Challenge
In the spirit of Chicago Graduate School of Business' past admissions option, I would like to see how well you can capture yourself in four (4) slides. No audio, no video, no hyperlinks, no transitions, no animation or any other multimedia elements. Nothing but pictures and/or text. That’s it. The presentation software is merely the platform and tool for composing the your story in four images. Make us want to know you.
Objectives
- Compose a visual story with images and text
- Capture your character or personality within set limitations
- Apply basic visual storytelling techniques
- Experiment with visual storytelling tools
Rationale
First and foremost, this is an exercise in visual storytelling. The limitations are meant to provide you with a simple structure within which you can operate successfully. Thus, you are working with the presentation software simply as a platform because it is common and familiar. Avoid using themes or even thinking about your end product as a slide presentation. It isn't really, at least in the way they are typically conceived.
Ultimately, images are potentially more important than text in this challenge, although both are in play. You may use images that are new or old, so long as you have created them or have permission to use them. You may use as many images as you like, provided that there are no more than four slides.
- What’s your story?
- What is interesting, compelling, and unique about you?
- Why should anyone want to know you?
Instructions
- Design your slides. Use Keynote, PowerPoint, Google Drive, whatever you like.
- Post your slides in a blogpost, either individually (as JPG files) or as a presentation (embedded code) with a reflection about the process of designing your slides and how or why you made design choices.
- E-mail me with the words "Four Slides" in the Subject line and paste the actual blog address (I need the URL, for example http://whatever-name-you-chose.blogspot.com) in the message.
- Here are the slides from class that break down the parts of the assignment.
Legal
- Use images that are yours or you have permission to use, not stolen images from the Internet.
Exemplars
Here are a few good samples from last year, in addition to the collection of images at the top of the post. Below, one makes strong use of color. Another uses high contrast black and white with images. The third is conceptually abstract and minimalist. All three create visual themes of their own.
Here the Four Slide Sales Pitch: Final Entries from a contest former math teacher Dan Meyer ran a few years ago.
