Semester 4 Document by Reuben DSilva

sem4 reuben dsilva / undegraduate graphic design / 2010-2011

typography 2

Tarun Deep Girdher

3.0

graphic design 1

Dr. Tridha Gajjar

3.0

visual language

Debashish Chakravarty

1.0

colour and for m 2

Rupesh Vyas

2.0

city through a pinhole

Andy Stark

2.0

graphic novel workshop

Abhishek Singh

1.0

printing technology

Bharat Suthar/ Dr.Tridha Gajjar

3.0

introduction to theatre

Atanu Bhattacharya/ Shilpa Das

1.0

history of design

Tanishka Kachru

2.0

typography day 2011

rgb 2011

other things

2 y h p a r g o p ty

o tailor

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REUBEN DSILVA. ASSIGNMENT 1 H.

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REUBEN DSILVA. ASSIGNMENT 1 . embroidery

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REUBEN DSILVA. ASSIGNMENT 1N. PIRON - ITALIC

REUBEN DSILVA. ASSIGNMENT 1 F . KINGTHINGS CALLIGRAPHICA - ITALIC & LIGHT

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explorations

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REUBEN DSILVA. ASSIGNMENT 1 S. CHAPARRAL PRO - ITALICT

REUBEN DSILVA. ASSIGNMENT 1D . WINDSONG & ZAPFINO

A1_ Represent the essence of a profession

first understanding what it is about a tailor

through typography using already existing

that makes him unique or what is the

fonts. A single composition can use a

most significant attribute of a tailor. After

combination of upto two typefaces.

thinking about it and asking people what

My approach initially was to browse as many

they felt I narrowed down on the aspect of

typefaces as possible and create meaning from

‘stitching together or joining’. There were

them or figure out which ones could fit the

secondary attributes like precision, patience,

profession. Also my focus was on using type

concentration which happened to be more

that was overly expressive/ highly decorative.

generic. Once this was established I reviewed

In certain cases I discovered fonts that had

my explorations and worked on how to

additional elements to the letters. Some were

communicate the selected idea. Ultimately,

very distorted letterforms with poor legibility. In

based on guidance and feedback received I

some cases I also used composition to suggest

finalized on a single composition.

meaning. But from all these explorations I realized that ‘what’ that meaning is that I wish to communicate was very unclear. So I recollected the brief and started by

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reuben dsilva. hill house/aller consistent | trusted | precise

reuben dsilva. fedra sans sc consistent | patient | crafty

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Final exploration and selection

reuben dsilva. santana/quicksand precise | crafty | consistent

reuben dsilva. PRECISE | crafty

QUICKSAND

A2_To represent a quote typographically using

would serve as the first level of emphasis.

a single typeface.

Then the rest of the information would follow.

First, I read my quote repeatedly and tried to

Using this approach I came up with a number

imagine how it could be told. I broke the quote

of layouts with different number of layers of

up into three parts. The first and second were

hierarchy. Layers refer to the gray values that

a comparison of two ideas and the third was

the type create when you half close your eyes. A

like a concluding line that summarized the

24pt. Goudy bold may have a higher gray value

meaning of the first two lines. But in the first

than 36 pt Frutiger light. I also experimented

set of explorations I was too confused with my

with illustrative layouts that suggested

freedom to use different point sizes and layouts

form through Gestalt. But it was somehow

that I lost the whole point of communicating the

compromising on readability. Another issue

line clearly. So these explorations have too much

that I dealt with was managing the proportion

variation all over right from alignment to point

of the frame and point size. Anything above

size.

100pt. was too large for the frame and killed

To overcome these issues, the first step that I

the white space. Hence, emphasis is not always

took was to select a single emphasis within the

about large point size. It can also be achieved

quote which made it appear interesting. This

by either lending white surrounding space or by de-emphasizing the rest of the text. I learnt that more than three layers of emphasis disturbed the overall composition.

en is b r ok

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but if

GREAT THINGS

always begin from within.

ENDS

s. a rce n i ns i d e f o

lif

Ends

if an egg is broken by an inside force, a life

begins Great things always begin from within

but

Great things

always

begin from within.

outside

but if an egg is broken from the inside,

life begins

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an egg is broken from the outside,

. But if an egg is broken by an inside force, a life begins

begins.

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LIFE ENDS.

if an egg is broken by an outside force, a life ENDS

if an egg is broken by an inside force, a life

IF AN

Great things always begin from within.

if an egg is br o ken by an outside force, a life REUBEN DSILVA. ASSIGNMENT 3.

but

BEGINS.

