LESSON 3
DEPICTION THROUGH LINES, DOTS AND SHAPES
CONTENTS 3.0
OBJECTIVES
3.1
INTRODUCTION
3.2
LOGO D ESIGNS
3.3
GESTALT LAWS
3.4
ASSIGNMENTS 3.4.1 CLASS ASSIGNMENTS 3.4.2 HOME ASSIGNMENT
3.5
SUMMING UP
3.6
TERMINAL QUESTIONS
3.7
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED FURTHER READING
3.8
GLOSSARY
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3. DEPICTION THROUGH LINES, DOTS AND SHAPES In the previous two lessons of this first Unit, you were introduced to the basic elements of design, namely, the Dot, Line and shape. You were also introduced to the use of scrawly lines. In this lesson you will see how lines and shapes can be used to express feelings and emotions. It would do well to remember that any artistic creation is also a means of expression and communication of an idea or emotion.
3.0
Objectives After going through this lesson, you will:
•
Acquire an understanding of how feelings, thoughts and ideas can be expressed with the help of lines and shapes.
•
Understand how to read different symbols and signs of companies.
3.1
Introduction
It was explained in the previous lessons that lines, dots and shapes can be used to describe feelings, emotions and words. Also you have seen how dots alone can be used to show feelings and words. Similarly, lines can also depict feelings and words. From the examples given below, it would be clear that the way we draw a line in coordination with other lines, can produce a visual effect, an impact, an image that strikes the brain to produce a feeling. For instance, to show joy and sorrow (Figs 3.1 & 3.2), you can make a curved line upwards and downwards respectively. However, this is not the only motive. As a designer one needs to express things in many ways. For making an impression on the consumers’ minds we need to understand their mindset and look at things in different ways. Try and find new meanings, understand the depth of the word or the feeling and then portray it using various lines.
Fig. 3.1 Joy
Fig. 3.2 Sorrow
Fig. 3.3 Sun
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Similarly, shapes also invoke feelings and describe words. Some examples are given below: For Sun we draw a circle with lines radiating outwards. Often everyone across the globe will make such an image for the Sun (Fig. 3.3). This forms a universal language of signs and symbols, which is easy to understand. Let us see some examples of words depicted by shapes alone (Figs. 3.4-3.20).
Fig. 3.4 Meaningful
Fig. 3.8 Anger
Fig. 3.11a Chaos
Fig. 3.15 Bright
Fig. 3.5 Balance
Fig.3.9 Difficult
Fig. 3.12 Time
Fig. 3.16 Erratic
Fig. 3.6 Harmony
Fig.3.10 Loneliness
Fig. 3.7 Knowledge
Fig. 3.11 Chaos
Fig. 3.13 Mother & Child
Fig. 3.14 Diverse
Fig. 3.17 Hierarchy
Fig. 3.18 Stable
3 Fig. 3.19 Steep
Fig. 3.20 Joy
Activity 1. Make three boxes of 3” x 3” and show lonely, strength, outburst, joy, knowledge, bright, steep, balance, chaos, level and diverse with the help of lines.
3.2
Logo Designs
Logo designs for various companies are symbols that describe what their company stands for, their motives and what they can provide to their consumers. For Example: •
The logo of State bank of India - could mean a locker, a lock and key or a safe place to keep your money and valuables (Fig. 3.12).
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The Logo of Help-age India - This stands for caring for the old and aged, which is very nicely depicted in their logo.
Fig. 3.21 Logo of SBI
To understand the shapes and their visual impact we need to learn about the theory of Gestalt Laws. These are a set of 10 laws which help us understand shapes and lines and the effect they produce when placed in various ways.
Activity 2. Draw four more logos or symbols of important companies, banks or institutions and explain the meaning of those symbols.
