Design Principles Week 3 - Lecture and Exercise 3

14.9.2021 - 28.9.2021 (Week 4- Week6)

Sasilvia Cheong Pei Hoong / 0345031 / Bachelors of Design in Creative Media

Design Principles

Exercise 3

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Lecture 4

Harmony and Unity

Harmony

- Elements that share a common trait

- Becomes monotony without variety

- All elements fit together, same theme, aesthetic style or mood

Fig. 1.1 Harmony

Unity

- Repetition of particular elements, colours, shapes or materials

- When elements are balanced and give a sense of oneness, creating a theme

Fig. 1.2 Unity

Scale and Proportion

- Size of one object in relation to the other objects

- Parts of an object in relationship to other parts of the same object

Scale

- Size and dimension of figures and forms relative to a specific unit of measure

- Scale can be determined in two ways:

a) Actual measurement

b) Visual estimates based on comparison

Scale (cont'd)

- Architectural drawings and scale models

- Specify or illustrate details based on relative sizes of objects

-Substantial deviation from a normal scale relationship can create dramatic results and visual interest within the design or composition.

Proportion

- The relationship of two or more elements in a composition and how they compare to one another with respect to size, colour, quantity, degree, setting

- Harmony and unity

Fig. 1.3 Shounen Jump HXH cover

Lecture 5

Symbol, Word and Image

Symbol

a) Pictorial Symbols

-Image-related and simplified pictures

Fig. 2.1 Pictorial Symbols

b) Abstract Symbols

-Look like the objects they represent but have less details

Fig. 2.2 Abstract symbol of picking up and hanging up a phone

Fig. 2.3 Abstract symbol of Malaysian Airlines that resembles a wau

c) Arbitrary Symbols

-No resemblance to the object they represent

Fig. 2.4 Arbitrary symbols

Word and Image

-Choosing right words to pair with the image

-Suitable typeface

-Strategic positioning of the type will result in visual hierarchy and balance in work of design

Fig. 2.5 Word and image

Lecture 6 

Self-Portrait

Ms. Jinchi started off by explaining how we see ourselves or how others see us, physical traits and personality, our experiences in life, interests, and our thoughts. She also mentioned that creating a mind map can help discover ourselves. 

What's a self-portrait?

- A visual depiction of the self

- How you see yourself, how you feel and how you want to be seen by others

- Does not have to be a realistic image of yourself, just an exercise in self-exploration

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TASKS

INSTRUCTIONS

EXERCISE 3

Visual Research

Harmony

Fig. 1.1 An oil paint lake

I found this painting when I was searching for harmony inspirations and I was inspired by the technique they used to paint this. Where each stroke are applied one by one which makes a texture kind of effect.

Fig. 1.2 Multiple heads in the water

I wanted to create heads peeking out of the water creating a mysterious and unknown feel to the drawing.

Idea Exploration

Fig. 1.3 Sketch of harmony

Fig. 1.4 Testing colour palette 

I wanted to test out how the water will look like before I start colouring the characters by drawing wavy lines in different tones of purple to have a water flowy effect. 

Fig. 1.5 Harmony final

Fig. 1.6 Harmony final with flowers hanging 

I tried adding a flower hanging in front of the drawing and blurring it out so that the viewers attention will be on the characters in the background. However, the flower seem to block out most of the characters in the background ruining the harmony.

Unity

Fig. 2.1 Hands covering a girl

Fig. 2.2 Hands trying to strangle a girl

I liked how there are multiple hands going to an upward direction which faces the subject. It gives off a unity theme to it as all the hands all leads to one place.

Idea Exploration

Fig. 2.3 First sketch

I wanted to create something a bit different from my inspiration so I decided to change all the hand positions and change the facial features of the characters. I also added extra elements to it to make the whole drawing come together as one.

Fig. 2.4 Second sketch

For this I wanted the hands to come out of a person's mouth and reaching up to the sky to create unity but the white colour of the hands makes the drawing feels more like emphasis as the attention from the viewers will be drawn to the hands only.

Testing out colour combinations

Fig. 2.5  Colour combination 1

Fig. 2.6 Colour combination 2

Fig. 2.7 Colour combination 3

Fig. 2.8 Colour combination 4

Fig. 2.9 Colour combination 5

Fig. 2.10 Colour combination 6

Fig. 2.11 Colour combination 7

I tried out varies colour combination to see if the outcome will still consider as unity or will it go out of place. 

FINAL OUTCOME

Harmony

Fig. 3.1 Harmony final outcome

Fig. 3.2 Harmony final outcome PDF

"Lurking Lotus"

Seeing lotus lurking beneath the pond. "Why are some with lotus on their head and why are some with only sprouts?"  The heads with flowers blooming on top represents people who open their eye and acknowledge what is going on in the world where the flower on their head blooms with knowledge. While the heads hiding in the water with sprouts on their head are people who hides from reality and shuts themselves out from society, so they are still a sprout trying to grow out of life.

Unity

Fig. 3.3 Unity final outcome 

Fig. 3.4 Unity final outcome PDF  

"Suffocate"

Society tends to judge a person very easily and throw in harsh comments without knowing the backstory of that person especially in social media. In the end the person will end up being suffocated by the overwhelming amount of negative comments they received and suffer in emptiness without anyone there to save them.

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FEEDBACK

Week 5: For second sketch for unity it looks more like emphasis as the attention is more focused on the white colour. 

Week 6: The first outcome for harmony is better as the flowers hanging in the second one is blocking other characters in the background making the only focus to be one character which does not make it harmony. For unity outcomes all of them looks good.

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REFLECTION

I found harmony and unity to be easier to come up with ideas than symbols and word and image as I was able to me more creative with my ideas and go wild with the style. I am pretty satisfied with my outcomes and they represented what I have expected them to be. 

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REFERENCES

Fig. 1.1 Harmony

https://drawpaintacademy.com/harmony/

Fig. 1.2 Unity

https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/unity-in-art

Fig. 1.3 Shounen Jump HXH cover

https://www.reddit.com/r/HunterXHunter/comments/6z3a3c/all_hunter_x_hunter_weekly_shonen_jump_covers/

Fig. 2.1 - 2.5

Week 5 Symbols, word and image lecture slides

TASKS

Fig. 1.1 An oil paint lake

https://drawpaintacademy.com/harmony/

Fig. 1.2 Multiple heads in the water

https://weheartit.com/entry/339665819

Fig. 2.1 Hands covering a girl

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/701646816931217260/

Fig. 2.2 Hands trying to strangle a girl

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/629448485397591085/