Week 9

Principle 1: image and text

The relationship between image and text is that an image can mean one thing on its own but when presented with a word it can change them meaning to something completely different. Should images just stand for themselves or do they need some form of annotation for us to truly interperate their full meaning.It all depends on the individual image, some images that want to show a meaning a very obvious but others need text to explain them. Here are some examples i have found.




This image of cigarettes being loaded into a gun is a very powerful but easily understandable message. 'Smoking Kills'.  This is obvious as the image used is simple and you could not mistake it for any other meaning.





However this stop smoking advert would be a little more difficult to interperate without the text, or without the cigarette 'X' we wouldnt even know it was a stop smoking advert. This is an example where this image could not stand alone it needs the text to explain its full meaning, otherwise it would just be a men's urinal.
It all depends on the image in use.

Week 8

Principle 1: Production


any design project can be summed as a five-stage process:
1. The Problem,the client, user, participant etc
2. Ideas, definition of problem, thoughts, research, facts,ideology, process etc
3. Visualisation, sketches, drawings, observations, etc

4. Layouts, organisation and presentation of solution etc
5.  Production, How to make your solution work in practice

Week 7

Principle 1: Interpretation

interpretating things for ourselves makes us different from one another it makes our work and ideas different. We use the 'zeitgeist' of our time.

The Zeitgeist (spirit of the age or spirit of the time) is the fashion or dominant school of thought which influences the culture of a period. For example, the architecture and other art of the twentieth century was much influenced by the idea of modernism.

They use this to imprint meaning and messages. We all interprete things differently, our time and era mostly  influences our interpretation. For example Lewis Carols Alice in Wonderland has been interperated by a fair amount of animators/illustraitors/photographers of the years. Here are some examples.

This first example is walt disneys interpretation of Alice. He has used bright colours and cute and loveable characters as it is a childrens film. His interpretation is a happy colourful story.

 This is Tim Burtons interpretation of Alice, it is a slighty dark version of Lewis Carols story but it is a very typical Tim Burton approach, as most of his films and quite dark and diffrent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This has to be my favorite version of Alice. This game is by American Mcgee and from the producers of spicy horse. This game is very dark and twisted and portrays alice as mentally insane, the characters such as the queen of hearts and the mad hatter are evil and want to destroy alice which i think is a really interesting twist on the original childrens story.

 

 

Principle 2: Medium

 

Illustrators utilise both client based, commercially driven projects together self intiated and collabrative work to raise or maintain a profile.

 

Examples of agents/groups:

 

www.blublu.org/

http://twitter.com/katemoross

 

Illustrators use proffessional organisations such as the AOI to represent themselves. Other creative areas have their own bodies and organisations that represent them.

 

Forms of promotion that could be used to get your work into the public are for examplw using a blog to display your work, also promotion in the form of galleries or exhibitions, posters or advertisements of your work could be made, TV could also be used to promote yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 6

Principle 1: Stories

Stories are a depiction  journey with a beginning middle and end. The telling of a happening or a group of happenings either true or fiction. They help us understand ourselves and the world. Stories can come from anywhere, it could be a tale or legend, it could be news or it could be completely made up.

Stories can be generated from our own experiences our observations and our own journeys in life. Stories can be communicated in books, spoken or even with visual images. Illustrators often use images to tell a story.

Principle 2: Three act structure

The three act structure is the beginning, middle and end of a story. The setup, confrontation and resolution. You start off with the set up to start the story then the inciting incident to the rising action to the climax, then the falling action and finally the resolution.

for example:
'The girl walked into the woods soon she came across a wolf. The wolf ate the girl. The wolf then fell asleep and a woodcutter came and killed the wolf and rescued the girl from the wolfs stomach'.


We use this principle to give out story a foundation. We use the three act structure as a guideline for writing a story as having no structure at all it would not be a story. This gives meaning and turns an event into to a story. This principle is used in most stories.

Week 5

Principle 1: Legibility

Legibility is the degree to which individual characters in text are understandable or recognizable based on appearance. "The legibility of a typeface is related to the characteristics inherent in its design ... which relate to the ability to distinguish one letter from the other."

Legibility is important because it can mean the difference between understanding and not understanding. For example when writing the adress on a letter it has to be set out evenly and in a readable type and colour that makes sense so that the audience will easily understand.
The size and colour of text is very important because if the text is too small it will become difficult to read and if the colour is too light it wont be visible.

However using colours in text can also help the legibility, having more than one colour for each paragraph can break up the writing making it more visually stimulating for the audience. It also makes large amounts of text less borng a daunting to read.

Also we can ask the question are visual images legible?
Such as road signs and adverts?

Can you understand what an advert that is a single image is trying to portray?

 

 

For example this stop smoking during pregnancy advert is very visually legible, you dont even need to read the writing to know what this advert is portraying.

Principle 2: Visual Hierachy

Visual Hierachy is what we see or read first or in order of visual importance.

