WEEK 08: Design Principles Lectures & Final Project
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
WEEK 8: Lectures
NAME: Adeline Wong Chyn Nee
I.D: 0344017
COURSE: Bachelors of Design in Creative Media
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It's the eighth week of the Design Principle lecture and we learned what visual analysis is, why it is important for us, and how to use them.
LECTURE NOTE 8
In week 8, we learned about Visual Analysis
Acquiring the skill of visual analysis is ubiquitous in contemporary society and increasing excess to digital technologies means increasing excess of images. Images defer from the text in many ways and working with them effectively requires deliberate learning and practice. Hence, the project was given to us as our final project "Visual Analysis"
So what is Visual Analysis?
VISUAL ANALYSIS- A method of understanding design that focuses on the visual elements and principles.
- In its strictest definition - a description and explanation of visual structure for its own sake.
- Yet the purpose of visual analysis can also be to recognize the choices that a designer made in creating the design, as well as to better understand how the formal properties of a design communicate ideas, content, or meaning.
Visual Analysis is a critical part of visual literacy, a skill that helps people read and critically interpret images, whether in a museum, on social media.
So with visual analysis, we go to a museum able to identify the visual elements and interpret them.
In the case of our final project, we are required to break down a design and create a visual analysis based on the evidence of our observations. There are 3 steps in total to visual analysis.
How does Visual Analysis work?
There are 3 phases in total:
- Phase 1- Observation
- Phase 2- Analysis
- Phase 3- Interpretation
Phase 1 (Observation)
Writing what we see, don't assume the meaning behind the design and use our own words.
• Observation means closely looking at and identifying the visual elements of a design, trying to describe them carefully and accurately in your own words. Do not read beforehand about the design at all.
• The observation phase is about looking, thinking, and finding good language to communicate what we notice
Phase 2 (Analysis)
Analysis requires us to think about our observations and try to make statements about the work based on the evidence of our observations.
• Think about how the specific visual elements that we've identified combine together to create a whole, and its effect on the viewers.
• How our eye is led through the work and why? Apply the Design Principles knowledge we have learned throughout these weeks.
Phase 3 (Interpretation)
Observations, description, and analysis is fused with facts about the design work and trustworthy historical context
• What is the meaning of the design?
• What was the purpose for it to be created?
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INSTRUCTIONS (Final Project)
Part 1 (Visual Analysis)
Fig. 1.1 Soir Bleu by Edward Hopper 1914
- We are required to select a design of your choice (poster/billboard/illustration/etc)
- Conduct a visual analysis of the design in about 500 words
- Produce a work of design, in A4 or A3 size, inspired/influenced by the design you have analyzed, or as a reaction to it.
- Write a 150-200 word rationale for your design.
Things To Do:
• Complete Parts 1 (Visual Analysis) and 2 (Design).
• For Part 2, do some research and idea exploration before delving into developing an idea for your design.
• Visual analysis, research, idea exploration, idea development, final idea, rationale, all descriptions, and final reflection* must be uploaded in your blog before the submission date.
• Make sure your blog is complete according to the requirements of the module by the time you submit this project. Remember, part of the Final Assessment includes your blog.
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Visual Analysis (Part 1)
Phase 1- Observation
From observing the painting, I know that the painting is in a landscape format. As for the visual elements, it consists of 7 figures in groups of 3. On the left, a man is alone at his table, facing away from the rest of the figures while smoking. In the middle, 2 men sit opposite a clown as they smoke their cigarettes, a woman in a green dress also stands by their table. Lastly, the couple on the right is sitting at their table, the suited man facing the left and the woman dressed in yellow facing away. The colors of this painting are overall of a cooler color palette, with hints of red and yellow highlighting some visual elements. This explains the name of the painting, Soir Bleu which directly translates to "blue evening".
