How to Make a Spaghetti Dinner

In order to successfully transmit the information need to make a spaghetti dinner I first drew all of the components in the top left corner. The components are a box of noodles, a jar of tomato sauce, two pots, two wooden spoons, plates and utensils, and a strainer. The first graphic represents both pots under high and medium flame (water in one under high flame). The second graphic shows the transfer of the noodles into the water-filled pot and the tomato sauce in the pot under medium flame. A simplified clock attempts to show the amount of time to cook the noodles, and the spiral arrows next to the wooden spoons represents stirring the sauce and noodles. The next step shows the straining of the the noodles, and the transition of the two ingredients into separate bowls. Once the cooked ingredients are placed on a table or eating surface the spaghetti dinner is complete. 

Botts Lawn Care

For Bott's Lawn Care decision support graphic I wanted to make sure it was clear that a healthy, thriving lawn does not need treatment. I was conflicted on how to arrange my graphic on the page, so I made two attempts. Both are organized vertically. My second graphic (top) feels more cohesive because the bold arrows create a focus toward the fertilizer types, and the proximity of the two types of grass health. I was also conflicted about how to represent insects vs. no insects. Although the top graphic appears more visually appealing, it is actually the one with some unintentional mistakes ("boots," A and B fertilizer types switched). The "X" through the insects on the first graphic represent the conditions better then the absence of the insects in the second drawing. Thinking about it now, it would have been really hard to depict health vs. unhealthy grass without the use of color.

Collage

The patterns I observed in my collage included organization, balance, color, and rhythm. I also noticed the rectilinear nature of the college elements, and the relationship between graphic images and text. Many of the images on the collage were taken from a skiing magazine which seems to make it the central focus, but I did try to include a variety of subjects and interesting text. 

The general feedback I got on the comments suggested that my collage was organized and focused around skiing and nature. Almost everyone made note of the fact that I used the whole page. I was interested to see a few comments about having a lot of text. When the page started to get filled up the collage became very busy and I didn't want to distract from the images I had chosen. My solution was to add the blue and purple pages on the bottom right for their color in hopes that the small text would be of no interest compared to the other images. Overall the comments matched somewhat closely to my intentions for the collage.

Geographical Map

My intent for this geographical map was to examine the interstate highways that run through New England. I wanted to do this because I am frequently traveling on these roads. I go to school in Rhode Island, but I return home to New Hampshire to work on the weekends. I am also regularly visiting friends and family throughout Massachusetts, Burlington Vermont, and northern Maine (Beddington, Castine). I also ski throughout New England every winter. I have become proficient at navigating the highways in these states over the years, but I wanted to have an accurate visual representation so I could conceptualize my trips better. I also included major ports I would visit if sailing from New Hampshire to parts of the Downeast region (Penobscot Bay, Bar Harbor, Rockland).

The process of doing this geological map was harder that I had anticipated. By the time I had finished drawing out the states in pencil I was wishing I had done an affinity map. I was however very happy with the outcome and impressed by what I learned about the proportions of New England. I am always eager for a drive to Vermont or Maine but never to travel a much shorter distance from Rhode Island to coastal New Hampshire. It is interesting how the traffic during a 3 hour drive can make a traffic free 6 hour drive so much more bearable.

There is a compass rose orientated in the top left corner and a map Legend in the bottom right corner with an approximately accurate scale. Deep and Shallow water is indicated by lighter and darker shades of blue. Interstate highways are shown in red, developed land and thick forest are denoted by corresponding greens, and grey represents New England's neighboring territories. State Capitals are also labeled.

Mind Maps

The central focus for this mind map was Portsmouth Harbor in New Hampshire. I work at the Portsmouth Yacht club and every year we accommodate hundreds of transient vessels making their way up or down the coast with moorings. While providing launch service I am frequently asked about the history of the harbor, and what there is do. I have lived in the area all of my life so I sometimes forget to mention the small fun things there are to do that I take for granted on a usual day. Although I have a usual spiel about historical sites and information, but through this mind map I was hoping to achieve a more thorough sensible response to the customers questions. I am current returning home to work for the yacht club on the weekends until the end of the season in mid october, so it is important to keep a sharp mind at work sense I am usually scrambling to do homework during breaks or on a slow day.

The experience was similar to how it was explained in class. During the first twenty minutes everything I wrote down on the paper was usual familiar to me. When I started to run out of ideas it seemed like really great ones would come to me randomly, but slowly. I just kept working at it over the course of a couple days and ending up coming up with excellent ideas that really surprised me. I had problems trying to decide how to incorporate color into the map. I decided on yellow for the central focus to draw the viewers eye immediately. Red and Blue branches help signify water vs. land affiliated activities while purple is useful information. There are images associated with the various branches that unify the map and make it more easily understandable. During the second mind map I explored the necessary things involved with being a useful employee at the Portsmouth Yacht Club. The aha moment came when I started realizing some of the last things I jotted down were the things I needed to work on the most at the club.

Overall, I can certainly see the usefulness of mind mapping. I am intrigued by the fact that our brains go directly to the most used synapses. It takes a while to get to the good stuff. I have definitely been taking this phenomena into consideration in everyday life as well. I am more conscious of things that I do just out of a habit or pattern. I am excited to introduce this technique to others in the further because I feel like it is essential especially for problem solving.