A Look On The Designer Side
Mika Benitez Art 130 Spring 2020 St. Norbert College
A Look On The Designer Side Mika Benitez
This course (Introduction to Design) was to establish the beginning concepts of 2-D design and the process of creating diverse designrelated projects. It focused on projects that include design elements and principles. It was to give students a general understanding of designing.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
D-SCHOOL
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DOT-LINE
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LETTERFORMS
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OBJECT ITERATIONS
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PSA POSTER
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DESIGNER PRESENTATION
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VOCATIONAL
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FINAL REMARKS
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D-SCHOOL Entering this class I was excited because I was going to learn the basics of how to begin designing. The first exercise we were to complete was to actually engage with a client or in this case a fellow student. We had to get to know our client in only a few short minutes. We then had to pick a few topics we learned about our classmate and dive deeper and to have a deeper understanding about that topic and our client. Engaging with a real person was more important than I realized because if I did not, the prototype we had to assemble would have gone in a different direction. I would have done what I thought was best with the customer in mind but not what the customer had envisioned. Interacting with the person was crucial to the direction of the prototype I had made.
When writing in these two columns it was really difficult coming up with questions to ask my ‘client’ because I am not be outspoken with strangers
With a time limit I knew my sketches for the prototype would not be my best work, but it still felt wrong to show a person work that was unfinished or underdeveloped. The pace made the exercise feel a bit challenging. It was difficult thinking up ideas and sketching in that amount of time. I usually create a few ideas in a few days’ time and develop the ones that I feel have more potential for success than the others. If I was giving the chance to go back and restart the project I would have asked different questions in the beginning and chosen a different topic to base off the prototype. From there I could have created a better design concept and a more concrete prototype.
This is the prototype that was created. The Norby Bucks is the solution that was generated. It is supposed to look like real money, but have a St. Norbert appeal to it.
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DOT-LINE
These are all the broad idea that started the creative process for the 3 words I would choose.
This project’s objective was to build a abstract iterations with little to minimal elements and create many iterations to then pick one that would be the most successful. Using value, line, scale, and visual hierarchy to grasp the concept that was being portrayed in the artwork. As designers, we had to be aware of the similarity and continuations of the dots and lines to showcase the word we were trying to portray. A majority of the work on the project was to be done outside of class. I like to spend extra time to make a project the best it can be. Although, after reading “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott I have come to appreciate my work even if it is not the best it could be under a time restriction. Understanding that not all of the work I create will be the best on the first attempt is one of the many lessons I learned in this design class. Abstract art is difficult to understand and work with. This was a challenging project that required me to think of the meanings of the different words. To dissect the word itself and how that could translate to art in an abstract form rather than a straight-forward image.
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Left: The elaborate words of rejection, joy, and terror Bottom: More iterations that would become the direction towards the final compositions.
Starting this process was not easy. The task was to create numerous sketches for the words that would portray the word without all the detail of illustrating. Choosing from those sketches the 3 iterations that I felt I could work on further was difficult. After I chose the 3 words, I began cutting multiple circles and lines varying in size and length. It was encouraged to play around with the composition then draw out the composition. This was a new idea to me because drawing is how I came up with ideas rather than physically moving things around. Continuing to work from those 3 iterations and expanding them while keeping to a schedule was challenging. How much work went into the project while balancing other work that needed to be was an obstacle that needed to be overcome. Precision during the process became easier as I kept working After finishing the art work, it came to mounting it. Ensuring that the paper was sticky enough to stick to the mounting board while making sure that is would not curl up. This process was tedious, but the final result is one that I am proud of.
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For the in-process critique, it was said that the image for joy seemed to be stuck. The dot seemed to at a downward incline where there is no exit. When I was creating this, I knew that the mounting board that was going to be used would be black so I wanted to make it seem that the black continued off the white square. My intention for this was a subjective joy. What brings me joy is the sport I played for 12+ years, softball. It was supposed to represent a home plate with an outside pitch which was my favorite pitch to throw. I think my classmates did not like it because they did not see it as the home-plate, but as a rut that was inescapable.
For this piece, I wanted to divide the two dots with the black line to show that when a person is rejected it is has if a line divides the two. The size difference between the dots is because the person who is rejected typically becomes small and encloses on themselves while the larger dot, remains unchanged or seems to grow. The smaller dot leans toward the line in an attempt to overcome that dividing line.