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Phase 2- Analysis
Fig. 1.2 Grid and proportion analysis of Soir Bleu
Fig. 1.3 3 spaces of Soir Bleu
The painting is asymmetrical and so a series of triangular grids (fig. 1.2) are constantly used to create a sense of space. The 3 groups of figures are clearly distinguishable due to the effective use of space and lines, this created a painting that shows different stories as it seems that everyone is separated from everyone else (fig. 1.3), that they have a story to tell. A scene is created from this allegory painting of melancholy, which also reminds me of a quote from famous street artist Banksy, "Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable", that is how I feel about this painting personally, melancholy and slightly disconnected which is relatable to those who need it.
Fig. 1.4 Golden triangles of Soir Bleu
The painting consists of 3 spaces, which means the visual hierarchy is present but based on the golden triangle (fig. 1.4), the final emphasis is ultimately placed on the smoking clown, a figure/subject that creates and emphasizes most of the melancholy feeling. Not only that but harmony is also shown in this painting, it may not be direct but the dinner scene of this painting narrates a bunch of people in a place, although they did not arrive together they are in that place for similar purposes, to gather, eat, drink, smoke or, entertain.
Fig. 1.5 direction lines of Soir Bleu
If we stare and observe the painting long enough, we would eventually come to the realization that each of the figure's body directions resonates with each other. They either face towards us on their left or right, or they would face away from us, this sense of direction is what we would usually witness at a restaurant if we sit in the right position to view it. The 60-degree angle, left or right, resonates with each other on the figures 3 times throughout the seated figures. From this technique, the viewers can easily put their focus and attention onto those figures facing us and blur out the ones facing away especially after spending a long time observing the painting.
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Phase 3- Interpretation
The Soir Bleu is an oil painting by Edward Hopper that was created in 1914 in New York, almost four years after Hopper's last travel to Paris. The painting is now owned by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Soir Bleu is deemed an odd painting for Hopper, because Hopper’s oil paintings of any sort of decent scale, up until Soir Bleu were generally landscapes or cityscapes that were space positive and had tiny or nonexistent human figures. Some examples are Road In Maine in 1914 and Stairway at 48 rue de Lille in 1906.
Edward Hopper created this allegory of melancholy from reminiscences and the huge scale of the painting is proof of how strong an impression Parisian life had made on his young self.
Soir Bleu represents loneliness and detachment in the crowd, it is about these people at a café somewhere in France, sat at the tables: a powdered prostitute, a clown with white make-up, a military man in epaulets, a bearded bohemian, and a pair of slumming aristocrats who avoid any interaction. Each of these people is feigning public detachment, floundering in private sorrow. Hopper's Soir Bleu is translated into an everyman setting in which most of the people in it, are part of a kind of world of alienated urban entertainment, in which one is always searching for meaning somewhere else, in a costume or in a prostitute or in a drink or in a cigarette or in a party.
Fig. 1.6 clown in Soir Bleu
Hopper was a painter without any sense of humor, he paints without wit, without self-awareness. His clown just couldn't be happy. We may have to accept the fact that Hopper painted the sad clown smoking a cigarette in a café because he felt it to be a poignant scene.
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Design (Part 2)
Week 12:
I have decided to create something personal and important to me for my final Design Principles project as it is the last one and I wish for it to be a meaningful one. To do that, I will start developing some ideas by creating my sketch based on myself as a person.
For the idea, I thought of showing different versions of myself (past, present, and future) through a dream-like setting, a place that is surreal but still not far from present reality. From my visual analysis, the elements that I would like to incorporate in my final projects are:
1. Body direction lines & spaces
2. Melancholy from loneliness, reminisce, and detachment
3. Color temperature-themed
Storytime! I personally am someone who is in a constant daydream and reminisces about my past as well as imagines my future, and although we are taught not to daydream in class ever since we were little, it was all I did in class and even until now, that actually gave me a sense of purpose, it acts as my driving force in a way, one that guides light for me to work towards a life that I think will satisfy myself.
