This is my Narrative Graphic Collage draft. I think that one of the most interesting things about myself is that I grew up in different parts of the world, and like many other military children, I don’t exactly know which place to call home. So, I decided to gather pictures that either I took or that were of me in different countries and connect them to the countries on the map. For some reason, the lines that I created did not appear on this JPEG. I tried to figure out why or how but the lines still appear on photoshop so I just got frustrated and decided to figure it out when I edit for my next draft.
The pictures that I chose have been taken over the course of at least the past 10 years. There are many more photos that I could add from past visits to other countries but those were sadly taken during my awkward pre-teen stage… For some reason I thought it was cool to take pictures of things diagonally and I can just feel the awkwardness through the pictures so they make me cringe. ANYWAYS, to create my collage, I first found a copyright free image of the world. Then, I went through all of my photos on my computer and my Facebook to find what I thought were the best ones taken here and abroad.
After I chose all the pictures that I wanted to add, I placed them around the map and then used the pen tool to create lines leading from the pictures to the country that they were taken in. As I said before, for some reason, they did not show up on the JPEG version of the collage so I am going to figure out how to fix that for the next draft. After adding all of the images and connecting them to each country, I felt as if the collage did not say enough for itself with just images. I added text saying “Some people don’t know what to call home, and I’m gladly one of them.” I think that this text will help viewers of my collage understand what aspect of myself I am trying to portray.
All About Alexis 
Hi Alexis,
Your idea for this collage is really strong and incredibly captivating. I like that you took some of these photos yourself, which not many people can say they just happen to have. Putting them on a map and adding the text was a really strong choice, adding personality and your own voice to the whole piece.
One thing I think you could add is maybe some kind of cougar logo, or a Pullman memorabilia of some sort. It would show where you find yourself now, even if it is temporarily. That would really add an even more personal touch to the collage.
I had this problem with my collage too and that is putting a soft border around the edges of your pictures. I’m not sure how to do this (it was on the tutorials I know, I’ll fix it on my final), but adding those if possible could soften up your picture a little bit. I like the idea of the lines, and maybe with the lines you wold not even need a border at all.
Kaylee Ann Lawrence
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I really liked the overall concept of your collage. I feel like it fits the story that you are trying to tell very well, and the background image of the earth provides a nice visualization for people who want to see where you have been in the world. However, there are a couple suggestions I would like to make that would make your collage look a little sharper. I would suggest making your images more proportionate in size, and maybe adding a small border to them in order to make them look more framed in the location where they are set. You can also try toggling with the opacity to make your images a little less pronounced, so they can look like they are more subtle to the eye. Another minor suggestion I would make is to move your words to a space where there is less white in the background so they are easier to read. Overall, great job!
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Alexis, I think that the idea that you have for your photoshop project is very creative. I love being able to see all the different places you have been and I am sure that the experiences have been fantastic. I think that your image is very strong in the way that it tells a story and shows how your constant moving around has been a building block of who you are, and maybe as you are still trying to figure out where to call home you are also trying to figure out who you are. That is frustrating that the lines were not working but I think something else to think about could be trimming some of the images so that they are not all rectangular and also blending them into the picture of the map as they look like they are just placed on top of each other. I think you should also try and put the pictures closer to where they were actually taken (i.e. The Eiffel Tower in Paris rather than South Africa). Finally I would suggest redoing the quote. It is in a spot that sort of blends into Antarctica. I had no idea it was there until I zoomed in on your picture.
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After reading all of my group’s comments, I think that I got mostly positive feedback and I am definitely going to take all of their critiques into consideration for my next draft. I really like a lot of the suggestions that I got. For example, I think that adding a picture of me here at WSU will help portray my self growth. Another suggestion that I really agreed with is softening the edges of my photos. I had this idea when I was making my draft but I have not figured out how to do it yet. I just realized that I grew up starting from the east side of the world (Japan) moving towards the western side (Germany, then the US). I have an idea of maybe finding other photos to show that I’ve grown from the east to the west. I think this will tell more of a story, especially if I use photos that mark special events in my life, such as graduating high school, or coming here to WSU. For my final version, I am going to crop my photos to all be squares, find out how to connect lines from the photos to the countries again, soften the edges of my photos, possibly switch out some of the photos, and move the text to somewhere more visible. I think that I am probably going to make more changes than those listed, but for now, those are all that I have in mind.
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HI Alexis
I think the fact that you were able to live in so many places around the world is a very cool experience that many kids will never get. however i also know that it can be hard moving around from place to place like that, like you said not really knowing where to call home. I think that the pictures you took and used for your collage are very unique and they are something that makes this project stand out all by themselves. I do however think that you could have done something with the pictures to make them flow a little bit better with the background. Right now they look like they were just placed on the background. But besides that your project seems very well done.
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