Project 2: Form & Composition
About the Project
This project was completed as a way to explore how objects in space can convey meaning through their placement compared to other objects in space and with the space itself. These compositions were created for the class Communication Design Fundamentals. The aim of the project was to understand Gestalt principles, which emphasize that whole compositions are more interesting than the sum of their parts.
To display the principles in action, we were required to do create five sketches for each of five different words: order, tension, congestion, playfulness, and comfort. Only black squares could be used in the sketches. The squares could overlap or “bleed” off of the page, but they could not have any strokes or transparency. The illustrations were also not allowed to be painfully literal, for example portraying a smiley face for playfulness.
Project Process
First, the sketches were done on paper in 3" by 3" spaces. I made my first draft with pencil before tracing with a fineliner and filling in the squares with a Sharpie marker. The sketches were then remade on Illustrator and further refined after desk critiques.
Order
For order, my first thought was a pyramid — one square at the top, two squares below that, and three squares at the bottom. The order was expressed in the increasing number of squares and overall organization of them. The second sketch, which was right below it, exemplified order with smaller blocks stacked on top of larger blocks. The third depicted a row of blocks arranged from smallest to largest, and the fourth was a checkerboard, a continuous pattern of black and white. The fifth was a display of order in symmetry, with the one large block in the middle and two equally sized squares surrounding it. Lastly, the sixth was a refinement of the original pyramid idea. I experimented with adding another row, but I ended up being dissatisfied with how little whitespace was left in the composition. Below are the results of the original five sketches in Illustrator.
I chose to continue to refine the sketch of the pyramid, first adding my sketches to it and then experimenting with the final version. I decided to decrease the size and whitespace of the squares in higher rows to depict the order that I had portrayed in the other sketches. I also positioned the highest square so that it was close to the upper rule of thirds line. Below are the results of the Illustrator versions of the pyramid sketch. The final version is displayed on the right of these two illustrations.
Tension
I mainly thought of the concept of tension as a moment right before or right as something bad happens. The first sketch portrays blocks about to fall off a cliff, while the second shows the insurmountable barrier that the big block is to the little one. The third is a tower that is ready to be knocked down by a gigantic square, and the fourth depicts an unstable formation that would not be possible in real life. Lastly, I pictured the moment that a tower of blocks was pushed aside by a bigger square. The sixth sketch is a redraw of the first without the blocks surrounding the one falling off the cliff. Below are the original five sketches redrawn in Illustrator.
Once again, I refined the first sketch, removing the surrounding blocks to get the second version, which definitely portrayed the tense moment better. To make the effect more dramatic, I increased the angle of the square and moved it farther down the corner. The final version is pictured next to the second version below.
Congestion
For congestion, I explored quite a few ideas. My first idea was a depiction of a traffic jam, where a square that got stuck is blocking the rest of the squares from falling through the space between the big squares. My second idea showed disorderly blocks that had little room to move around. Third was a square that left very little whitespace. The fourth was also a play on whitespace, trying to show how a formation that could have been orderly ended up looking congested when zoomed in. Fifth was a type of congestion where the little square in the middle is unable to escape the area in any direction. The sixth is a refinement of the first sketch, reducing the whitespace at the bottom and adding more blocks. Below are the Illustrator versions of the original sketches.
The final version of the first sketch added even more blocks to further portray congestion, but critiques still suggested more after the piece was displayed. Below are the second and final versions of the piece.
Playfulness
For playfulness, I explored a time-lapse of a block jumping out at the viewer in the first image, utilizing the different sizes for a depth effect. The second sketch depicts the little boxes jumping out of a bigger box, almost like a present being opened. The third is a series of squares in a more playful disorder, and the fourth portrays small squares finding their way through an obstacle course. Lastly, I sketched a number of squares hopping along a bumpy road and made some edits to the original obstacle course sketch. Below are the Illustrator versions of the first five sketches.
Building more upon the obstacle course idea, I saw that the placement of the big square on the top left was nearly suffocating, threatening the playfulness of the piece. To address this problem, I moved it a little to the left and added another small square to fill the space.
Comfort
Lastly, I explored a number of different ideas for comfort. The first sketch showed a square that was completely protected from harm by the big square above — the squares surrounding the little one would catch it if it ever fell. Second was a small block landing into a bed of blocks, being cushioned when it fell. Third was a bridge of squares protecting and sheltering the little square. The fourth sketch explored a much less similar idea of comfort than the rest — I wanted to portray that those with similarities tended to find comfort in each other, so I grouped the smaller squares and bigger squares in their separate boxes. Finally, I imagined a number of squares fitting perfectly against a wall. However, I had underestimated how failing to include whitespace in between made it look like a city skyline instead. The sixth sketch was as usual a revision to help me visualize how having the little block closer to landing would look like. Below are the Illustrator versions of the original sketches.
After exploring the idea of placing the small square nearer to the landing, I filled in the landing to give it a softer feel. I was originally worried about leaving so much whitespace in the rest of the piece, but I eventually found a composition that did not bother me as much on that front. A critique of the final version suggested to make the landing area smaller to make it “fit” more, but I believed that it went against my idea of comfort for this piece. Instead, I wished to depict that the square was guaranteed to have a soft landing rather than fitting into a specific spot.