However, overdoing it can sometimes make me unfocused and even detached from the present reality. It makes me hopeful when I relive the past but whenever I snap out of it, the reality hits, and I feel beaten once again. It's my endless cycles of repetitive hopes and letdowns.
This is something personal to me and I hope that through this final project, I can convey my story and turn it into a meaningful design of visual analysis.
1) Sketch
To start, I did a rough sketch for all the elements I wish to include, this is not the final design however, doing this allows me to decide on the composition and subject placements. As you can see in my rough sketch, the main subject is the figure in the middle which represent the present me, she is in a setting with interior designs from the 70s to early 80s, which is also a personal choice of mine as it is my favorite era of interior design, timeless and inimitable.
Fig. 2 Rough sketch (drawn in Photoshop)
In this rough sketch, the present me is facing away from the viewer, and towards the mirror which shows no reflection of herself in it, as it is a surreal design, she is also placed in a surreal setting that is not real, therefore only her own reflection does not show on the mirror. Following that are two other versions of herself, the past and the future, with the past framed and placed on the vanity table and the future self in a CRT tv (Cathode-ray tube).
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2) Sketch (color)
Week 12:
Coloring the sketch allows me to pinpoint the exact focal points of a design, I decided to base the main focal points on the colors of auras as it is something I have been looking into for a while and it is also an interesting concept to incorporate into my design.
Fig. 3.1 Aura colors
Aura: A very low level of electricity that’s otherwise known as an electromagnetic field.
Fig. 3.2 Aura colors and Chakra
Ancient medical systems believe that this energy is expressed in seven layers. Each layer is said to correlate to a different element of your physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health.
It’s thought that these layers can interact with one another to influence your overall health.
Fig. 2.2 Sketch with unfinalized colors
Mr. Charles's feedback: During our week 12 class, I showed my progress to Mr. Charles and he liked the idea of incorporating 70s interior designs, as well as the idea of creating present, past, and future me in that chosen setting. He gave me the 'All good! Look forward to the final outcome' sign and I was off to further develop the idea.
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Since I have created 3 elements to put focus on, I have decided on their respective aura colors. These are the colors I have chosen:
Past me: (my past self)
Ever since I was little, I have been the bright kid who was adored by many adults, they would always compliment me even if I was clumsy and annoying. I was always around my family and I love them dearly, so much that I thought I couldn't have survived a day without them... literally, cause I was a kid.
Bright yellow- Playful spirit
Fig. 2.3 Meaning of bright yellow aura
Pink- Gentle and harmonious with those around them
Fig. 2.4 Meaning of pink aura
Blue- Communication, righteous and supportive
Fig. 2.5 Meaning of blue aura
Present me: (my present state)
(yes... I grew out of my kiddie sunglasses phase)
Just like most teenagers, growing up was not what we would have expected. As we start to become more disciplined and independent, we grow out of our immature minset and start to realise that the decisions we make are far more important to ourselves and the people around us. Insecurities, doubts and stress sets in and we learn to tackle the problems we face on our own.
Silver/ Grey- Abundance, awakening
Fig. 2.6 Meaning of silver aura
Brown- Greediness and self-absorbed
Fig. 2.7 Meaning of brown aura
Dull green- Jealousy and resentment
Fig. 2.8 Meaning of dull green aura
Dark Yellow- Stress in higher education and lost the love of learning
Fig. 2.9 Meaning of dark yellow aura
Future me: (my future wish)
(excuse kermit de frog.... he just likes to stare outside the window when it rains and act like he's in a sad mucis video)
For a person that often dream about my future and what it'll look like, my plan or should I say wish, is rather simple. I want to be happy, not just simply feeling happy, but that kind of inner happiness that is only felt once in a while. I also wish to become that person who is able to realise what she really wants in life, whether it be self-love, family and friends, passion, a certain degree of wiseness or just all of the above.
