learning log core concepts part 3 by katiesmithdesign

Part 3

Visual Literacy Research Point

The Beautiful Meme The above example is a very clever play on a combination of using both text and signifiers in order to portray a message to the audience. When reading text, often our brains can fill in the gaps or guess what we are going to read. By doing this we can scim a text a lot quicker. This is something that the designers at the Beautiful Meme have played with successfully here. They rely on us finishing the sentence but if anyone struggles, ripping the page so hint at something is gone, helps to come to the right conclusion. In terms of using visual language with colour, line and images, this doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t require much reading as this hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been used. Here, the main emphasis is on the composition and symbols instead. Trying to portray a message through every element can become confusing and the information can become harder to read instead of easier. In order to simplify this message, and highlight the importance of free speech, the designers here have kept to a simple get striking colour 2 combination so that the audience doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to be a visually literate as a more complex design would require.

These two designs, again by the same company, require a little more reading as they are quite complex design. With the left hand design this can be taken quite literally. The text is shown in multiples in order to portray a sense of motion blur, highlighting the word ‘travel’ as part of the text. The background has also been given a similar effect in order to further emphasise this idea of movement, however, the tones are carefully dividided, using the hazardous yellow lines to suggest that this is perhaps on a train platform. Compared to the last design, colour and line is utilised more in order to create a visual dynamic that we have to understand as an audience. The symbols used to create a sense of motion are quite simple, they subtley hint at different senses of travel however, because there is a lot more going on in this design, it seems like there is a lot more to it whereas, it really is quite simple. The design at the bottom though is a little more complex. Annoyingly, there is a lack of information about this project on their website, however, once again there is a sense of movement but this time it is a lot more fluid. Each form, shade and change of direction is highlighted and your eye is easily led around the frame. However, without the clear direction that text provides to a design, it is quite hard to understand this design. Some would say that this would make them question their ‘visual literacy’. For me, it does make me question what this is about but sometimes as part of design this is important. It is key to highlight form, line and fluidity more in some designs as it allows for more exploration for the audience. In advertising this isn’t always the best thing though. So although it is a design style I like, perhaps this sense of fluidity can be expressed in a different manner.

Some of the work produced by The Beautiful Meme is something that I find very visually stimulating, I find it very interesting and I could get lost in focusing on the forms and changes for a long period of time. However, this isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the kind of effect that would be suitable for all advertising and encouraging this idea of getting lost in the work can be achieved in other ways. Therefore, although it is work that I admire, this may not always provide the most effective starting point. However, the use of repetition that they use on their website can be an interesting idea to play with and perhaps some of their more simplified work would be effective. Especially in their use of quite generic symbols, for example using blur to symbolise motion or the ripped page to show that something has gone that should be there. These simplified but very effective methods are something that I often overlook and I need to focus on when going back to some of my work.

Pentagram 4

Paula Scher

Pentagram do a wide variety of designs but when I was recently checking out some of their new work, I found this rather intriguing project. At first I had been skeptical that an abstract design could be implemented on the high street. When you see someone with shopping bags, you want it to be clear exactly where that bag is from, it helps to promote an identity outside the selling space and therefore, I always assumed that this couldn’t be as abstract as this design is. However, here is works. Although the text doesn’t make it clear who exactly this identity belongs to, this design fulfils the brief exactly. It needed to be ubiqitious and identifiable whilst being able to be noticed across the street. In order to attract someone’s attention from the other side of the street, it needs to be interesting which is where the strong black and white contrast works, and the fact the information isn’t something that has to be read in order to be understood works perfectly here. The deisgn can be noticed and connected to the brand, as long as the viewer knows the company. The visual language is therefore, very much about the form, lines and colour, the symbols are there in terms of lettering but they are unclear when formulated in this way so the symbols almost become obsolete in terms of the design process and the form of these symbols instead.

Paula Scher, one of Pentagram’s principal designers also produces some interesting design work that I want to learn from. The bold contrast of tones is evident but the primary focus here is the text. Varying fonts, sizes and orientations produces a strong visual hierarchy here and the impact of this makes you feel like, as an audience, you need to read each aspect to understand the importance of the situation that is being portrayed. In realisation, this is trying to advertise membership to a theater and although it may not be the kind of situation that you first expected with such high contrast and amount of text, the advertising method works because you interrogate every aspect of the poster with your eyes.5

The other principal designers in Pentagram also have some strong designers that I admire. The clever use of typography here specifically by Michael Bierut is strong, playful and demands attention. The playfulness of this design means that sometimes our eye substitutes areas for what we expect to see. The book design below for example, plays with the irony of the title and our eyes are able to fill in the gaps of what we expect to be under the lines but there could be something more that is concealed. This playful nature is not seen in the design below by Scher. Insttead of using interesting typography like on the culture mile on the opposite page, Scher has used a bold, familiar font in order to portray the importance of the situation. Reducing the text down so that it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so ornate, means that the message portrayed by the text can be focused on more. And combined with the very simple, but impactful design, means these designs work strongly and provoke a discussion. These designs especially caught my attention and I admired them for not only the message that they were portraying but the effectiveness of the design.

Above on the left designs are Michael Bierut and the right hand design is another by Paula Scher.

Jonathan Barnbrook A whole black design doesn’t always have to be boring, the variations of texture here highlight the small differences that emphasise the design even more. The combination of this with black and white photographs, ones that don’t look black and white when contained within such a high density of black tones, compiles a story of Bowie’s life and most famous songs. The constant variations between each page, whilst still using the same technique, encourages the eye to spot new things about each page that perhaps they didn’t notice the last time that they fully looked at it. What I admire about this is the fact that Barnbook has even more of a limited palette than one I would try and use. A limited palette in my eyes would be 3 tones, here by just using one tone and combining it with other methods to vary this one tone has more of an impact than I could have guessed. At the start of this course I wanted to start controlling my design more, so that I could portray a more cohesive message but I never considered taking it this far. And after discovering these designs, I will begin to push the boundaries even further to see how far I can take a design before it maybe becomes too simple instead of too complex. 8

The first time that I came across Barnbook was through his exhibition designs for the V&A. Like his Bowie album, the design is kept very simple and instead of using varying textures, in the exhibition the impact of typography is highlighted. I still need to work on this, in terms of understanding typography more but here the bold white lines also play a part in guiding your eye around the frame. As the designs are so separate on the below poster, there is no way that the eye can flow from one poster to the other, no Gestalt theory would help with that! Instead it almost becomes linear, leading your eye around the frame in the most familiar way either left to right or up and down. Interestingly, there are gaps left between some of the lines so that your eye can ‘fall’ off the line and into the next segment. This works effectively for some of the sections, however, on the edges, this doesn’t have the same effect as the central lines.

Jennifer Morla

In order to understand an image, sometimes the audience may think that the design has to be really clear and state the obvious. However, with these designs, Morla suggests that Visual Literacy doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work in this manner. Playing around with the combination of different elements, some embellished, some bold and untouched, combines signs and symbols from different components in order to completely change the audiences perception of the individual elements. This is the reason I admire her work. Morla combines elements that wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t traditionally fit and through the combination of similar themes, the dotwork on the Mexican poster for example, the eye doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem as disjointed as it would first suggest through the varying fonts. 10

What have I learnt by looking into the designers that I admire?

- I always thought that my favourite designers would have a very similar style in terms of the gtlich art effect and pushing things beyond the boundaries of what is legible. And although I do like this style, from this simple research point I have realised that this isn’t the case. I like to challenge perceptions and push boundaries is what I can conclude, but this doesn’t always have to be within the very digitalised sense of glitch art. Barnbook’s work is one that I shocked myself with as I didn’t think that this would create the impact it did on me. This may be partially because I admire the typography skills as I haven’t yet mastered this but even when I do, I know it will be work that I still appreciate.

Exercise 1 Reflect on what you have been collecting: are there dominant themes emerging? You may find yourself interested in a particular area of design, era or design product. What does this tell you about your own visual language and cultural awareness? It is clear from some of the early examples that there is a dominant theme emerging in the style of work that I like. To start with I scrolled through my Instagram feed to see what kind of images appeared. This feed is catered to me based on who I follow and what Instagram thinks I want to see so having spent a lot of time going through different artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work, it felt best to start here for finding examples of what I find visually stimulating. These early examples are dominated by glitch art and abstract designs, this is something I am always drawn to in terms of style but I also wanted to look at other examples of work that I admire because this approach isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t taken in many design campaigns. As it is a hard style to portray a message with, I used this task to look at more examples around me that intrigue me which is where the following few pages work well. This included shopping bags, TV adverts, books, packaging designs and menus. The menus were definitely something that I would often overlook however, it soon became apparent that I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t notice the design as much because they worked so effectively. However, as I continued to look at examples that I admired, it becomes apparenty there was less of a theme that emerged.

What dominant themes appeared?

- I think it is clear that bold pops of colour are a theme that has continuously appeared throughout my work and has therefore, frequently appeared within this visual diary. This doesn’t mean though that each one has come from the same design period. Some express an interest in recent post-digital design concepts, others look at pop art elements whilst some also consider 1970s psychedilic patterns. - A lot of these are also fairly well structured concepts, the randomness that appears in my own work isn’t apparant here and instead the colour and form is more controlled. Chloe Sells’ work is perhaps more random and this is due to the style of work and the way in which it is presented. As a artist book the design doesn’t need to be as structered as perhaps the Holland Festival posters for example. - The idea of motion also appears in a few of them, not only because they are stills from adverts but also the continuous flow of various elements add intrigue and I guess this is where the work appears more structured. Having this element of indirect randomness works as it appears more visually structured but it lets the eye move as much as the more unstructured approach of my work, in a random manner. Therefore, it can be more structured and have the same impact and message

What have I learnt?