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Great things always begin from within.

if an egg is broken by an outside force, a life

b u t

by an inside force a life

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broken by an

outside force a LIFE ends.

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an egg is

if an egg is broken

if but

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Ends

Great things always begin from within.

GREAT THINGS

always begin from within.

if An egg is broken by an outside force, REUBEN DSILVA. ASSIGNMENT 3. a Life ends But if an egg is broken by an inside force,

life begins within . Great things always begin

A3_To work upon the selected composition from the prevoius assignment and refine it.

After narrowing down on a single physical

An egg is broken by an outside force, a Life ends But if an egg is broken by an inside force,

layout in the previous assignment, I refined it further. This involved many small changes that make a big difference. I increased the contrast

life begins .

in point sizes by reducing the unemphasised

point size. Another thing I did was reduce the

overall point size to fit in the frame comfortably so that the text has enough white space

around it so that the eye settles. Increasing

the tracking. Removing unnecessary things like the punctuation mark. Following a strict grid.

life begins within . Great things always begin

Removing hyphenation in a sentence. Since my emphasized text was set in italics I introduced the same slant in all my text boxes to complement the emphasis. This made a considerable difference.

life begins . 12

if An egg is broken by an outside force, a Life REUBEN DSILVA. e n d s ASSIGNMENT But if an egg is3.broken by an inside force,

life begins within. Great things always

begin

The frame alongside was my finalised layout. It was taken forward in the next assignment.

if an egg is broken by an outside force, a Life But if an egg is broken ends by an inside force,

life begins within. Great

begin

things always

REUBEN DSILVA. ASSIGNMENT 3.

A4_To represent the same spirit in the layout but change the emphasis and use two typefaces. This assignment was interesting because it dealt with retaining the spirit; an abstract quality of your composition, yet change the emphasis. I had three layers of hierarchy and a stark dark and light block of text in A3. This was retained while changing the emphasis to the third part of my quote. However, the freedom of two typefaces had to be dealt with. While doing this

if an egg is broken by an outside force, a Life But if an egg is broken ends by an inside force,

life begins within. great

begin

things always

I identified that Goudy Old style and Frutiger had very different tones. Because they look different, the content that they communicate also may have different interpretations and take on different meaning. Goudy has a very sweet, consoling and poetic tone while Frutiger has a

if an egg is broken by an outside force, a life ends.

more affirmative statement-like one. Thus, for the selected emphasis I decided to use Frutiger. This boldness was neutralized by setting the first two lines in Goudy. This also achieved a contrast in emotion within the composition.

but if an egg is broken by an inside force, a life begins.

REUBEN DSILVA. ASSIGNMENT 3.

GREAT

things ALWAYS

begin within.

if an egg is broken by an outside force, a life ends. but if an egg is broken by an inside force, a life begins.

great t h i n g s

ALWAYS BEGIN WITHIN.

GREAT things

an egg is broken by an outside force, a Life e n d s .

always begin within.

But if an egg is broken by an inside force, REUBEN DSILVA. ASSIGNMENT 4.

life begins Great things always begin within.

The frame to the right was my selected emphasis that changed with the use of a second typeface. REUBEN DSILVA. ASSIGNMENT 4.

REUBEN DSILVA. ASSIGNMENT 4.

A5_Use an image that relates to the quote and combine them in a single composition. For any two things to share a relationship they must either have something similar to each other or something different. The relationship is defined by similarity or difference. Similarly, while choosing an image to complement our text we had to find something that related with it. The egg was a strong element in my text so I decided to incorporate it in my image but

GR EA T

W ITH IN --t al hing w s ay s be

the egg alone would be too shallow a signifier. The egg reminded me of this fact that I learnt of in school that an egg if squeezed in your palm with your arm outstretched, no matter how hard, cannot break due to the physics of itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shape. In this example, I saw the egg as a metaphor for determination which was also what my quote was speaking of. Also the clenched fist communicated that strong determination of strength within. The challenge now was to manipulate the image and text to have an optimum effect.

If an egg is broken by an outside force, a life ends. But if an egg is broken by an inside force, a life begins.

explorations

but if an egg is broken by an inside force, a life begins.

if an egg is broken by an outside force, a life ends. if an egg is broken by an outside force, a life ends.

but if an egg is broken by an inside force, a life begins.

