When we brainstormed ideas we had come up with three different ideas, a chart rating projects and terminology throughout the semester, a stroyboard, and a tag cloud. After mapping out iterations of the projects we agreed that the tag cloud would best represent and fulfill the project requirements. The tag cloud was the best way we could represent the information we wanted to include in the project.
In order to begin the tag cloud we had to figure out which terms, concepts, and projects we wanted to include. We chose the words based on what we understood as the most beneficial, useful, and informative during the semester. Color and size differentiate the importance and grouping of each word. For example dark green represents maps, maroon represents definitions, blue represents overall concepts, and lime green represents graphs. Each word was designed with a specific purpose behind it. For example, we agreed that Gestalt is one of the most important terms from the semester, therefore its size is the largest in the tag cloud. Additionally, each word is written in all capitals not only to make it visually appealing to the audience, but not to discriminate against any letters.
Once we made each word, we figured out appropriate placement. We used a coat hanger as the base of our construction. Two words were attached to the top of the coat hanger. Since our placement was already resolved it seemed like it would be easy to attach each word according to the plan. We used a hole puncher and string to connect the words, but in theory the plan was easier than in practice. Not every word fits exactly perfectly within each space. Some of the paper is curled because of where each hole meets on each word. While the tag cloud is not constructed to absolute perfection, our message is conveyed in a s successful manor. Covering the coat hanger is a picture of a cloud with the words "tag cloud". Included in the cloud image is a key which describe our color coded system. We are very happy with the outcome of the project, despite the minor speed bumps to get there.
Individual Reflection:
I was happy with how the tag cloud came out, being exactly how i pictured it in my head. However there were some difficulties that i did not anticipate. Tag cloud function on the size of the words in order to illustrate importance. The issue ended up being that larger words based solely on the number of letters started to appear more important than we felt they actually were. So we had to go back and write really small with some of the larger words. Choosing which words were the most important was also a challenging process.