- That I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have one key style of work that I like like I first thought at the start of this module, I am now looking more at what my eye appreciates, not just the kind of work that I like producing. The freedom of glitch art is perhaps what attracted me to it but there is also freedom within other designs that can work more effectively in portraying concepts that I previously struggled with. Although I do still like this random approach, I am starting to realise that this isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the only thing that will catch my eye.

Exercise 2: Signs and Symbols Semiotics “The World is simply full of meaningless things - words and things mean what they mean as a result of the way we look at them and use them.” (Salkeld 2014:46) Any meaning can be given to any object by any person. Some objects will have a cultural based understanding or social understanding yet other objects can have a more personal meaning. As a result of this, it means that when trying to communicate a message through photography, art, graphic design etc, it can be interpreted in multiple different ways. This is based upon the ‘codes’ that someone communicates in. The codes that we each understand and use is based upon cultural influences and personal influences. A simple example of this can be the difference in some words that people use. If you were to visit somewhere in the UK and hear a new word, it may be that where you are from has a word for the same thing, it is just a different word. This is the most simplistic way of explaining it but when this is then employed in graphic design, it can be difficult to get the message across that you are aiming for due to the very nature that we all interpret things differently. Semiotics is built up around the idea of signs, symbols and codes. The alphabet is a code. Letters are a symbol. Symbols are put together to form words to create meaning. C.S. Pierce identified three different types of code: -Iconic - based upon resemblance. -Indexical - effects with a specific caus. Eg. footprints indicate a human presence or like on my ‘The Invisible Man’ cover, the shadow indicates a presence. -Symbolic - It is arbitrary. There is no necessaary link between the sound of a word and what it refers to . Equally, signs have got two different aspects. -Signifier - the material manifestation, the word, the sound or pictorial element. 24

-The Signified - a mental concept that is commonly associated with the signifier. For example a Dog would be the signifier but the signified would be four-legged. Or, smoke would be the signifier and fire would be the signified. Signs are then understood in terms of: -denotation - the definition, literal, obvious meaning of a sign -connotation - the socio-cultural and personal associations produced as a reader decodes the text. “These frameworks, these set of beliefs, ideas and practices that underpin our daily lives and shape our understanding, can be termed ‘ideologies’...the term is useful because it helps to account for particular practices and interpretations, and can be employed in both the construction of images and their analysis.” (Salkeld 2014:58) Text can also play a part within creating this meaning, more so in graphic design than in photography. In ‘Rhetoric of the Image’, Roland Barthes argues that words work with photographs (but can be applied to any creative medium) in two ways: - Anchorage - directs the viewer to what they are looking at in the image - who, what, where and when. - Relay - the photograph/design elements and text work together to create a meaning that could not be made by each element separately (rephrased from Bull 2010:40). Meaning is the result of the relaying of messages between both elements. Contextually, in terms of photography, a photograph de-contextualises what is in front of a camera and places this within new spaces in order to re-contextualise it in different ways. With graphic design, the elements are often digitally created, this means there is no direct reference point. Yes, some designs take images as their base and will use this as their reference point however, the perception of an apple will vary between each designer. Some people will prefer Royal gala apples, some Pink Lady and some Granny Smith’s cooking apples. How the designer therefore designs this apple will vary due to personal associations. This can then influence the way the audience perceive the subject. You have to be carefully with these associations as some could contradict what you are message you are trying to portray. However, in doing so, this de-contextualisation to re-contextualisation opens up the possibility for more meanings. In photography this is beneficial but in graphic design, it can hinder the process.

Although it is important to look at semiotics in this way, it also needs to be acknowledged that with computer media at the point it currently is, all of this interpretation is accelerated. The difficulty is that the life on social media comes with its own set of codes. However, it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just one new language that we have to understand, there are multiple interpretations and languages that are now becoming intertwined with each other and it becomes hard to read any image. This is quite a complex idea to consider and therefore, I would like to show some extracts from an essay that I wrote on my Photography Degree. It highlights the complexities of imagery in its current state and this can be applied to graphic design. Something that a graphic designer will design will also go through all the algorithms that I mention, this means it can get reappropriated through various systems and lose the meaning that was intended by the designer. It is therefore, important to consider how this could effect your designs, as you are designing them. This includes acknowledging the various connotations of an image but also the importance of text. Although text can also have its meaning changed, it makes it harder for any meaning to stray far away from what was intended.

“Codes largely influence how an image is interpreted but social media has accelerated the amount of interpretations that can be received . In order for one image to be interpreted the same way, ‘the sender and receiever need to know how to operate and understand the same ‘code’’ (Bate 2009:34). The code in terms of how the image is read is dictated by the creator, but ‘given that computer media is simply a set of characters and numbers stored on a computer, there are numerous ways it could be presented to a user’ (Manovich 2001:70). The codes for how an image is stored are not the only ones that can be reinterpreted. Codes attached to the reading of imagery by the creator can also be presented to a user in multiple ways. This allows for a multitude of interpretations to be obtained from the one code. However, as there is more than one code attached to an image, it accelerates the quantity of interpretations that can be gained.”

“Each way of presenting the same code ‘represents a powerful cultural tradition, a cultural language offering its own ways of representing human memory and human experience’ (Manovich 2001:72). Cultural codes, or traditions, were able to differentiate the ways in which different communities analyse imagery. However, due to the nature of social media, communities are now so varied that they are difficult to recognise, nevermind identify the codes that are shared between them. Codes therefore become mixed depending on the groups that a user identifies with, along with the codes from the platform itself. These multiple layers of code means that, according to the dialogic model proposed by Michael Bakhtin, ‘there can never be a final and definitive interpretation of any image because in each new situation, in each new encounter with an audience or viewers, the image will acquire new interpretations and meanings’ (Rubinstein and Sluis 2013:36). However, with this comes the risk that the codes attached become misinterpreted or lost. As a result, a new version of the image exists wherever ‘someone with a certain apparatus happens to be’, seeing images acquiring a sense of ‘ubiquity’ (Valery 1964:225-26). This new version of the image is a collation of everything that has ever been attached to the image, including aspects of every algorithm entered as well as the captions and original metadata. Every process that the one image has undergone weaves a net of cultural codes that is ‘partially retrievable but it’s also…out there and formed out of everything’ (Bridle 2012), all at the touch of a button.”

“Computers have allowed for the production of a photograph without photography (Dewdney 2013:100) meaning that imagery needs to be read in a different way, using different codes and understanding the indexicality in an alternative manner. The ‘digital depictions’ presented to the audience as part of this, ‘are not ‘images’ or at least not in the ordinary sense of the term’ (Rodowick, 2007:110). Due to the role of the computer and algorithms, the photograph is turning more into a series of ‘digital depictions’. This threatens the indexicality that was once such a large part of photography. The ‘algorithmic image’ is one that is ‘as, with, in or through software’ (Rubinstein and Sluis 2013:29). By introducing such software, there is a juxtaposition between input and output, one that causes a sense of ‘separation or discontinuity’ between the two (Rodowick 2007:89-190 in Røssaak 2011:190). To create this sense of separation, a user can simply add a caption. The caption did not exist when taking the photograph, creating a sense of separation between when the photograph was taken and the new time that it is being posted in. The output can hence be described to be ‘computational and programmable’ as well as ‘malleable and non-indexical’ (Rubinstein and Sluis 2013:89). The editing does take the image further away from the original but viewing the image as entirely non-indexical limits the audience’s experience with their own memories. Any kind of digitalised imagery is therefore ‘substantially altered. They get translated, twisted, bruised, and reconfigured’ (Steyerl 2013). This is done by entering the image into multiple algorithms, as representation is abolished and reduced to 0 (Kittler 2010:226-27). Condensing everything down to this kind of representation creates a creater sense of discontinuity. The referent no longer exists in a physical form but ‘differential circuits and abstracted data banks of information’ (Batchen 1997:213). Therefore, trying to find the physical existence of a subject becomes a long process where codes once again get lost during the process. The separation experienced by digital images to a sense of indexicality is complicated further when looking at the glitch effect. A glitch, something that ‘predate[s] film and television and can be traced back at least as far as the printing press’ (Jackson 2011:26), is the ‘result of miscommunication from sender to receiver during the transcoding of information’ (Jackson 2011:11). Although the term doesn’t always refer to something digital, artists, such as David Szauder, use it to ‘jolt[ing] the spectator from the intended experience’ (Jackson 2011:11). Here the audience experience this separation from what should be experienced from the base photograph, to what the glitch-alike artist wants the audience to obtain. The glitch is used to represent an error and in the case of Szauder, it’s used to show an error in the way ‘our brains store away images to retrieve them later…but when we go back and try to re-access those memories, we may find them to be corrupted in some ways’ (Szauder n.d.).”

Danger Movement Love Here 29

DAnger

What symbolises danger? High colour contrast elements Some kind of warning symbol - each danger has a different symbol Mainly the word â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dangerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in big bold lettering. This is a very harsh font, no curves on the lettering, just harsh lines to highlight the danger. Yellow and Black seems to be a common colour choice, as does red and black. Black doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feature on the colour wheel, but everything and black is a contrasting element, so what makes red and yellow be perceived as danger in particular?

