VAoice of the
Northwoods is a new digital media artifact. The Oscar G. Johnson Veterans
Affairs Hospital assigned their 2012 summer intern Julia Weiss (me) with the
task of creating, designing and digitally publishing their first ever internal
affairs newsletter into virtually accessible pathways of the World Wide Web,
and that is what I did. The intent of
this newsletter was to create a medium of communication and sense of community
among the VISN 12 hospital; done by having content that acknowledges the
current events and specialties of the hospital and people within. I know the
purpose, content, design and audience inside and out, and I will prove to you
that this is a digital media artifact, as well as what I have learned to be
“new media”.
I created the newsletter through a
Media Program; Microsoft publisher 2010, which is a type of publication software,
enabling the formatted and numerical creation of digital media artifacts. In
order to prove my point of the newsletter being a digital media artifact, I
must make sure you – the reader understands what digital media is:
·
“Digital Media is digitized content (text,
graphics, audio, and video) that can be transmitted over internet or computer
networks”
So, then what is digitized content?
·
“Digitalization (digitally converted content) –
conversion of analog information in any form (text, photographs, voice, etc.)
to digital form with suitable electronic devices (such as a scanner or
specialized computer chips) so that the information can be processed, stored,
and transmitted through digital circuits, equipment, and networks.”
Microsoft Publisher 2010 is the prime example of a program that can hold, store, create, design and format digitized content. Within the Newsletter consists, a self-designed template (blank originally), a color scheme – with a numerical code breakdown, organized formatting for boundaries of text, shapes, pictures, headings, subheadings, captions, design layouts, links, customization, logos and other general time relevant veteran stories.
There are several things that help to establish this artifact as digital media and essentially a new media artifact: numerical representation, modularity, automation, variability, and transcoding.
Microsoft Publisher 2010 is the prime example of a program that can hold, store, create, design and format digitized content. Within the Newsletter consists, a self-designed template (blank originally), a color scheme – with a numerical code breakdown, organized formatting for boundaries of text, shapes, pictures, headings, subheadings, captions, design layouts, links, customization, logos and other general time relevant veteran stories.
There are several things that help to establish this artifact as digital media and essentially a new media artifact: numerical representation, modularity, automation, variability, and transcoding.
First off – How did I create this artifact?
The software program itself is a media database, enabling my images, texts, shapes, sequences, templates, to all become computable. The data that comprises my artifact is simply comprised of more data, thus a numerical representation. Through this software program I have been able to create affective media communication by acquiring, manipulating, storing and distributing digital objects within the artifact, such as pictures, text boxes, shapes, colors … etc. Since I had to build this artifact, one object, one edit, one composition at a time, I created a make-up of media. This is beneficial, because this means you have the ability to break it down, isolate edit and delete without risk of collapsing the entire project itself; whereas with traditional media, you are just one wrong click away from deleting a module that will potentially crash an entire program.
The entire newsletter is numerically represented through resolution amounts, volume controls, contrast levels, color scheme codes, page numbers, words per text box, text boxes per page, boundaries, borders, imagery, pixels, my point is there are separate levels of content, all of which can be broken down into a database of digital codes. It is the design codes/context that you choose that affect the readers rhetorical decoding of the information, this newsletter is representative of the government and the Veteran Affairs Association, and
During the
creation I had a strict conduct code for color schemes, logos, and context
placement. It is casual, but informative with the intent to educate and
entertain the hospital staff and participating veterans. The newsletter has a
modular structure throughout due to the guidelines, and also had to be
compatible with the structure of the publisher software itself. Having separate
objects capable of shifting around and design manipulation, allowed for each
media element to come together with the programs format, but also with each
other to create a larger picture of systematic structure throughout. This is
digital media principle known as modularity.
The principle of
automation goes hand in hand with the numerical coding of media and the modular
structure of a media object. Together they allow for the automation of many
operations involved in media creation. Publisher is considered to be a
“low-level” automation of media creation, the computer user modifies or creates
from scratch a media object using simple algorithms or templates. This is very
common in commercial software, for things like word processing or image editing
programs like Photoshop. So, the numerical coding sets up the structure, and
the modularity is then accessed by the user.
Principle 1 (numerical coding) + principle
2 (modular structure) = Principle 3(automation)
An easy to operate system where you create from scratch what has already been created. Being able to access this type of media creation enables the computer storage and access of incredible amounts of media material, which left me with a lot of options for virtual design.
Because the newsletter is constantly available to breakdown and edit how I want, when I want (even though it has already been published) I can keep updating or recreating new issues, none quite like the last, a new version bimonthly, once again due to the adaptability that comes from the numerical coding of media and the modular structure of media objects. Traditional media was typically set to a certain format that was sure to work and store, and successfully enter the virtual realm with no translation issues; new media on the other hand is not constrained to the limits of “one version”. It has infinite versions waiting to be discovered, and this is the principle of variability, the ability to exist in many forms. I have already created different drafts of the VAoice of The Northwoods digital artifact, and all are visually pleasing, are color coordinated with the seasons in which their issue is set to be released. Not to mention the format in which the Newsletter could be saved (PDF, XPS, JPEG. . . Etc.) gave rise to many different versions all applicable to different situations of external publishing locations.
An easy to operate system where you create from scratch what has already been created. Being able to access this type of media creation enables the computer storage and access of incredible amounts of media material, which left me with a lot of options for virtual design.
Because the newsletter is constantly available to breakdown and edit how I want, when I want (even though it has already been published) I can keep updating or recreating new issues, none quite like the last, a new version bimonthly, once again due to the adaptability that comes from the numerical coding of media and the modular structure of media objects. Traditional media was typically set to a certain format that was sure to work and store, and successfully enter the virtual realm with no translation issues; new media on the other hand is not constrained to the limits of “one version”. It has infinite versions waiting to be discovered, and this is the principle of variability, the ability to exist in many forms. I have already created different drafts of the VAoice of The Northwoods digital artifact, and all are visually pleasing, are color coordinated with the seasons in which their issue is set to be released. Not to mention the format in which the Newsletter could be saved (PDF, XPS, JPEG. . . Etc.) gave rise to many different versions all applicable to different situations of external publishing locations.
Throughout the
entire process of developing this artifact, I had to assemble a digital layout,
and object setup that wouldn’t conflict with the publishing data structures. In
other words, I had to make sure my designs were compatible with what Microsoft
Publisher was capable of. Transcoding, the final principle and my final point
proving that this is a new media/digital artifact. Everything in the newsletter
had to be compatible, run smoothly, and work well together.
The modular
structure and numerical organization leads to a user friendly automation/ self-design
mode, which then creates opportunities for infinite design versions, and
transcoding or what I like to call the publishing principle, transcoding then
establishes that your digital artifact does fit the proper protocol for its
location, and you may then send it into the public sphere of the virtual world.
(Some of the things I'm hoping to get some feedback on today is how ti embed the personal opinion of the artifact, as well as the proper way to cite these sources) I am thinking about visiting the learning center to assist with the finishing touches- and touch ups and the peer editing responses. )
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