Design Principles/ Exercise 2

Design Principles

11/04/2022 - 22/04/2022 / Week 3 - Week 4

Goh Jia Yih / 0342839 / Bachelor of Mass Communication

(Advertising and Brand Management)

Design Principles/ Exercise 2

---

Week 3 

2: Balance & Emphasis 

Balance is how the elements within a composition are arranged either symmetrically, asymmetrically, or radially to create the impression of equality in weight or importance. 

Symmetrical balance - is mirror image balance. Symmetrical balance can be used when one wishes to achieve a formal design, a sense of structure, a sense of organisation and stability.

Asymmetrical balance - is used to describe a kind of balance that is not identical on both sides of a central line i.e. not relying on symmetry, opposite of symmetrical balance. It is more dynamic than symmetrical balance and normally keeps the audience’s attention focused on the visual message.

The Golden Ratio- all elements radiate out from a center point in a circular fashion. It has been used for centuries as a guide to create visual balance in architecture and paintings.

For designers, illustrators or digital artists, the Golden Ratio can be used to bring harmony, balance and structure to one’s work. 

Emphasis is when a specific element is given to a distinguishing feature to separate it from a certain element or group. It is used to create dominance and focus in a design work. Various elements can be used to create emphasis, such as colour, shapes or value, to achieve dominance.

Week 4

3: Repetition & Movement

Repetition generally use repeated components or patterns to make designs appear alive. The repetition of design elements in the work provides rhythm and pattern, increasing visual stimulation by boosting surface interest. The repetition of specific design components in a design creates a clear sense of unity and consistency. To avoid monotony and keep the rhythm exciting and dynamic, variety is essential. 

Movement means guiding the user's eye to a predetermined path in a composition. Movement in visual image comes from the various shapes, forms, lines and curves used. It portrays the act or process of changing place or direction, orientation, and/or position through the visual illustration of starting or stopping points, blurring of action, etc. 

Hierarchy is the choreography of content in a composition to communicate information and convey meaning. Visual hierarchy directs viewers to the most important information first, and identifies navigation through secondary content.

Alignment is the placement of elements in a way that edges line up along common rows or columns, or their bodies along a common centre. It creates a sense of unity and cohesion, which contributes to the design's overall aesthetic and perceived stability.

 

Exercise 2

Choose TWO principles from Emphasis / Balance / Repetition / Movement. Create 1 design for each chosen principle.

Emphasis

Emphasis is when a specific element is given to a distinguishing feature to separate it from a certain element or group. It is used to create dominance and focus in a design work. Various elements can be used to create emphasis, such as colour, shapes or value, to achieve dominance.

Visual Research

Fig 1.0: Our Own Night

https://pin.it/4Y4hHzf

Fig 1.1: Smiling person in crowd

https://pin.it/3O54PT7

Idea Exploration

Draft- First Attempt

Fig 1.2: Attempt/ 1 

This one was my first attempt. It is a lonely planet in the vastness of the galaxy. When probably finishing the piece, the overall feeling I got was - mediocre. It was not the kind of emphasis I wanted to bring out, so I started my second attempt.

Second Attempt

Fig 1.3: Sketch

After a lot of visual research, I decided to follow the picture I had in my head at the beginning of the emphasis, so this draft was created.

Fig 1.4: Try adding colour to my design

I used the same colour palette for both characters' clothing to create a connection between them. I also discovered that deepening the colour of the surrounding characters made the entire design more appealing and enabled the main character to be better emphasised.

Fig 1.5: Draft 

Final Outcome

Final Emphasis Design in JPEG

Final Emphasis Design in PDF

A boy lives in the heart of a little girl. She keeps replaying everything about him in her head. And despite being surrounded by a lot of interesting people and things, her gaze is always drawn to him. The boy shines and is unrivalled in the girl's heart.

Feedback

Dr. Jinchi reviewed my ideas and chose the one that best fit the topic to emphasis. She suggested that I lower the primary character to make it more prominent rather than positioning it in the design's corner. She agreed with me that the colours of the surrounding characters should be enhanced, and she also suggested that I deepen the colours of the primary character's clothes so that it stand out more. 

Movement

Movement means guiding the user's eye to a predetermined path in a composition. Movement in visual image comes from the various shapes, forms, lines and curves used. It portrays the act or process of changing place or direction, orientation, and/or position through the visual illustration of starting or stopping points, blurring of action, etc. 

Visual Research

Fig 1.6: Light

https://dribbble.com/shots/12689258-LIGHT?utm_source=Clipboard_Shot&utm_campaign=Rybaki&utm_content=LIGHT&utm_medium=Social_Share&utm_source=Clipboard_Shot&utm_campaign=Rybaki&utm_content=LIGHT&utm_medium=Social_Share

Fig 1.7: Exploration .02

https://dribbble.com/shots/5023738-Exploration-02?utm_source=Clipboard_Shot&utm_campaign=zeeber&utm_content=Exploration%20.02&utm_medium=Social_Share&utm_source=Clipboard_Shot&utm_campaign=zeeber&utm_content=Exploration%20.02&utm_medium=Social_Share 

Fig 1.8: Holding Breath 

https://pin.it/6gPZTRf 

Idea Exploration

When it comes to movement, I immediately associate it with the image of various creatures swimming in the sea under the sea. Waves, rhythm, music, mermaids!

Fig 1.9: Sketch

During this first sketch, I intended to emphasise the movement created by the mermaid's hair. To create more movement, I added ocean swells to the design. The ocean swell ebbs and flows with the mermaid's hair and surrounds her.

Fig 2.0: Draft 1

I used the colour of the background (gradient) and the bubbles to highlight the ocean's rhythm and movement, so that the overall feeling of the design did not appear dull and rigid.

Fig 2.1: Draft 2

I made a few small tweaks after receiving feedback from Dr. Jinchi. I lowered the mermaid's position and zoomed in on a part of her hair, focusing on the movement created by the hair. The overall feeling seems to be considerably more coordinated.

Final Outcome

Final Movement Design in JPEG

Final Movement Design in JPEG

In many fairy tales, mermaid is a unique existence. Unlike the general fairy tale, the prince and princess not only did not have a happy ending, even the little mermaid sacrificed herself, turned into foam, and perished in the ocean. At first sight, it appears to be a sad love story, but with closer inspection, we will discover that it is a story about self-growth. I imagine a mermaid as a creature with a loving heart and courage, who wishes to devote herself to love and swims freely and carefree in the ocean. My imaginary mermaid is exactly what I represent in my artwork. 

Feedback

Dr. Jinchi agreed to let me continue with my design after seeing my sketches. She advised me to widen the hair part so that more elements of movement could be highlighted, not only the movement brought about by swells alone. Also, thick strokes could be added to the hair to give the illusion of movement.

Reflection

For this Exercise 2, I wanted to venture out from using only shapes and solid colours to produce a piece, so I experimented with several hand-drawn styles and textures to round out the design. It was an interesting and challenging process because I didn't know what I wanted to design in these two topic (emphasis and movement), so I made a lot of draft but wasn't satisfied with any of them. In the end I decided to follow what I had in mind, and the end result is what I imagined because I feel so much better about it.