Sunday 25 November 2012

OUGD401: Context of Practice. Beauty, Style & Taste studio session.

For this studio session we were to arrive with two pieces of graphic design that focused on just text, another two just image and the last two image and text. One of the two had to be a piece we disliked and the other that we liked. 
The following are the pieces I brought in that I liked:

Text.
(http://www.behance.net/gallery/San-Francisco-Lettering/5898907)
I loved how this piece was so intricate yet simple at the same time. I found that the lack of colour only enhanced the piece and its fluidity, created by the use of render.

Image and text.

(http://www.behance.net/gallery/Pattern-Matters-Tangible-Paper-Infographic/3411991)
I thought this was a really innovative and inventive take on info graphics. Quite usually with info graphics viewers are bombarded with elements such as facts and numbers, however I love the simplicity of this piece and the use of 3D graphics. 

Image.

(http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles/77742/projects/1316541/e0e570c4884690034eb4d3c5f071bf8c.jpg)
I chose this image as I really love illustration and the use of watercolour. However I also like the clever construction of the piece in which the trees slowly escape into the sky hugging the buildings.

The following are pieces I brought in that I disliked:

Text

(http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles/57661/projects/498234/cdb9de16cd4341ffbfb0f05aea267a7d.jpg)
I chose the above design as a piece I didn't like as I didn't like the emphasis on geometric shapes, as well as the use of gaudy colour and uncomplimentary gradients.  

Text and Image.

(http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles/51195/projects/53832/511951199384245.jpg)
I chose this piece both because I found it quite unreadable, and out of personal preference. The use of these particular patterns and exaggeration of black does reiterate the visual of a tribal tattoo which are not in particular to my taste. 

Image.
(http://entelekia.wordpress.com/2008/10/28/campy-art-deco-erte/)
I chose this image piece as one that I disliked as I do not like much design that comes out of the art deco movement. The constant use of geometric shapes and overuse of colours produces an image of clutter and chaos, not the simple and low colour usage I prefer. 

Equipped with our 6 pieces of design we got into groups of 6 and discussed what we liked and what we didn't like about the pieces we had chosen.
Afterwards we individually wrote a list explaining what we did like in the aesthetics of graphic design and what we disliked.

What I like:
Mixed media/ experimental media
Negative space
Subtle/ few colours
Elegance
Simplicity
Fluidity
3D
Clever.

What I dislike:
Gaudy colours
Too much colour
Art deco
Geometric shapes
illegibility
Business
Chaos
Overcomplicated
Too fine art.

After making these individual lists we made the same two lists again as a class.

What we like:
Clean
Simple
Legible
Structured
Geometric
Distinctive
Powerful 
Modernist
Sophisticated
Balanced
Professional
Striking
Intricate
Crisp
Intriguing.

What we dislike:
Cheap
Tacky
Generic
Garish
Cluttered 
Over powering
Busy
Messy
Unclear
Illegible
Chaotic
Overworked

After we had written these lists we were to choose 3 pieces of the work we had brought in one we liked, one we didn't and one other. From these 3 we were to write down 5 words for each from the class lists in which our described our personal opinions of the pieces of work. We then swapped our pieces of work with another person in the room and over a period of 35 seconds they wrote down 6 words for each in which described their personal opinions of the work.
At the end of this task we got back into pairs with the person we swapped work with and sat down in groups of 6 in which we went around the table and found out if people had the same kind of opinions as ourselves.

The three pieces I took into this exercise were 2 I liked and 1 I didn't. below are the images with both mine and Grace's opinions. 

 My Opinions:
Powerful
Simple
Sophisticated
Intricate
Intriguing

Grace's opinions:
Unclear 
Illegible
Dark
intricate
Overworked
Chaotic.

Grace thought I disliked this piece.


My opinions:
clean
Simple
Sophisticated
Balanced 
Striking

Grace's opinions:
Clean
Geometric
Legible
Crisp
Striking
Sophisticated

Grace thought I liked this piece.

My opinions:
Cluttered
Unclear
Overworked
Busy
Overpowering

Grace's opinions:
Garish
Clashing
Busy
Unclear
Overwhelming
Chaotic

Grace thought I disliked this piece.

We found through this exercise from getting 2/3 that we had similar rules of what was good graphic design and clashed on design in which we had a contrasting personal preference.

We then went on to create a list of rules in our pairs that we agreed was what made graphic design aesthetically pleasing. We had to make 10 rules, mine and Grace's are as follows:
1. Should be legible.
2. Image and type should reflect eachother.
3. Colours should harmonize/ balance.
4. Image should reflect message.
5. Should not be overcrowded.
6. Use original work - not always copy and pasting.
7. Use good quality images.
8. Visuals should not disrupt/ take away from the message.
9. Use no more than 3 fonts at once.
10. Use colour on the same semantic level as the message.

From this we were to individually pick 3 rules that we would use to judge design in a following study task, highlighted above are the 3 rules I chose. 






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