Gestalt Squares
Gestalt theory is the idea that when given a variety of visual parts, the mind spontaneously organizes them into a whole image greater than the sum of its parts. In this exercise, two of the three word pairings “Clumsy/Graceful,” “Passive/Active,” and “Fluid/Rigid,” were to be represented by solid black, no outline squares that can vary in size and orientation and overlap so long as they could still be recognized as squares. The two word pairings I chose to represent were “Clumsy/Graceful” and “Passive/Active,” with the latter satisfying the requirement of the use of one additional color. A 50/50 Figure-Ground composition was constructed as well.
In brainstorming the concept of clumsiness, I immediately thought of objects slipping or falling or doing the wrong thing. As such, the first idea that came to mind is a tower of blocks falling. Similarly, in the top right, is a block slipping off the edge, the clumsiness of which is emphasized by the stable blocks on its left. The third composition illustrated a square falling into a ridge and got stuck. The inspiration for the fourth thumbnail was a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a big head and little arms. And lastly, a large square offset by a smaller square brought a sense of clumsiness due to the difference in scale. The general technique I attempted to work with to convey clumsiness was non-parallel squares to demonstrate precariousness.
In the end, I chose the lower right design as I thought the increasing size of the squares from bottom to top conveyed a sense of awkwardness. That, along with the precariousness of the top square and the off-centeredness of the entire figure communicated clumsiness.
In illustrating gracefulness, I focused on balance and elegance. Therefore, I utilized symmetry to convey balance and a minimal design for elegance. Ultimately, I chose my initial composition as I thought it best conveyed balance while taking advantage of the square’s properties. By turning the square 45 degrees and placing it on its corner, it emits a feeling of poise. This is further emphasized by displaying it on a small square pedestal, rather than a same size or no pedestal.
In exploring the idea of passive, I wanted to emphasize the lack of movement or change. A simple square sitting in the thumbnail seemed too open to interpretation. Therefore, I experimented with unchanging patterns as well as scale in an effort to convey a lack or inability of movement. The design I selected was similar to my first design in that it was simply a square sitting there. But, I changed the scale of perspective by drawing a horizon line and having a small square sit on the figurative ground. In doing so, the square looked as though it was being viewed from a far distance, emphasizing all the space around it and how little it was doing.
Through experimenting with different horizon levels and small square locations, I thought that having the “earth” more prevalent than the “sky” would give a better feeling of distance and emphasize the relative smallness of the square. By placing the small square in the center and adding color, it brings the focus of the image its passivity.
For active, on the other hand, I attempted to demonstrate movement and change. This was represented by a series of squares appearing to turn, a small square appearing to be sliding down a hill, a spiral of squares getting increasingly smaller toward the center to emphasize depth, and squares bleeding out of the thumbnail as they bounced in and out of frame.
The figure I chose was a rendition of my first composition of active, which was a series of squares becoming increasingly larger. The squares appear to grow and move out of the board as the last one bleeds out of frame. To give it a further sense of activity, I tilted the squares to convey horizontal movement, which was more effective than if the squares were left in parallel. The blue color gave the pattern more depth, by spacing two black squares at the far end, then one black square at the close end.
The inspiration for my figure-ground composition stemmed from my “Graceful” composition. Julia pointed out that the square turned 45 degrees on top of the pedestal looked like the beginning of a house. To try to complete that image, I added a square beneath the pedestal on both sides. I found that the pattern that formed was a series of white up and down arrows. When filling the thumbnail with this pattern, I found that it made a nice figure-ground piece as it was unclear whether the white arrows were the negative or positive space.
With each iteration of each concept, I found myself questioning my motives for each change. In reasoning how come and what exactly emoted a feeling of clumsiness, gracefulness, passiveness, or activeness, I was able to pinpoint that element and expound on it, paving way for more effective communication design.