GREAT

things always begin

GREAT THINGS

WITHIN.

GREAT

things always begin

WITHIN.

if an egg is broken by an outside force, a life ends.

But if an egg is broken by an inside force, a life begins.

if an egg is broken by an outside force, a life ends.

but if an egg is broken by an inside force, a life begins.

GREAT

things always begin

WITHIN.

GREAT

things always begin

WITHIN.

graphic design 1

explorations

A1_Intergration of two letterforms

and devanagiri scripts. We had freedom to

In this assignment we had to integrate two

play with typefaces, letters and their respective

contrasting letter forms.

positive and negative spaces. Study of black

The first step was experimenting with various

and white was crucial from beginning to end,

letters both latin and devanagiri. It helped

especially upon finalizing a combined form,

in figuring how forms can be related to one

Very often the combination of weights makes

another. In this process, I looked at the structural

the resultant form extremely heavy and ugly. In

characteristic of letterforms and what the core

deciding where and how much black to reduce,

form of a letter was. By understanding what

I had to pay attention to balance of the form.

was essential to a letters recognisability it was

There was a process of continuos iteration and

possible to manipulate the form and reduce it

refinement in achieving an acceptable form

to a minimum necessary level. By doing this,

that represented both letters. One challenge

you provide a suggestion and allow the viewer

that was faced in this process from the start

and Gestaltâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s laws to fill in the details. Also I

was achieving a hierarchy in the combined

came across the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;languageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; used in different

form. This means that when the form is viewed,

typefaces. Interesting explorations were those

each letter must be recognized in an intended

which involved finding relations between latin

order. To do this I had to decide how much of each letter would contribute to the resultant so that one letter is more pronounced than the other. In refinement stages I made optical corrections to curves and black space by adding certain elements.

The frames alongside describe the iterative process involved in correcting the form closely.

REUBEN DSILVA

| 01 Letter Intergration |

A2_Simplifying an object visually and use it to

This assignment first required me to photograph

create a metaphorical meaning.

an image from as many viewpoints as possible. Also I could use itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position or mechanics to

How do graphic designers communicate?

capture a range of angles of the object. Once

Words, images, their relation and representation

I had a sufficient number of pictures taken, I

are primary tools. Signs are images that stand

studied the images and tried to think of abstract

for ideas while images show physical likeness to

ideas that the image could communicate. These

objects. Icons, indexicals, symbols and meta-

words were strongly subjective in nature. Hence,

symbols are types of signs used in graphic

I had to try and shortlist those which would be

communication. Very often in creating these

understood by a majority. These ideas could

signs there is a process of abstract simplification

be emotions or just words. While doing this I

required. This is done to create more intense

figured out what could be a more suitable idea

meaning.

for the object and how maybe the image could be better shot to assist the meaning. Thus, figuring out an attribute and obtaining an image were simultaneous processes. During this back and forth process I recognized the following classification in the words i was listing. Based on : Function, Personal significance, Posture and Viewpoint. Using these four classes I tried to derive a metaphor that could include within itself a meaning that relates to all these aspects of the objectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s image.

photographs of the object and a list of words relating to the object.

After much thought and cross-connecting I finalized on a concept. I then selected an image of the object that would suit this meaning best and simplified it to black and white. In this sense, I reversed the process. While simplifying there was issue faced regarding what should be simplified and what should not. I decided that my object was not just a camera but a unique camera due to the fact that it was an antique. Therefore, it would have to be simplified to an extent to which it retains its special characteristics. This would include its textures, intricate parts etc. This simplified image was inked, scanned and digitized to create a poster. The concept of the poster was to spread awareness of memory loss. The antique camera served as the metaphor for an aged person’s brain. That was capable of ‘capturing’ memories. But at the same time a camera when opened ‘exposes’ film and hence loses all trace of images. This is the translation of a verbal concept into a visual message.

selected image

hand simplification

A3_Create an icon for a specific purpose or

Once the function was identified, I decided

location in order to communicate a message

to approach the assignment from two angles.

effectively.

