Project 2: Form and Composition
(51–262) Communication Design Fundamentals
Prompt
This project centres around the Gestalt principles and the concept that the whole is other than the sum of its parts. We were given 5 words (order, tension, congestion, playfulness, comfort) and told to create compositions of black squares to signify those words.
Part I: Sketching Thumbnails
08 September 2020
We were instructed to do at least 5 sketches for each word to help us come up with the concept of the illustrations. I focused on brainstorming how to interpret the word, then doing 5 sketches for one word at a time, and finally reviewing the sketches.
The first word was order which I took to mean neat, clean, organised. I also knew that I wanted my design to be really simple and uniform. The first sketch turned out fine but I was much less satisfied with the second one and I realised why immediately. Even though, it was somewhat neat and organised, it didn’t feel like “order” because the sketch there was no sense of unity or no strong central idea. Knowing this, I tried to incorporate a sense of grouping or bigger picture in my next few sketches for order. When I stepped back to look at it, the sketches seemed a bit plain or basic, but I knew one of the objectives was simple. I decided that I could wait to see what it looked like on the computer later to see if they needed additions.
The next two words were tension and congestion which went by with ease. I also brainstormed some words that you can see at the top of the picture. I definitely took more time than was recommended for sketching. This might have been due to there being a lot more smaller squares and because I personally was trying to perfect them (which I will avoid doing in the future).
Following that, we have playfulness which I am still struggling with. I am really not satisfied with any of the sketches at all and decided to take a break then come back to it. I think that I have some general ideas for what themes I want it to have but struggle to communicate or picture them in my head.
Last but not least, there is comfort. The sketches definitely got somewhat better as I progressed (except for 5) and I actually did #4 because I thought of my cable-knit sweater as a comfy item. I think it’s comfortable because it’s not too boring but there is also a sense of overall expectation of what the next panel would be.
I think the next steps are to get more feedback from the class about playfulness and tension and try to come up with more sketches/ideas for playfulness.
Part II: Updates on Sketches
10 September 2020
After reviewing my sketches in class, I have some updates on ideas:
- Order: #2 is not the best representation but the pyramid idea in #1 seems to be the most common and cohesive so I might stick with that.
- Tension: the best sketches seem to be #2 and #3. According to ppl, #3 resembles objects falling down a mountain. Even though it was not my intention, I think that concept works well for tension because it reminds of a freeze frame or something stuck midair before it falls.
- Congestion: People seem like to number 3 the best and I understand why. However, I am still partial to #2. I will probably go with #3 since there is more consensus with it though.
- Playfulness: Not as bad as I thought. A classmate brought up the idea of round things being playful, especially in #4. I think I want to continue along that path and develop the sizing/spacing of #4.
- Comfort: My classmates really liked #2 but thought it worked better for playfulness, especially because of the pentagon in the centre. I should reconsider switching categories for that one. I definitely still prefer #4 because it feels the most like comfort for me; i.e: it’s easy, recognizable, feels good for the audience.
Part III: Updates based on peer reviews
21 September 2020
Last week, we had a group peer review with the class in which I got comments from my classmates and Amanda, the instructor. I decided to give the illustrations some space and come back to it today. This time I worked from the bottom up because I thought the variation might help to snap me out of any routine or uniformness.
Comfort: I received a lot of good comments on comfort which I am so satisfied about. I was already leaning towards this knit design before I shared with the class so I think I’m going to continue with this. As I mentioned earlier, it works well because of common fate. I can already see what the panel next to it looks like. I just had to clean up the bottom parts where I seemed to be missing some squares (thanks to Olivia Keller for pointing this out). I think it looks a lot cleaner after this and also made me realize that it has a really good figure-ground relationship. I can refocus my eyes to make the black squares the negative space instead of the white. Definitely love this one, will keep it in.
Playfulness: The comments that I received regarding my designs was that a) the pentagon was too static and b) the box rays might be too literal. I agreed that this was probably my weakest word and I decided to play around with both because I think there is some potential. For the pentagons, I first attempted to include movement by having a second layer of squares surrounding it but thought this was a step away from playful because it now seems ominous or threatening. After that, I thought about playing with Gestalt principles by seemingly incorporating similarity (literally copy and pasting the design) but changing it every so slightly. It kind of makes the audience seek some closure by closing the pentagon with the last box which I think it is very playful. I am satisfied with this pentagon setup so I moved on to the next one. I have the original and just tried changing the size to shake up the symmetry and add more variety, but still include some sense with common fate in that all paths stray away. I thought this was decent but still preferred the two pentagons.
Congestion: I received a lot of comments on how to fix the first one (with the corners) but to be honest, I spent a lot more time working on the second one (i.e: the one with two cliffs) because I thought it was better. You can see where I tried to play around by zooming in on different sections of the first one and then I briefly considered changing the shape but didn’t think I would get as much out of it. For the second one, I tried a lot of things like changing the size, changing the slant, and even one version where I just made the tiniest barely noticeable adjustments with the degrees and sizing to emphasise the uncomfort and stress that comes with the congestion. The version with the small adjustments is what I’m going with because I like the overall look, I don’t think it requires anything drastic. I think the cropping is really good with the two large squares and the “isomorphic correspondence” really draws a lot of different images for different people (I think Amanda saw mountains while someone else agreed that these were arteries) so this is what I tried to bring out in the final design.
Tension: For tension, I got very specific comments for both. For the falling blocks, Amanda mentioned that the angle seemed a bit too planned and easy which I saw as soon as she said it. I changed the tilt a bit more and it improved the overall design a lot. The second one also played a lot on “isomorphic correspondence” really well to fit the theme. It gives people a back-breaking and hurt spinal cord vibe I guess. The only comment was that the curvature seems to be a bit off since it looks smoother at the smaller squares and more awkward between the larger squares. The first thing I did was split it up into smaller squares to allow for a smoother curve which completely took away the effect. After that I tried to raise the design vertically which was not bad but was moving in the wrong direction. Finally, I decided to change the tilt of only the last two boxes. It is almost unnoticeable but if I cover the other artboards, I think it is a slight improvement. I also think this awkwardness is what contributes a lot to the tension and the pain from this picture, I think I will go with the original. Between the first and second concept, I’m not sure which I personally prefer but will probably choose the second because it elicits the strongest response from my audience.
Order: Similar to tension, I received very specific comments on these designs. She suggested having the spacing in the first one be equal to the sizes of the boxes and an “animorphs” gradual progression idea for the second. I implemented both and to be honest, I’m not a fan of what the second one looks like but do think that the original concept for the second one is very boring. I’m still a fan of the original in the first one because while I agree that the boxes have more space to breathe, they look less united as a whole which is what I initially had planned. I think I will go with my first idea because to me, it fits the word order in that it’s more united, and there’s balance between the top and bottom.
Here are the final illustrations that were submitted: (29 September 2020)