Black contrasts with most colours so why does red and yellow specifically highlight this contrast to amplify danger? Green also contrasts well with black and green suggests ‘Go’ (link made to the traffic lights). Red on the other hand suggests ‘Stop’. In a way this works, the red suggests stop there is danger, but green could also mean there is danger you need to go. What makes this work for danger? The link to traffic lights can’t be the reason why these colour choices are the common ones used, so what is it?

Movement

What symbolises movement? Spirals Multiple segments Stationary object with lines Blurred object Sometimes a stationary object but caught mid motion - this implies to the reader that they cannot stay in this position and we all know to infer that there is movement symbolised. No particular colours, movement can be highlighted in many ways, it depends on what is moving and how. This could have some more abstract symbols as signs can be used that make the audience infer that there is movement involved somehow.

love

What symbolises Love? Hearts Red Roses Lock and Key Soft and romantic lighting In terms of typography, something softer, smooth and romantic, Arial Black would not suit the word love but the font on the previous page suits it perfectly. Unlike movement, it can be quite hard to make an inference of love as there seems to be some very set symbols that are used for love. Love can also mean different things to different people, you could love your job or you can love somebody else, it can be so diverse so having generic symbols like these work to our advantage, trying to change this could stray too far away from the point.

here

What symbolises here? Arrow or anything that pin points a particular location. Many of them seem to utilise the colour red. Not sure how this can be a connection when red also symbols danger...I guess red is a strong colour to notice against any other tones. Therefore, when trying to find where you are on a map, it can be easy to spot. This seems to be the only thing that symbolises here, therefore, it could be a fun symbol to play with as there is potentional to play with this more, unlike love.

Similarities and differences between danger and love The tones used are both similar in regards to both Danger and Love are associated with the colour red. However, a key difference is how these red tones appear. Due to the combination of red and black, Danger seems a lot harsher, with high contrast combinations. The red tones with Love are a lot softer as it is often combined with softer hues. Neither symbol relies on a heavily presence of text. The symboles that are used are fairly self explanatory and have become integrated into society so that we understand what they mean and text therefore, doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to feature as heavily. The shapes used as part of the symbols vary as well. Harsher lines are used for Danger, whereas softer uses softer curves of a heart.

Similarities and differences between movement and here Here is a stationary concept so the symbol doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any blur or sense of direction whereas, movement needs to highlight this sense of direction and can therefore, not suggest just a stationary point. This doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean that in order to highlight movement, there canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be something stationary, the simple lift of a leg can suggest movement. Text features more in the term Here than it does for Movement. The text is needed to suggest this stationary point whereas movement can be inferred through blur and other symbols. An arrow can suggest both movement and here so the text is there to clarify which one it is. There are no similar tones to suggest movement or here. Weirdly red seems to be used again but there is no inference of danger or love, through this stationary point so the tonal connotations are difficult to match up.

How else can I represent movement? more abstract methods

Lines have been utilised more within these examples, they highlight motion more through changing directions. Previously, it involved a stationary object but with these images, instead the direction changes to reflect a change in movement, instead of expecting us to create movement through our own connections.

Alternatively...celtic knots During my brainstorming, I did think about celtic knots. They are something that I personally connect with. They can symbolise enternity. This can be in regards to loyalty, faith, friendship and love. However, these are already an existing symbol so I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just create a different variation. I want to still look at these though as celtic knots are an effective symbol, looking at them closer will make

I really struggled with working out what shape to use. As I work, I have started to realise that using post it notes really helps me and as I was working I made these notes. A circle has been used on many of the other examples, and I understand why - it breaks down the harsh lines that are highlighting the movement. It also helps with the idea of movement as a circle continuously goes around in a smooth motion for the eye. Although this works, the symbol needed to be someting a little different. Hexagons are a shape that I find visually interesting but once again, the harsh edges didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work well with the lines contained inside. This doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t create a sense of movement, it suggests a sudden change and this doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to mean movement.

What works and what doesn’t work? - There is a definite suggestion in terms of a change in state, the lines change from one path, to a more disrupted path and back. - The curved shape isn’t as harsh as the hexagons, there is a smoother movement for the lines to flow through. - The shape isn’t a conventional one and instead of knowing what it is and being able to focus the eye on the actual concept, this requires a little more reading.

NOT A SYMBOL? MORE MOVEMENT PIECE THAT SYMBOL 59

How does this piece suggest movement? - The curvature of the segments. - No line is straight and they all fold into each other - The tones follow this movement, getting lighter and darker depending on whether they are hidden by another segment. - The size of the lines also follow this curvature. Movement cannot be suggested by just one section, it needs to flow through each component. Some people would forget that the tones vary as well but the designer here as made sure every element focuses on this movement and the way each line is effected by this change. Therefore, with my work I need to do the same, everything needs to be following the same path.

What’s working and what isn’t? -The sphere had potentional but it didn’t have the 3D appearance that I was hoping for. This may be due to the random nature of the background. - The blurred background means that a hexagon is no longer too harsh to use but this still isn’t a symbol.

Need to look at what is a symbol and maybe there shouldn’t be a background and foreground element, there should just be one single component worked upon.

Still not a symbol as such, the movement works more effective in the foreground instead of the background (like the previous examples). Everything also starts to turn into a circle, something I had tried to avoid but now I am heading back towards this. The tones are also more effective here, I just need to apply them to more of a symbol. SYMBOL

Using the arrowheads, to highlight the main similarity between movement and here, had potentional but the idea of movement through the use of lines is effective. They work better within the circle or in the separation between the lines and tear drop. However, by using a tear drop, a shape that is known but perhaps not used in design as much, has the capacity to look like its own focal point. This once again introduces the concept of two separate elements and takes the idea away from a symbol once more.

I needed something more interesting and the idea of the sunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s movement worked perfectly as it allowed me to have a variety of tonal changes which created the depth that I am currently struggling for. Although the movement wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be so direct as the interrupted lines, the tonal changes will hint at the movement in a more unique way.

Trying to create a sunrise and sunset from one side to the other was defeating the point of a symbol again, I needed to use the tonal changes all within one circle. It didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look right to have all the lines in one direction so I started playing around more with the idea of movement in terms of how the sun moves in the sky. Giving it this motion would make it more specific and easier to bring the connection to movement.

What have I learnt from this exercise?

- That there are multiple sumilarities between simples and the slightest changes can change the way in which the symbols are read. Trying to control these is important so that your reader can interpret the signs in the correct way. - The connections we have to colour can easily be used for similar concepts and the way in which these are paired play a large part. High contrast works for danger as it is a lot harsher whereas, this combination could not portray love, the shade of red, and what it is paired with, will change this concept. - A symbol is harder to change than you think as a symbol already exists for most words and it is about trying to use the same visual language but reappropriate it to create something that means the same. -Natural processes, ones that we cannot change and we cannot change the colours or form of, work well as symbols as they are something that has existed since we can remember. The connections made to it cannot be explained because it â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;just isâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. - Circles are an effective form to break down harsher lines and trying to find a shape to replace this is difficult in design. It can be done but all other elements need controlling and adapting slightly. 72

Does this work effectively? Does it fulfil the brief?

I think with this task I have been able to start identifying the key areas in which I need to develop my understanding and the way in which I present a task. Identifying exactly what I need to present to the audience, in this case a symbol, I was able to start researching what made a symbol work or more effective. So, at the start where I started looking at foreground and background choices, I was soon able to identify that having this distinction wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t something that needed to be considered as part of a symbol. It needs to be something that can stand alone and be added to other elements without having this distinction that separates the symbol to any other components that it is being added to. Although these seem obvious identifications to make, designing with such a specific purpose is still something that I am getting used to and although I can tell you if something works effectively as a symbol, I am only just getting into the process of working out what components make it successful from a graphics perspective. The symbol that I have designed encorporates all the elements from different symbols that I designed that had worked but didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work within their current design. The idea to use a natural movement in order to inspire the symbol works well as it allows for more connections to be made to the design. Equally, reflecting the movement within the tonal changes helps other types of viewers to understand the symbol, based upon what kind of reader and learner they are. It therefore, fulfils the brief as I have now produced a symbol in which the concept of movement is highlighted that has developed a concept from small sketches on post-it notes to something more coherant on computer systems.

Research point

With the M&S adverts for their superfoods, my eye immediately goes to the base block colour. It is the most demanding because of its intensity compared to the rest of the image. Block colours provide a break on the 2013 Holland Festival poster as well. My eye also goes to the white space (in the centrefold) on the image of the book by Chloe Sells as it looks for a break. With high intensity pieces, the eye looks for white space, something to give the eye a break, whereas, when something is more simple, my eye looks for something to interest it instead of seeing a lot of white space and not many other details. I do have this book by Sells and the blank space doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always feature, instead you look at the centrefold for contrast. This contrast is limited to just the book, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feature in the individual prints. However, both benefit the psychoanalytical analysis of the work, as Sells tries to connect us to our subconscious thoughts and blank space, or contras, allows us to fill in our own gaps to make the piece more personal for each viewer. With her other works, Sells does have this blank space in a more subtle way as the middle section of two of the pieces has no manipulation applied, and this is where I find my eye drawn to first. The change in creative director of the Holland Festival definitely notes a change in the way I view the work. The 2007 and 2009 posters for example have a very clear structure in terms of how your eye flows around the frame. The linear, or slightly skewed linearity of the other, intertwines with each other so that your eye is carefully directed to each element. The 2015 poster has a very different kind of linearity, the poster uses a well formulated grid in which the eye, instead of being drawn to the blank space, is instead drawn to the bold element of the poster that is given the largest surface area. The 2017 banner abandons this style and instead utilises various blending options within both the colours and then the text. Immediately my eye is drawn to the red. What makes red such an arresting colour? Why do I want to look here first? This could be an interesting point to explore throughout my learning log - the balance of colours and colour psychology. The Crabtree and Evelyn Christmas designs have a different intention to the advertisements that featured at the start of my visual diary. Although they still need to sell the company and the products, it is done in a different manner so the intention to show that this is a high class product, that take pride in the way they are viewed and how their gifts are wrapped, is definitely shown through these designs. Once again, the eye looks for a break from all the detail which is where the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name is placed. This brings the attention to the company straight away after which, the viewer can then begin to appreciate the design, once they know what they are looking at.

