Language Influences Culture, Thoughts, and Identity by Kristen Luckow

COURSE:

English 100: Introduction to College Composition

MEDIUM:

Graphic Essay

ARTIST’S STATEMENT:

My creation is meant to educate the viewer through factual data and information, aided by photographs and visuals. The visuals are meant to further enhance the learning process, forming visual connections to the accompanying text.

DESCRIPTION:

My graphic essay, focused on 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 support the research, I decided to make the ratio of text to visuals more than 50/50. I wanted the visuals to support the information I presented in the text without overshadowing it. Since my essay contained historical information, my goal was to fill the graphic essay with historical photographs related to the text, while giving it a contemporary twist. The subject of my essay was quite factual and ‘heavy’ to understand in parts, so to keep it simple, I chose a black background with white text in the 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 essay’s content is partly historical, focusing on Native American tribes, and the old photographs enhance 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, you can see it, not just read it; it has become much more enjoyable.