself having to do that with projects going forward, because I feel like I lack a particular style when it comes to writing. It’s very hard to look at my writing and note what makes it unique, but I definitely can point out stuff that I do not do and that I do not like, which narrows down the options and style.

  2. davidninja Avatar
    davidninja

    I like how you pointed out what you liked and did not like about the articles. It felt like a review more than just an article. You provided reasons why you think it worked or did not work either. Reflecting at the end and acknowledging that it gave you ideas was good. I think that it is important to at least remember that these are subjective and time and effort went into their projects, just as “TLC” went into ours. I think the themes fit well for the articles and website, and they are definitely something to consider for future projects.

  3. tacobell-CEO Avatar
    tacobell-CEO

    I think it is so interesting to think about how much the aesthetic value of a article can impact the way we absorb the information. It is true that a piece that looks nicer or has more photos has more sticking power, and that means it is objectively better. I wonder, though, how much of this conversation has to due with the fact that we are required to read these articles for class. When I am reading an article on my own time for fun or to learn, I usually pay little attention to photos or the aesthetics of the website. Most of the time, I skip photos entirely. This may just be a personal thing, but I feel like I am only considering these things when reading the article is a “chore” and care very little about it when I choose to read it. 

  4. arbeez Avatar
    arbeez

    I think the most important thing you mention is how design determines a reader’s interpretation of the content. Not every design choice will resonate with the audience, but I think your awareness of the design choices is eye-opening. Having an understanding of what works in a design helps us refine our own designs. Even if you didn’t particularly like the style and thus felt disconnected from the content, you didn’t come away with nothing. These articles gave you a direction. That’s why it’s important to diversify the content you consume to expose yourself to what can be done differently.

Leave a Reply