One in which the selected audience was

This assignment was firstly understanding what

local and one in which the target audience is

an icon does and then create an icon to serve a

larger;possibly even global.

specific location or service. What is an icon? The

In the first part, I chose to address a signage for

following are some characteristics of an icon:

chai gate within NID. The institute has a number

1. It is cross-cultural and exists at the border

of visitors daily and very often they are unaware

where language and perception meet.

of the existence of chai gate where tea and

2. It serves as a sign, warning, caution or

cigarettes are available because it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t formerly

information.

recognized. My idea was to simply communicate

3.It has a single layer of meaning only with no

through an icon that tea and cigarettes are

scope for alternate interpretations with non-

available there. I attempted at creating a

expressive lines and high colour contrast.

singular form uniting the two elements. The challenge was in giving both equal importance and recognisability to the viewer. This was achieved after multiple explorations of form and periodic feedback from others. The representation of smoke was an issue as the form that represents smoke and fire are quite similar. This was corrected and a final icon was reached.

explorations

In the second part of the brief, I addressed the issue of garbage segregation. This is an issue that inspite of repeated attempts has only been slightly successful. The target space was areas like public parks, malls, etc. Existing designs had an overload of information like colour, symbols and text. This makes distinction a painful process. I decided my icons would be formcentric and simple in color thus simplifying the process of distinction for an individual. I begun by researching on the issue and identified the need for four divisions and hence a set of four icons.

a list of word associations made through a small survey

Above are some form explorations based on observations. To the right is an example of an existing design for the same purpose.

Final forms

Colour samples

I realized that a simple way to understand what someone associates an image to would be to find out what image strikes them when they hear of the word. So I took a small survey on what image people associate with the words ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ waste. Based on this information, I identified recurring imagery and chose appropriate objects. I then simplified the objects to recognizable forms and executed them in two colour schemes.

Visual language

A1_Make a self-portrait based on a song/ poem that you relate to.

‘Imagine’ by John Lennon is the song that I felt I could identify and associate with my character. The common attributes that I picked out between the song and my personality were open-mindedness, tolerance and peace. In addition to this, I wanted to portray the fact that I am rational, unexpressive and neutral. These qualities were well described by my sun sign i.e: Libra (The scales) However, I chose to use the greek symbol accompanying the image of my face. The cropping of my lips says that I use ‘words’ sparingly. The entire central composition suggests balance and blank white space represents freedom of thought. The assignment taught me how to associate abstract ideas with visuals and combine them into a single visual. This assignment involved application of concepts learnt in semiotics and communication studies. More importantly it was of personal benefit because it involved introspection into my personality and made me question what it is I saw myself as and what i wished to communicate to others.

A2_Make a self-portrait communicating the same ideas as in the previous stage but in either baroque, impressionist or surrealist style During the discussion of the three selected art movements in class I discovered something new about art in society that hadn’t ocurred to me during History of Art last semester. It was the relationship between art and power. And i discovered that the shift of art from being a symbol of power and wealth to one of realism and common life occurred with the arrival of impressionism only. Impressionism dissolved the influence of power and opened up art to All. This, I believe, made art what it is today. A medium of open self expression. Hence, my illustration is inspired by impressionist style, more specifically Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’. The message again remained the same as that of the previous assignment. I replaced the Libran ‘symbol’ by an abstract representation of the Libran constellation thus using an indexical sign in place of a symbolic one.

colour and form 2

Shakti, who is in-charge of the dyeing department in NID helped us with our research

12 12

A1_Research upon colour in textiles as a medium and develop a calendar based on it. The aim was to take our research in colour to an unfamiliar medium. This was done in a group where we studied the use of colour in textiles with our primary focus being on itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history and evolution. In our documentation we spoke to textile students and faculty regarding this topic and managed to attain a lot of interesting

12 12 12

20% gray 65% gray 80% gray

information on the topic especially regarding colour in textiles within the Indian framework where textiles has had such a long heritage. Visits to the dyeing studio and KMC reading helped us gain a basic understanding of the

Small study of the interaction of the hues and text to be used in the calendar. Due to print problems, all text was converted to 100% black or white.

processes involved in reproduction of colour onto textile surfaces by dyeing in particular. In this manner we documented the evolution of colour in textiles right from its discovery uptil the 19th century. The final form that this research took was that of a wall calendar that relates the stages of evolution with the colour palette of that period.

42 18 19 20

07 08 09

26 27

15 16

January 2011

जनवरी

माच� 15

18 19 20

08 09 10

March 2011

मई 21

25 26 27

13 14 15

May 2011

his book ‘Samaraiccakaha’.

descriptions of the bridal costumes in

Writer Haribhadra Suri gives detailed

012 A.D.

manjistha dyed pati.

garments, lac dye on the feet and the

The bridal costumes included red silk

008 A.D.

Red is believed to be a colour evoked between lovers.

of Sindh 4500 yrs back.

the newborn child is male. Dyeing known to the people

red dots are worn by the young mothers to denote that

forms and black dip dyed edges and yellow veils with

Bishndi- red grounds patterened with black circular

cochineal, lac discovered.

