WK15- Visual Techniques

Spontaneity        Exaggeration        Depth        Contrast

Accent       Juxtaposition       Activeness       Brightness

The first image shows a relationship a person can have with the book they are reading. Depth is utilized to help emphasize the book coming to life and being the other "human" hugging the actual person. The book being so personal to the point where it actually hugs the reader is definitely exaggeration. The human qualities are contrasting the tangible object (the book). 

The second image shows activeness through juxtaposition. The way the images are lined up gives us a sequence of event that go in order from left to right. It starts with the "gun" pointing at SpongeBobs head and if the trigger is pulled his brains would "pop" and explode everywhere. The bright colors  and accents add to the discomfort this image gives the view.

The first image is very calming and warm while the second is creepy and discomforting. The two combinations of visual techniques give you different images completely. They have different feelings and messages. 

WK13- Contrast

This poster is a great example of contrast. First off, there's a contrast in letter size. There are three different sizes: large writing that says "contrast", medium writing behind that, and small writing that look like scribbles behind that. There's also contrast in color. It uses a grey, black, and white to form the words and space. There's a contrast in space regard positive and negative space as well. For example, the vowels in the word "contrast" are positive space surrounded by negative space to help emphasize the letters. The rest of the letters are negative space. You can tell this is a good use of contrast because you're still able to read the poster and the word "contrast."

This is a good example of the poor use of contrast. The first thing you may notice is you're eyes bounce around and don't fixate on one thing. This is because everything is bland and almost blended looking. Nothing pops out because there's no detail to allow your eyes to explore and analyze. I didn't even notice there was a blue line around the whipped cream can until I really looked for detail. The color use has no pop and enough distinction to help emphasize the outline/skeleton of this ad. The background color makes it hard to read the print as well. Having the color red as the color of the print takes away from the red/importance of the product being advertised. 

WK 12- movement/motion

(http://aliciajpoole.blogspot.com/2011/04/implied-motion.html)

This drawing is a good example of implied motion.  It allows us to imagine the girl actually spinning. The shading strokes gives you a sense of what space the girl has covered while turning. The way the lines aren't sharp also adds to the implied motion. The way there are lines smeared in ares like the back of her head helps with that as well. The lack of sharp detail really helps to enhance the implied motion.

(http://aphantomdisease.blogspot.com/2008/07/implied-motion-preferably-food-to-my.html)

This is another great drawing of implied motion. The different faded wrenches around the main wrench allows us to see in what way the wrench moves. The color use also helps. The way that the color blue gets darker and dark as you moves your eye closer to the main wrench (the darkest blue). The way the lines aren't sharp again show the implied motion. The background being out of focus also enhances the implied motion.

WK 11- Dimension/Depth/Space/Scale

This chair gives a sense of depth that it doesn't actually have. It's a bunch of chairs stacked together and fits like a puzzle. The way the chairs are stacked and lined up creates linear perspective. It looks as if there are a bunch of chairs lined up in a row, when in reality it's just one chair. Also the texture becomes more course looking where the chairs get smaller creating a sense of depth. The relative size is also being played with. These chairs look like they are the same chair lined up in such a way that the smaller ones look further away when, once again, they are not. It's technically all one chair because multiple people can't sit on it (unless you take it apart and make multiple uncomfortable toilet-like chairs since they have no center). They created each chair perfectly to scale as well because this only works since the chairs are proportional to each other.

WK10: Tone and Color

How TONE is operating: The tone in this image helps to add an inviting and relaxed feeling. It helps to enhance the contrast throughout the image allowing for us to see detail (i.e. things floating in the water).  Tone also helps to determine to determine what things are real and what things are reflections (i.e. the tone of the orange in the water is different than in the sky). 

How TONE is interacting: Tone is interacting with line in this image. The tone is helping show where the lines are within the picture (i.e. the line created by the water hitting the sky). It also helps to show the picture is of a 3D scenery, not of a drawing.

How COLOR is operating: The color used in in this image helps to draw attention and creates appeal.  The color palate is appealing to the eye making this piece easy to look at. Color also is adding emphasis on the sky/sunset because the only color seen is from the sun setting (the color in the water is only reflection of the color in the sky). 

How COLOR is interacting: Color is interacting with movement. The way the color is moving towards us (or away from us, depending on how you see it) gives us a sense of movement and fluidity. There's more and more orange color, which is the most prominent color used, as you go towards the focal point within the image. This helps us to move towards the focal point in the image(the bright sun half covered by the mountain.

WK10- Architecture (Basic Elements)

The Dot:

Although it's easy to see all the lines in this drawing, it is important to remember they must intersect at various ideal points, which are the dots. The dots form the outline of this house blueprint so the architects know where to have their materials meet when building. All the corners are points in the structure. 

The Line: 

Lines are seen here and are essential to keeping this building up. Without these sturdy lines being made we would have a falling over house. Having various lines help with the support of the house and structure. 

The Shape:

For this image you see many rectangles and cornered shapes. This is because rectangles give a sense of stability, which is important for creating things like houses. These shapes are used to hold up the house and be the stable structure of the home. 

WK 9: Visual Thinking

My strategy: My page is on the left written with yellow. My strategy was to go by smallest to biggest size E. So I started by counting 16 little ones, 9 medium ones, and 1 large one. I added all them up to get an answer of 26.
My boyfriend's strategies: He is the blue writing on the right. His strategy was to do the opposite, count starting with the largest E to the smallest. His answer came out to 21.