This piece I wanted to have the larger dot at the edge of the line to show that it was about to fall on the smaller dot. I wanted to show that there is fear in being squished by a object that is significantly larger than another. If I had put the larger dot closer to the top of the line, it may have shown more anticipation rather than terror.
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After taking my classmates comments in the in-process critique, I decided to play around with the placing of the two black lines and the one dot. I knew that I still wanted to continue with the negative space of the black leading off the page, so I made the two lines larger and separated them. I put the dot on the right side because I wanted it to be seen as if a person put the ball on a little ramp and then will watch it go down the ramp as some sort of entertainment. That is where the joy would so in this piece; however, my classmates still say it was not joy because the ball is leading down into an abyss. They did say it was an improvement from in-process because rather than the dot being stuck in a rut, it has the ability to continue moving even if it is downward.
During the in-process critique, one of my classmates had one of their lines 3/4 of the way on the page, like the image to the left. I thought that was a great idea for my piece because instead of the line being set from top to the bottom, if it 3/4 of the way on the page it would look like the wall is moving up. I decided to change the color of the larger dot because if it was black it would match the matting board and it could be seen as if the dot was moving away from the line and the smaller dot.
I did not change much from the in-process critique. I mostly worked on cleaning up the gluing and made sure matting the final project was neat and clean. I did change the length of the line that the larger dot is falling off of and made the smaller dot a bit smaller. I think these changes make the image more central to the eye rather than the in-process image was off-centered and made the larger dot the sole focus. Now the whole issue of the larger dot about to fall on the smaller dot is more of the focus.
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LETTER-FORMS Attempting to try and duplicate the words on the right side of the page was difficult because it took a lot of measuring to make the spaces between the letters was correct.
Graphic design involves not only images, but letterings play a huge part in creating an appealing and successful design. The form of a word can impact how other perceive the word. We first had to understand different types of text and what makes each unique. Then we had to carve and print our own letters to better understand how negative space as well as the noise left over from carving can give the word different variations.
Playing around with different types of text for different words was fun. Creating shapes out of the words like; tear, cup, and bottle were fun ways to portray the words.
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Working with the letter printing was not as easy as I thought it would be. The ink that I was using was not the easiest to use so my prints would usually a lot lighter then I would have liked. It takes a lot of practice to get the letters dark enough, lined up correctly, be evenly spaced, and not leave fingerprints all over the page. I often had to use my finger and smudge the ink to fill it in, which sometimes made of a mess. The process was very messy and chaotic, but that is what art is sometimes, right? To start I would create a baseline that the word would sit on. After that I used painters’ tape on the back of the letters where the letter would touch the baseline and where the letter ended on each edge. This allowed me to as accurately as possible line up the letters and allow the same amount of space between each letter. It was a tedious task, but rewarded the best results. I knew that I wanted to take picture that described time in the best way. I used an exacto knife to carefully cut out some of the letters, they would then be place on a scanner with the desired image on top of them and scanned. This is where I had a lot of fun coming up with different concepts of time. If I were to continue with the letters, I would make more dynamic prints not the static, on the same baseline. I would like to keep experimenting with the copy machine and taking a variety of pictures that could represent time. I don’t think I gave myself enough time to think about different perspectives of time so I think I could have come up with other pictures that represented my word
These are few sketches while I was brainstorming some concepts about time.
Middle: I like the idea of TIME being told through a clock, but it seemed too cliche. Right: I actually made my friend eat an apple that he did not want just so I could take these pictures and did not even end up using them in the final iteration.
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The concept for this piece was that things can become tangled messy as time moves. We go through all kinds of loops, straight lines, hits some knots but still time keeps moving. I achieved this by using a scanner, placing the string is all sorts of directions and then placing the letters intertwining them in the sting to look like they were not just placed but were connected to the string. This took a few tries because I had to make sure the letters were not backwards or that it was difficult to read. I then place a dark piece of construction paper on top of the string and letters to create the dark background.
This was the printed straight iteration. The most difficult part was making sure that it was evenly spaced on the baseline correctly. I spent a lot of time creating the same baseline iterations, it got easier and I picked up speed the more I did work but it was still difficult to perfect. When I had seen videos of print making, I often see it with the letters placed on the table then the paper being pressed. I would have liked to try that technique to see if the result was better. For my first time trying letter printing I think that there is room for improvement, but it was a good first effort.
For this piece, I wanted to show that the negative sides time has on a person. The ‘T’ starts of at the top which shows that we start off well, no major responsibilities and as we go through life those responsibilites increase and can often weigh down on us. That is why the ‘E’ is significantly lower than the first letter. I tried to make sure that the bottom of the letters were on the same plane for the top of the next letter. This would give some balance to the piece.
