Project 2
Form & Composition
Print/Illustration
2017
Individual Project
About the Project
This project was a class assignment designed to help us explore how objects in space can convey meaning through their placement and size in relation to other objects in space. We had to create black squares that illustrate the words order, tension, congestion, playfulness, and comfort. These squares could vary in sizes, overlap, and bleed off the edge of the composition. We were not allowed to make the designs too literal, such as spelling out words or using the squares as pixels for a more detailed picture.
Design Progress
Order
Order Sketches
These are the original sketches for order that I had, which I will describe in order from left to right and up to down.
The first sketch I tried to convey order by creating squares that alternated color.
The second sketch, I played with squares of the same size forming a pyramid-like shape.
The next sketch played with the idea of falling into order, in which a square is seemingly falling down to fill the void in the larger shape.
The fourth sketch is just squares in increasing size.
The fifth drawing had a collection of seemingly disorderly shapes that form a square to create the idea of order from disorder.
The final sketch used the white space to create a steps-like image to convey order.
Order Digital Iterations
These are the digital iterations for order. They progress from left to right, where the first two images were chosen directly from my sketches. From there, I decided to play with the bunch of shapes that come together to create a square. At first I did not know how to make the white space between the shapes even but after some fiddling with rulers I was able to get the desired image I want. I also tried to experiment with the border of the design to see if I can contrast the orderly shapes with some disorder but ultimately decided that just not having a border conveyed the sense of order the best.
Tension
Tension Sketches
In the same order as I described the order sketches, here are the sketches for tension.
The first sketch I played with the idea of big and small, having a small square that is seemingly in a tense conflict with a bigger one.
I tried to convey tension in the second sketch by having a square seemingly jump over a gap at an angle that indicates that it would be a close jump.
The third sketch has a large square precariously balanced and seemingly about to crush a smaller square.
The fourth sketches played with the idea of the big and small squares to a further extent by having an extremely large angled square seemingly come down to crush a tiny square at the corner of the screen.
The fifth and sixth sketches played with the idea of smaller squares circling up to defend against a big square.
Tension Digital Iterations
Here are some of the tension digital iterations I made. Again from left to right, I started off with a digital iteration of a few sketches. In the first two images I tried experimenting with the number of the boxes and the degree in which they hover over the small box. The third image was originally meant for playfulness but felt more like tension so I included it here. Finally, I decided to experiment with the idea of an extremely large, off the screen box. I altered the coverage of the large box and the angle of the small box to see if there would be more tension from it. I ultimately decided leaving slivers of space of the large block to make it difficult to gauge the size of it, thus increasing the tension in which the large block is going to crush the small one.
Congestion
Congestion Sketches
For the first sketch I tried to convey congestion with as few boxes as I thought I could. It turned out to be 3 squares in varying sizes.
The second sketch I tried to convey congestion through the negative space created by the shapes.
The third sketch played with the idea of two large squares restricting the flow of boxes.
The fourth sketch had one large box that restricted the flow of boxes.
In the fifth sketch I tried to convey congestion while also having all my squares within the canvas boundary.
Congestion Digital Iterations
The first congestion digital iteration seemed fairly standard with a large block seemingly blocking the flow of the smaller blocks. The second iteration i tried to create an hourglass feel but ultimately i decided that it did not convey congestion very well. The third iteration was based off a sketch where i tried to create congestion with just three blocks. In the end I liked the concept of trying to create congestion with fewer blocks but I pulled the blocks down to get rid of some of the odd white space at the bottom left corner.
Playfulness
Playfulness Sketches
The first sketch tried to convey playfulness through motion. The box is portrayed to be bouncing around.
The second and third sketches played with the idea of circus animals balancing objects on their heads.
The fourth and fifth sketches played with the idea of different sized objects in motion and having fun with each other.
The sixth sketch came from a snow-globe inspiration where there are small boxes bouncing around within the canvas.
Playfulness Digital Iterations
The digital iterations of playfulness were a bit more difficult to do. I tried to play with size and motion in all of the iterations. I ultimately decided that I wanted to use a lot of different boxes that balance on top of each other, like circus animals. The final piece on the bottom right has a wobble feel in which I think the boxes are playfully wobbling on each other. I was initially worried about the white space but ultimately it seemed to work out.
Comfort
Comfort Sketches
In the first sketch I tried to convey the idea of lounging around with a block leaning on other blocks.
The second sketch I played with the idea of a small block leaning on a large block to convey comfort.
The third sketch took the big and small to the extreme. I drew the smaller box on top to convey the idea of a baby piggy back riding a parent.
The fourth sketch has parental figures that seem to house a smaller figure.
The final sketch has boxes that seem to create a shelter for 2 smaller boxes.
Comfort Digital Iterations
The comfort sketches translated quite well into the digital iterations. I really liked how well they turned out. I ultimately chose the middle image because I felt that the size difference stands out and upon advice from one of the instructors, the white space above the small square brings some stability to the image.
