For this assignment, we were required to make a warning label for a futuristic technology. Valve’s Portal 1 and Portal 2 were great games, and saw this as a great way to showcase the Portal Gun. The Portal Gun is a device which can create two portals which connect any two points in space. I used Microsoft Paint, and given that Portal is copyrighted, I did not want to risk using an in-game screenshot, in case of copyright concern. With Portals, things like infinite falling become possible when not careful, and added stereotypical warnings commonly seen in medicine advertisements.

The link to the assignment: http://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/warning/

WARNING-create a warning poster for a fictional hazard.

The Story Behind the Story-

You would think, that after six films, that if the characters did not adapt to be able to more intelligently navigate a world overrun with horrifying aliens, then at least the creators of these abominations would find the means to create a new plot. I have seen almost all of the movies in the Aliens Franchise, and they are startlingly similar. I do have to admit that the first and second installments of these movies were very much enjoyable, but they have repeated their story lines each and every time.
I have witnessed impassioned debates over the meaning and symbolism of the elements of each new installment of these films, but I fail to see how either one differs from the other, except for the very clear disparity in quality. The original movies staring Sigourney Weaver were far more entertaining and well-crafted. I can’t help but think that she makes the iconic face pictured in the warning above with each additional sequel. In the initial stages of producing this design, I intended to create a warning for Xenomorph sightings, but as I worked on this orginial design my mind was swayed for two reasons. The first being that my original content was quite ugly, lacking many of the aspects of color, typography and use of space that I had researched in Vignelli’s cannon earlier this week. The second being that I felt I was betraying my own feelings of annoyance to this undying franchise. This is a necessary warning to all those who can still be spared: watch the first and second installments of the Aliens franchise, and then never (ever) look back.

The Tutorial-

To begin this process, I downloaded the image I wanted to use and opened it in GIMP.

Then I selected Color>Colorize and decided to use the default blue hue that the program selected. I thought this tint would soften the original image a little more, making it less obvious that it had been cut from a different background.

Next, I selected Tools>Selection Tools>Free Select and cut out Sigourney Weaver’s face.

I then copied and pasted the image to a blue background in a PowerPoint and began adding the text I wanted and repositioning the images to make hide the sharp edges of the face that had been cut out.