This piece was a last minute idea that I really wanted to try. The cars are constantly moving and heading off in directions with different destinations in store. As time passes a person also can go through life in different directions and destinations. When I was deciding the spacing for the letters I tried many different ways, but this one where the letters start close but then expands. As a person goes through life they do a lot of expanding, becoming independent and moving away are just two examples.
I had actually wanted to get closer to the sign so that I was standing in front of it, but I was afriad that people would think I was going to jump into traffic or cause an accident.
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Object iterations Left: I wanted to get a feel for the great-horned owl in my own style so I drew this to get warmed up and inspired. Right: Blind-Contour and continuous line drawings end up ridiculously funny looking, but are a great practice tool!
This project was our chance to think broadly about the object we chose before thinking deeply. We were to be experiment with a wide variety of media that would effectively show the essence of our object. I had chosen the Great-Horned Owl as the subject of my project. I wanted to gather as much information as I could on the creature from where its natural habitat were to what the owl symbolized in different cultures. Collecting images of the creature was next because I had to see what the owl looked like in different poses. Taking notes of all the major characteristics helped because it helped distinguished the greathorned owl from other owls and would help in expanding my knowledge of the owl.
Some notes about the Great-Horned Owl.
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Left: Owl feathers were worn by the Native American doctors and were a way to ward off sickness, I really wanted to use the dream catcher because those are said to capture bad dreams and bring good ones.
Right: Collages were not easy, but this was one of the last iterations I made and I think it was one of my best works.
The process started with continuous line drawings, I chose one pose specifically to work with this, but I also did the technique with other poses and got interesting results. The continuous line technique got easier as I kept practicing. For choosing 2 master artists where we have to copy their style I had chosen, Banksy and Kathe Kollwitz. Banksy was a spray paint artist. I had worked with spray paint previously and I wanted to explore it further. Kathe Kollwitz was a artist who worked with charcoal and had very sharp and defined lines to show her work. I had wanted to use a clay scratch board to really show the sharpness of her work, but there were no materials available with the time that was allowed so charcoal was the media used instead. Collages was a media I have rarely used, so creating an owl from different magazine pages was interesting, but took a lot of time. The typographic collage was difficult because I wanted to use text that if someone read would be related to nature. Like the collages, this took a lot of time and effort to ensure that the final product was clean and looked pleasant. For the geometric iteration, I decided to use he technique of origami. I gathered nature magazines since the sheets are thin like origami paper and did a lot of folding. Working with Photoshop on this project was a new experience because while I have used Photoshop in the past it was a very very old version of it. I learned the key commands and will continue to use those. I learned more about curves, that I did not understand before. If I had to continue with the Great-Horned Owl I would like to experiment more with more iterations with different mediums. I would like to continue working with different ways to pose the owl and new ways that I could portray it.
Cutting each individual group of flower was not easy. I wanted to create something different but still look like an owl.
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I had wanted to try and create a layout that would create a shape with the negative space, but I ended up not having time so this was the end result before in-process critique.
When I was designing this I had no real plan in mind. I put the images into the In-design document and would move them if it did not look right. I did know that I wanted the dream catcher to be one of the main images as well as the owl sitting on the tree branches. I made those two bigger than the rest so that would become that main focus. I placed borders on everything except for the two larger images thinking that they were needed. During the in-process critique it was suggested that the flying owl in the top right corner and the bottom right corner should not have boarders. I experimented placing the boarders on different images and worked on deciding what looked the best. I knew that I liked the idea of 3 geometric images, but with varying elements. It was proposed that the elements should be closer together and leave more negative space for the rest of the images to ‘breath’.
I wanted to see what I could create geometrically if I drew it instead of the origami piece I had.
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Here is the geometric origami piece, but placed in a tree and added brightness. I liked this iteration, but the inverted coloring of the same image had more impact so it was used in the final product.
The final product layout was drastically changed from the in-process critique layout, but I think this flows much nicer.
I changed a lot from the in-process critique to the final product. The first major change was the layout. I spend a large amount of time moving images and changing sizes. I still wanted the main focus to be the dream catcher and the owl sitting on the tree branches so they are bigger in size, but to keep the balance I needed an image to be larger in the bottom right corner. It was decided, through the help of my family too, that the image in the bottom right should be the collage of the owl sitting on the post without a boarder. I changed the geometric images to be the origami owls placed in trees and bushes. They made smaller so that the three can be close together an leave some negative space for the rest of the iterations. The two top corner images do not have boarders on them because it allows the white space around it to be its whole background rather than constricting it. This was greatly improved from the in-process piece because it has more flow rather than just images on the page.
