Project Two: Form & Composition
Print / Illustration
2019
Individual Project
About the Project
The project was an assignment in the Communication Design Fundamentals course taught by Suzanne Choi. The goal of the project was to explore how objects in space can convey meaning by means of their position in space and in relation to others. Specifically, we were asked to demonstrate certain words (order, tension, congestion, comfort, playfulness) with illustrations using only black squares that could be overlapping or exceed the frame but would not be used as “pixels”.
Project Process
First, 5 initial sketches for each word were hand drawn with markers on a sketchbook. For each word, 2–3 promising candidate sketches were then reproduced in Adobe Illustrator and iterated on, from which one was chosen for the final print. In general, I started with more conventional sketches, then ventured into more creative or unconventional territory.
Order
The first things that jumped to my mind were identical shapes arranged in a straight line, grid, or similar. However, it became clear to me that these designs were very cliché, and I needed something more interesting. The idea first appeared in the “binary tree” sketch, where the sizes of the squares decreased at each level and the number increased. To add more novelty, I settled on the final design, which involved an arrow-like negative space, with squares decreasing by half in size each time. I also added smaller squares to further demonstrate the flow towards the direction of the arrow-like shape.
Tension
Initially, most of my ideas involved depicting objects in a position of an unstable equilibrium, or some sort of push-and-pull. However, I thought that potential for motion illustrated tension more than a literal depiction of a tense situation; the simplicity of the single square in the center also really attracted me. Rachel, the TA, suggested that I rotate the square slightly to increase the feeling of tension. Then, I combined the two ideas by adding four squares in the corners of the illustration, intending to depict an implicit attraction to all four corners. To correspond to the four corner squares, I also split the center square into four squares in a expanding configuration, to further the idea of the implicit pull.
Congestion
When I think of congestion, I think of a series of objects that are unable to pass through a passageway because they are stuck against each other. However, I had an additional idea that partially stems from my background in math and computer science, which was to have a series of “maximal” squares that were the largest they could be in the irregular space they are in. Rachel also commented that the saw-like pattern was an interesting aspect of the design. To create more separation between the squares, I added a thin gap between all of them.
Playfulness
The natural way to illustrate playfulness are with objects that are more randomly scattered than following a structured pattern. However, I thought that in order to have playfulness, one must still have a initial structure from which they can deviate on. This is the reason why I chose the sketch in the shape of a person to iterate on. From there I scrambled the squares further, increasing overlaps and introducing more left-right swing.
Comfort
When I think of comfort, I think of the feeling of being surrounded by people you trust, to be in a place where you don’t feel the need to escape or move further. The initial sketches all illustrated that, but I found them quite boring. I iterated on one of them by creating a “still animation” of sorts by depicting the fall of a black square from a high place into a crevice where it is embraced by two giant black squares.
Conclusion
I think the idea of conveying a message through only black squares in a frame is incredibly powerful. Even though they are “just” black squares, there are still an incredible number of variable parameters that can be explored in design, such as size, space, and overlap, which are important elements of Gestalt theory. Oftentimes designers are overly invested with the minute details, but not the bigger picture, which the black squares serve to represent.
