Project Two: Form & Composition
Introduction: Communicating with Squares
For Communication Design Fundamental’s Project Two, I had to explore how objects, specifically, black squares, can convey meaning through their placement. Employing Gestalt’s principles, I aimed to create a whole form greater than the sum of its parts. This goal of this project was for me to begin to understand how to communicate concepts through my designs. Through my manipulation of space, scale, and angles, I created compositions that illustrated order, tension, congestion, playfulness, and comfort. Below are my final pieces.
Process Part I: Sketching Thumbnails
Before sketching five initial versions of each of the five words, I brainstormed the meaning of each word individually.
I determined my own preconceptions of each word before sketching. To me, order is a purposeful arrangement. This could be a pattern or sequence, not necessarily ascending nor descending. For tension, a few quick ideas came to mind. Tension is almost falling. Tension also is somehing super close without touching. Congestion is unorganized and unordered clumping. Congestion is stuffiness. Playfulness is a light conversation. Playfulness is new interactions. Lastly, comfort is stability. Comfort is warmth and safety.
Order: Concepts and Sketches
Concepts for order came most naturally out of all the words. I could easily create sequences, increasing and decreasing, that showed order. Additionally, I created patterns that conveyed order. All of my squares had a since of equilibrium and similarity, two principles very tied to order.
Although the concepts were easy to come up with, it was difficult to truly be creative. The most intriguing box to me was the bottom right because it strayed away from the others. Instead, it conveyed order to me through alternating pattern and movement. I decided to pursue this idea further in my digital iterations.
Tension: Concepts and Sketches
Tension was challenging. Even though I could conceptually envision my squares, execution proved to be difficult. Some of my sketches were not tense because I did not precisely draw the squares. Precision is very important for tension because in order to convey the “almost” touches or the sense of falling, each square needs to be scaled correctly. Luckily, I knew much of this trouble would be solved during the digital iteration process.
After feedback, I decided to pursue the box in the middle right because I believe I missed the mark on the simple concept of imbalance and scale. My sketch looked too stable for tension. I wanted to redeem myself through the digital iterations where I could have more freedom to manipulate scale and precision.
Congestion: Concepts and Sketches
Congestion, similar to tension, required attention to scale. Congestion was the word I spent the most time thinking about whitespace. It was easier for me to notice the relationship between foreground and background when I filled boxes more heavily with black squares. I ultimately decided to pursue the top right box because I wanted to mess with the amount of white space and the scale squares accordingly.
Playfulness: Concepts and Sketches
Playfulness was fun. I explored interactions and movement. Specifically, I wanted to convey a sense of controlled messiness. I chose to explore the relationship between the two characters in the middle right for my final piece.
Comfort: Concept and Sketches
Comfort was difficult for me. I wanted to create a sense of balance or stability but struggled with the forms I created with the whitespace. Ultimately, I chose the top right box because it personally invoked the greatest sense of safety.
Process Part II: Digital Iterations
I had not used Adobe Illustrator prior to this project. In addition to the project objectives, it was also rewarding for me to gain familiarity with the program. Below I will briefly describe the digital iterations of my selected sketches.
Order: Digital Iterations
I started with a simple form. The form, based on the sketch, followed a strict pattern that repeated. I received feedback that this was an interesting shape that I should play with further. I manipulated the form by copying and rotating it; After, I laid it ontop of itself. The middle deisgn proved to be too busy for the eye, conveying more congestion than order. I decided to revert to something less busy and simple, increasing in ascending order. However, I disliked the top heaviness of the ascension and instead placed the heaviest in the middle for balance.
Tension: Digital Iterations
For tension, I wanted to play around with instability and the potential for collision. I iterated from a simple/smooth form to a unstable/jagged form. I received feedback during the desk crit that truly resonated with me. I was told to be mindful of the shapes I was creating. I did not stop to take responsibility for what I was communicating to the viewer because I did not weigh it personally. Ultimately, I took the discomfort of the black mass and the jagged edges and combined it with the almost touching rotation of the small square. These elements put together formed my final piece. I was mindful to not create any unintentional space or shapes.
Congestion: Digital Iterations
Congestion was the word I experimented most with negative space. The early iteration had no overlapping squares, which communicated too much organization. I decided to overlap to increase the feeling of traffic. I was worried about the negative space; so, received feedback to incorporate the white by leading viewers into the congested mass. I did this through proximity of squares falling into the mass. Ultimately, after messing with scale and proximity, I created my final piece.
Playfulness: Digital Iterations
Playfulness was a unique challenge. I started off with very literal characterizations of cat and mouse. I wanted to incorporate movement and conversation between two dynamic characters. However, the literal interpretation hindered my ability to truly be creative. After a desk crit, I was encouraged to stray away from the cat and mouse and instead think critically about the relationship between my squares. Ultimately, I created an unequal conversation, one character more playful than the other. The proximity and positioning was purposeful in creating the dynamic relationship between each square.
Comfort: Digital Iterations
For comfort, I wanted to play with an enclosed space. Additionally, I wanted to depict a sense of support through one square leaning on others. I wanted to show safety and trust through a comfortable level of whitespace. During the desk crit, I was told two key points. The amount of black was overwhelming and the squares were too tightly enclosed. I used this feedback to decrease the amount of black and increase the whitespace.
Conclusion
This project taught me a lot about thinking critically about how shapes convey meaning. I received feedback from the critique that I want to use to improve my designs further. The most interesting feedback was for my order piece. I believe I can argue for my order piece because many comments expressed confusion for my choice of design. However, I do understand that ultimately, I need to heavily weigh the opinions of my audience. I look forward to improving this relationship in future projects.
