Visual Techniques

 

  Visual Techniques:

- Contrast

- Complexity

-Activeness

-Randomness

-Episoditity

 

 

Visual Techniques:

-Balance

-Symmetry

- Stasis

-Flatness

-Subtlety

These two posters are similar in many ways; they use contrasting graphic elements to create artistic and abstract images. They are both representing musicians/bands. The Beatles poster is very active, combining many different shapes and images into the one central image of all 4 Beatles faces. The center title of the band name is in Multiple colors, which contrasts against the black background. Overall, this poster is very random and complex and draws the users eye in, creating a whimsical and spontaneous mood. The Iron and Wine poster depicts a lion made of graphic leaves and flowers. It is more flat and static, and the symmetry creates for a more calming and soothing mood. The subtlety of the Lion and the muted green color add to the overall effect. 

Contrast

Example of excellent contrast:













This MadMen poster is an example of excellent contrast. Using bold colors such as red, black, and white is eye catching and draws a user's attention in. The polarities between and man and woman define each other, and create a difference in the gender roles. Because this show takes place in the 1950's, this is relevant to bring to the viewer's attention. This ad uses contrast successfully to create opposites and uses color to "pop" out of the ad. 

Example of poor contrast:

This ad does not use contrast in a successful way. The jeans which are being sold are almost the same color as the background of the website. With the dark on dark colors, there is little to no polarities. Therefore, there is no relief from one object to the next. The jeans do not stand out at all, making it difficult for the user to distinguish the products. If this website had used a lighter background color, the contrast would have been successful. 

 

Dimension/Depth/Space/Scale

In this album cover, The Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel, several key elements are used to show depth, space, and scale. Linear perspective is the first element I noticed. The road both men are on is on the left side of the frame, and converges in the upper left corner. The convergence point creates a sense of depth and space. Texture gradient also adds to the perception of space; the road is more detailed with dirt and texture closer and fades away slowly. The end point of the road is unclear, and is mostly a grayish texture with no detail. The overall composition of the photo uses the clear relative size of the two men in front of the road/hillside to create a scene of depth and space.

Visual Perception &Feature Hierarchy

I chose this band poster as my hierarchy example. The first cue that my mind received upon looking at this poster is the red bird and type (i.e. the first level of hierarchy here is color). The shape of the bird creates a sense of motion, and it's large size stands out (i.e. the second level is shape and size.)
The next thing I picked up on were the circular flower shapes in yellow and blue, which stand out against the red of the bird and title type. The placement of these shapes created depth as well as rhythm to this poster. Finally my eyes rested on the red type details of the show at the bottom of the poster. Overall I found this hierarchy effective because it encompassed art and color , red in this case, in a way that make the user easily understand what this design represented.


(Sorry there was no blog entry last week! )

Success and Failure in Design

For my examples, I found 2 album covers. In my future career I want to combine photography and graphic design, especially working with other artists and musicians. 

The famous Pink Floyd “dark side of the moon” CD cover is an example of excellent horizontal balance while also remaining  interesting and having emphasis on the title of the album and band. The prism and rainbow beam against the black background create an eye catching positive/negative duality, and the overall shape draws the eye to the right. In the upper right hand corner, the band name and title of the album are enclosed in a circle. The placement of the circle creates perfect imbalance, and when the eye is drawn to the right by following the prism and rainbow colors, the important words are easily read and understood, adding to the overall equilibrium of the work. Overall, the design is famous for a reason, not only does it display amazing visuals and creativity, but also success with design elements.

This cover is from a band I have not heard of, but overall it’s design methods do not work. The colors used are abrasive, and the centering of the face makes the design static. It is unclear the message that this design is intending to send. The font and placement of the artist and album are also weak, with the title being large and the artist name much too small. The font colors of the title are also too close to the red background it is placed on.  If the focus was placed on the title, with more of a clear positive/negative complex created by the harsh colors used here, and more organization, it is possible this design could have been interesting and successful. This album cover is stressful, but unfortunately not in a design related way. 

Visual Vs. Symbolic Language

Silhouettes of soldiers who have served in the army stand on the horizon, in their gear and holding guns. A sunset with white clouds is behind them, and above, the image of our waving American flag is in the sky. Below the soldiers, the image states Veterans Day honors all who served and takes place on November 11, 2008. In the bottom left corner is a round emblem with an eagle on it, representing the USA. On the bottom right corner, a round yellow emblem with a torch over it, bearing the words "Veterans Day National Committee."

Responses and Feelings:
Honor, hope, respect, patriotism, seriousness.

Symbols:
Soldier silhouettes: denotes all the soldiers who have served, shows them as equals
Flag: denotes patriotism and honor and respect to the United States of America

The composition of this image does a good job of illustrating soldiers as well as creating a somber respect for them. The caption below the soldiers is well placed, and the flag in the sky contributes to the overall feelings of patriotism an American would feel when looking at this image.

The Batman Symbol

    The Batman symbol, similar to the Mickey Mouse symbol we analyzed in class, is almost universally known. Representationally, it is an abstraction of the image of a bat with it's wings spread.
For the viewer, the association is immediate and synonymous to the image; it's role is to represent the character of Batman, a famous comic book hero and now movie phenomenon. Batman has been very prevalent in our culture, especially in the last few years since the movies have come out. More audiences are exposed to the character and therefore, the symbol, causing it to be universally recognized.


     On the abstract level, the symbol is very powerful. It's simplicity of a black bat outline, either placed against a yellow oval or on it's own as a negative space, is noticeable and easily remembered. To the viewer who is a lover of Batman, this design could bring up memories from their childhood love of comics, or associations to the movies. Overall, the abstraction of the bat and symbolism of the mysterious, masked hero functions to create an exciting and dark mood that is immediately associated with the symbol.

   The symbolism of the Batman image communicates an idea of a masked hero, a comic book phenomenon, and dark and dangerous mood. Using all three levels of design, the abstracted bat is made into a communicative and expressive form. 

Designed Visual Information:

Representational:

This mural of 2 men kissing is a clear representation of equality and love. Although it is in a different language, the straight forward painting clearly conveys the message. It is very detailed and leaves room for interpretation of what the message might by. The purpose of this mural might be to raise awareness, to challenge the viewer intellectually and emotionally. The men portrayed in this mural appear to be wearing business suits, which adds to the detail of the entire piece.

Abstract:

In Berlin, I visited a Jewish memorial consisting of many squares and rectangle shapes of concrete. Each one was a gray color and completely solid. There were hundreds of these squares, and the memorial was designed as a maze, with straight lines of these blocks in rows of varying height. The representation of this memorial was the war and the suffering the Jewish people of Europe faced. This is communicated to the viewer in the form of concrete walls that created a visual and physical impact of the feeling of being trapped.


Symbolic:

The "less than three" symbol, i.e. a heart, is one of the most common symbols used in texting, instant messaging, and online communication to convey "love" or a heart. Viewers who are familiar with coding or online language would understand this but there is a chance that many viewers who are not in the know about these things would be clueless to what this mean. Although overused by teenaged girls everywhere, the "less than three" symbol is almost ubiquitous now as meaning "love." It derives from an actual icon of a heart shape, but also refers to the idea of love or "like." This symbol is culture dependent on the new technology era of texting and typing.