3
semester
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a document by Simoul Premraj Alva B. des 2014
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Contents
Colour & Form
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Science & liberal arts
33 Typography
39 Photography
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Experimental poster design
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Illustration
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Drawing & visualisation
89 History of graphic design
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Colour & Form Faculty : anil sinha
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weeks 6 credits
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UNDERSTANDING a
colour theoretician STUDYING Munsell Albert Henry Munsell (1858-1918) was an American painter, teacher of art, and the inventor of the Munsell color system. The system consists of three independent dimensions which can be represented cylindrically in three dimensions as an irregular color solid:hue, measured by degrees around horizontal circles; chroma, measured radially outward from the neutral (gray) vertical axis; and value, measured vertically from 0 (black) to 10 (white).In each dimension, Munsell colours are as close to perceptually uniform as he could make them, which makes the resulting shape quite irregular.
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process Munsell’s colour model had five primary colours: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple. He had proposed the colour model based on a human hand. To represent Munsell’s theory we used an umbrella which had ten spokes and combined two spokes to make it a five spoke umbrella which represents the 5 primary colours. The centre was where the grey scale was made, with white being at the top and black being at the nose of the umbrella.
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A 3D COLOUR WHEEL Our final model was an interactive model where the colour wheel could be rotated on its axis. We also placed white balls at the end of each spoke to show that if the umbrella closed, all the hues would move towards white. This was also done to keep the attention fixed on the colours.
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LOGOS & COLOUR While we were researching colour combinations like complimentary, triadic, splitcomplimentay, analogous, mono-chromatic, we came across brand identities which use these combinations to achieve colour harmony.
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Creating identity for Indian states
We had to each choose a state and create a visual language for its railways and state transport buses. For this we had to define a colour palette and create a form which reflected the state’s identity.I chose the state, Kerala and the colours that I could see very clearly across the various aspects of the state have a high level of chroma which also reflects the tropical equatorial climate they have there. The pallet has a mix of both warm colours and cool colours due to the warmth, spice and flavour of their food and climate but also retains the calmness and serenity of the backwaters.
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exploratory sketches
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FORM SELECTION The form I selected is inspired from the Thissurpooram temple festival which involves elements like elephants and umbrellas. The style used to create the form is based on a type of rangoli done in Kerala called Kalamezhutu. Rangoli and Umbrellas symbolize Welcome and Shelter respectively. The form is communicating welcome to the passengers into the train or bus which provides them with shelter till their destination.
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COLOUR AND FORM Initial form and colour explorations for Kerala based on influences from the colours from the dance form Kathakali, their state flower: Kanikonna, their spices and food items like appam dosa, stew and meen curry.
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USING KERALA’S RANGOLI This colour scheme is inspired by the flower rangoli, Pookalam done during the festival of Onam. Both the Rangoli and the form created stand for the sentiment of ‘welcoming’ people.
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Explorations
Achromatic colours Colours that don’t have a hue are called Achromatic colours. It includes the colours black and white and tones from the greyscale.
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Primary colours Colours that cannot be obtained by mixing any other colours are called Primary colours. I used those hues which I saw dominantly in Kerala’s colour palette.
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analogous colours Colours which are usually in groups of three and lie next to eachother on the colour wheel are called Analogous colours.
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Monochromatic colours exploration with Monochromatic color schemes are derived from a single base hue and extended using its shades, tones and tints.
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Cool colour variation (left) and warm colour variation (above).
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I tried experimenting by dividing the format into half to increase contrast and with one hue and an achromatic colour scheme.
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application of the form
on different surfaces After narrowing down on a few forms, we had to compose the form on the bus with respect to the colours of the form. This gave us an idea of how it would actually look on the bus. During this excercise we had to keep in mind about how the form would be applied or painted onto the bus. Hence I refrained from using gradients as it would be difficult to execute on the bus.
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state transport bus This stands for Kerala as their state animal is an elephant and the state transport department uses it as its symbol.The diagonal lines again have been used to supplement the motion of the bus and connect most part of the bus to the form to make it look comprehensive. I haven’t used the form of the umbrella so that I could use the form of the elephant freely.
