Language Influences Culture, Thoughts, and Identity

STUDENT
Kristen Luckow

COURSE
English 100

MEDIUM
Graphic Essay

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My creation is meant to educate the viewer through factual data and information, with the aid of photographs and visuals. The visuals are meant to further enhance the learning process, forming visual connections to the coinciding text.
My graphic essay, focused on the topic of how language influences thought, behavior, and brain perception, was intended for a broad audience. My goal was that anyone interested in this topic would be able to look at the graphic essay, and learn something new. Because of the large amount of information I gathered to back up the research, I decided to make the ratio of text to visuals larger than 50/50. I wanted the visuals to back up the information I presented in the text, but not overshadow. Since my essay contained historical information, my goal was to fill the graphic essay with old, historical photographs related to the text, but manipulate it with a contemporary twist. The subject of my essay was quite factual and ‘heavy’ to understand in parts, so in order to keep it simple, I chose a black background with white text in hope that the reader would focus on the text, and not on the layout of the graphic essay. My graphic essay would not have been possible without the historical photographs I was fortunate enough to find online. The content of the essay is partly historically based around Native American tribes, and the old photographs added to the overall visual understanding. The goal of my graphic essay was to make it enjoyable to read. I find the topic interesting on its own, but now with the added graphics that I am actually able to see, and not only read, it has developed into something much more enjoyable.