Exercise 3: Seeing the light

Final Selection

What have I learnt at this point?

-Perception can be changed by the smallest thing, the size of a shape, the size of an image and the size of the text. The text could then be changed by the colour or whether it is capitals or lower case. - There is never a right way to do something, and the first way is never perfect. Trialling lots of different ways changes the way and order in which each element is viewed . The more you play the more you work out what you are trying to portray but also you realise what you are trying to focus on within a design. - A shape is never just a shape, it is a direction tool for the eyes, a circle can suggest something smoother whereas the triangle example on the top left of the opposite page, suggests something more technical, it looks more mechanical than just a regular concept like the light bulb. - Angles are fun to play with, there are so many planes in which something can be placed on and these are constantly shifting and being pushed within these designs. The ones that work more effectively are those that comply with the boundaries, whilst also challenging them and being successful in this way. Those that are less sucessful have failed in positioning themself in the correct manner on these planes.

Exercise 4: understanding colour

Johannes Itten was working around the time of the Bauhaus movement, a time when the focus was â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;form follows functionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. This focus allowed designers to create designs that would function for everyday life. As part of this Itten started to argue the importance of colour and how it was important for us to understand colour in order to create a masterpiece. A masterpiece cannot be created if you do not understand the function of the components you have used. As a colour theorist, Itten started to divide the colours and theorize about how best to combine them. They were divided into 7 categories: the contrast of saturation, the contrast of light and dark, the contrast of extension, the contrast of compliments, simultaneous contrast, the contrast of hue, the contrast of hue - primaries and the contrast of warm and cool. Each theory has a very basic principle in terms of what kind of tones should be used to establish successful combinations but Itten highlights that getting this right is difficult. The colour wheel was established by Isaac Newton but it was Itten who started to identify the colours as warm and cold, this is something that we still do today. But he investigated how these colours effect our mood and psychological state. The combinations of colours that can be seen in various of his works have all been carefully selected. It is going to be interesting to see in this exercise what kind of colours I pair up. Often I go for the same colour combinations and I want to challenge this, as well as experiment with the effect it has to use different shades of the same colours. See how this changes my perception of the work, my mood and the way the two colours interact with each other. Typically, there are colours that I do not use so to identify these early on and try and use these more throughout this exercise could provide some interesting results and perhaps change my perception on how these colours could be used within my projects in the future.

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Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Like 97

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Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Like 101

After creating these two separate grids for colours I like and colours I don’t like, I wanted to create a combination of colours that I both like and don’t like. These grids work effectively and after this, you can see two colour combination grids of one colour I like and one I don’t.

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What have I noticed from this exercise?

- That although it is typical for people to prefer the grid of colours that they don’t like, I actually prefer a mixture between the two, sometimes I prefer the combination of colours I like and sometimes I prefer the collection of colours that I don’t like. This may be due to the fact that I do like multiple shades of the same colour so these work better together than the grid would work for others. - When I combined tones that I both liked and didn’t like, the order in which they were placed within the grid completely changed my perception of the colours and whether I liked the combination or not. - This is amplified with the combinations of two colours. For example, the deep purple is a colour that I like and when paired with the neon green that I don’t like, I only like it in the combination whereby the green is the dominant colour.

What have I learnt from this?

- The size comparison of colours can completely change the way they are perceived. Sometimes it is not just about experimenting with the colour combinations but the order and size in which they are received by the eye. - The way these colours are also paired gives the eye little else to focus on other than the interaction of the two colours together. As there isn’t this focal point, it gives the eye a chance to work out what else this is trying to portray, like how the colour combines make you feel or how you express emotion through colour. - It may be that you like a colour on a generic basis but once paired with another colour, this perception can change, putting colours together that you like and don’t like can have a more positive effect on the colour you don’t like but perhaps putting together two colours that you do like will change your perception of both colours and they become two colours you don’t like within this context. 107

Angry

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In another exercise, I identified that black and red could be used to hint at danger and although this does work, it would be an occasion where the black would be the higher density colour with the red in the smaller segment. The combination of red and yellow does work however, the concept of angry doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t present itself. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the impact that anger has, or that black and red has as a combination.

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brave

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Creative

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.â&#x20AC;? Taken from http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html For some reason, I always want to pair the colour orange with purple. It was a colour combination that I discovered work many years ago now and it is my immediate consideration when either comes up in a design but there was a study done by the University of British Columbia that expresses the benefits of these two colours being put together to highlight creativity.

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The first comes from the University of British Columbia, and what they did was they looked at two colors, blue and red. And what they found was that the color red is fantastic to have around you if you are doing work that requires attention to detail and accuracy. What they would do is they would run tests, where people were given tests where on the page they might have the color red or the color blue, and if they had the color re on that page, their levels of accuracy and attention to detail were increased. Now, this isn’t totally a surprise because as a culture we’re used to seeing the color red, it’s a warning to us. Stop signs for example. Danger signs, they’re always in the color red. Companies have used this all the time in their websites, you’ll always see on their websites, the action button, the button they want you to click, is in the color red. Because there’s a higher chance that you’re gonna click, what they call, hawk colors, rather than the blue. The interesting thing, is that when they started to look at the color blue, they found a difference in the results. And what they found was with the color blue, people, the number of ideas that were generated, or the creative outputs that some were generated were twice as much. So, something about the color blue is affecting us as human beings and we generate more creative outputs. Now, whether those ideas are good, bad, or indifferent, is a completely different question. But in terms of having that color around you, in your work, for example, the color blue, can actually increase the number of creative ideas that you have. Again, it’s possibly no surprise because we often talk of blue sky thinking. Something else they discovered in those surveys, is also how strong those reds or those blues are as well. The more vibrant those blues and reds are, the more that effect is in place. The more saturated, the more that you pull the color out of those, the more you drain the color out of those, the less effect it has. But then there was another study, and it was with University of Munich, in Germany. And they were testing the color green. And green outperformed both red and blue. Now, this is interesting because green is not often used as much in work environments, maybe you have a potted plant somewhere, but often when we go to work environments, they’re using grays, very vanillas, very plain and whites… those kind of colors. But what they found, is that if you use the color green, it substantially increases the number of creative outputs. That is because, once again, they believe we’re hardwired as human beings that green is about growth. It’s about this idea of flourishing as well. When we come back to all, one thing we should think about, is if we’re doing work that requires levels of attention to detail, you probably want to be in a place where there has more red, as an example. But if you’re in a kind of job where you’re required to have lots of creative outputs, generate lots of ideas, then the colors to opt for would either be blue or green. And you might wanna experiment with these different colors as 114 well, and see how they affect you.

These are sections taken from the article on https://www.jamestaylor.me/creative-colors/. This was a really interesting read! Interestingly orange wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a colour that was emphasised within this article, neither was yellow which when mixed with red produces orange. However, blue and red, two colours that are the main focus of the article, when mixed produce purple. To therefore, stimulate but also emphasise creativity, the combination of purple and orange seems like a well informed choice. However, green also appeared. It helps to produce creative outputs and although this task is about creating a combination that shows creativity, not necessarily stimulating it, if it helps to stimulate creavity then it will portray this. Purple = red + blue Green = blue + yellow Orange = red + yellow Based on the article on the left, purple should feature for definite. Green and Orange mixed is brown and this has a different kind of association, not creativity.

The article mentioned that the green was associated with plants being on a desk yet this deep kind of green didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work, once again the shade of green had a large impact on the colour combination.

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These donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t portray creativity in the same way as the orange and purple, the green works, but like the article said it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stimulate creativity with all benefits, there are some negative impacts so I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think this would work effectively.

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Dangerous

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Colours taken directly from the signs and it shows the impact that it has to have the text, especially on the blue and white. This isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dangerous to me, it is the text or symbols used on these signs that make it appear this way.

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energetic

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No stereotypical energetic colours - Blue? Yellow? Green?

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Red and green pops more, there is more energy about the colour combination whereas, the yellow didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the energy. It is really important to have a strong colour with a more neon, vibrant one as they help ground the other.

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Familiar

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Red and green is such a familiar combination, espeically at this time of year, it is one that you always think of using instead of experimenting with the same colours but in different combinations.

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gregarious Definition: (of a person) fond of company; sociable.

Associations: Bold Charasmatic Complimentary - not too high contrast.

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Blue and yellow, but more specifically these shades, seem to work so well. They are bold, have character and seem like a sociable, approcable combination.