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In this exploration, I applied the form with a colour scheme that would compliment the KSRTC (Kerala State Road Transport Corporation) bus colours. (as shown in the picture)
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railways I used diagonal lines with my form to make it more dynamic and break away from the symmetry of the form itself. Size of the diagonal lines are increased to add momentum and maintain continuity between the two distantly spaced forms and activate the background. The change in the format was an interesting aspect of the exercise.
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swagatam
s
For the interiors of the train, we had to create posters using our forms as the visual for the poster. As we were working for the interiors, I kept the colours warm and earthy and experimented with more intricate variations of my form.
swagatam
swagatam
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Repetition of the form to create eating mats (paper) for meals. In these explorations, I have played with the scale and opacity of the form so that it compliments the food.
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Explorations on curved surfaces such as cups made me understand to use the form sparingly. I thought of colour coding them according to purpose.The orange cups are for hot beverages like tea, coffee or even soup. The blue cup is for water.
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Studying and understanding the colour ‘orange’
For this assignment we had to understand the contextual, cultural, symbolic and physical attributes of a colour. I chose the colour ‘orange’ because I wanted to understand its significance both in the Indian as well as the Western world. I ended up discovering its signifance in religions such as Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism. An analysis like this was crucial because it made me realise the factors that go into making a colour choice due to attachment and perception people have with and of the colour.
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Brand analysis We had to study five brands and understand their relationship with their colour and identity. The most interesting part was comprehending how the projection of a brand affected its perception and the value it possessed. For example, the postioning of Vodafone was very different from Orange or Hutch in terms of ideology, visual language and marketing which in turn changed the way it was related to by its customers in the market.
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Science and Liberal Arts Faculty : madhusudan mukerjee
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week 2 credits
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Introduction to
Semiotics As a visual communication student, it was crucial to learn about the science of interpretation and signs. We were introduced to Sausseur and the relation between the Signifier and the Signified. It was interesting to learn how ‘signs’ are arbitary and thus the associations behind them are difficult to change. Thus, language itself is made of signifiers and signifieds and it oftens becomes the crux of the message even though it is just a medium. Like language, even structures are made up of signs. The other major semiotic theory developed by C. S. Peirce defines the sign as a triadic relation as“something that stands for something, to someone in some capacity”. He also breaks signs into three types: Icons, Indices or Symbols.
Ferdinand De Saussure (Above) and C. S Peirce (Below)
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Binary oppositions At the bottom of every structure, there is a binary opposition. The movie ‘Unbreakable’ made the whole concept of how one ‘Signified’ (Elijah Price’s Osteogenesis Imperfecta) could have multiple ‘Signifiers’ (using a single object, glass) lucid. It also crystallized the concept of Binary Opposites. This makes you wonder that how much of your identity is yours without a significant other. This is similar to a dialectic relationship between a master and a slave because the master’s identity comes from the slave’s existence.
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Langue and Parole Each person’s langue is a set of rules which allow him to follow or conform with a syntax (parole). While analyzing advertisements, one can guage the maker’s langue. It was interesting to understand how one’s langue is not only the what allows you to make sense by elimination and then differentiation but also a yardstick by which one either stays on the metonymic layer or graduates to understanding the metaphoric depth. Going by Marxist ideology, our very parole and langue, which are at the base of our ideologies and social consciousness, is actually the result of the interests promoted by the dominant groups in society. How myths are depoliticized and made to look innocent but are actually the propagation of bourgeoise signifiers, which are interchanged with their actual object to suit their convience.
Alienation of the proletariat class by separating the labour from their produce
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post-modernism The ‘Allegory of the Cave’ by Plato draws a parallel to Simulacrum as the reality within the cave was based on shadows. In the Post Modern Age, Simulacrum holds good because of the lack of Master Signifiers, which lay emphasis on the object itself.
finally Freud Studying Sigmund Freud’s theories about Psychic Causality, dreams, infantile sexuality and the iceberg analogy made me realise how a majority of one’s associations are based on one’s psyche and experiences which determine a person’s langue and enable him to perceive the signifiers to understand a sign. This made semiotics comprehensible from the point of the interpretant.