It means that the most important information should be seen first to do this you have to make it the most prominant by making your eyes drawn to it, the most 'visually exciting'.

For example in this image the word 'visual' is most prominant because of the white text is a contrast against the dark blue background, the word 'hierarchy' is seen last because the colour blue chosen for the text is a close shade to the background colour, which makes it less visable.

In this photo there are two remotes the left remote is alot more legible and the visual hierarchy is more prominant than the remote on the right which is alot more diffiucult to 'read'.

Week 4

Principle 1: Research

Research is the gathering and collecting of data information and facts for the advancement of knowledge.

Research increases our understanding of the topic. It helps us understand the issue in more detail. Pose a question, anwser the question using research and present an anwser.
It is an essential part of problem solving. It is making sense of a topic or issue and being able to generate your own ideas from it.

There are two types of research, primary and secondary reseach.
Primary research is new research made by you to anwser specific issues or questions. Secondary research makes use of already available research.

Visual research is creating pictures, illustrations, diagrams and images. Illustrators research by drawing and surrounding themselves with things that 'inspire' them.
By using research it gives us a deeper understanding of the subject.

 

 

 

Principle 2: illustation

illustration is drawing, painting, photograph or other images, which is created to display sensual information such as a story, poem or newspaper article.

Illustrate = illuminate (show) = light up (explain)

Illustrators create images/pictures to descibe or explain text or 'pictures with meanings'. By understanding the priciple of illustration we can advance in our own practice. Illustrators find inspiration by collecting and observing things they like and find 'inspiring'.

'Inspiration is all around us'

The images below are from an illustrator that inspires my ideas and my own work. (angryblue)

Week 2

Principle 1: Develping ideational fluency

Ideational fluency can be defined as easily produced ideas that fulfill certain requirements and this can be achieved through tools such as Classification, Brainstorming and Mind Mapping. Ideational fluency refers to the quantity and diversity, but not necessarily the quality of ideas.

Brainstorming is a tool that helps you generate creative solutions to a problem.

It is particularly useful when you want to break out of established patterns of thinking, so that you can develop new ways of looking at things. It also helps you overcome many of the issues that can make group problem-solving a unsatisfactory process.

Why use Brainstorming:
Group problem-solving can be filled with problems. Confident participants can drown out and intimidate quieter group members. Less confident participants can be too scared of ridicule to share their ideas freely. Others may feel pressurized to conform with the group view.

By contrast, brainstorming provides a freewheeling environment in which everyone is encouraged to participate. Quirky ideas are welcomed, and many of the issues of group problem-solving are overcome. All participants are asked to contribute fully and fairly, allowing people to develop creative solutions.
How to use:

You can often get the best results by combining individual and group brainstorming, and by managing the process carefully. That way, you get people to focus on the issue without interruption, you maximize the number of ideas you can generate, and you get that great feeling of team bonding that comes with a well-run brainstorming session.



Mindmapping:

A mind map is a diagram used to visually outline information. A mind map is often created around a single word or text, placed in the center, to which associated ideas, words and concepts are added. Major categories radiate from a central node, and lesser categories are sub-branches of larger branches.Categories can represent words,, ideas, tasks, or other items related to a central key word or idea.
Mindmaps can be drawn by hand, either as "rough notes" during a lecture or meeting, for example, or as higher quality pictures when more time is available. An example of a rough mind map is illustrated.


 

Principle 2: Creative Workspace

The workplace can assist in the production of creative ideas and their development and implementation. A stimulating space can allow creative people to interact and broaden their minds.
 

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Week 1

　

The RVJ is an indispensable tool for all visual creatives. It stands for reflective, visual journal.
The RVJ is for developing your visual thinking and is for engaging with the creative process. It is used as a 'safe' place to develop ideas, collecting, organising and developing visual material.

We use it to process our thoughts and ideas to give us a better understanding of them. Going from thoughts to visual material helps us see our thought process with our eyes.

Principle 1: Drawing
 

Working by hand in your RVJ is essential, it helps you engage a physical connection between hand and eye and your creative side of the brain. This is different to thinking with words or on a computer.

When we draw we are thinking, putting our ideas down on paper for us to see. For example Leonardo Divinci did not put his ideas down in words he illustrated his ideas and this way of generating ideas helped his creative brain work.

 

It is easier to develop ideas when using drawings  rather than words because you dont have to think about how to develop them you can see the development happening as you draw.

 

Anyone can draw to make ideas there is no barrier in 'exploratory mark making'. Also drawing does not have to be just using pens and paper it can be with other materials such as fabric.

 

Principle 2: Creative Brain

 

The two halves of your brain are seperate and carry out two different jobs, the right side is playful and experimental and the left side is organising and editing.

 

 

These are some more examples of Henry Moore's ideas. I like that you can see the development in these drawings.

 

Like in these sketches when using he creative process we are unconciusly switching from one side of our brains to the other. Using the playful creative side with the analysing and editing side. As one side is generating ideas the other side is thinking of how to develop them.

 

 

 

 

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