Early dyes in india: ccuecuma, safflower,

007 A.D.

patterns similar to the ‘plangi’ technique.

Evidences of tie dye in the white circular

अ��ल

terns.

show influence of the west in textile pat-

Ajanta paintings from the post-gupta period

India.

004 - 006 A.D.

actual piece of cotton dyed in madder red.

Excavations at Mohenjodaro revealed an

Cotton plant first discovered in

001 B.C.

rain filled cloud

Nila – Indigo, colour of Krishna, likened to a

Wool may also have been used.

century

The ‘patola’ of gujrat dates back to 5th

cotton poplin of medium weight is use.

is worn by sindhi muslims and hindu potters.

Auzarin and indigo dyed chandrawali odhni

also of cotton fabric and string.

been used around Indus Valley and

Spindle whorls, presumed to have

500 B.C.

colours.

Shoes and sandals were dyed in different

642 - 413 B.C.

region.

occupied most of the Mediterranean

001 B.C.

by archaeologists.

tion have been proven to have existed

Cotton from the Indus valley civiliza-

2000 B.C.

Phoenician shellfish dye industry

1500 B.C.

dark blue cloth.

dyed cloth. The ‘vratyas ‘had a preference for

White cloth was preferred, while women used

with gold borders.

first millennium B.C., clothes were decorated

stretched roughly from the mid second to mid

During the Vedic and Upanishad Era that

2011 फरवरी ज�न

June 2011

April 2011

February 2011

The final calendar print file

20 21 22

08 09 10

27 28 29

15 16 17

July 2011

ज�लाई 22 23 24 25

07 08 09 10

29 30

14 15

18 19 20

08 09 10

2011

November

नव�बर 05

2011

dye. ‘Mauveine’ on silk.

Perkins discovered the first chemical

1856 A.D.

thought fabric was linen, not cotton.

Calico from Calicut to England. They

The East India co. Began importing of

1631-1633 A.D.

in Mexico and Central America.

‘Coceus Cacti’ that lived on a cactus found

(Crimson) dried bodies of insects known as

Maya civilisations used ‘Cochneal’ as a dye

In the 14-16th century the Aztec and

during gangaur to mark spring.

achieve pure colours and lines. This is worn

so that unwanted colour is discharged to

Fine cotton or silk dyed using kaccha dyes

dyers to import at low prices.

Discovery of passage to india enabled

1377- 1856 A.D.

in Mexico and Central America.

‘Coceus Cacti’ that lived on a cactus found

(Crimson) dried bodies of insects known as

Maya civilisations used ‘Cochneal’ as a dye

In the 14-16th century the Aztec and

1700 A.D. Lac dye was discovered in India.

for diwali and phagania for holi.

magenta, peela(yellow) for marriage ceremonies, black

to the royalty and used colours like saffron , red and

the women tie and the men dye the fabric. This catered

Practiced in jodhpur by the chadwa community where

16-17th century gave impetus to dyers.

Discovery of America and colonisation in the

1492 A.D.

thus replacing the native Woad.

up trading to the Fareast. Indigo introduced

Discovery of the cape of Good Hope. Opened

1488 A.D.

symbol of fertility.

a yellow odhni ornamented with a lotus, a

parents bring a set of clothes which include

ness.whrn a child is born the mother or the

ciated with spring, blossom or joyful happi-

The rajasthani pila or piliya has been asso-

influences.

nuances of colour was developed from Islamic

A new delicate – toned palette with infinite

015 A.D.

अ�ट�बर

17 September

िसत�बर

medieval herbs

and indigo and the use of the

Ancient dyeing processes of madder

015 A.D.

egar for black and turmeric for yellow.

indio for dark green, iron shavings with vin-

with the addition of pomegranate rind with

lours that were to continue till recent times

Nila and Myrobalan ochre were the basic co-

Yellow- colour of spring (vasant)

plain and printed cottons.