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Typography Faculty : tarundeep girdher
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weeks 6 credits
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NAMES IN
different scripts On the very first day, we wrote our names in the different scripts we knew. This helped identify the scripts we were familiar with. These scripts were Latin and vernacular scripts like Devnagri, Gurmukhi and Bengali.
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We then picked a partner through chits and had to spend the rest of the day getting to know the person better. My partner was Ritu Kumari. The second stage of the assignment included making a list of adjectives that described her well. We were then again reshuffled to find ourselves with new names to work with. Each of us now had a set of adjectives describing another person. This time I had Utkarsh Chaturvedi.
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EXPRESSING WITH
different typefaces
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Smart //witty Out of the adjectives used to describe Utkarsh, I chose Smart and Witty as they came the closest to Utkarsh’s personality. To express the word ‘Smart’, I explored different typographic compositions with typefaces like Avantgarde and Futura because of their straight, geometric, sharp and clear form.
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choosing
witty
smart
To denote the word, ‘Witty’, I experimented with typefaces like Archer and American Typewriter. I felt like these typefaces expressed wit as they had straight and clean lines but due to their ball terminals they had an element of quirk to them. Also, I created compositions which brought out the word ‘Chatur’ which is similar in meaning to the word Witty.
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Final Composition I chose Archer by Hoefler and FrereJones to represent the word witty. It was a close call between American Typewriter by ITC and Archer, but the former gave the word a character of slyness along with witty. I played with two weights: Archer Book and Archer Bold to give emphasis to ‘chatur’.
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letter rush with
Kriti Monga 2 days//2 nights
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drawing black letter When we were introduced to the five major styles of Calligraphy, we were told that however free calligraphy looked as an art, it was still an extremely mindful and conscious activity. I chose Black Letter out of the five styles because I was intrigued by its beautiful form and the number of ornamental elements that went into drawing a single letter.
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TAILS, FLOURISHES AND SOME
hand lettering 48
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using our bodies for
creating water type This was an extremely fun part of the course as we were drawing letter forms on a larger scale with water and using mops, sponges and brooms as brushes. We took turns as our ‘canvases’, the wet ground dried up. Our bodies danced across the ground as we tried to get the proportions of the letters despite the scale.
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STUDYING
Adobe Minion Pro Minion is a serif typeface designed by Robert Slimbach in 1990 for Adobe Systems and inspired by late Renaissance-era type. The name comes from the traditional naming system for type sizes, in which minion is between nonpareil and brevier, equivalent to modern 7pt type.
Typafaces that look similar to Minion Pro are Sabon Next, Garamond Premier Pro, Esta and Adobe Garamond.
Minion Pro Regular Minion Pro Medium Minion Pro Semibold Minion Pro Bold Minion Pro Bold Condensed Minion Pro Bold Condensed Italic Minion Pro Italic Minion Pro Medium Italic Minion ProSemibold Italic Minion Pro Bold Italic
&&& O NPA
Stress angle is at 11 o’ clock- Old Style. Swashes are available in Italic fonts only.
m st ſl ₹ It is one of the most popular typefaces used in books, one of the most famous being The Elements of Typographic Style, Robert Bringhurst’s book about fine printing and page layout.
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Indic Script
type walk One early morning, we set out to document examples of handpainted letter forms in the Indic Script. Our group covered the areas around Mandvini Poll and Manek Chowk. The variety that all the groups came back with was astounding. I noticed how hand painted signs were more dominant in the Old City than any other part of the city.
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DRAWING BY EXAMPLE Each one of us was alloted hand painted examples to draw on our grid sheets. We had to maintain a X-height of 5 cm. After this, the most interesting part of the word was selected for us to redraw at the X-height of 20 cm.
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In a classroom discussion we unanimously indentified the examples that looked the most interesting and uncommon. We then were given just the characters in the example and asked to derive the entire letter set in Gujarati.
I had to draw ‘Munda’ from the word ‘Chamunda’.