We were both wrong, the answer was 44, so I guess you could say both of are strategies weren't good enough.

My strategy: I am again on the left. My strategy was to say in order the colors over and over until I found the matching pair. For instance, for the first one, I said to myself, starting from black, "red, blue, green, yellow." I would repeat this until I found the matching, (E).
My boyfriend's strategy: He again is on the right. His strategy was to see which colors are next to the black triangle (i.e. red is on the right and blue is on the left) and then see which others have the same thing. Then make sure once a match is found, the other two colors match as well.

We both used the black triangle as our starting point, which is interesting, and we both succeeded in getting the correct answer.

WK 7: Visual Perception 2/ Feature Hierarchy

This image to me fits this project perfectly. It has a clear and simple message, but the way you process and intake this message shows how design can affect you. The color stands out to me first, the bright red drew my attention right away and made me want to get a closer look. I then saw shape and what the shapes represent. For example, the "dust" in the top of the time glass is shaped into little animals and then turned into dust looking shapes in the bottom to represent the species that are becoming extinct. The lines are very simple, yet very direct. I then saw spacial grouping because there is a lot of negative space in this image, but that "empty" space is doing too jobs: allowing the poster to be simple and sending the message of species going extinct leave empty, negative (pun intended) space.

http://www.youthedesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/new-poster-designs-3.jpg

Top-Down Visual Processing

This image is an example of top-down visual processing and related to this week's topic because you discover more detail as you look at it longer. At first glance you see a big colorful circle, then you see that the colors are different flowers put together. When you break down the flower you see that they have faces and the petals are alternating between two colors, except for one flower. When you break down the face you see the shapes that make up the mouth and eyes, while noticing the ball is made out of soft material. Now, when you look at the whole picture again, you see it differently. The details aren't blurred by your mind because you've now analyzed it making it more familiar. When I looked at this picture I didn't notice the one flower that only has one color (pink) petals all the way around and now that I've spotted it, my eyes keep being drawn to that flower. 

M Any Design, http://www.manydesign.net/
( manydesign.jpg )

WK 5- Success and Failure

This image is an example of good/successful design. The image is not only clear and readable, it also gives you a sense of uplifting/positivity with the three warm colored arrows. The color choice and patterns give a warm soothing feeling (level rather than sharp), which is easy on the eyes.

This is an example of bad/failed design. Clearly two men are not going to want to get that close to go to the bathroom. If a man went into this bathroom and one of these was the only urinal open he would most likely wait for the next one. The coloring is so boring and reminds me of a hospital too. Who says you can't have color in a men's bathroom?

Vis. Lang. Syntax

There is an elderly white man who used to be a solder many years ago and is now considered and veteran. He is dressed in his old uniform standing tall and proud with an American flag in hand.
-prideful
-focused
-dedicated
-hardship
-hoorah

Stars on the American Flag symbolizes our united states
Him holding it up to his chest in almost a hugging sort of way symbolized he is protecting us.
Pins on his the left side of his chest symbolize his dedication/level.

The composition contributes to feelings because it's a well balanced photo. Him being in the middle of the photo helps us to see nothing but him, in particular his face. His face is the main thing that helps me feel what I listed above, along with his posture and the camera captured it perfectly.

MEANING 2 - Interactions Between Levels

This painting represents a tiger in its natural habitat. It's life-like yet has hidden symbols and meaning. The detail gives it the sense of realness and truth, but there is a hidden tiger. Take a few moments to look for it while thinking of "abstract."
If you give up, the stripes on the tiger is abstracted to read the words "the hidden tiger." This is a prime example of "you see what you want to see." The eyes and mind can play tricks; all we see are stripes on the tiger, but once we see the hidden words, it's almost impossible to see just stripes now.
The tiger on its own can symbolize strength, courage, and/or loyalty, especially in the chinese culture. Others can take that knowledge of what the tiger symbolizes and have it now symbolize what kind of man they want (or woman) in order to relate to the painting.

MEANING 1 - Representational, Abstract, Symbolic

REPRESENTATION: 

This image is an example of a representation piece. It represents a palm tree with a scenic background. It's representation because it's realistic and detailed, therefore it can't be anything other than what it is. It doesn't have so much detail to the point where I didn't know it was a drawing, but it's drawn in a way where I can say with a 100% certainty it is simply a palm tree with an ocean view behind it and that is it.

ABSTRACT:

This piece by Picasso is a great example of an abstract piece. It's a painting of a girl resting her head on her arms. It is abstract because it uses the basic lines needed to show it is a girl without using all the vivid detail you would find in reality or photos. This piece communicates the girl is content and relaxed. We see that in the swooped down lines representing her eye lids and the slightly curled up line representing her mouth. The colors used are also bright and fun giving an uplifting or happy mood.

SYMBOLIC:

This is an example of a symbolic design. It means "no smoking" and is mostly found in areas where it is illegal or dangerous to smoke. People know this by the little cigarette looking image covered by a red circle with a diagonal line going through it. The red is a good eye catching color and the red part of the symbol, even without the cigarette image, is known for meaning "no" or "do not." We know this by learning lines through things are negative (i.e. diagonal lines through a test number means you got it wrong). We also connect these with warning signs. It is important we know this symbol to know where not to smoke to prevent self harm or harming others (i.e. smoking at a gas station or school).