Devynne Best: Midterm Portfolio – #1 Alt Text Comic
The Project
Project Description
For this project I had to create a comic strip using 3 images from my camera roll. For the comic I had to combine the usage of captions and alt text to create a cohesive story.
Documentation
I place my images in the order that I’d like. I got these images from a recent trip to a popup event and I decided to go for a more chronological layout.
I then added captions that I thought would tell a story, I wanted them to illustrate how long my time was waiting for the goodie bag but also my feelings after getting it, that I was happy!
I add descriptions of the images for the alt-text. I wanted to add a lot of information in the alt-text that would give context to the image and the situation, kind of to juxtapose the simplicity of the comic without it. I was kind of inspired by simplistic comics from the Sunday newspaper, but sometimes you really have to study the image to understand the full situation, so I wanted to do that with the alternate text.
Reflection Questions
The theme of this work is making something accessible for people who may be visually impaired and also creating an engaging and interesting comic strip using these techniques. This is expressed through alternative text to help create a comic strip. I believe that the use of alternate text enhances elements like the details of the image and overall storytelling. It made it easier to point out specific important details in the image and add some context that might be a little difficult to pick up by just using the image. What I do feel could be lost is, for those who may not be looking at the image, the appreciation for the image quality or things about the image that are just for stylistic reasons. This modality would not be accessible for a person who happens to be both blind and deaf, they wouldn’t be able to see the images nor hear the descriptions. Maybe to include that community of people, I could use another sensory such as touch, and maybe have a walkthrough comic exhibit where there could be braille and physical objects to represent the items in the images.
Additional Modality (if applicable)
What modality did you apply?
I applied a tactile modality.
How did you decide on this modality?
I decided to add a tactile modality because of my reflection from the project. In the reflection I stated that this work may not be accessible to those who have both visual and hearing impairments. My idea to edit the project to make it more accomodationg was to have a walkthrough comic exhibit that used another sensory like touch, so this was my attempt at the physical objects that would be representative of the main objects in the photos.
What does the beholder gain from this additional modality? Why?
The beholder gets more of an immersive experience of the comic. This is by getting to pick up the items within the images to see what I was so excited about getting.
Does the beholder lose anything from this modality? What?
I guess one think that the beholder would lose is the ability to experience the whole thing on their own time and from whatever place they are in. Now they would have to come to the specific place where the tactile objects are to experience the project in its entirety.
Show documentation of this modality, and describe it if it’s not accessible on a screen (ie, if it’s tactile if it’s a scent)