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three characters down find the rest
The letter set we had to form was based on an example which was monolinear, oblique and exaggerated in nature. We started establishing a visual language which helped us interpret what the rest of the set would look like. These guidelines were based on observations like the angle at which the terminals are cut, the curve between two matras etc.
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As a group, we had discussions and made iterations to come as close to the character of the original letters. Initally, all four of the group members made one version of each character. We made multiple variations for letters we felt required more exploration. We also made a set of numbers in both the Indic Script as well as the Latin Script and the character ‘Om’.
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REUNITIng the family
After finishing the entire set, we put it together and arranged them both phoenetically (left) and visually. While arranging them visually we had to group them on the basis of similarity in character. We named our letter set ‘Maggi Reloaded’ because of its uniform width and slanted form. The next step was digitizing three letters that were assigned to us.
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Node mode The biggest challenge while making the vectors was maintaining the uniform width of the characters. Also, I tried to minimize the number of nodes used to create a letter form and keep the handles tangential to the form. While doing this,I made a conscious effort to both correct the form yet retain the original form we had drawn as a group. I also made a few words from the extra letters I vectorized.
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Maggi reloaded letters arranged on the basis of similarity in character.
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round terminal variation As an exploration, I digitalized the characters with round terminals. This form brings it closer to the name we gave it, ‘Maggi reloaded’. As our letter set was monolinear, it was interesting to see a variation in terminals if not in width.
poster design For our course display, I made a poster using characters from all four letter sets our class produced to make the word ‘swagat’. (right)
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Photography Faculty : Saurabh srivastav
ďż˝
weeks 4 credits
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same subject
different lights We had to work in pairs and take photographs of each other in different light conditions in a span of 45 minutes each. I experimented with both Artificial as well Natural light by using both studio as well as sunlight and diffused sunlight.
All photos shot with a Nikon 60. Above photo: F-4, Exposure time:1/1600. Shot with a wide angle lens.
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Experiments with the
normal
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Experiments with the
Experiments with the
wide angle
wide angle
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Portraits The expression and the information one is trying to convey is the crux of shooting a potrait. We also learned about how the photograph can undergo barrel or pin-cushion distortion based on the angle one has shot from. I tried to apply the rule of thirds while shooting most potraits.
Starts from above: anticlockwise: F-6.3, exposure time: 1/80; F-4.5, exposure time: 1/100; F-5.3, exposure time: 1/80, F-5.6, exposure time: 1/80. Model: Nikon D60.
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street photography Taking photographs on the streets of Mandvini Poll was quite a challenge as every photo required different settings and one had to be quick in order to capture their subject.
Starts from right: clockwise: F-8, ET-1/80; F-6.3, ET-1/80; F-4.8, ET1/80; F-9, ET-1/80; F-4.8, ET-1/80; F-5, ET-1/80
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Starts from left: b/w potrait: F-5.3, ET-1/8; b/w sitting: F-4.8, ET-1/20; eyes: F-5, ET-1/6; colour potrait: F-4.5, ET-1/20. Model: D3200
personality portrait For this assignment, we needed to capture the personality of a person through a photograph. I had to use a tripod to mount the camera as we were shooting in the hostel area at night. The source of light was a tubelight, so for maximum exposure,I kept the shutter speed as low as possible.It was fun planning the attire and location with Vivitsa to bring out her dramatic and vivacious personality.
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posters For a
social cause As our final assignment, we had to choose social causes and represent them in the form of posters. The visual content of the posters had to be photographed either using the studio or outside. I chose to work with three topics: Peer Pressure, the Harmful effects of Smoking and Domestic Violence. We were encouraged to conceptualize on a metaphorical as well as direct level. The interesting part was understanding how the studio lighting works and creating the set-up required for the shoot. We were also introduced to photo-editing and could use text which supplemented the visual.
In order of appearance: Peer Pressure: F-9, ET- 1/80 (perpendicular snoot and two light cutters); No Smoking: F-18, ET1/160 (perpendicular studio light with light diffuser) and Domestic Violence: F-9, ET1/125 (Using two parallel light cutters, one perpendicular diffused studio light and one snoot on the back)
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History of Graphic Design Faculty : Tanishka Kachru
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week 2 credits
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Concepts of Historical thinking One of the crucial things we were taught in this course was how to assess historical information. Under the concept of historical significance, an event in history is said to be significant if it resulted in change, revealed stereotypes or had a meaningful place in a narrative. Another concept we learned was about continuity and change. This emphasized on whether an event was a turning point, resulted in progress or decline and showed chronology.