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PSA POSTER
Coming up with different variations of comps was difficult because I did not want them all to look the same.
Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are messages distributed to inform the public about a variety of issues, often related to health and safety. Their purpose is to encourage people to a change their action through moving posters. We were to choose an issue of importance, research it, draft an all text poster, and create a creative brief outlining ideas about the poster. The brief was then given to a fellow design student to carry out. After receiving the brief, for being open-minded, I made 20 thumbnails sketches of text layouts. Then sketched 5 –7 rough compositions of layouts to show my classmates. We had to use scale, opacity, rhythm, orientation, and negative space to create visual hierarchy. When I started to think of designs for my poster, I thought about what the reader was going to read first, the heading. I had to make sure that the heading was visibly larger than the body sections, but then I had to ensure the call to action was large but not too large. The poster had to have a nice flow, so that the heading drew you in, the call to action intrigued the reader more, then they could read the body paragraph parts to find out more information. I did not want my poster to be too cramped so adding the negative space between each sub section should give it the breathing room it needed.
These are the comps that I decided to expand on, I would alter some of the spacing and where the darker shaded side would be and how much space it would take up.
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Originally the black triangle was in the opposite corner and it was changed because if it is on the top of the page, the eye is drawn to it then the main heading is directly next to it.
It was challenging using only text to create a PSA poster. I am used to creating images to get a point across that I struggled at first. Trying to create a poster that would have the same powerful and moving effect using only text was difficult. It got easier as I created more compositions because I was experimenting and broadening my understanding of fonts and styles. During this process, I developed more of an understanding on In-design and that even if a person is limited text, it can still be just as influential an image. Deciding the type of text was difficult because there were many options. I knew that I wanted the font I chose to have a few subtext, ie. italics, bold, italic bold etc., so that I could work with the same font, but styled differently if necessary. Background color was another factor that I had to decide whether it would benefit or hurt my poster. The topic for my poster did not have a color that directly related to it such as a recycling or warning poster, but I wanted to experiment and see if a color would match.
The black section was dividing the page in half, but with the way it is now there is a clear division between the call to action and the main information.
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When designing this, I knew that I wanted to decrease the amount of space between the letters in the word ‘closed’ because that would effectively but subtly show the point of the poster. When deciding how to present the information I decided main headings with bullet point lists. This would effectively show the information with ease to reader to know the information they are reading. I decided that color was not needed for this poster because it would distract the audience from the material being presented.
As with the previous poster, I wanted the same concept of decreasing the space in the word ‘closed’, but increase the space between the letters in the word ‘minded’. I felt that this would show the vastness of the mind that contradicts the word ‘closed’. I still decided that the information would be best represented through bullet points, but the headings are blocks that draw the eye to them. Instead of the headings being aligned the same, it goes with the flow of the black triangle guiding it down the page until it ends then the information aligns. As with the last poster, color would divert the audience from the information on the poster.
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For the final iteration, I decided that the landscape poster, with some changes from in-process critique, would be the more successful poster. The heading did not change much, the only exception is the word ‘minded’. From the portrait poster, I liked the idea of expanding the space between the letters so I increased the spacing a bit from what it was previously. The changes made on the main information was I increased the size of both the headings and the bullet pointed information, aligned all of the information to the left. and spaced out the information to add some negative space. I felt that the font size be increase because I wanted to make the audience would be able to read it from a better distance, but still ensuring that the main heading and the call to action was larger. With all of the information aligned, it gives the poster a neater look and the information is presented in a easier way to read through. For the in-process poster, the information did not take up the whole page. It was squished together, so for the final iteration I expanded the space resulting in using the whole page effectively while leaving some negative space for ‘breathing’ room.
