Arguably one of the most recognizable symbols in the Western cultural lexicon, or even that of Eastern cultures, is the silhouette of Mickey Mouse. Popularized in the late 1920s by a series of short films, America’s favorite rodent has come to represent the Walt Disney Studios and the Disney corporation at large. While many individuals would be hard pressed to name a single film that Mickey appears in, the ears logo has become entrenched in popular culture, in part thanks to its simplistic circular design. The company has utilized this circle theme in other deliverables, particularly in their movie posters. While the story lines and animations styles may differ, the inclusion of these symbols generates a sense of unity throughout the various films’ posters. 

A main archetypal definition of circles is inclusion. One Disney poster where this is especially evident is for the 1991 movie “Beauty and the Beast”. The rounded silhouette of the title characters in the middle of the page enhances the idea that the story focuses on them and creates the notion that the two only have eyes for each other. The light emanating from the middle of the poster is reminiscent of the sun, signifying a cheerful, hopeful plot line.

Conversely, circles can also symbolize exclusion. In the poster for the 1989 feature “The Little Mermaid” the placement of the protagonist, Ariel’s, outline over the moon might represent her status as an outsider in the above-shore world. Again, the circular image isgenerating light, putting a greater emphasis on the role that natural elements play throughout the movie. A summary of plot elements can also be seen in circular form in the posters for numerous other films, particularly those from the 1950s-1990s.

Though the posters in question may not pay direct homage to Mickey himself, there is a definite reoccurrence of the shape in the company’s materials. As Mickey illustrator John Hench once quipped, “Mickey Mouse is made up entirely of curves and that’s very reassuring. People have had millions of years experience with curved objects and they’ve never been hurt by them. It’s the sharp and pointed things that give you trouble” (Gabler, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination), which serves nicely as a tenet for Disney. 
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In class, we discussed Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics," which is really the seminal work in well, understanding comics.  McCloud discusses just about every, and any aspect of comics that can be conceived, and our discussion on 'gutters' was interesting, as I hadn't read "Understanding Comics" in some ten years.

As an avid comics fan (buff?), I had always been told that Neal Adams was one of the genre-defining comics-book artists of his day (which happened to precede me by some 15 years).  As you can see in the examples to the right, his use of panel arrangement was completely "outside-the-box," to coin a phrase that came up in class.  That is not the interesting part, however.

Trap. The combination of the genres of trance and rap usually through sound mixing and editing, has become a staple of parties and festival shows. They share similar use of synth, heavy base and spoken words to create music. But what interests me out of these is the artwork and how the artwork mimics the mixing of themes between rap and techno much in the same way the music does.

Arguably one of the most recognizable symbols in the Western cultural lexicon, or even that of Eastern cultures, is the silhouette of Mickey Mouse. Popularized in the late 1920s by a series of short films, America’s favorite rodent has come to represent the Walt Disney Studios and the Disney corporation at large.

The above comic by Robert Berry appears in his Ulysses “Seen” adaptation of the James Joyce novel Ulysses.

We watched "The Machine is Us/ing Us" and had an interesting class discussion on whether it was a scholarly work or not. It was not, perhaps, “scholarly”; but it was an argument, and it made me think about the sociology of internet communication.

During our in-class discussion of Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art," the composer brought up gutters, the space in between frames of a comic (or newspaper, cartoon or other media).  In a comic, as McCloud states in the image to the right, gutters "play host to the magic and mystery that are at the very heart of comics."  These gutters are vital, and can serve as more than a space to let the reader's mind wander.

When we talked in class about usability and the internet, it sounded like the conclusion as to what makes a usable website is simplicity. Creating a website to serve a very obvious purpose is the key to usability. But even when a site is usable, there are aesthetics that make a website a more enjoyable experience for the user. Color, formatting, and graphic elements can enhance usability by making a website visually appealing.

In Vitaly Friedman's article "10 Usability Nightmares You Should Be Aware Of," the first item listed is  problematic hidden login links on websites. Friedman uses Backpack as an example because the login link is very small and placed right underneath a block of text that looks like an advertisement, rather than placing the login somewhere else on the page where it can be easily located.

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Of the recent readings for this course, I feel most compelled to comment on the writings of Jakob Nielsen. I had heard of him before, touted as the leading expert of usability. A great deal of the discussion in class was devoted to some apparent contradictions between his ethos and one of his now defunct websites. However, I noticed contradictions on the very page we were asked to look at for class.

Professor John Logie teaches us that comics have a place in academia. He teaches it in Visual Rhetoric. Why not? Comics are visual and they are graphic and they are certainly full of rhetoric. Comics teach us to engage ourselves with the comic we are viewing, on our own time, in our own space. Professor Logie teaches that Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics" is an essential book to do just that, understand comics.
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