Riley Gossage

WRD 112

Dr. Soto Vega

October 10, 2022

Better Together

In my banner for the found sounds project I employed a myriad of visual design techniques. I

began making my banner by doing some research on common symbols used for autism spectrum disorder

(ASD) awareness. The most well-known symbol is the puzzle piece, popularized used by the organization

“Autism Speaks.” However, this organization has come under fire in recent years, and the use of the

puzzle piece has become controversial. For this reason, I decided to go a different route. I found a newer,

up-and-coming symbol that is beginning to be used for ASD awareness. It’s a rainbow infinity symbol. I

decided to incorporate this into my banner in a unique way. That’s why the background is a blurred

rainbow- to symbolize that infinity symbol. I used the idea of proximity to place it in the background so

it’s not too overwhelming.

 Next, I wanted to add an image symbolizing unity. I placed this in the foreground and edited it to

have similar hues as the background so it wouldn’t clash and would seem more seamless. For the text, I

used both alignment and juxtaposition. I aligned both the “better together” and the “understanding autism

disorder” directly in the middle so it’s the focus and the viewer’s eye is drawn immediately there.

I used juxtaposition with typeface to create contrasting moods. The “better together” is curved,

cursive and a similar hue to the images to create a warm, inviting message. The main and most important

wording is bolded, capitalized, and black to drive home the true purpose of the found sounds.