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designer Presenation
chip kidd We were to give a short presentation about the work of a contemporary designer of our choosing. I had chosen Chip Kidd, a 55 year old contemporary designer who currently resides in New York City. Chip Kidd’s inspiration to become a graphic designer were comics books that included Batman and Superman. He has written and designed book covers for several DC Comics publications, including The Complete History of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Golden Age of DC Comics: 365 Days, and Jack Cole and Plastic Man. Chip Kidd is considered the closest thing there is to a rock star in the world of high-end graphic design and has lists of clients made up of some well known authors including Anne Rice, John Updike, Dean Koontz and Michael Crichton. Kidd is uninterested in the latest design trends and fashions when working, he often draws inspiration from collectibles and mementos. ‘Publishers Weekly described his book jackets as “creepy, striking, sly, smart, unpredictable covers that make readers appreciate books as objects of art as well as literature.”’ One of the most consistent characteristics of Kidd’s style is that most of his book jackets do not have a signature look. According to him, “A signature look is crippling...[because] the simplest and most effective solutions aren’t dictated by style.”
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Left: The dinosaur skeleton image became the central image of the Jurassic Park movie marketing campaign. Right: Go was written for curious children who want to learn how to make interesting and dynamic pieces of work. Bottom: I thought this cover was really cool because of how creepy it looks and that it looks like a hand too.
Kidd is often asked about his creative process. “for the most part I’m inspired by whatever the book is, or by the manuscript itself.” His process is “driven by nothing.” He has earned the right to take some risks because of the success he has achieved, even if the results were once described as “monstrously ugly.” Kidd often downplays the importance of the covers he designs not because he is not proud of his work, but because he is against the idea that the cover will sell the book. It is about whether the context of the book connects to the public and the cover is only a small part of that. Chip Kidd has designed ~1,000 book covers. When asked how he kept them unique he stated that he really is dependent on the writers to write intriguing books rather than stale and stagnate ones. When he reads the manuscript and gets a sense that the author is passionate and interested in what they wrote, it encourages him to do the same visually. He usually tries to stay away from literal interpretations often manipulating how the audience will view the cover. Kidd was asked if the genre that is been done matters in the design, to that he said it was a challenge.
What drew me to this designer was actually his name. It was an interesting name, but what drew me into his art was how different each book cover was. I love reading so learning about how he designed covers was really interesting. This presentation was due during the 2020 COVID-19 stay-at-home order so it all had to be done virtually. As this was a presentation, we were required to do a voice over presentation. I do not like public speaking very much at all, so I was nervous. I took many takes and retakes of my presentation that it took me a while to finally record a good one. Recording just my voice made things a bit easier cause no one could see me fidget when I got nervous. This experience was very helpful because if I even have to present over the computer, I will now know.
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Vocational What is the difference between a good life and a significant life?
A good life is when a person is comfortable where they currently are or what direction they are heading in. They have motivation but not enough to push past the feeling of just being satisfied. A significant life is when a person pushes past just being satisfied for themselves and does work for the good of others. Being able to accomplish goals and have the effort put in to prove that.
What’s something you’ve made in the last two years that you’re proud of?
Something that I have made that I am still extremely proud of is a painting that I did for my senior portfolio. My family and I took a spring break trip out to Seattle, Washington for my sister to look at colleges there. The city itself was beautiful, the skyline, the waterside views, and even the street art all were amazing. I took a picture of one of those views and I knew that I was going to use that image one way or another. I painted that picture my last semester of my senior year. My sister is going to college in Seattle fall of 2020 (hopefully, who knows with this pandemic) so I know that when I look at that painting, she will be my first thought.
This took me a long time to finish because of the details and very straight edges of the buildings.
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Final remarks The Spring semester of 2020 has been a roller coaster, from personal issues to this global pandemic. It has not been easy, but art as always been a stable part of my life. Art can be frustrating but I realized after 2 months of this stay-at-home order nothing is more frustrating than being in the same home unable to leave. Do not get me wrong, I love my family but being unable to finish my first year of college on campus was heart breaking. I do not want to leave this book on a sad note so I will say that creating art, no matter what it was, has brought joy to this hectic time. Here are a few images of some of art I have created outside of the Art 130 class. Enjoy! These are some sketches that my sister asked me to draw. She had to recreate a Shakespeare play in a different era. She chose steam-punk Romeo and Juliet, so on the left is Romeo and the right is Juliet.
These fruit sketches were something I made on a whim because I was bored waiting for a meeting to start.
This is a sketch of a movie cover, Wolf Children. It is a really great movie that I recommend! I love drawing people so this was really fun, EXCEPT for the feet. I struggle with feet.
Left: I illustrated a children’s book for my sister’s speech class, this was one of my favorite drawings from that book. It is called Justice for Friendship.
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This book was made as part of Introduction to Design at St. Norbert College in the spring of 2020. The fonts used include High Tower Text, High Tower Text (Italic), and AR Julian. This book was made during the global Covid-19 pandemic.