South India made famous for excellent

013 A.D.

अग�त िदस�बर

December 2011

2011

October

Au g u s t 2011

Photo shoot of the colour cubes and explorations with their composition

A2_Study the interaction of CMYK pigments through physical combinations and execute a poster illustrating it. We’ve been using paint since childhood and we know of colour mixing and how primary colours when mixed give secondary colours. In the case of paints, this colour mixing happens chemically between the pigments. A similar process takes place while printing digital colour between pigments of cyan, magenta, yellow and black. In the case of digital colour there exist the two major modes of RGB and CMYK. Since our topic of study was textiles, we experimented with textile threads in colours cyan, magenta and black and by mixing them ‘physically’ observed the results of optical mixing. It yielded surprising results. This exercise was beneficial because we were able to identify what pigment (threads) was responsible for what hue. We noted the This attempts to look at the relationship between hues existing in the two colour models. ie. RGB and CMYK. When mixed in equal proportions, two subtractive primary colours produce a secondary colour. Red, green and blue are the secondary colours and black is the combination of all three primary subtractive colours. By

proportion of each in each composition. By the end of this we had shades of basic hues and

physically 'mixing' the threads colored cyan, magenta, yellow and black we understood how through optical mixing new colours were visible and how altering the sequence and proportion of the individual yarns affected the apparent colour. The basic form of a cube was taken and different shades variants of the hue were

imposed them onto three surface of cubes. The final product of this process was a poster with

experimented with.

a brief description of our understanding that relates RGB and CMYK.

RGB and CMYK files were printed in various bit depths. We observed the variantions in appearance

A3_Test print various modes of colour, bit depths, resolutions and digital printers. In this assignment we created sample images from the previous assignment and took print outs in 300 dpi resolution at different bit depths and in different colour modes thus observing the differences visible in print. We were able to understand the concept of colour gamut and digital colour through these samples.

city through a pinhole

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;City through a pinholeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; was a 2-week project

viewpoints exploring architectural and social

carried out by a group of undergraduate

themes. Some images were created through

and postgraduate students as a part of the

multiple exposures and others incorporated

International Open Electives program 2011.

movement and blur. Some sites were visited on

The primary aim of the project was to capture

several occasions in order to capture the right

the essence of Ahmedabad in all its complexity

composition and light.

through the simplicity of a pinhole camera and

After the venue was finalised by the Exhibition

stage an exhibition of the resulting images.

team, promotional work commenced. Promotion

We carried out a series of experiments in

for the event was primarily handled by the PR

and around the campus to understand the

and Graphic design teams that I was a part of.

properties of working with their cameras and

It involved conceptualising the theme, designing

more importantly light (reflected light from the

posters, flyers and banners. In addition to these,

subject). Depending on the lighting conditions

requests for sponsorship and distribution of

and what was being photographed as well as

online invitations were undertaken.

the construction of the individual cameras, typical exposure times varied anywhere between a few seconds to many hours. After familiarizing ourselves with the cameras we were then able to embark on a series of excursions to the many different areas of the city to make their images with greater confidence. The exposures were made for many different

The hole must be made with a high degree of

The photo paper is loaded onto the inner sur-

precision so that it is perfectly circular and with-

face of the tin box which is opposite to the pin-

out minor aberrations

hole in a dark room. The camera is sealed with more tape to avoid leakage of light

The metal piece was then sand papered and the pinhole was examined with a magnifying glass against light

The frame is estimated and adjustments are made to the camera position for a suitable composition and supported by surrounding objects

The pinhole piece was taped onto the tin

Exposure time is gauged according to

box opening

light conditions The tape is removed for the exposure duration allowing light to enter through the pinhole.

A slightly longer strip of tape serves

The sealed tin is unloaded in a dark-

to cover the pinhole and functions as

room and developed to obtain a nega-

a shutter

tive

the exposed negative and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reversed mirror positive

My learning included understanding the fundamentals of photography in terms of viewpoints, understanding of light, exposure times, tonal range and compositions. I feel more equipped to now apply these principles of photography in my photography and drawing ability.

I learnt the value of respecting my own work and handling materials with greater care while preparing for the exhibition. In organising the exhibition we worked together in teams and learnt how to communicate effectively with each other. We were made accountable not only to each other but also to their sponsors and NID (as the exhibition venue was a public space).

Event poster

My pinhole photographs

This experience has left me with the confidence and understanding to stage exhibitions in the future and a deeper understanding of the basic photographic process. I am now more light-sensitive.

graphic novel workshop

Our graphic novel workshop was conducted by Abhishek Singh, a well- established comic book artist and NID alumnus. It was a one-week long workshop in which we covered all aspects of graphic novel making. We begun with story building. As a warm up exercise each of us constructed random fictional characters which were then grouped. Each group had to then put together a storyline that included each of the characters in their group. This exercise enabled us to extend our imagination to the most random ideas and somehow connect. We also learnt of the hierarchy of characters in a story and the possibilities in constructing a plot . The group approaches were very different and every discussion brought out new ideas and methods of storytelling. Also, the whole process was visual and translating every thought on to paper was very valuable in interpreting our ideas.

