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Graphic Design: The New Basics 248-260

Having rules for a design can result in really nice and interesting results. The example Cell Phone Symphony from the book was really cool, because each student had their own individual interpretation of the project. Different sets of rules create varying results, which is really interesting to compare side by side with others who worked on the same project. Creativity within the context of a set of rules can be super interesting, because one set of rules could be interpreted in hundreds of different ways. No two results would be exactly the same, which is pretty cool.

Graphic Design: The New Basics 232-247

Time and motion are both particularly interesting and useful concepts to consider while creating almost any artwork. In my personal experience, I’ve mostly had to think about these when it came to photography and video pieces. I’ve done several photoshoots that involve movement, especially at night when the background is dark and I can use lights to create cool effects with low shutter speeds. I’ve had to focus more on time recently with the few video projects I have done for a couple different classes. Time is an important element in video filming and also editing, because if something feels rushed or it drags on for too long, the audience will not be very interested in seeing it through to the end.

Graphic Design: The New Basics 214-231

Most of the diagrams I have created in my school career are not necessarily the fancy, artistically designed ones. Many of them have been pretty basic diagrams used for school projects and presentations. This section on designing and creating diagrams, however, sparks interest. It sounds like it could be quite interesting to create a diagram with more creativity than simple lines and boxes. It would certainly make presentations and projects more interesting, rather than just a generic diagram put into a PowerPoint presentation.

Graphic Design: The New Basics 200-213

Pattern is something I think a lot of people are very familiar with. I’ve been learning how to create patterns since I was in kindergarten, so I think it’s generally something that a lot of people learn how to do as they get older. Patterns can be a nice addition to a piece, whether it is just for a background for text or the focus of the artwork itself. People wear patterns on clothes and put them on phone cases and all sorts of things. I think pattern is one of those things that just draws people in because they are nice to look at and they add more interest to almost anything you put them on.

Graphic Design: The New Basics 186-199

Working with grids is something I do more often with design that I do with photography, unless I’m trying to measure an effect or overlay a specific design element. Grids can be really helpful when you’re working with spacing. It is something that came in handy when designing posters and such for class, because it takes a certain level of organization to create a nice, clean poster layout. Guides and grids really help this process and make it easier to determine where to place certain elements within the poster.

Graphic Design: The New Basics 166-185

Working with constraints is primarily what I will be doing in the future as a designer, and it’s one of the most common things for a lot of designers to do. Knowing how to be creative working within a set of constraints is an important skill that will help immensely when designing for companies and trying to please clients based on the criteria they give you. Visual constraints such as pixelation and other block-type visual elements are different though. As shown in several examples from the reading, creating designs with blocks can be both challenging and quite rewarding when you get good results. Creating new visuals using modular techniques can take a design from relatively generic to something quite extraordinary. Modular elements can be quite visually compelling and therefore pay off when people are intrigued by your work.

Graphic Design: The New Basics 154-165

Transparency can create some pretty cool visual effects, but I don’t really utilize transparency as a tool very often. It would be something that would be really interesting to try though. Transparency within photographs is really nice, when the elements of the picture are used to create the effects. Graphic transparency, as shown in the book, is also really nice, because it allows you to create a completely different image than the original by using graphic designs overlaid with the pre-existing image.

Graphic Design: The New Basics 140-153

I’m used to seeing layers of an image or artwork laid out because I work in Photoshop so often. Because I get so used to that, however, I forget that layers exist beyond the digital scope of art. Painting, drawing, sculpting, building, almost everything has layers. A lot of the examples from the book remind me of the several collages I’ve made over the years, having to plan out the order of the layers to communicate ideas or create the desired visual effect I wanted. This section also makes me want to test out some designs using lowered opacity on everything and seeing how that turns out, because those examples were nice.

Graphic Design: The New Basics 128-139

Visual hierarchy is important to consider when designing the layout of just about everything. The most important part of the thing you’re creating should be the most visually compelling piece of the layout. When working with words, using larger font or holding the type will draw attention to something, so it’s important to use those tools to communicate that certain words are the most important part of a whole text. I liked how the book included more artistic ways to create typographical hierarchy, because not everyone just wants to create a basic header-title-body piece of text. They may want to change it up and add a design to the shape of the whole body of text, and that requires the artist to create different types of emphasis.

Graphic Design: The New Basics 116-127

Framing is important to consider within the design of an art piece, but also within the context of displaying a piece. This section of the book reminded me that framing is more than a border around the piece, but the interface and the overall context for artworks, devices, tools, and so on. Framing can add dynamic feeling to a piece, and influence viewer experience, which is pretty important to remember. When it comes to framing text, it’s also important to remember to incorporate the images without overpowering the words and vice versa.

Graphic Design: The New Basics 108-115

Concept sketching was recognizable right off the bat because I feel like I do that more often than I actually execute ideas properly. I will create a concept and refine it over and over and then never follow through with a finished piece, so my sketchbooks are just full of concept sketches. White space reminds me of the super minimalist art that people buy because it looks super clean and simple. I paint a lot in black and white so I tend to visualize things within the context of shaping white space. The idea of using negative space as the subject in a piece is really interesting because it challenges people to see art in the opposite way that they are used to.

Graphic Design: The New Basics 98-107

The section on Gestalt principles was interesting because it’s something I’ve been taught before, but reading up on it again has made me really think about it. It’s interesting how something being brought up a second time takes it from being an intuitive memory to a concept to actively think about with design. The positive and negative space is important to consider when designing the layout of something. It was also interesting to be reminded that my brain automatically fills in information where it may not be visually represented.

191121 Image Trace Lesson

191119 Transparency Lesson

Gif made for the 50s company marketing campaign

The logo for my 1950s Photography Studio

191114 Slinky Word Lesson

Not going to lie, I restarted this four times throughout the course of the lesson so I got lost a lot and couldn’t get it to move along the line I drew, so this is what I’ve ended up with.

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