Design Principles/ Final Project
Design Principles
Goh Jia Yih / 0342839 / Bachelor of Mass Communication
(Advertising and Brand Management)
Design Principles/ Final Project
Week 11
8: Visual Analysis
Visual Analysis is a method of understanding design that focuses on the visual elements and principles. In a strictest way it can be defined as a description and explanation of visual structure for its own sake. Although, its actual purpose can also help people understanding the designer intention and also better understand how the design communicate ideas, content or meaning.
Phases of Visual Analysis:
Phase 1: Observation
The observation phase is about looking, thinking, and finding good language to communicate what you notice.
Phase 2: Analysis
Analysis requires you to think about your observations and try to make statements about the work based on the evidence of your observations. Also, think about how specific visual elements that you've identified combine together to create a whole and what effect that whole has on the viewer.
Phase 3: Interpretation
Our observation and analysis have to fused with facts about the design/designer and historical context that is trustworthy published source. Comparing related popular arts can further helps reinforce the point of defining the meaning and purpose for the design that we choose to analyse.
Project 3
Part 1: Visual Analysis
The concept of this artwork is somewhat realistic and alluding to a current issue in our society: unequal treatment of people with disabilities. However, this weighty subject matter is mitigated in this illustration by brightness and colour, a powerful form that resonates with millions of people. I was deeply moved by it, which is why I chose this illustration.
This design work is in landscape format. It mainly employs various silhouettes featuring disabilities to illustrate the work's connotation. In terms of visual elements, it primarily uses highly saturated contrasting colours, with dark blue serving as the primary hue and bright colours such as red, pink, orange, and yellow serving as secondary colours. Overall, it is a colourful design with a strong visual impact, emphasising the main content through the strong contrast of light and dark colours. It is a centre point composition in which the primary element is placed in the centre of the design, making it the focal point, with a monochrome background to highlight the visual centre. It has visual elements with organic shapes and lines. Shadows, empty spaces, and multi-textured layers are used throughout the composition to bring out the design's message.
This illustration was created by Brooklyn-based illustrator Dadu Shin for a series of compelling opinion features about disability in The New York Times – timed to coincide with the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro (Garland-Thomson, 2016). The essays explore and reveal raw truths of living with a disability and the often unrealised yet scarring societal treatment that ensues. Illustrator Dadu Shin was commissioned to visually represent these honest, authentic and moving pieces of opinion. His illustration narrates the tension between isolation and acceptance using shadowing, empty space and multi-textured layers. Shin's illustration for Becoming Disabled reflects the notion that disability is everywhere, and becoming aware of it can be a revelation. His remarkable illustrations depict a candid portrayal of disability. Yet, there's something otherworldly about Dadu Shin's illustrations. His illustrations are sophisticated, lending depth, colour, and imagination to editorial pieces that create a different world that reflects our society (Harris, 2016). In this illustration, silhouettes of various people with disabilities are stacked on top of one other, emphasising isolation and reflecting "the inequity of treatment that people with disabilities confront." The illustration is beautiful, captivating, and thought-provoking.
More illustration artwork from Dadu Shin to The New York Times' collection of disability opinion features.
Reference:
Garland-Thomson, R. (2016). Opinion | Becoming Disabled (Published 2016). Nytimes.com. Retrieved 15 June 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/opinion/sunday/becoming-disabled.html.
Harris, M. (2016). Dadu Shin’s Powerful Illustrations Take an Honest Look at Disability. Retrieved 17 June 2022, from https://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/features/illustration/dadu-shins-visual-narratives-of-disability-are-insightful-elegant/#1.
Part 2: Design
Figure 1.8: Sketch 2
Rationale
Inspired by Dadu Shin's illustration, I created a design piece for the Final Project that conveys Disability Inequality. The artwork is named "The Ideal City," which means "an ideal city that is inclusive to individuals with disabilities."
Before settling on the design's direction, I pondered if Malaysia is a disability-friendly country? From the contractor who decides not to build a ramp because there are already stairs, to the driver who parks in an OKU parking area because they are in a rush, they all have one thing in common: none of them has considered how their actions impact the lives of people with disabilities. Many things that most people take for granted might be challenging for those who rely on wheelchairs to get around. It was not out of malice but simply because of apathy. Observing sidewalks, many of which are too narrow for wheelchairs and have obstructions such as street lights, drainage pipes, and even potholes - easy for an abled person to walk through but nearly impossible for a wheelchair user to walk across— people with Disabilities Face Barriers. Inequality shouldn't be one of them. In many parts of the world, people with disabilities continue to face abuse, neglect, and oppression. They lack access to education, access to justice.
My illustration depicts an ideal city in which people with disabilities have a fair chance to move around comfortably, not as a special provision for them but as an equal treatment to which they are entitled. In this design, the design principles are movement, unity, harmony, and symbol. The soft colours, cheerful grins of the illustration's characters, and free-flying butterflies reflect the optimistic, hopeful attitude I wanted to convey. And the twin towers in the background represent Malaysia. Moving towards a barrier-free society.
Feedback
After the first review session, Dr. Jinchi suggested that I use the first sketch because it depicted a stronger idea and a more complete composition. Also, she advised that I incorporate elements from the second sketch into the design in a subtle way. During the second review session, she suggested me to keep it simple, as too many elements in the background would cause the details in the background to be obscured. She also advised that the butterfly's position be adjusted to show the butterfly's flying track.
Reflection
Through this final project, I not only gained technical improvement, but also a different perspective on how to interpret artworks. Observing, analysing, interpreting, and taking inspiration from an artwork was a new learning experience for me. Also, in order to better communicate what I try to convey in my design, I delved deeper and learned more about the topic, realising how valuable it was to be able to give a voice to a specific group of people through my work. This is the design that I put the most effort into throughout this module, so I was very pleased and satisfied when I completed it. Although this is not the best work, I hope it can be a starting point for my design journey.
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