Unity in Writing

It's almost that time again. Baseball season. Orioles fans all across the state are getting ready to celebrate the return of America's classic sport. Ofcourse the Baltimore Sun has many articles about people getting ready for Opening Day but I came across one that was more so focused on Camden Yards itself. The title was "Orioles: Camden Yards, the stadium that changed baseball and Baltimore, turns 20." In William Zinsser's book he states "All writing is ultimately a question of solving a problem."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-camden-yards-0401-20120330,0,5511811,full.story

I tried to imagine some of the problems or decisions the writer of this article had to consider.

1) What to put in the article. There is tons of information on the history, memories, construction, and architects when thinking about Camden Yards. The author had to think about what to include and what to leave out.

2) Organization. Once the author chose what he wanted to include he had to figure out how to organize the article so that it would flow nicely and keep the reader's attention. I often struggle with this. Sometimes a constant flow of ideas does not come naturally.

3) Tone. The author had to decide what tone of voice to use when writing the article. The tone could have easily been very serious as he talks about the importance of Camden Yards to Baltimore, its economy, and the stability of the Orioles. However, he chose a more conversational tone that I think works very well. It is like he is talking to you about Oriole Park. He lets you know the facts and hear what others have to say.

I think the quotes within the article definitely add to its unity. They function as transitions from one thought to the next but they also give the reader a chance to hear about Oriole Park from people that know the most about it such as the baseball commissioner, former Orioles president, and the chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority. Even though the tone is conversational the quotes add validity to the things the author is saying.

Zinsser says " every piece of nonfiction should leave the reader with one provocative thought that he or she didn't have before." After reading this article I have learned how important Camden Yards is to Baltimore.

In addition to the unity within the article, the Baltimore Sun webpage has created unity surrounding the article. To the left there are slideshows containing pictures of Orioles fans and the stadium. There is also a google maps link that shows exactly where the stadium is located.

Unique Calendar

The Human Calendar

This calendar is definitely unique. It is fun, interactive, and cool. Each day is represented by a different person. These people are your average, every day, normal people. The person who hold today's date looks forward and every other person looks at him or her. It is very Brady Bunch-like. The original calendar contained friends of the creator. He says they are "various friends of mine who happened to find themselves near my garage between April-July 2007, and later on during the Summer of 2011. Granted, most were lured with beer, food, lodging, or in one case...meat. "

http://www.humancalendar.com/

Today, you are able to pick a day and upload your own photo so you can appear on the calendar.

Student Calendars

Last semester one of our class assignments was to create a calendar for a different typeface. Here is a link to a wordpress page that contains everyone's work.

http://maxboam.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/assignment-9-calendar-pages/

Good Packaging

While browsing Max Boam's blog I came across a post about packaging. Many packages that we see in stores are so crowded with pictures and 10 + different typefaces that everything blends together and the meaning never gets across. Here is a design that is very simple. I think that is what makes it appealing and effective.

It has one main color and one typeface. Max states "you don't need thousands of typefaces to create good typograpy."

Creative Packaging

Our assignment for this week was to go to a store and look for packaging that we found attractive. When I go to the market i tend to buy what I know. The same brands my family has been using for years. These items may not stand out but its all about brand loyalty. Therefore this assignment was very interesting for me. Among an endless sea of products I tried to find one that stood out to me. What stood out to me was a product that was actually staring at me. It was bright,yellow, and fun.

I thought it was very clever to use Spongebob's face as the entire package. Soap can be a very boring product especially to children. I can see a child their mom for this soap only because Spongebob is on the bottle. It gives soap a face and makes it fun for kids.