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Hopeful

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Independent

Strong, bold colour combinations. Grey may seem quite a boring colour but it is a strong independent colour in my opinion, some say it is dull but I think it can be quite a powerful combination. Especially with orange. This shade of orange is strong without being too bold and highlights an independence that the purple doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have. The purple is either too bold or too dark, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give the impression of independence.

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Jumpy

Jumpy needed two strong quite bright colours in difficult to balance two colours like this as it can the wrong shades are selected then it softens the the trials seen above, it is clear that this is the case,

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order to reflect this word, however, it is become too much for the eye. Equally, if effect making it appear less jumpy. From it is a case of trying to get the right shade.

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Kinetic

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I approached these in the same way to energetic and quickly established that using yellow in both really worked. It was a different shade of yellow though as depending on the combination of colours, sometimes it requires different shades in order to make the other one pop. This was important for this one as it needed to pop to seem energetic and kenetic. 135

Luxurious

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No colour combinations seemed to work that were taken from the photos and therefore, I decided that using the rich yellow tone would work as it can be perceived as gold and the purple and red both enhanced this but purple is a more opulent colour, giving the luxurious vibe.

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Masculine

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NEw

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Shiny, bright and new! Seemed better to use two tones that were quite close with this example as no other tone represents new to me personally.

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Open

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Precious

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Once again I thought opulant colours would work best here. Although precious doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean expensive, it is expensive in value which is why I thought it would be best to combine two colours that emphasise wealth.

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Quiet

Quiet needed a very muted colour palette however, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to make it seem too warm or too cold by using a red or a blue and the yellow also seemed a little cold so I selected a warmer pink as this elevates the grey slightly without it seeming like quiet is a negative thing.

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Reasonable

If someone is described as reasonable, they often give quite a neutral opinion so I wanted to keep the colours neutral but with enough strength that they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem like Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m trying to portray quiet or something else. Also after my reading, green is one of the middle tones that is neither positive or negative/ warm or cold, so it seemed like the right colour to use as it had the depth.

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Sociable

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Tasteful

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I tried to avoid making the association that tasteful had to be classy because it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, I wanted two well complimenting colours. The deep blue seemed to work well as it brought life to a more simple colour and tasteful is often very simplified so this highlights this. 157

Unhappy

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Vital

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I thought about doing colour for this, but black and white seemed the most obvious colour choice. As emphasised when trying to estabilsh tints and shades, white and black are vital and many designs are based upon these two simple colours so going with a familiar structure seemed to work best.

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Wonderful

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Everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perceptions of wonderful, and all other words, are slightly diferent but I thought that the purple and blue is always a strong combination and the fact I used a lighter, brighter blue gives this impression off better than a deep blue as in the first example.

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Extra Special

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I seemed to be developing a colour palette for this kind of word but here I decided silver and gold would work well as the red and purple didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t portray extra special in the same way.

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Youthful

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Zany

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All I had to do was look at the definition of zany again and it reminded me why this colour combination fitted so perfectly.

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Angry

Brave

Creative

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Energetic

Extra Special

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Hopeful

Independent

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Luxurious

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open

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Reasonable

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unhappy

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Wonderful

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Zany

This exercise was really intersting to see how differently the colours were read depending on the way they were combined and which way round they were. This is specifically noticable between Angry and Danger. These two used the exact same colours but in different dominances. These work really well for their own terms and even when they are put next to each other, your impression doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t change as a reader, they still look different enough to portray separate messages. This is similar to Gregarious and Zany. Both concepts use the same colours, but the shades vary. The impact this has when put near each other is evident and effective.

What have I learnt from this exercise?

- The way in which colours are paired isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just about the two colours but also the order and size in which they appear next to each other. - Shades and tints make a large differnce in terms of how the colours can change meaning. - Two very different concepts can share the same colours but there meaning is created through the two reasons above; the order in which they are shown and what shade is used. - A colour can mean multiple things, it is how it is displayed and considered as part of other elements that give it its true meaning.

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Exercise 5: abstract cities

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My own screenshot from Lonely Planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website: https://shop.lonelyplanet.com/

These are all different varieties of the lonely planet travel series. Each set has a different style so that they can easily be distinguished for the viewer. It proves that not all images have to be the most obvious landmark of each city, instead they can be selected in different ways as this is the purpose of having a title, the title will tell you what country is explored inside the book.

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My own screenshot from Lonely Planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website: https://shop.lonelyplanet.com/

The design of the covers is kept relatively simple which suggests to me that these abstract covers cannot be too busy or possibly too abstract. If they are, the cover becomes too complex and difficult to read which will not encourage viewers to read the rest of the book, perhaps they would rather find out more information from the internet. I do have a tendancy to over complicate things so this is something that could take a while to get the exact style right but I need to bear this covers in mind, they work because they are kept simple with one main image and the title. There is less consideration on individual colour palettes due to the nature of the design, by only using one image, therefore, this is another component that I should carefully consider as I am trying to balance each component for the covers. 177

My own screenshot from Rough Guidesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; website: https://www.roughguides.com/shop/

Compared to some of the other companies, the National Georgraphic travel guides change more between each series than any other. Although the logo always features in some ways and the strong, recognisable, yellow tone always features, the design becomes very different depending on the series. This perhaps makes it harder to create an overall identity across all of the books. Although the yellow logo does help deal with this in part, it can still become quite confusing. With the lonely planet books, the logo was always in the aame place and the style was a lot closer in terms of each series.

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My own screenshot from National Geographicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website: https://shop.nationalgeographic.com/collections/

Picking up on orange being used quite a bit here, not just on these covers but other covers as well.

My own screenshot taken from Fodor Travels website: https:// www.fodors.com/guidebooks/

Is there some kind of link between orange and travelling in terms of colour psychology? I would have expected for this to be more greens and blues to have this association. After some quick research, orange promotes activity which could work. I think this needs investigating more. Equally, orange is strongly associated to EasyJet. Why do they use it?

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colour psychology “Throughout history, the way colour is used has evolved internationally. The country, culture and religion all play a part in colour acceptance, meaning and understanding. Shades of colour must be tweaked and changed, dependent upon the audience, product type, culture and design. A one-colour-suits-all cannot work with international business, and the associations we make with every colour is dependent upon where we have been raised in the world. Colour provides non-verbal effective communication.” (McLeod 2016) As was emphasised by the last exercise, our perception of colour is also effected by how it is treated in terms of size and what is surrounding it. Each of these other elements will obviously have it’s own association and these associations build up, depending on the size of the colour, in order to give us an interpretation. What is difficult within marketing is predicting how these colours will be interpreted by the audience who all speak different languages in terms of what they associate to a colour.

“One thing is certain, colour affects our psychological responses and the way others respond to us, our self-esteem, confidence, mood, mental agility, our physical self and wellbeing...We react to colours differently; our reactions are quicker to some colours than others.” (McLeod 2016)

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We all have a ‘favourite colour’ so to speak but this doesn’t necessarily mean it is our favourite colour, perhaps we need to view it as the one that we respond to best. I know that personally, I prefer blue tones but it has to be the right shade of blue, equally any combination with grey always appeals to me. This doesn’t mean that grey is my favourite colour, to some this is quite a dull and depressing colour, but for me I look at how it compliments every colour it is put with and highlighting this shows me a different colour in a new light, which is why it appeals to me. Equally, I am always attracted to green clothing because I know this is what makes my hair stand out. The way we all respond to colour varies dramatically. You can associate a colour with a friend. I know that a lot of my friends associate green with me because that’s the colour I like to wear. Now whether they respond differently to green when I am not around them cannot be concluded but we each build up symbolic connections to colours that influences the way that we respond to advertising. As a designer, you are not able to know every single personal connection that someone is going to make to an image which is why we rely on the more generic connections in the hope that this will be a more universal language that we can all connect with.

The psychology of orange

“Orange has a loyal following; in colour terms it evokes feelings of sociability, sharing and encouraging togetherness with a unique, extra special identity and happiness vibe going on.” McLeod, J. (2016) Colour Psychology Today. John Hunt Publishing: Southampton.

“To the human eye, orange is a very hot color, so it gives the sensation of heat. Nevertheless, orange is not as aggressive as red. Orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity. It is highly accepted among young people. As a citrus color, orange is associated with healthy food and stimulates appetite. Orange is the color of fall and harvest. In heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and endurance.” http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/colormeaning.html

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Interesting to point out that although orange seemed to work really well in terms of the colour and logo, why did it change to such different colour combinations when Orange became EE? What works better about these two colours?

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What makes this exact shade of orange work for the logo? Why doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t blue work more effectively when this would be a colour you would perhaps find a penguin naturally surrounded by? Why did the design house pick orange instead of one of these colours that would have looked better on a cover? Does the orange stand out better on all their covers? Well yes it does stand out better which means you can always identify Penguin House as the publisher which has the advantage that it stands out as effective advertising. 183

Photos taken from amazon.co.uk

Interestingly, with these book covers, instead of changing the layout and design slightly between each series, the company ‘Let’s Go’ have instead decided to change the backgrounds which I think is actually a really move. It means that the covers are really easy to distinguish on a book shelf, instead of having to carefully work out which is the book that you are actually after. 184

The purpose of a travel guide: A travel guide is there to inform travellers of all the best places to visit in a particular city or country. The information provided has to have enough information that the users can visit the country and know all the key cultural information that they may need to follow. The cover needs to reflect this. The information inside is structured, it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t too much waffle and instead it is simple but informative. The cover therefore, will also need to be structured and information. As the brief state, it needs to be abstract and there is a spectrum in regards to how abstract something can become. My usual style is very abstracted and this will not suit these covers, it instead needs to be simplified more so that it is clear that the image links to the destination. I want to try and see if I can avoid this, as I know this is the approach taken by many other students, but I need to bear in mine from the start that this probably wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work and I will have to find a way to make the simplified style work to my advantage.

