DESIGN PRINCIPLES - [Exercise 1]

DESIGN PRINCIPLES - [Exercise 1] 

28.3.2022 - 4.4.2022 (Week 1- Week 2

Ma Ruisheng/0347125

Design Principles / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Topic 1 -:

[Elements and Principles of Design]

[Gestalt Theory and Contrast]

LECTURES

Elements of design:

• LINE - can be actual, implied, vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and/or contour.
• SHAPE/FORM - Shape -> 2D with area on a plane; form -> 3D with volume.  
• SIZE - the relationship of the area occupied within shapes.
• SPACE - area around or between design subjects in a situation.
• COLOUR - hue.
• VALUE  - lightness or darkness of an object. Also known as tone.
• TEXTURE - the surface of a shape, how it feels or looks like. Texture can be visual or tactile.

Principles of design:

• EMPHASIS - the first thing you see in an artwork.
• BALANCE - nothing is overdone; a sense of visual equilibrium or stability.
• CONTRAST - eye-catching juxtaposition of opposing elements
• REPETITION - regularity for consistency, when used strategically can create rhythm (regular, alternating, flowing, random, progressive) and patterns. A powerful move when combined with variation.
• MOVEMENT - a flow, preventing you from feeling like getting a stroke or heart attack due to 'visual blockage' is what I call it as.
• HARMONY - imagine a choir performance.

Gestalt theory is divided into PRINCIPLE OF SIMILARITY, PRINCIPLE OF CONTINUATION, PRINCIPLE OF CLOSURE, PRINCIPLE OF PROXIMITY, LAW OF SYMMETRY & ORDER，and PRINCIPLE OF FIGURE/GROUND. These principles reduce complex scenes into a easy simple element.They also aim to explain how the eyes perceive the shapes as a single, united form rather than the separate simpler elements involved.

VISUAL RESEARCH

contrast

For this principle of contrast, I found some other people's work on the Internet as a reference.

I found that all of these works presented strong contrast through color changes, the most obvious being black and white.

Gestalt theory

I didn't have any ideas about Gestalt theory in the early days, but through the comparison and reference of these works, I got some ideas of my own.

IDEA EXPLORATION & DESCRIPTION

contrast

At the beginning of the creation of CONTRAST, I first thought of the expression of lines. I have always believed that lines are very expressive elements with tension, so I used different contrasts of lines at the beginning.

Finally, I found that the horizontal and vertical contrast of lines makes the subject more prominent.

Gestalt theory

After I enjoyed some works, I started to create with some simple elements, first I used CONTINUATION to make a silhouette of a cat, and then I used SIMILARITY to make a complete cat.

The last one still used SIMILARITY and made a face using the pattern of flames.

Final outcome

 This is a contrast piece that uses the tension of the lines against the calm background of the background, and the color contrast of the orange sky and the blue ocean waves.

This is a work of GESTALT THEORY. Using the method of CONTINUATION, the lines are changed into dotted lines at different points. The pattern formed by the dotted lines is like the pattern on the cat's body, which makes the work more vivid.

Feedback

When the tutor saw this work, she thought that the lines of this work were messy and the overall look was complicated, so she chose the picture of ocean waves and removed the background line.After seeing my creations, the instructor still asked me to choose the first cat, and asked me to change all the straight lines to dotted lines at different points.

Reflection 

This week, I have a deeper understanding and perception of the difference between contrast and GESTALT THEORY. I have applied these to the completion of the final work. I can see the difference between these two principles from the final work, and I can also feel their impact The importance of design. These have opened me up to new thinking about design.