Orange- Happiness with friends, family and environment
Fig. 2.10 Meaning of orange aura
Green- self-love, and loving-kindness towards life in general
Fig. 2.11 Meaning of green aura
Red- Passion, pleasure and balanced
Fig. 2.12 Meaning of red aura
Purple- Intuitive, wise, and guide
Fig. 2.13 Meaning of purple aura
With that, I am going to finalize my initial colored sketch into a vector design by transferring the sketch into Adobe Illustrator and developing the final outcome using the trusty duo tool, the pen tool, and the direct selection tool.
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3) Vector (color)
Week 13:
With my aura colours decided, I can now vectorized them by catagorising the colours for my past, present and future self. That is when I thought of an idea to add onto my design, and that is to make use of the picture frames in the mirror reflection. To do that, I catagorised the hanging frames into 3 and colored them with the aura colors of my past, present and future respectively, in gradient style.
Fig. 3.1 Aura colors in wall picture frames (left to right: future, present, and past)
In the design, the present me view the frames from left to right (past to present to future), however since the picture frames are mirrored, they are flipped and therefore the left to right order of picture frames.
As the color of picture frames transition from past aura colors all the way to future aura colors, the frame itself rotates 90 degree as well. This symbol represents my personal development, from having the mindset of pure kid to an unstable and trying teenager to finally being a wise woman.
Close-up Description:
Fig. 3.2 Aura colors in wall picture frames (past)
Bright yellow- Playful spirit
Pink- Gentle and harmonious with those around them
Blue- Communication, righteous and supportive
Fig. 3.3 Aura colors in wall picture frames (present)
Silver- Abundance, awakening
Brown- Greediness and self-absorbed
Dull green- Jealousy and resentment
Dark Yellow- Stress in higher education and lost the love of learning
Fig. 3.4 Aura colors in wall picture frames (future)
Orange- Happiness with friends, family and environment
Green- self-love, and loving-kindness towards life in general
Red- Passion, pleasure and balanced
Purple- Intuitive, wise, and guide
To further incorporate the colours onto my design, I have made the overall color to match their respective aura colours. These are the examples after the colours incorporated:
Fig. 3.5 Present me sitting on bed
Blueish- silver hair: Through communication with oneself and people around me, I will soon come into a spiritual wealth
Spiral/ hypnosis-like dress: I constantly overthinks and expects people to understand me, which could come out as greedy and self-absorbed to most people. The spirals represents negative self-hypnosis, which represents my constant self-depricating habit.
Fig. 3.6 Past me framed on the table
Aura colors matches her clothing and picture background colour.
Fig. 3.7 Future me sitting on bed
Aura colors matches her clothing and hair colour.
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Final Outcome:
"It Means Something, I Mean Something"
Fig. 4.1 Final outcome, PNG (Variation #1)
Fig. 4.2 Final outcome, PNG (Variation #2)
Fig. 4.3 Final outcome, PDF
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Reflection:
Although we've have done multiple exercises and projects, this one was in all honestly the most meaningful one, it is personal to me and I'm just really grateful that I was able to share this feeling of mine and put it out onto a design. I will always miss the creativity this module allowed me to express, the possibilities with these projects are just endless as we were allowed to use whatever form of material we preferred. For a design student, that is a very liberating feeling, being able to express a meaningful message to the viewer in our own styles and I really appreciate that.
As for my final project, I am happy with the final outcome despite having some issues on my side at the beginning, the message I wanted to tell the viewers as well as the final outcome makes the whole process so worthwhile. Finally, I just want to say that I'm grateful for Mr. Charles for being the coolest, sweetest and most brilliant person for the past semester and also during foundation. You're the absolute best lecturer to learn from and we had so much fun! So thank you so much, sir! :)
Thank you for being diligent! Its been a real pleasure! Appreciate your patience and perserverance going through this semester despite the challenges! Well done!
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