Note: the Structure in terms of images for my next research is as follows. The first double page spread is generic google search images of each city. This then moves on to travel photographers images. From this, I then pick out key tones used in the photographs to build up a colour palette of the city. Many of the tones are very similar but the way they are used in each cover will hopefully make each city look much more different. 185

Madrid

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Image credits: Emma Boileau, 2014 188

Image credits: Emma Boileau, 2014

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Image credits: Emma Boileau, 2014

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Image credits: Emma Boileau, 2014

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Image credits: Elizabeth Nord 192

Image credits: Elizabeth Nord

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Image credits: Elizabeth Nord

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Normally I am quickly able to work with something abstractly, however, with this I found it a little difficult. Overlaying images and using the block colours wasn’t working in the way I had hoped. I feel like I need a more abstracted form to be able to work with. I don’t want to use a generic image from the start as this doesn’t provide many points of interest for abstraction, trying to create a new images, through a combination of other photos, does. Even though these don’t work, the tones on the first design clearly show the tones of Madrid.

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I started working with this kind of imagery more, trying to use the colours more directly to split up imgaes and piece them back together but this doesn’t fulfil the brief. They aren’t abstracted enough and they don’t make much sense. Even though the covers do need to be abstract cities, they need to be a legible kind of abstracted instead of a random montage.

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Ben Nicholson

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Nicholson’s work reduces abstraction down to the construction of a few blocks of colour. It is unclear to anyone but Nicholson what the subject matter is of each painting however, as the audience we are forced to interpret each shape and tonal difference to build up our own original image. The forms that are created don’t form a focal point, they create an easy path for the eye to follow that doens’t take much of it’s own reading. Red seems to feature in every one and after some of my readings around colour theory, it is clear to see why. Red is a bold colour that always demands attention. In some of these paintings, the red segment is the smallest one on the page but it still demands your attention more than any other colour or section. A lot of the background tones are more muted than others which is where I think my own work is failing. There is so much content to process that it becomes difficult and there is no break for the reader’s eye. Although it is easy to read in terms of form because the same shape is constantly being used, other components of the covers make the reading even harder. As I develop these designs, I think it is important to focus on keeping it simple and using these muted tones in the background with maybe one accent colour in the foreground.

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Trying new designs based on the architecture appeared too flat. Even when something is abstracted in my previous work, there is depth. This lacks any kind of depth and therefore, looks very basic and boring. If I am going to base it off of a picture, then the picture itself needs to have more depth than the above example offers. It isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t about finding interesting looking architecture because I can create my own interest from a generic image through the abstraction method that I use.

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Malmo

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Image credit Mahdi Ariji

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Image credit Alex Galiano

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I did use the abstraction method again with a different city to see if it would make any difference but it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. The effect still remains that the squares and pixelation has very little link to the city itself. As can be seen from the previous studies of travel guides, the image has to be one that interests the viewer. It needs to be picturesque to encourage people to visit the destination and although the pixelation appeals to my eye, to many others it will be confusing and unappealing. Even if they already want to visit the city, this cover will suggest that inside, all the information is very confusing, which will put them off buying the book, they will just pick a different travel guide.

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Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m focusing on texture in parallel to colour instead of letting the colour take the lead. The colours of each city is going to be important to not only balance but also to characterise the city and therefore, they should be thought of first. Where the colours are being applied to needs to be simple in order to showcase these colours.

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Bo Lundberg

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Each of Lundberg’s posters utilise the same basic colour palette and layout whilst then using silhouettes or objects/buildings that add in different tones. In many ways this helps to highlight to the audience that these are intended to be viewed together however, by using such a limiting palette, Lundberg isn’t highlighting the individuality of each city. However, the colour palette individually does work, you have the warm tones of the orange and red that make the connections that were earlier described to have a positve holiday vibe due to the connection to warm trips away. The pink adds something more exciting, suggesting that the adventure you can undertake in this city is going to be a fun and exciting one. I therefore, understand why these colours have been picked but it wouldn’t work for the purpose of the brief that I am undertaking. Each city’s colours can be made to look exciting based upon the way in which they are combined together and presented, as I learnt from exercise 2.

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Tamas Horvath

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In terms of abstracted cities, I think this could be a really strong way of presenting the book covers. There isn’t too much visual noise and instead the eye becomes intrigued by the constantly changing lines and forms that are involved. Because the photos are abstracted to begin with, it doesn’t take much to take this photo a step further with the abstraction but it is done in such a way that it isn’t too noisy or too complex for the eye to understand. Why has Horvath selected the colours that are used on the cover? They obviously don’t have the intention of book covers but the lack of orange and warm tones within the work still make the place inviting. Is this because this is the style of work that I like and appreciate? Perhaps. Would other members of the audience find that there is too much blank space? If I use this style witin my own work perhaps, instead of using an already abstracted image, I should use something that has more content in order to attract the eye.

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Richard Galpin

There is definitely more content here to appease the eye however, the constant shifts in dimensions and blank space becomes difficult to interpret on some occasions. A beneficial way to use tints and shades is to highlight the change in dimension, to show which sections of buildings would be in shadow. However, here instead of using this, Galpin using lines, the use of slanted lines and changing directions still gives the appearance of these buildings not being flat. However, they are once again more complex to understand, and this is also partially due to the thin lines, instead of using thicker lines. 218

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Process

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I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to just mimick a photo I had seen in terms of creating shapes on a page, I had decided that I wanted to select a photo of the city, zoom in so that it became less identifiable and then turn each building into a set of lines. By doing this, I was able to change the colours used on each building so that they fitted in with the colours that I had identified for each city. By doing it with this method, I am able to create a little more depth to the buildings, this is then highlighted further by using different shades of the same colour in order to show highlights and shadows. This creates the depth within the graphics that I was struggling to do before. My focus is now on the tonal ranges of each city, with the secondary being on depth, instead of looking at both colour and abstraction in conjunction to each other like my previous design did.

The original draft that I created was portrait but this brief specified that the book needs to be landscape so I recreated the Melbourne skyline once more. This allowed me to add more tones to the skyline which works to my advantage as previously they were very limited and didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t show Melbourne to be a very diverse city, which it is. I did think about doing the text vertically however, there is already enough abstracted components to these covers that I thought trying to turn the title around could be a step too far as having it the right orientation does help to ground the cover.

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Managua

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Manchester

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Image credits Darby Sawchuk

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Image credits Darby Sawchuk

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In order for this to work better as part of the series, I needed to mute the yellow slightly as the strong shade contradicted the other shades that were used in the background.

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Manhattan

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Image credits Matteo Columbo

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Image credits Lukas Petereit

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Image credits Lukas Petereit

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Marrakesh

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Image credits Jana Stening

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Image credits Jana Stening

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Image credits Scott Kelby

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Image credits Scott Kelby

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All the skyline images were difficult to use for Marrakesh so I had to add in additional buildings in order for this to be viewed as part of the series, otherwise it looked very out of place.

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marseilles

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Image credits Natasha Riha

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Above three image credits Merce Gost and bottom two image credits Natasha Riha

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melbourne

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montreal

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mumbai

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Image credit National Geographic

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What have I learnt at this point?

- I am still learning that I overcomplicate everything but I think this task has highlighted that I am realising when it is becoming too much and I am taking note of ways in which I can simplify the design without losing the concept. - Taking everything back down to the bare concept of lines and colour would not be a traditional way in which I would view something to have been abstracted however, in this manner, the way it has been worked, the theme of abstraction applies. Each of these tasks is making me realise the way in which my perceptions are changing. This is not only in regards to how I view something but also the way in which I perceive themes and concepts. Abstraction being the main change in my views. - Harsh lines always need softening. Colours are a hard way of doing this but small changes in the typography work well. Here, I wanted a strong font however, selecting one that reduced certain letters down to lower case instead of all being capitals, is a small and simple way of softening certain aspects. If the lines were too harsh within the design, it wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t encourage me to read the book, let alone anyone else. - Colour balance again has been something that I am learning at this point. This is a different concept to the flat colour combinations in response to Itten. I had to create depth within these and the way in which I used colours, that I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t determine made me think of the proportions in which they were presented but also what kind of dimension is required.

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What works well? What doesn’t? Does this fulfil the brief?

