just things

Initial sketch/drawing of idea.

Digital translation:

Paul Rand

Paul Rand is a very famous graphic designer. His work has been influential in the design field. He's well known for doing corporate logo designs.

In the video there are good examples of pan, zoom, and wipe. There seems to be a rather extensive use of pan. and the morphing of the characters were interesting.

Paul Rand has a knack for saying things in a very precise and clear way. Whatever he says makes a good deal of sense and is jam packed with meaning.

"A WORK OF ART IS REALIZED WHEN FORM AND CONTENT COME TOGETHER."

"...WITHOUT THE AESTHETIC MEANS THAT IS DONE WITHOUT SOME ALTERIAL MOTIVE - BECAUSE OF LOVE, BECAUSE IT SELLS..."

evolution and documentation of tools

Documentation of tools:

Documentation of Taxonomy

My final product for my book of taxonomy ended up being quite different than how I had first thought of it, however it was fundamentally the same thing.

My initial proposition was this:

TAXONOMY PROPOSAL

As the process of creating the book developed, I had made some changes with the size of the book. Initially I had proposed the 8.5 x 11 - which is the size of the paper that the original marks were on. This lead to problems with me being stuck to this format - and it made me subject to already set compositions that were not visually appealing. So then I sized it down to 5.25 x 6.25 and selected part of the pages that I thought were interesting.

I then broke up my marks into three sections which were identified denotatively (with the tool that made the marks). then on each page there was a label that pointed out the different connotations that some of the marks made. I made a point of not marking all of the analogue shapes because I wanted the viewer to be able to be more involved in imaging for them selves what some of the marks would be.

Then I made the decision to put a backing on each page to make the whole book more refined. the first paper that I tried did not work because it was too white and had a lot of texture which made it distracting. So then I hand-died more paper and applied that to each page.

The cover I made metal. The same material that is on the back of each page is on the front and back cover. Metal seemed to me to be the easiest material to manipulate. It is also sturdy.

FINAL REFLECTION

1.

This project had two parts: The book of taxonomy of marks, and the haiku. Both of these projects had some aspect that was closely related to one of the two projects that we did previously. We have been using some of the same principles of design in every project.

Reflecting on the very first project that we did (the dot project) I can see we used abstract images to communicate, not representational or symbolic. Throughout the semester we have only really used abstract images.

It is always important to keep in mind that visual abstraction is the simplification of a more complicated and deep meaning.

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SIMILARITIES IN PROJECTS ONE AND THREE:

We used visual abstraction to communicate certain concepts in the dot project, and also later in the book of taxonomy and the haiku.

Also in Project 3 I did at times keep in mind the 12 core priciples of design: These were used periodically in the taxonomy and the animation - with the compositions of the analogue marks and the digital compositions of the flash haiku:

1. allignment

2. framing

3. symmetry

4. asymmetry

5. scale

6. continuation

7. proximity

8. positive/negative

9. compound shape

10. repetition

11. correspondence

12. layers

Just as we looked at using transparency and including text with our compositions in the dot project, we also introduced type into the flash project, and had to consider how it fit into the composition.

Throughout the semester I made a point of using mind mapping as much as I could in order to help me think of plenty of ideas, and not get stuck with just one thought. We also made thumbnails scetches with iterations which helped us through the creative process.

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SIMILARITIES BETWEEN PROJECT ONE AND PROJECT THREE:

With Project 2, we began making lots of abstract line compositions and manipulated them by hand with UNTRADITIONAL TOOLS - thus getting unexpected but interesting results. This is what helped to make the final result visually appealing and not so artificial.

Throughout the semester (especially in project 2 and 3) I continued to practice effective and practical file management.

Just as we focused on a cohesive theme with our accordion book of juxtaposing spreads, we had to find a way to make a book of taxonomy that clearly communicated our connotative and denotative meanings.

In project 2 we learned how to digitalize our images using both photoshop and illustrator. Throughout both projects I was able to learn and fortify my skills of the digitalizing and vectoring process.

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In addition to strengthening my understanding of the principles that were learned in the previous projects, I also was introduced to a few new principles of design.. and stuff:

In the third project I was able to strengthen my understanding of how language and form can be intermingled, and how to construct something that has a visual and conceptual to something that already exists (haiku animation).

Also, in the midst of the process, I learned what an ICONIC shape was (a simple form that has cultural connotations) and also abstract shapes (what we have been using throughout the semester).

With the taxonomy project I learned about connotative and denotative meaning. These concepts had to be clearly presented in the book of taxonomy. (the denotation in the book was represented by the tools that I used to make the marks which then became shapes that had apparent connotations).

There was a particular process that was developed when making all of the analogue shapes and when creating the thumbnail iterations:

Process: Selection (chose the marks) > iteration (made different shapes with the marks that were similar) > validation (selected the most successful shapes and then repeat until you find the best result.

Also, there were that were learned for the flash animation:

The five basic transitions:

1. Transparency

2. Zoom

3. Pan

4. Wipe

5. Morph

It is usually best to use many of these transitions simultaneously as that helps to trick the eye, and helps to make the motion more complex, believable, and sometimes more realistic.

____

ALLLLLL of these things that were learned this semester will be extremely useful to know in the next semester. Knowing all of the principles of design is what make a successful designer.

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2.

This is a spread that juxtaposes one of the manipulated line studies (progression) and a photograph that was selected from my archive of photos. This particular photo was selected because of its visual similarities to the line study.

I find this particular juxtaposition to be interesting. It is especially appealing in a visual sense because of the complexity of the lines and the smoothness of the curves.

Despite this, it was left out from the final layout of spreads because it was not quite as succesfull as it could be. First of all, in the photograph, it was not clear what the image actually was. In the rest of my images in the 'line book' were clearly located somewhere in the city. It was also clear that this particular image did not quite fit in with the narrative that I was trying to express in the book.

So, because of this, I made a decision to not include it in the final book, however fond of it I was. Looking at it now, I am glad that I stood by my decision to not include it into the final book.

cdf ec

mc sweeney presentation

digital kitchen