p2. Form and Composition
Part 1: Sketching Thumbnails
I. Initial Brainstorming
In this part of the project, I sought out to sketch a variety of thumbnails, composed of only black squares, that convey 6 different moods. Those moods are:
playful + serious
noisy + quiet
dangerous + safe
I started off by brainstorming some design ideas for each mood, and how I might use squares to get those ideas across.
I then went on to create the actual thumbnails, keeping the principles I brainstormed in mind.
II. Playful + Serious
When I examined playfulness, I immediately thought of children’s toys, of joyful movement and lightness. I tried to convey that aesthetically with squares that looked like they could spin or move. An important idea I used in a couple drawings was a square tilted at a 45 degree angle- these squares do a good job at conveying motion alongside balance.
On the other hand, seriousness relies on stable, stationary squares. I used some symmetrical designs, one design with a medium sized square in the center of the thumbnail, and one design with a square towards the lower right that I hope invokes a feeling similar to a period at the end of a sentence- bringing the viewer’s focus to the ‘end’ of the visual field.
III. Noisy + Quiet
When considering ‘noise,’ a few ideas came to mind. First, noise as the lack of negative space. Second, I thought of noise as static on a screen, or a jumbled mix or repeating pattern of visual elements. Finally, I thought of noise as something hits the ground after being thrown or falling, and I tried to invoke this feeling in some of my drawings.
For quietness, I thought first of an abundance of negative space. I wanted to keep the squares parallel to the boundaries of the thumbnail so it didn’t seem like they could tip or move, and I wanted to put space between the squares so that the viewer doesn’t visualize them interacting with one another.
IV. Dangerous + Safe
I thought of danger in a few different ways. First, the danger or fear some entity might experience if they’re smaller than all the other entities in their surroundings- danger as vulnerability. Next I thought of danger as pain or sharpness, an have two squares impaling another square in one image (this square could also be brandishing the sharp points and be thought of as the danger rather than in danger). Finally, I thought of danger as precariousness- a square that could fall off of something or take a tumble.
Safety, on the other hand, I thought of as larger entities protecting or enveloping smaller entities. In some illustrations, smaller squares are drawn around larger squares, but I tried to make the larger squares seem like protectors or comforters, rather than antagonists like in the danger side. I also played with using the boundary of the thumbnail as a cocoon of sorts for a square to rest in. A pyramid reminds me of triangles, which are thought of as a safe, strong shape so I included that configuration in one illustration as well.
II. Digital Iterations
After completing the sketches of my thumbnails, I began to digitize my designs in Illustrator. I realized after sketching that I might need to increase the complexity of my designs to effectively convey the Gestalt principals and my target moods. I also found more fun and creativity through the iterative design process!
- All-Black Composition- Playful + Serious
Final Design:
The first pair of words I chose for this exercise were Playful + Serious. I tried to start out with the most minimal designs possible, then strategically add features to the design as necessary to adequately convey the desired mood.
Process:
This first digitization was my most simplistic design from each category. I determined that for the Playful side, it would be necessary to play with adding more shapes and also with positioning in order to achieve the desired impact. The serious side was closer to being effective as a single square, but I did decide to slightly alter it to more closely adhere to the rule of thirds.
After I sketched out these modifications, I showed them in my individual critiques for feedback.
2. One Color Composition- Dangerous + Safe
Final Design:
My final designs for Dangerous and safe consist of the dangerous squares on the left above, and the safe squares on the right. Danger, in this case, is represented by sharpness, while safety is represented by envelopment, or external protection.
Process:
I started from my sketch of a mirrored set of two squares which I hoped would adequately convey the moods:
However, these illustrations, especially the one for Safe, didn’t quite accomplish what I hoped to. I found it difficult to convey the sense of depth I needed for these images to ‘work’ within the guidelines of this assignment. I revised the Safe design following a critique:
But eventually, I decided to sketch an alternate design for Dangerous as well:
I ended up using these sketched ideas with some modifications- first, I brought the red squares in front of the black square in the Dangerous thumbnail, so it was more clear to the viewer that they are squares and not triangles. Also, I evened the spacing for the safe design because it made the image feel more stable and secure overall, which I found to be most effective.
3. Figureground Composition- Square Kaleidoscope
Final Design:
My figureground composition makes use of black squares to create a motif that is then patterned across the space. I liked the idea of a square monogram, taking inspiration from embroidery patterns, as well as recent fashion trends. This motif distinguishes figureground from background, is distinctly made of squares and aims to feel playful to the viewer. It resembles the appearance of a kaleidoscope, and invokes motion despite its angular and monochromatic nature.
Process:
Initially, I brainstormed several concepts which I then digitized. it was hard for me to at first grasp how close to 50% coverage my work needed to be in order to be effective for this project.
I took these digitizations and iterated my favorite based on feedback from a digital critique. I added spaces between the squares to emphasize their shapes, and changed the crop so that the monogram does not have an awkward border of half-cropped figures. In the end, I used some principles from this first round of proposed designs to develop my final composition.