For Example, ‘The British Beehive’ illustration (left:middle) shows Britain progress as an industrial power. It also gives us an idea of the types of professions and inventions that occurred in the Industrial age.
‘Great Exhibition’ during Impressionism markets industrial goods to the middle class. This influences the way malls are built.
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production and consumption
From top left, clockwise: Salvador Dali (Surrealism), Wassily Kandinsky (Abstraction), Marcel Duchamp (Dadaism) & Gustav Klimt (Modernism)
While studying different art movements from around the world, I realised how these are both the sources of production and consumption of the events occuring parallel to these.The Dada movement stood for revolting people by the work it produced as a reaction to the destrcution of the 1st World War.
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Difference in eras The stark contrast between the posters created during Modernism and Post Modernism is visible through the semiotics attached to them. Propaganda posters used by the Soviet Union banned abstraction as they considered it bougeoise. In the Post Modern Age, Swiss Graphic Design flourished. The tennets of this style were simplicity, objectivity and legibility. It depended more on meaning making and was deconstructive in nature.
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Narratives We had to find the narrative between ten objects that belonged to the history of Indian Graphic Design. One of the connections I made was between RK Laxman’s cartoons to Gyan Chaupar as both served the same function of pointing out immorality of society.
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Drawing & Visualization Faculty : immanuel suresh
ďż˝
weeks 4 credits
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drawing my
batchmates For our first assignment, we had to draw live potraits of all our batchmates. We started by drawing blind potraits to register the form in our mind. In that process I explored different mediums like charcoal, ink, chiesel tip marker, water colour and soft pastels. The variety I tried in terms of treatment helped me in the subsequent illustration course.
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profiles The interesting thing about drawing profiles is the emphasis one has to give the counter-form over the form itself. This was very similar to drawing letter forms in our Typography course.
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coloured potraits Working with colour was very different from working with just black as the treatment had to be layered to show depth. Also one has to be quicker than usual as it is a live potrait in mediums which consume more time to execute.
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Chisel Marker This technique was tricky as every line stood for a degree of light and shadow. Also, for the faces of girls, I had to be careful or else they looked haggard.
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rendering surfaces Through these assignments, the power of using a single tool to demonstrate different depths, light conditions and surfaces was established. The challenge with rendering the drapery was capturing the weight and texture.
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studying foliage While drawing foliage, line width to create depth and composition are very important. The information captured while drawing a plant comes through by proportion of the parts of the plant to the entire plant and detailing and texture of the plant.
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full sclale tree After drawing an A2 size sketch of a sugar palm tree, I decided to take it forward by drawing a 1:1 sketch of it. It was challenging because the format and the subject was bigger than me and capturing the proportions required regular cross referencing from varied heights. Also, due to the size of the tree, I had to work in a fixed time frame to maintain the same rendering which was affected by the change in light.
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Illustration Faculty : Siddharth Tripathi
3
weeks 6 credits
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For our first assignment, we had to illustrate a poster for Ahemdabad. We were asked to roam the city and weave as many elements or stories from the city into the poster.
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POSTER FOR
Ahemdabad My poster shows the city as a cross-section of a step well. I chose a characteristic form from the architecture of the city and used layers to show the different dimensions of the city. I replaced the water and the end of the step with a glass of chai to show the hospitality of the city.
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POSTERS FOR Mumbai As an extension to our first assignment we had to make posters that represented aspects of Ahemdabad that reminded us of our home cities.
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ANDREW HEM MEETS Jamini Roy
For this assignment we had to use one artist’s composition and another artist’s style. This helped me grow out of my own style and understand the visual character of Roy’s style yet keep the essence of Hem’s composition.
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final artwork Illustrating Andrew Hem’s composition, ‘Hero’ in Jamini Roy’s treatment.
