39 Miniature Self Portraits Later
By: Alicia Romรกn
For my friends, Thank you for coming with to the Bush Art Center late at nights so I could finish my many projects. For my classmates and Professor Katie Ries, Thank you for being people I can now call friends after a semester full of many critiques and fun times in Art 130.
Introduction The following is a process book of the work I, Alicia Romรกn, have done in Art 130: Introduction to Design. This is a semester long class that introduced me to different forms of design and art. This is required class inorder to take more intensive art classes so it covered many bases. With the friendliness of Professor Katie Ries, and all of my classmate, this past semester, Intro to Design has been one of my favorites that I have taken at St. Norbert College so far in my education here. I hope the enjoyment of the class is represented in the work shown in this book for everyone to see.
D-School Objective: This was a one day, inclass partner activity that pushed students like me to work at a fast pace. There was no time to procrastinate, or get distracted. The work was not a finished as I would have preferred, but by doing it this way, we had to work more with our initial ideas, and be confident in them. The general theme for this D-School session was redesigning the gift-giving experience.
D-School Process work:
These are images of some of the process work done while interviewing. We had to define the problem inorder to understand our client, and what they wanted so our final project would be as well rounded as possible.
The opportunity to work one on one with an actual person and not just a scenario to follow, gave a more personal meaning to the project. I was able to see the emotion of my partner, making it easier to come up with a follow up question for a consistant conversation. Due to this, the prototype I made represented the emotion and feeling that my partner was expressing. Furthermore, showing unfinished work to another person was quite nerve-racking, seeing that I did not want to be critiqued on what I was not proud of. In addition, the pace in which we went was slightly fast, however the benefits that came from a timed activity were undeniable. I had to think quickly and avoid procrastination. But given the situation, it was appropriate in order to fully indulge in the activity.
Final composition for my client in D-School
Dot Line Objective: In this project we had to choose three words to visualize but by not illustrating it. We were allowed to use circles and lines of of grey and black, and had to follow a count for each as well. In this unit we also talked about Gestalt’s Theories
Thumbnails made to experiment with each word
To me, gestalt is the way in which we all look at an image and determine what we see. I think of it as noticing what is most important in a image first, and then seeing the rest of the image. Gestalt relates well to our dotline project because when we first are trying to express a word, using only dots and lines, we have to really look at what we see, and what catches our eye to see if it will visually depict the word we want it to. I would personally rather spend extra time getting small details right than rush through and have them be a little less than perfect. This is because I feel like the small details, that may seem insignificant at first glance, are what make the piece come together.
This project changed my idea of abstraction because I now realize the random lines and dots that many abstract pieces have in them are really not so random. Almost always, those dots and lines have such a purpose that if you were to remove one of them, it would alter the entire piece. I think not being able to illustrate made us think a lot more about how we feel and less about what we think. In the future, I will use the ideas of gestalt and abstraction to really take another glance, not just at art but at everyday situations, and not judge them by the first thing I see. From this exercise, I truly realize how important it is to look thoroughly, and repeatedly, to fully understand what is taking place. Final Dotline
Abundance
Longing
Exhaustion
Text Letter
Objective: For this typography and text unit I had to practice the form of letters, and learn about the different styles there are in fonts. I had to practice writing the letters that are commonly digital font by hand as well. For our final project in text and typography we had to choose a word and express it visually four times. The word I chose was Team Process Work:
By studying hand-lettering, I was pushed to understand not only the look of the fonts that we see on a daily basis, but the form they take. Letterform is much more intentional than I had originally thought, and from this I have learned that many types of letters have numerous things in common. In addition, leaving one or two things out from a letter, can change it completely. In the hand-lettering project of the 4 piece series we just did, my content, or ideas, were stronger.
I chose the word “team� and many of my ideas came from sporting teams, and building off of each other. However, when it finally came time to put those ideas on display, I think some of my form could have been revised a bit more, to demonstrate my ideas in the best way possible. When faced with this type of project in the future, I will make sure there is a better balance of the two. I enjoyed doing this project for many reasons, but the main one was that I loved looking at the creative side of fonts, and not just staring at the Times New Roman font that we are all so used to at this point. Final Typography:
Object Iterations Objective: For the object iteration unit, students had to choose an object, or animal to illustrate in a variety of ways. The following five types of itterations had to be included in the final: continuous line, two master artist pieces, collage, typographic collage, and geometric. Doing this project tested my creative skills but also introduced me to different forms of drawing. This made me step out of my comfort zone and try different styles of art.
Process work:
The elephant has many curved lines in their large ears and long trunk. Therefore, the basic sillouette of the elephant would not do it. These mammals are truly beautiful creatures, but when I got to really look at the African elephant, I feel that I saw this beauty in the fullest sense.
