ProjectTwo
2017
Individual project
About the Project
The purpose of this project is to apply what we had learned in class including foreground/background, negative space, and contrasting sizes by drawing things that illustrate five concepts. This project is an assignment in Communications Design. The aim of this project is to demonstrate my understanding of the techniques discussed in class and use them to design 2d drawings that illustrate five ideas. I am required to portray these ideas using only black squares confined in an approximately 3'’x3'’ box. I learned about how to effectively use negative space and play with different sized squares.
For tension I tried to play with the idea of boxes teetering on top of other boxes. I also made sure the tips are just touching the edges. For playfulness I had a lot of literal ideas including a robot, checkerboard and butterfly. They were shot down. I eventually chose the arch to be playful. For comfort I also had some literal ideas including a house and a chair like structure. I also experimented with the idea of putting big boxes on top of little boxes to make them look stable, which is comfortable. For congestion I mostly eliminated the negative space to create a claustrophobic environment. I also made the boxes seem like they want to go through a channel. I made the corners of the boxes just touching the edges to create some tension as well. For order I tried to show a line of small to large boxes. I chose the design that shows a sequence of small to large boxes spiraling out as if they are continuing forever.
This is the final iteration of Order. Initially I had more gap between the squares. The horizontal gap is also wider than the vertical one. Suzanne suggested I make both the same so that there is no huge jump going vertically. I adjusted the sizes of the squares to be of the ratio 1,2,3,5 (Fibonacci numbers) because I heard that some ancient Greek buildings used this sequence for its harmoniousness. I also adjusted the absolute sizes of the squares so they take up more of the frame.
Initially I had some extraneous blocks that are falling down the channel. I removed it because it didn’t add anything to the picture. I also made sure the corners of the blocks are just touching the sides to draw attention to the corners. I added a bigger block at the mouth of the channel to make sure no block can fall off.
Initially all three blocks are placed horizontally like what I had in the notebook. Then I decided to make the two bottom boxes teeter on the edges of the cliffs. I rotated the top box so that the bottom boxes’ corners are touching its edges, instead of the other way around. I also made sure the corners just touched the edges. Lastly I changed the sizes of the boxes. In the picture on the right, the two bottom boxes are too far away from the cliff. It seems like the would immediately fall. The other two pictures both seem like they could either fall or sustain their current positions, thus creating tension. I eventually chose the one on the left because it draws more attention to the top box and feels more natural.
I originally intended these to be a puzzle. I made some squares closer together to make them seem like a bigger block. I shrinked the gaps between squares in the same “blocks” to highlight the squares’ association with each other. I thought that randomness is playful. So I changed the sizes of some blocks and also made a big block that lies across the screen. I couldn’t decide if I should overlay the big block on top of the other blocks or make it not touch other blocks. I decided to not overlay because it would have been to chaotic. In the end I did not choose this design because I had a hard time seeing it is playful.
Initially I had two sharp triangles supporting a large square similar to the picture on the right. I think the sharpness is not comfortable so I covered the tips with the big square, so that it looks like the square is supported by trapezoids. Eventually I changed the bottom to two small squares because I think they are more stable. I debated whether to partially cover the small squares at the bottom and make them rectangular. I decided to not do it because it seems like the big box is resting just on top of the little boxes. I also minimized the sizes of everything so that the viewer is not consumed by the darkness of the big square.
I intended this to be either playfulness, tension or comfort. In the beginning I wanted to play around with the idea of a keystone in an arch, which is the piece that holds everything together and looks comfortable. Initially the drawing looked like top right, but all pieces touched each other on the corners. Then I felt that the sharpness is drawing peoples’ attention to the corners and not the top piece. It also does not feel comfortable. Then I created bottom right, which eliminated all the sharp corners. Then I played around with the original design and misaligned the top piece to create the top right picture. It looks like the arch is about to fall down and the sharp corners brings in a right amount of cacophony, creating tension. I could also see that the arch is some sort of toy. I separated the blocks to make them seem more lively. I decided to go with this idea and use it as playfulness.