3.3
Gestalt Laws
Gestalt theory is said to have originated in Austria or Germany towards the end of the 19th century. It has become fundamental to several disciplines, including design and its application. Gestalt theory focuses on the mind’s perceptive processes. The word Gestalt has no direct translation in English, but refers to "a way a thing has been gestalt; i.e., placed or put together.
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Gestalt theorists follow the basic principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In other words, the whole (a picture, a car) carried a different and altogether a greater meaning than its individual components (paint, canvas, brush; or tire, paint, metal). In viewing the "whole," a cognitive process takes place; the mind makes a leap from comprehending the parts to realizing the whole. Associative theorists broke down and analyzed individual stimuli, or the "elementary constituent parts" of the mind. For Gestalt theorists, the grouping of these stimuli, the viewing of the "organized wholes," produced a different view. Grouping comprised of: •
Proximity - elements tend to be grouped together according to their nearness.
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Similarity - items similar in some respect tend to be grouped together.
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Closure - items are grouped together if they tend to complete some entity.
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Simplicity - items will be organized into simple figures according to symmetry, regularity, and smoothness. These factors were called the laws of organization.
3.4
Assignments
3.4.1 Class assignments i) Make 6 boxes of 3’’x3’’ on a sheet of A4 paper. Xerox these 10 times and keep them for further use. Now depict the following words and feelings keeping in mind all that is said above: •
Loneliness, love, joy, serenity, motion, chaos, anger, help, sorrow, mother, family, old, surprise, unsure, bright, care, hierarchy- these are 18 words; you should be able to draw out 6 on one A4 page. If you can express a word in more than one way, feel free to do so. The more you do this exercise; the better will be your understanding.
This exercise needs to be done in 3 ways: •
Using the same thickness of the line in black on white A4 sheets.
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Using only dots – they can be of different diameter.
•
Using lines only but in various thicknesses.
ii) Using shapes alone depict the following words in boxes of 3’’x3’’ on A4 paper: •
Love, joy, family, chaos, precious, sorrow, violence, strength, beginning, finish, empty, care, old, alien, weakness and bold.
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3.4.2 Home assignment i) Look in magazines, and collect 10 pictures of various kinds of compositions in lines. Paste them on thick paper and give them a caption suitable to their respective feelings or words.
3.5
Summing Up
By now, you must be aware of all the elements of design such as dots, lines and shapes. Further, you must be acquainted with the concepts of scrawls, their types and also how things and feelings can be depicted with the help of dots, lines and shapes. Now let us summarize what we have learnt today. •
When you draw a line in coordination with other lines, you can produce a visual effect, an impact. An image strikes the brain and a feeling is depicted.
•
Try and find new meanings, understand the depth of the word or the feeling and then portray it using various lines.
•
Just like lines, shapes also invoke feelings and describe words.
•
There is a universal language of signs and symbols, which people across the globe can understand.
•
In the understanding of shapes and their visual impact we need to learn about the theory of Gestalt Laws.
3.6
Terminal Questions
1. How do you depict feelings with the help of lines? 2. Shapes also invoke feelings and describe words.
True / False
3. Explain Gestalt Laws. 4. Name and describe the laws of organization. 5. Depict 4 logos and observe their visual impact. Then explain their meaning.
3.7
References and Suggested Further Reading
1. Betala, R. 2005. Design Comprehension and Visualization. Ane Books, Delhi. 2. Yates, M. 1986. Textile: A Hand book for designers; W.W. Norton & Co., New York.
3.8
Glossary 6
1. Chaos: Disorder 2. Diverse: Different 3. Motive: Purpose 4. Impression: Imprint 5. Psychology: The science that investigates the phenomena of mental and emotional life 6. Depict: Draw 7. Serene: Calm 8. Hierarchy: Power Structure 9. Invoke: Summon 10. Caption: Title 11. Radiating: To proceed in divergent lines from a central point 12. Harmony: Compatibility 13. Precious: Valuable 14. Violence: Disorder 15. Alien: strange 16. Literal: Verbal
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