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illustrating a
Gujarati recipe We were each given a traditional snack made in Ahemdabad. I had to find and illustrate the recipe of Sev Khamani. First we looked for places which made Sev Khamani and went back to them at the time they prepared it as for Khaman, the dal has to be soaked 5-6 hours prior to cooking time.
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I went to ‘Mehta’ restaurant (Paldi) and documented their method of making Sev Khamani. We went at 5 am to see the process before the restaurant opened. In my recipe, I covered the recipe of making Khaman as well as Sev Khamani, as it is usually made from the left overs of Khaman. I also documented the process of making the condiments that go with Sev Khamani, like chutney.
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recipe illustrated The recipe was illustrated on a middle folding A3 sheet with the ingredients and measurements on the outside, so one could assemble all the ingredients before starting.
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illustrating a
Storybook For our final assignment, we had to illustrate a story of our choice. I chose to illustrate, ‘Girls’ by Mrinal Pandey because this story has stayed with me for years after I had read it in my school textbook. I also wanted to give form to those characters I had pictured when I had read it for the first time.
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Exploration I tried different treatments to bring out the essence of the characters of the story. As the story a strong Indian setting, I used a style inspired by Bengali artists, Jamini Roy and Ramananda Bandyopadhyay.
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technique The art work for the story is created with water colour and outlined in brown photo ink. Even though the story is about an eight year old girl, the message of the story is for an older audience. Hence I tried to balance this out in the style of the illustration and colour.
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PAGES FROM THE storybook
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Cover Variations I kept the style of the cover different from the style of the book to bring variation in the visual language. I also experimented with the title, ‘girls’and wrote it in a both delicate and childish manner. I decided to go with the crayon scribbled title as it brought out the innocence of the young protagonist.
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Experimental Poster Design Faculty : rupesh vyas
1
week 2 credits
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CREATING MOTION in water To portray my concept of ‘Rehydration’, I wanted to create motion in water. Instead of using an electric motor with a propeller, I decided to follow a more interactive approach. Initally, I experimented with Kapas oil (cotton), almond oil, Sunflower oil and tried using photoinks to colour the water.
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assembling all the components Initially, I had to test different types of oil and water soluble colours to arrive at my primary solutions. I made an acrylic tank and a wooden stand from scratch to hold the liquids in place. I used Chile Pine for the stand and sealed the acrylic tank using Chloroform and Silicon. For the final experiment, I used Refined Sunflower oil and a blue solution of poster paint as poster paint doesn’t mix with the oil.
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fruits coated in fevicol Apart from water, I wanted to use fruits to show the most natural form of rehydration available to us that we often ignore. I used real fruits in my final poster and preserved them for longer by applying fevicol on them. For some of the fruits that extended out of the format, I used transparent acrylic pieces to make it look like they were suspended in the air.
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final concept On adding eno to the tank containing oil and water, gas bubbles float up through the oil due to the formation of carbon-di-oxide. These blue bubbles represent the rise of the waterlevel in the body through rehydration. The eno also serves as a simulation of ORS. The fruits chosen are one of the highest in water content. The aim of this poster was to emphasize the importance of rehydration through natural means like fruits and water.
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Extra Work Throughout the semester
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posters for
baatein and Monsoon fiesta 130
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illustrations made during Inktober
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food photography
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Acknowledgements This semester wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my batchmates. The momentum that kept me going came from the energy and spirit my class possesses. I am grateful to all the faculty members who have taught me this semester and walked me through the foundation of Graphic Design. They helped make the transition from foundation to third semester smoother. I would also like to thank the work shop kakas, Soni Bhai, Deepak Bhai and Kamlesh Bhai who were ever so patient with me during courses that required using the workshop. Also, the Print Labs and Dilip Bhai for helping us get acquainted to the resources there. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents for their unconditional love and support they’ve always given me.
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Document dimensions: 210mm x 148.5 mm
Headline typefaces used: Walbaum (Bold Italic) designed by Justus Erich Walbaum. Bebas Neue designed by Ryoichi Tsunekawa.
Body typeface used: Avenir designed by Adrian Frutiger.
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simoul alva//b.des 2014 136