During the week we saw a bunch of documents based on graphic novels/comics and artists. These all gave us an insight into the professional world of comics and methods used by them. The next stage in this process was to divide our story into key stages and put down a story board. This stage was crucial because for the first time

These sheets were rough sketches of my storyboard. It was the first attempt at putting down visuals.

After spending time with our characters we begun personalizing them and gradually developing them further. While doing this our stories also deviated and we started making more sense out of what we had. I picked out a few story ideas that i could relate to and wrote them down.

we put down our visualization of the story in our head onto paper. Once we had an idea of the frames we had to represent, Abhishek gave us a tutorial on the structure of a novel page and framing techniques. It was then our next job to decide how we wanted to tell our story using frames. One crucial thing I learnt at this stage was how to make a reader experience â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;timeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; while reading a novel. This can be done very effectively using framing. But before executing our final frames we had an exercise to help us figure out the visual appeal that our page would take. To do this, we very spontaneously coloured with different mediums on sheets of paper. At first it was with no specific theme but as we progressed we kept in

Colour and visual representation exploration

mind our characters and moods in our story and translated them using colour. This helped greatly in my final execution. My first draft was done in pencil and then separately inked. It was the first time I used ink and was extremely challenging and took a painstaking 5 hours but it was truly satisfying experience and made me realize a new potential. A very valuable and productive one week.

Pencil draft and final ink

Printing technology

Our printing technology course in the first and

good printing results and do justice to my

second week dealt with theory presentations

design work in the future by being well aware

by Bharatbhai. During this course we also had

of all the processes it goes through before the

two field trips to printing presses and a last

final product is obtained.

week of practical sessions in offset printing,

I believe it was one of the most helpful courses

screen printing and book binding. The details

because I feel like I will have to keep referring

of my learning in these courses have been

to matters discussed in this course in the

documented separately.

future.

The course was basically an overview of the entire process of graphic print production from start to finish. It linked with courses like colour and form 2 where we dealt with issues of digital colour and gave me a very clear understanding of how to use presently existing tools to achieve

To write an essay describing my understanding of a book based on theatre. I chose to read â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Grounds of play: Nautanki theatre of North Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by Kathryn Hansen. It gave me considerable information on a form of theatre that I have been a part of for the past two years but whose history and origins I know very little about. I wrote an essay on the same topic describing my personal understanding of the book.

My reference for the essay assignment

introduction to theatre

History of design

A1_Report on the field visit

was seeing the wide variety of miniature paintings on display. I realized that the love

The visit to the L.D Indology Museum and the

for intricacy that artists had back then exists

N.C Mehta Gallery was an interesting experience

even today in our popular forms like truck art.

for me as a graphic design because it gave me

The artist was communicating a story/epic in a

an insight into what visual communication meant

truly fitting medium and visual language using

to Indians since as early as the 16th century. I

mineral colour on handmade paper. It was very

first viewed the stone sculptures on the ground

interesting to see how the stories connected to

floor. Most of them had similar subjects either

one another in content as well as form. They

religious or mythological. The proportions in

included illustrations of sacred books, poetic

many of them was unnatural and some features

compositions,epics, Ragmala paintings, darbar

were overly emphasized. The metal sculptures

scenes, portraits,religious and social festivals.

were a lot more delicately done with fine

The colour sense was very acute because in

precision. Symmetry was something common to

most of these paintings they have explore very

all these works. However there were exceptions

vibrant/bright as well as very dull in the same

where surrounding ornaments/characters were

composition thus achieving a good contrast.

asymmetric in composition. This also made me

The skill displayed was most inspiring.

realize the verity of tools that may have been used to create such pieces. In many of the compositions I noticed a strong resemblance to those of the paintings done of Jesus surrounded by angels with a halo. The most interesting part of the visit for me

Samples of what we saw at the museum. They covered miniature paintings and a variety of sculptures and work in fabric

A2/A3_ A presentation and essay on the topic History of Hindi film posters. This research included reading through documented text of the evolution of hindi film posters, the artists, its significance as a means of communication and the effect of social and technological changes on it. We studied how elements like typography, colour, content and tools changed over time right from 1920â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s till today. It was of great relevance to me as a graphic design student because film posters have always been a very strong and extremely popular means of visual communication. Reasons for this were understood with respect to theories discussed in communication studies like McLuhans theories of hot and cold media, figure and ground and medium is the message. The study incorporated many topics that were learnt in previous courses and helped to link them and fit them into a context.

