Form & Composition
Illustrator Compositions — Individual Project 2019
About the Project
To explore various ways a composition can evoke emotion, we were required us to utilize black squares on four-by-four inch canvases. Manipulating the black squares in space in different ways can create feeling. It is crucial to understand the impact each black square has in relation to one another as well as how positive and negative space effect the visual. Using one or one-hundred black squares to exude five separate words was the objective of this project. These five words are Order, Tension, Congestion, Playfulness and Comfort. Through many sketches and iterations, I was able to create a composition which I felt adequately described each word.
Project Process
There were two main processes of this project. The first was sketching. In order to brainstorm ideas for each word, it was necessary to jot down, sketch, sharpie a wide range of ideas. This was to observe which qualities of a composition was effective in evoking the emotion in use. I have provided over 25 thumbnails of my initial thoughts below in Figures 1–7.
Sketching
When sketching, I attempted to capture my feelings toward and experiences with each word. I have listed each word and the specific thought process.
ORDER — My initial thoughts for order revolved around a chess or checker board, or perfectly linear horizontal segments of blocks. Furthermore, just a single, centered black square in Figure 1 filling up most of the canvas demonstrated order to me.
TENSION — When brainstorming this concept, I considered under what circumstances I feel tension. Experiences where I was anticipating something or feeling very uncomfortable evoked a tense feeling. I tried to incorporate this idea. For example in Figure 2 the thumbnail with all squares aligned in rows and columns and one misplaced or not present caused me to feel uncomfortable.
COMFORT — Comfort was probably the most difficult word for me to brainstorm. I tried to execute a composition where the squares were comfortably at rest and in order. I hoped this would create a harmony within the space.
PLAYFULNESS — Playfulness was an entertaining word to generate concepts for. I thought a lot about childhood games and lively canvases with a lot of motion.
CONGESTION — Initial concepts for this word were based loosely off traffic congestion and spacial congestion for the blocks. This one, I would later realize, gravity could play an essential role in. In Figure 5, I liked a lot of the ideas behind my sketches but they were lacking the gravitational component.
These thumbnails were all relatively simple. I was able to experiment more when iterating in Illustrator.
Iterations
The next step is iterating. While it was beneficial to create initial thumbnails in my sketch book, I felt more comfortable adjusting these and creating new ideas in Adobe Illustrator.
Playfulness
I applied the childhood games ideas and tried to add depth to the compositions. I ended up with the image on the left of Figure 8. This one spoke the most to me. The flow of the composition draws your eyes from left to right to take in the entire canvas. Not only does it encompass the essence of a whimsical game I played when I was young, it can also be viewed as a goofy face.
Congestion
I applied the gravitation effects of a pile of blocks. I really liked the idea of a block getting caught when trying to reach the lowest point to rest. This is exhibited best in the furthest right composition in Figure 9, which I chose to represent congestion.
Order
I used the contrast of order and disorder in the left most canvas of Figure 10. The order of the square inside each block is accentuated by the angled and staggered larger blocks.
Tension
I captured the experience of twisting fabric in the right most canvas in Figure 11. The fabric is in tension, so much so that the fabric is fraying at the edges.
Comfort
The strong linkages of chains evoked the feeling of comfort for me. I iterated many times and manipulated the chain linkages. Ultimately, the ‘v’ shaped chain linkages makes me feel most comfortable. The shape can be interpreted in a few different ways. It can be viewed as a heart which radiates love and comfort or even as two individuals holding hands. This makes me feel comfort.
More iterations & ideas