Once I finished making the actual work, and moved to photoshop to edit, I found a variety of different tools I could use to make my pieces stronger. Something I learned about Photoshop that I think I will use going forward is that sometimes just because you can edit something, does not mean you necessarily should. For instance, with one of my master artist pieces, I made the elephant look very computerized instead of keeping the texture of the oil paints. With that being said, I used the clone stamp here which is by far my favorite tool on there, and I will definitely be using it going forward, in reason of course. Master Artist Process work:
Eric Carle
Eric Carle
Fernando Botero
Narrowed down process work:
If I had to continue working with the African elephant for a year, there are a few things I would do to represent it in different ways. I would go and see an African elephant in person to see truly how it lives. Now, I won’t be able to go to Africa necessarily, so the zoo will have to do for now. Also, I would incorporate more of the African elephants environment into some of my iterations. I feel that this will show more about who the African elephant is, not just what it looks like.
Final object iteration:
Data Visualization Objective: To choose interesting data, and create a visual representation of it by using a limited color palette, and visual hierachy. I had to work with credible data and get my information from appropriate sources. By using principles of design that I had learned previously in the semester, I had to create one finished poster of sorts that represented my data by using type and image.
Quick sketch of possible layout of Data Visualization I made early in the process.
For my data visualization I looked at NBA players’ salaries compared to the amount of money they get through endorsements. In order to create visual hierarchy I had to consider what I wanted people to take away from it the most. By putting the most important information in the middle, or larger than other material made it stand out. From doing this project I learned a lot about the visual presentation of things. The combination of colors, fonts, and then placement of everything really does matter. I definitely will continue to use the adobe website for color schemes for future projects. Process Work:
The first thing many, however not all, people see when they look at something is the color. So to have a color that catches the persons eye can be very important. However, not all people have the capability to see color, so also the way in which I will continue to layout a visual is going to have to be even stronger than the color choice, therefore the colors will simply have to enhance the layout. As I said before, working with color is very important, therefore having the opportunity to take it into great consideration was exciting. I spent a lot of time on the Kuler website which helped in deciding where my final project was headed. Working in color adds another creative level to any piece. However, deciding to work with or without color is an even bigger creative decision.
Data Visualization Final
NBA Players’ Salaries vs. Endorsements For professional basktball players in the National Basketball Association, their money is earned in two main ways: Player salaries, and company endorsements. The amount of money
earned from endorsements is usually more than salary of each player given to them by the team they play on. However, this depends on the skill and popularity of each player.
Player Endorsements Total Earnings $86.1 Million $62.5 Million $47.1 Million $15.4 Million
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2017/02/15/lebron-durant-and-curry-head-the-nbas-highest-paid-players2017/#6ec470a0230d https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2016/08/15/milwaukee-bucks-jabari-parker-south-side-chicago-playrs-tribune/88763968/ https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/steph-curry-lebon-james-nba-charity-championship/
Artist Presentation Milton Glaser
One thing that drew me to Milton Glaser is that he was born on June 26th, which also happens to be my birthday too. Milton Glaser is not afraid to go with the bold color palette, and do things that have never been seen before. I love his use of color and line in the majority of his work. Also, has great dedication to his hometown of New York City, showing how connected he is with his roots.
Now that I have presented on Milton Glaser to the class, I can definitely say it went much faster than I thought it would. I have presented in front of people many times before, however having the slides just change, and having to really choose my words wisely because I did not have a lot of time to elaborate on things, was a new experience for me. Everyone in design class was so kind, which made presenting was more relaxed than I thought it would have been. Milton Glaser’s Work:
Vocation I definitely believe there is a difference between art and design. For me, art is a much more personal work. This means that as long as the artist understands what is being portrayed, and has a target audience that will also understand, then their work is done. An artist has to worry more about what is being presented, while a designer must focus more on the way in which it is presented. The layout and balance are most important for a designer, because their main concern is making sure the viewers of their work can understand it clearly. If I had to pick a side, I would side with design. I like how much thinking and detail goes into design. By simply changing the location of an image influence the entire composition. Although art is very important in today’s society, I believe design is a more universal technique that we are all apart of without even realizing it. In my opinion, the difference between a good life and a significant life comes down to detail. Living a good life means that you are content with what you have done in the time you have been on this earth. However, living a significant life means that you are leaving something behind after your time on earth is complete. You did not just live for yourself, but rather you lived for those you loved, and for the earth you loved. Living a significant life in simple terms means leaving the earth a changed place than when you first were born. The footprints you leave are those of difference and memory. Living a good life is perfectly fine, however the people that live significantly make for a better earth for those to come.
Introduction to Design St. Norbert College Spring 2018 Professor Katie Ries