Slides from the pesentation

1940s Birth of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Bollywood Heroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Commercial content like stunt drama, family drama, socio-political sagas personifying the common man.

page 1 2 3

Emphasis on the profile of the face. Type used was Hindi in Latin. Photorealism used in visuals.

History of Indian film posters

1960s

1924

Influence of the golden age of Hollywood. Romantic musicals and dialogues. Formal latin titles. Mention of hit songs heard on the radio.

Designed and hand painted by the director, Baburao Painter. Bilingual text and coloured visual. Formal layout. Emphasis on the subject of the movie and not on persons.

1930s

1970s

Displayed in public spaces.

Era of the angry young man-

Bilingual text and visuals interacting.

Amitabh Bachchan.

Emphasis was on the costume and

Action, drama, fight scenes, larger than life.

characters. Frame extended, images bleed.

Warm colour shemes. Dictated fashion trends.

Movies based on myth and popular stories.

TYpography day 2011

Being a part of Typography Day 2011 and more specifically Team Typo was an enjoyable co-curricular activity this semester. I was a part of the newsletter team TypeHype which was circulated on all three days of the conference. It involved a lot of team effort in getting together material, communicating with the editorial team. Being a volunteer we were able to attend the presentations which gave me very interesting insights into the world of typography like work done by people from various places and backgrounds and their approaches to typography which are very different to what I was aware of so far. Apart from this we had to undertake a number of other tasked in preparation for the event and workshops.

Above is the newsletter that the team relesed on all three days. To the right are the comics I contributed to it

“In my recent introduction to the world of typography, it’s basic concepts and more speci!cally letter design as a student, I have been left amazed at it’s potential. And by having the opportunity to deal with both latin and devnagiri scripts, I made a valuable discovery. The number of structural classi!cations required to design a devnagiri letter set is at least two times that required for a latin one. This meant that not only is devnagiri script way more complex in theory but it also to some extent reflects our ‘type’ of thinking. This complexity and variety in Indian culture coupled together makes for an unending list of possibilities in type study. My poster represents these two ideas of India Complexity + Variety. The images used in the background are from our class documentation of hand drawn local letterforms to sensitize us to the beauty and abundance of them in our surroundings. I wish to highlight that how we interpret our letterforms refects what Indians are as a people.”

ज�टलता अ�छी � ।

b e a u t y i n v a r i e t y.

The experience has taught me a great deal of lessons in event organization and I feel like the experience will help me if I have to undertake event of a similar scale in the future.

RGB 2011

RGB 2011 was our NID-hosted national level

We identified some primary goals:

design festival that took place on the 11th, 12th

1. The need to reaffirm NIDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s status in this

and 13th of March this year. I was a part of the

golden jubilee year as a pioneering and

core organizing team and dealt more specifically

leading institute in the field of design in

with visual communication and promotional

India even today with the changing design

matters. This involved a wide variety of tasks

education scenario.

that had to be carried out with a lot of planning

2. To use the festival as a means of uniting

and care. By organizing the event we were made

young Indian designers for a common cause of

responsible for every action carried out and

establishing what Indian design could be and

answerable to the institute and sponsors of the

should be.

event. It was the first time I had assumed such a

3. To make students regain faith in our local

primary role in an event of such magnitude.

resources and not be overly influenced by foreign design that we neglect our own

With respect to my specific duties, I shared

strengths.

them equally with two other graphic design

With these goals in mind we began work on

colleagues, Sanchit and Kautuk. Together we

the identity. The core question we posed in

began informal discussions initially on what we

our brainstorming was â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;What makes Indians

saw as necessary for RGB 2011 to be about this

unique?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Answering this question would reveal

year. These discussions began at the beginning

to us our strengths which we could then build

of the semester and built up into more serious

upon. With this understanding we built a

debates and brainstorming sessions.

model and started thinking in visual terms.

A M AT N S H W DIA IN

S E K

Q I N

? E U L religion spirituality beliefs superstitio ns

R IVE

Y SIT

adjustable

D OU more is good

mythology