These covers provided more of a challenge to me than I thought, but I was able to put into practice the areas of development that I have been able to undertake over the previous parts of the module. Being able to understand when my designs get too much, and are effectively just visual noise, is something that I am beginning to be able to do more. And from here, being able to adapt the designs so that the effect is reversed, is something that I am also becoming more successful at. This isn’t to say that these designs are perfect or they are fully successful in their aim. Although orange features in varying shades across each cover, I think that the orange connection, one that I found prominent within my research, could have been emphasised more. It isn’t just about colour theory and then disregarding it, I had decided to utilise the colours that had been selected from images of each city. This builds up a stronger connection to each place instead of the abstraction taking away from the city itself, something that happened within my first designs. However, although the connection is now stronger to each city, and each book links well to each other in terms of a connected style, the encouragement and positive effects of an orange tone are definitely missing from this. It is hard to say though, where would be best to put the orange on each cover. Should it be the same shade of orange for each one? As it currently doesn’t work or build a connection by having varying shades. This is something that I could develop through further designs however, I am unsure where abouts this orange should currently go. Equally, not all of these destinations are hot! The colour psychology theory still applies even if the country isn’t hot. The colours at the moment highlight the vibrancy and different atmospheres of each city. In a way I think this is more important than the portrayal of orange however, it is something that I will experiment with further prior to submission. Isolating elements of each skyline helped here as although the technique abstracted the designs, in some ways, the cropping of images also helped to further this process. If I were to try and fit the whole skyline in, the design would be cramped, there would be too many segments and not enough varying colours, but also the segments wouldn’t have had much colour inside them. This would stop the portrayal of each city’s vibe and atmosphere. In terms of fulfilling this brief, I think it works well, but perhaps could work better with the inclusion of more orange tones as explained above. The books fulfil the size requirements alongside all other details that have to be included and the research undertaken has been able to inform my designs further whilst exploring the packages that I had. Although I only used photoshop, a program that I am very confident in, I was able to experiment more with the construction of more considered abstraction. On multiple occasions whole segments that didn’t need to be coloured were coloured and it was about working out why the design hadn’t worked and what I could do to fix this whilst keeping in line with the design. 275

Exercise 6: photomontage

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A simple search for suveillance brought up multiple blue images, I had seen this connection before when searching for ‘Digital’. Digitalised elements have this connection to blue, especially with platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. But the fact surveillance is now also using this blue highlights that internet surveillance is overtaking traditional surveillance methods of following someone.

Interestingly, blue doesn’t seem so easy to characterise in terms of its colour psychology. Taken from Colour Psychology Today by June McLeod: “Blue will envelop you with safe feelings, you can sometimes drift off under blue’s influence. Conversely, some shades of blue will keep you wide awake...The unknowns of blue are disconcerting. Blue has the capacity to swirl you into complete indecision, going around and around, incapable of making any decision or taking any action...Blue is quite contrary, as certain shades of blue uplift, or create a mood of melancholy, rest the mind and body, or keep you wide awake. It brings about feelings of bodily discomfort or calm and at-one-ness.” (There are no page numbers in my source)

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How many of these are social media platfoms or connected to technology? Most of them. Oral-B has the blue connection to hygiene but the battery powered toothbrushes are being faded out in favour of electrical. Therefore, this technology and digital connection is utilised by others within marketing. But the irony of blue being used for technology and hygiene when technology is by no means â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Cleanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The bugs and cookies that we pick up creates a messy trail that builds up an identity for data monitors but it also opens the door to less clean activity in terms of surveillance.

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Examples of Photomontage

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What makes a photomontage different to a traditional montage or collage?

A photomontage is one with a specified political agenda. Perhaps some of the most famous Photomontages are those produced by the Surrealists who used it as a technique to bring together thoughts of both the conscious and unconscious mind. This often gave the combinations a dream-like appearance as the artists try to decifer the meanings of symbols they had seen in their dreams. There is not an exact number of segments that each montage needs to have, it is up to the artist and how they combine them is also not deffined. Some examples have very smooth transitions, for example the train image on the top left. The main way that we are able to differentiate between the two as an audience, is due to the colour and black and white combinations. This freedom means that some pieces are incredibly serious, whereas others, create something more humorous or ironic.

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Peter Kennard - irony, satire and humour - makes us think something looks right but then you reconsider thinking ‘wait that’s not right’ - These photomontages don’t have many components, most of them only have two so it reflects how sometimes simple is more effective, with these messages anyway. - often eliminates colour which is an interesting choice, does black and white make it seem more realistic? Or believable? -Smooth transitions between elements to make them seem realistic. 284

John Heartfield - Less elements of reality - I feel like there is a stronger political message here but this is more because of the message it is portraying compared to Kennard. - Transitions arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as smooth but they still arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t widely juxtaposed by rough edges. In a way I do like this approch but I think emphasising the element of separation can create interesting visuals and empahsise the montage element more. 285

Notes to carry forward from these experiments:

-This isn’t exactly a montage, it is a collection of images, the photomontage needs to blend together different elements which this isn’t doing. - The risograph effect works to an extent but when content like this needs to be read and understood, some of the photos now aren’t legible. - The risograph isn’t exactly something that would feature in a collage, I need to explore the concept more. I think I am struggling with this partly because it is something I never really explore, I don’t find the collages as visually stimulating but this is my time to experiment so that I do find it interesting and continuously playing with different elements will help with this.

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What is the risograph effect? In terms of tecnology, the Risograph has similarities to screen printing, however, the risograph printing method, in terms of aesthetics, is like no other printing method. The choice to use riso printing is generally based on the preference of the effect it can give and the low cost that it has to produce. I say this as though it is a bad thing but everything is chosen on how it fits with a clients budget and how it looks so it is another printing method to often consider. Things to consider with risograph printing instead of mirroring the effect: Avoid large blocks of dark tone - it causes the paper to stick to the drum and it then goes blotchy. This will reduce the impact of the effect and reduce any images down to blotchy ink. Mis-registration - never make a design dependent on exact lining up of colours. They will rarely line up and therefore, printers will not print more than 3 colours to a page. Avoid subtle tones as these will probably just go white so create something with strong contrast. The printers can only print in 5 specific colours. The advantage of having therefore created this digitally means that all the subtle tones will be highlighted. If this were sent to the printers, the effect would not work in the same manner. The risograph printing method is incredibly interesting for those that like each print to be slightly different. Although they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t vary drastically, no two prints out of a risograph printer are the same. With some projects, this aesthetic works, whereas others, ones that are wanting a high quality sheen finish, this wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be the best choice of printing, even if it is the most cost effective. Interestingly though, something that happens more often in Risograph printing than regular printing, the ink adapts more to different paper stocks in terms of their colour and the way the colours mix isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always going to be exactly what you see on screen. 289

Here I am starting to use this more collage approach however, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want the edges to blend as smoothly as other photomontages I had looked at. The fact that they look stuck on works to my advantage I think and attracts the eye more to the message, why have these elements been combined? Why am I being told this message is important? Whereas, if the transitions are smooth I often find I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take the shock value in as much.

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copyright laws The main ways in which copyright effects the images I use looks at these two concepts. As I am doing this for private study and not for commercial use, then the images are excempt from their copyright however, if I were to change these goal posts, then the laws would treat this work differently. This is something that I will have to consider as I move into the public domain with more commercial based projects for clients. “‘Fair dealing’ is a legal term used to establish whether a use of copyright material is lawful or whether it infringes copyright. There is no statutory definition of fair dealing - it will always be a matter of fact, degree and impression in each case. The question to be asked is: how would a fair-minded and honest person have dealt with the work? Factors that have been identified by the courts as relevant in determining whether a particular dealing with a work is fair include: does using the work affect the market for the original work? If a use of a work acts as a substitute for it, causing the owner to lose revenue, then it is not likely to be fair is the amount of the work taken reasonable and appropriate? Was it necessary to use the amount that was taken? Usually only part of a work may be used. You are allowed to copy limited extracts of works when the use is non-commercial research or private study, but you must be genuinely studying (like you would if you were taking a college course). Such use is only permitted when it is ‘fair dealing’ and copying the whole work would not generally be considered fair dealing. The purpose of this exception is to allow students and researchers to make limited copies of all types of copyright works for non-commercial research or private study. In assessing whether your use of the work is permitted or not you must assess if there is any financial impact on the copyright owner because of your use. Where the impact is not significant, the use may be acceptable. If your use is for non-commercial research you must ensure that the work you reproduce is supported by a sufficient acknowledgement.” Taken from https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright#parody-caricature-and-pastiche 292

When does using other people’s images, within the context of creating this collage, break copyright laws? The issue isn’t when someone, who is not the original producer of these images, benefits from monetary value obtained through the images and their new purpose. Instead the issue is when there is any copying or publication of material without the permission of the copyright holder. With the ambiguous nature of the internet now, it can be hard to find the original source and copyright. Images can get adapted in the smallest way and continuously reshared without any trace to what is actually the original. Every image that you copy from Google probably is copyrighted, all the top searches will be anyway. Therefore, it is important to reference the source at all times. Within the context of the fair use factors, for this purpose, there would be no copyright infringment based on the images I have used. However, if I were to start changing the purpose, perhaps make this photomontage a comercial advertisement, then there would be issues. Equally, in some cases these images would be classed to have a “transformative” purpose. This means that the images have been put in a different enough context from its original intent. In this case, the images are clear to identify what they originally were so I’m not sure this idea of transformative would save this collage if it were then put within a commercial domain. However, if the risograph effect was used, and constantly layered up, then this issue would not remain. However, even if this weren’t to be turned into a commercial project, still sharing it online breaches the copyright laws.

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The brief stated that this photomontage needs to reappropriate images so therefore using the background image of ‘We’re watching you’ doesn’t work here. It is using the image within the same context it was intended in. For this reason, the World background is more appropriate and fits more with not only the brief but the concept, emphasising that this is happening worldwide.

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What have I learnt from this exercise?

