Visual Organization

Not directing the audience through a design is misdirecting them. 


Eye Movement:

• the typical eye moves left to right and top to bottom.
• Controlling eye movement within a composition is a matter of directing the natural scanning tendency of the viewers eye
• the eye tends to gravitate towards areas of complexity first. In pictures of people, the eye is always attracted to the face and particularly the eye.
• Light areas of a composition will attract the eye, especially when adjacent to a dark area.
• Diagonal lines or edges will guide eye movement.

Optical Center:The spot where the human eye tends to enter the page. Optical center is slightly above mathmatical center and just to the left.

It takes a compelling element to pull your eyes away from optical center.

Z Pattern: Our visual pattern makes a sweep of the page, generally in the shape of a "Z".


Effective page design maps a viewer's route through the information. The designer's objective is to lead the viewer's eye to the important elements or information.


Font Guidelines:

1. Use no more then two fonts within a page. And make sure those two fonts compliment each other.
2. Avoid using only uppercase unless necessary. 
3. Choose the right font.
4. Do not overuse fancy and complicated fonts.

The Grid:

• A way of organizing content on a page, using any combination of margins, guidelines, rows and columns.
• Instituted by modernism
• Can assist the audience by breaking info into manageable chunks and establishing relationships between text and images.
• A grid consists of a distinct set of alignment-based relationships that act as guides for distributing elements across a format.
• Every design is different; therefore every design will require a different grid structure... One that addresses the particular elements within the design.
• A grid is used to help clarify the message being communicated and to unify the elements.

Cave Paintings | 35,000 years ago

What are cave paintings?

Beautiful, detailed, and colorful representations found on the inside of cave walls and ceilings. Mostly found in Western Europe, Australia, Africa, and China.

Name several common themes found in cave paintings?

Large animals such as Bison, Horses, and Deer. And also tracings of human hands, and abstract patterns.

How were these paintings created (tools, pigments)?

Pigments were made from mixing water, plant juice, animal blood, soil, charcoal, and hematite (a form of iron oxide). Brushes were made by putting together sticks, small stones, leaves, and animal hair.

What is the most famous cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom? Lascaux, it was discovered by 4 teenage boys in 1940.

Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.

Why did this cave have to be closed? What was done to satisfy public curiosity? Because the paintings were being damaged by the carbon dioxide emitted by tourists. To satisfy the curiosity, the French government created Lascaux II (A man made replica of the origional).

Post an example of cave painting(s) from Altamira cave.

In Altamira cave, why do most of the paintings have a red hue? Because of the red clay in the soil.

Who discovered this site? How old are the paintings confirmed to be? Sanz De Sautuola, the owner of the land, and his daughter Maria. The paintings are almost 19,000 years old.

What is the oldest known cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom? Chauvet-Point Arc was discovered in 1994 by 3 speleogists: Eliette Brunell Deschamps, Christian Hillaire, and Jean Marie Chauvet.

Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.

 

What was different about the painting techniques at this site? Walls were scraped clear of Debris, and 3D effect was created by etching around the edges.

What is "speleology"?

 The study of all aspects of caves

What three reasons do archeologists and historians believe prehistoric man created cave paintings?

1. To tell a story or recount an event that actually happened.

2. As an instructional visual aid to help teach about hunting techniques.

3. For magical or religious reasons that if an image of a desired event were painted, it might come true. 

Assignment 13: Research and Inspiration

Exquisite Corps:


-Wikipedia defines Exquisite Corps as: " a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule (e.g. ...) (also known as exquisite cadaver or rotating corpse)"


-Made up In the mid-1920's by a French Surrealists.

Goal For this Assignment: To make an interesting piece of art by means of exquisite corps.

Audience: Me and /my group

Message: Surrealism

Surrealism: An art movement where things were more dreamlike..
     
 Surrealist Art: 

I like how the clocks are melted, and not what you would expect.
























 I like the color scheme and usage of positive and negative space.






























Exquisite Corps Art:

 
I like this piece because it uses several different mediums and unique ideas. 

  I like this one because of its Cartoonishness. 

I like this one because it's creative and you can see where each person drew.

The Creative Process

Creative Process: A series of steps repeated every time you design something.

Why do we need a process?

1. It improves consistency.
2. Gives you the ability to time and plan your work.
3. It raises the quality of your work.
4. It helps you communicate more effectively and in a more professional manner.

Steps to the Creative Process

1. Research:Research the client and the competition. Get online, look in magazines, listen to music, pay attention to the world around you.. whatever you need to do to get inspired. The more you know, the easier the project will be!!                         
2. Brainstorm/Inspiration: Striving to be unique and innovative while still following the current trends, ensures a fresh and creative approach.                                                                         -What kind of message am i trying to communicate?                -Who is my audience?                                              -What am I trying to tell them?                                  -What colors/styles/visuals would work for this audience?             
3. Sketching: Sketch to get your thoughts out and to work through ideas. Thumbnails, thumbnails, and more thumbnails.                      
4. Execute: Implement your ideas. Combine type and imagery, into a well developed composition. Utilize design principles and visual organization guidelines to help. Try techniques, explore possible options and analyze the outcome. If you get stuck, walk away and clear your head. If the peace doesn't look the way you imagined and isn't working, try another idea. Forcing an Idea won't make a good design.                               
5.  Critique & Revise: Take a step back , and look at your design with an objective eye. Make sure the design effectively conveys the message to the intended audience. If it doesn't, go back and tweak the composition 'til it does! Asking others for their opinions will help with this process.

Rules of Composition for Digital Photography

Photograph or Snapshot?
Snapshot- A quick shot, often spontaneous, meant to keep a record of memories.
Photograph- An image taken with care and thought; planned.


Rule of Thirds- Imaginary lines drawn dividing the frame of your camera into thirds both horizontally and vertically.

• Place the important subject, or important elements of your composition where there lines intersect.
• Place horizon line at the top or bottom horizontal divider.
• Or fill up the entire frame with the subject for a close up image.

Leading Lines- Use the lines created within the foreground or background of the composition to lead the viewers eye through the photo.

Lines can draw attention to one or more intended subjects or a single focal point.

Point of View- Change the way your subject is perceived by changing the camera position.

• If you're photographing a subject that you want to seem very tall,compose the shot so that the camera is looking upwards.
• And vice versa.
• Anything but eye-level.

Simplicity- Keep your background simple and clear of clutter. 

• The mood and effectiveness can be altered by what is in the background.
• A chaotic composition will cause the viewer to look away.

Review Week 17

From The Article, "Who Shot the Serif", I learned about how the serif originated, and where its name might've come from. I also learned about different typography terms, Adnate Serifs. and Abrupt Serifs.


The serif originated from painting letters, and the wider ends the paint would leave. Adnate Serifs are more organic serifs, an join the letter from a curve. Abrupt serifs are more square and rigid, and don't flow.

Semester Reflection

This semester, we've learned and utilized the principals and elements of design. Each project we did was centered around what we were focusing on at the time. 
In learning the basics of design, we also go to learn about the different kinds of design. We covered everything from Icons to typography.. I really enjoyed each of the projects and learning how to create interesting designs in different ways.I really liked working in illustrator with the pen tool. 
One thing that I would change for the coming semester would be to take notes directly onto our blogs instead of onto fill-in-the-blank pdfs and things like that.
This coming semester, I'd really like to work more with creating things in illustrator, and also with photography.