- That even when a brief isn’t quite for me, I just need to allow for more time to experiment as something will come out of this. It may take a little longer but it is part of the process and will let you produce something that you are still happy with. - Photomontage is a powerful way of portraying a political message and there are multiple ways of doing so. Smooth transitions don’t have to be included, it depends what works with the message. - Again trying to overcomplicate the scenario! Adding the risograph effect in was an aesthetical choice instead of something that emphasised the concept more. With something as strong as a political message and photomontage, everything needs to point towards the concept, it isn’t always about the aesthetics. The way in which some of the collages I looked at are presented, highlight this, it isn’t always about how it looks and it’s togetherness but the message this is trying to portray. - Black and white and colour combinations are a good way to differentiate between layers - here it works really effectively, it reduces down the amount of colours that are within the frame and instead allows us to focus on the blue tones and the importance of this. With some projects this wouldn’t work but it is a combination I am wary of and I need to start playing with it more. - Something I have learnt about myself is that I have a lot of preconceptions in regards to what I think will work and what won’t. We all have this instinct about a project but with some of the comments I have made throughout this assignment, is that often those preconceptions are there to be challenged and pushed because often this will produce the best results.

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What worked? What didn’t? Does it fulfil the brief?

As I said before with this brief, it challenged me to take on an area of graphic design, as well as photography, that I am often fearful to attempt. I am never quite sure where to start with this kind of project, what base image do I use? How many layers do I want to create? Do I want it to look like I have ripped the edges or do I want smooth cuts? Once again, it started to reflect a change in the way I approach my work and how I start something. Normally I would want all of these questions answered before I started, helped through thorough research. However, I quickly realised, that the best way to do this was in fact to experiment, working out what does and doesn’t work along the process. The base image was definitely something that I did struggle with but it is working out that this is the issue after all other problems have been resolved. The perception of the base image changes the whole perception of all other elements. By using a high rise, I needed to select the image with enough buildings but also at the right angle, so that the concept that I had would work. Had the photo been taken higher up, the angle at which the eyes would appear would then be out of place. Although these images do already appear out of place, which of course they are, it is important to have elements that aren’t completely juxtaposed. The choice to also have the eyes in black and white worked well for the design as it means that the blue tones, something important to the digital aspect of surveillance, could be focused on more within the montage. If these had also been colour, then there would be more varying tones, and individual focal points. The close up nature of each image means that there is a lot of detail within each eye, hence a focal point could have been created from each image. Despite the juxtaposition of the elements creating some kind of focal point, it isn’t as dominant as it could have been, had these elements been in colour.

What was the original intention of the images?

Each image was taken from generic google searches that provided stock imagery of eyes, high rise buildings, and a space image of the World. These had little intention other than to serve as stock images which meant they were perhaps the easiest to reapply. Taking images from other sources, for example news images, films and CCTV cameras as part of my initial experimentation was interesting and an important process to learn from, however, the images didn’t fit the final photomontage that I wanted to create under the theme of surveillance.

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Assignment 3 - colour me...

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I knew that a successful poster would have to acknowledge both the association that I have with my hair but also how outsiders link to it. The colour itself links to autumn and the twist on the term â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Winter is Comingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; from game of thrones bring an association to ginger characters as well as Autumn.

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What is working well and what isn’t?

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- Using the same font as the Game of Thrones merchanise is making the connection stronger. - I finally worked out the right kind of shaping for the hair, it is obvious that it is hair and that the identity has been eliminated, some of the shapings didn’t look like hair as you couldn’t tell that a face had been eliminated. - Ginger and the complimentary navy is a strong combination, the black is too harsh alongside it. - I’m not sure this kind of design celebrates the colour in the same way as the brief is asking. It is focusing more on the concept and the link. This isn’t even the link to autumn, the link to game of thrones is stronger and when shown the colour of ginger, your first thought definitely isn’t game of thrones. -Making outside references works on some occasions but these sometimes need to be more subtle. The previous book covers worked well as the design could still be appreciated even if the reader hadn’t watched the Time Machine film, here in order to understand the reference, the viewer, needs to have watched Game of Thrones.

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Connectnig to other ginger wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t working, the full didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the same

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characters silhouette impact.

Changing the connection to the colour to be fire. Firstly, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look like fire but also the letters have varying dominances due to the size and the comparison doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work.

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Other ways to add autumn references? Leaves and an autumn quote.

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thought that I would immediately discard but -The irony adds a little humour. The message no longer seems as serious as the previous quote (Ginger babies are so much harder to love) but when you do really think about the phrasing, it hits more of a note with the reader as the humour is the intial focus, the text isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t what first attracts the eye to the poster. - Having more ginger illustrations emphasises the message further, showing how many different forms it can come in, so similarly reflecting on how many different shades of ginger there are. - The slight change in shade of blue works well with the black outlines of the illustrations, on the left hand design, the ginger is looking too gold due to the shade of navy selected.

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Leaves are used to link to otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perception of the colour but using different shades of ginger taken from my own photos of me.

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Experiments using methods of colour introduction that I have previously used. Adding in the actual ginger tries to overcomplicate the perception of the colour and it seems best to leave the designs to just have the leaves.

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What have I learnt from this assignment?

- Irony and humour can work sometimes but it needs to be well balanced. - Often the ideas I think won’t work, end up working because you experiment with them more whereas, when you have a set idea about a project, this isn’t the case in the same way. - Drop shadows on text work really effectively still, they don’t have to be obvious but enough to make the text stand out a little more. - Sometimes it can work to just use the complimentary colours and varying shades. With the varying colours, each was achieved by adding different amounts of white and black in an attempt to match the colour that my hair looks in different photos. - Don’t overcomplicate the grid system! And don’t overcrowd it! Four columns was too much and trying to substitute out leaves in order to make connections to strands of hair or the ginger spice, then it becomes too much visual information. - Once again simplify it!

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What works well with these designs? What doesn’t work so well? Does it fulfil the brief?

From these final designs, I can start to see a style emerge that I am confident in producing and experimenting with. The final poster has a similar style to the greetings cards that I previously created and this isn’t just due to the way I treated the font, but also in the colour tones and arrangements. The structured message works a lot stronger than some of the previous designs, however, I did like the added humour that some of the posters provided. The impact of the text within these designs was evident, as both the phrasing and the typeface effected the way in which it was portrayed, in terms of a strong message, or something with a little bit more satire. It was slightly challenging here to try and portray two different messages. I was having to consider both my own perception of the colour but also how others might look at it. Considering the colour I chose is so personal to me, I struggled to separate the consideration between how my hair colour may look when it isn’t on my head! This is where it was helpful to ask for the opinion of others as they were able to give me insights into how they perceive the colour. My first couple of designs didn’t work as effectively as I would have perhaps hoped as the design focused too heavily on my own perception of the colour instead of others. As this was a significant part of the brief, I felt that this kind of focus needed to change to show something that more people could connect with compared to just myself and other gingers. After this shift occured, I feel like the work fulfils the brief more successfully. In some ways I think the designs still need some work however, I am unsure on what kind of direction they need taking in. However, working with just my chosen colour (along with multiple shades and tints) and then its complimentary colour and black and white made me focus more directly on the colour choices I make within a design and that they don’t always have to be so bold and caotic. If I weren’t able to use the multiple shades and tints in the way I did, I am unsure whether I would have been able to achieve the same effect in order to portray the varying shades that my hair can appear.

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Final Reflective: Having originally thought that this would be an assignment that woudn’t push me as far as some of the others, I was definitely proven wrong. Although I am comfortable working with colour and experimenting with the various combinations and effects this can have, I rarely work with the other end of the spectrum, one that requires the use of minimal tones and playing around with just a few basic elements to change the perception of a piece of work. Each exercise built on the last, and then brought it all together within the format of the final assignment. I think the one that challenged me most was the book cover designs as, as evidence in my learning log, my initial plans did not work for this as they became far too abstract. Everything is looked at on a scale and I think I am starting to realise this applies far more than I first thought. Originally, I wouldn’t have viewed these covers to be abstract in nature, however, after looking at other examples, and examples of other student’s work, I think it is clear to say that abstraction definitely has a scale in regards to how obscure something can appear. The exercise that made me reflect on my use of colour most was the task mirroring the effect that Itten creates in his work. Simple combinations of colour don’t always work and it was interesting to start investigating why this is the case. Equally, giving combinations meaning is something that I always try and consider however, it is never done in such a simple manner. For future references in terms of picking colour combinations for my work, I will keep this exercise in mind, especially for trying to balance out different tones and the scale in which they appear as the same colours in different size comparisons can portray a different meaning. This was also helpful to work out the benefit of tints and shades and which work more effectively together. Sometimes it was a simple alteration and sometimes even this didn’t work so the whole colour combination had to change.

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Drawing on the visual language is something that I had a grasp with through my photography work. Our study of semiotics (as well as psychoanalysis) gave me a strong understanding in terms of the concept however, this was something I had to reapply to my graphics work. The signs given are no longer small additions or alterations to a composition of a photograph but this time it is starting from scratch to create something that draws on this existing visual language to obtain a strong meaning. This meaning, specifically with the first exercise was one that I struggled with, especially trying to work out what actually made a symbol a symbol. Although I would like to think that I know what makes a successful poster, symbol or book cover, this module is making me start to look at things in a different way. I seem to have a default set on how to create certain projects and specifically book covers and symbols have so far challenged me more than I expected them to. Identifying the individual elements that make for a successful symbol took longer than I anticipated through my experimentation as these are something that we automatically understand and it is trying to break down why we understand it to mean what it means and then build it back up in a different format. This is part of me learning to understand visual language more and is definitely something that I know is getting stronger, but I also know still needs some work on.

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