Design Principles: Project 3

02.11.21 - 29.10.21 (Week 11 - Week 14)
Chai Yi Xuan / 0346645 / B' Creative Media
Design Principles
Project 3 / Visual Analysis

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LECTURES

 

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INSTRUCTIONS

To-Do List:

Find an artwork/commercials/billboards, analyze it and create a design inspired/in response to the design.

I searched up on quite a few artwork through Pinterest and DeviantArt, and among what I had seen, I found myself drawn to this artwork. I decided to use it for my visual analysis.

Figure 1: Angelic Gate by Jstiller30 (Link)

Observation

The artwork is in a landscape orientation, which emphasizes the fact that this illustration leans towards a scenery work. The piece overall looks dream-like and abstract, which was probably strengthened by using a paintbrush texture and soft, blended strokes.

The setting of this piece is at a graveyard, with an angelic gate that acts as a portal and releasing doves. With these two elements, it would seem that it is a play of life and death in a piece of artwork.

Other than the splash of colour that comes from the wings of the gate, the colour palette is monochromatic, using various shades of greyish blue with a little bit of purple.

Figure 2.1: Colour palette retrieved from Angelic Gate

The choice of palette the artist used contributes to the dark, broody atmosphere, and offsets it with the bright gate and doves.

Analysis

First and foremost, the main subject of this design is the angelic gate. The artist makes it the centerpiece of the artwork by using emphasis and contrast.

Figure 3.1: Emphasis and contrast highlighted

The angelic gate is the largest element, taking up most of the space in the illustration. It grabs the viewer's attention by being the first element you see when glancing at the design. Aside from size, the artist also uses the contrast of colours to create emphasis. The splash of orange against the dull shades of blues is enough for the wings of the gate to stand out from the background.

Figure 3.2: Movement shown in artwork

There is a good flow of direction in Angelic Gate. The pathway to the gate and the direction of the doves flying indicates movement in the illustration, making it more dynamic.

Figure 3.3: Repetition of elements, tombstones and wings

Figure 3.4: Repetition of elements, idea

There is the repetition of elements in the design. The repeated elements are the tombstones and the wings. However, the elements are in different sizes and slightly different shapes to create small varieties and avoid monotony in the illustration. There is also a repetition of an idea. The dove nearing the tombstone, spreading its wings looks similar to the idea of the angelic gate, just smaller in size.

Interpretation

According to the artist, they had no initial concept for the artwork. They created the artwork while live streaming on Twitch, and left the illustration up to the audience's interpretation.

For me, this piece appears to be something bright/hopeful in a place that is dark/dreary. We associate light with something that is good—and amongst the dark—can appear as a hope. Light at the end of the tunnel, if you will. The colour and tone contrast of the gate and the rest of the background manages to capture that feeling.

The doves flying around in the graveyard also gives meaning to the artwork. The first that comes to mind is the play of contrasting aspects, life and death. The doves flying around the graveyard shows something of a co-existence of two opposites. Doves are a universal sign of peace— and I like to think that it shows the peace that comes after death. The doves seemed to be approaching the tombstones, as if bringing peace and company to the dead.

Overall, I interpret Angelic Gate as something that shows: 1. the light in the middle of the darkness (hope) and 2. the balance of life and death.

Design Process

I really liked the concept the artist did, so I decided to take it as inspiration for my design.

Figure 4.1: Sketch for initial idea

Figure 4.2: Initial idea

Initially, I thought the idea to be okay and it shows the idea of the design I analyzed. However, the more I worked on it the more it looks too similar to what the artist did in the original work. My design ended up more like a parody than a design I created.

Therefore, I scraped the idea and designed a new one.

Figure 4.3: Sketch #2

I felt like this design is more subtle in comparison to the earlier one, so I decided to continue with it.

Figure 4.4: Prototype for design #2

After receiving some feedback for this, I tweaked it according to the comments.

Figure 4.5: Letting Go

 

Letting Go

"Even if it hurts— sometimes letting go is just the better choice."

Rationale:

For my illustration, I wanted to convey the concept that was inspired by the Angelic Gate. In Angelic Gate, the winged gate releases doves(life) in a dark place, which is the graveyard(death). But instead of something dreary, I decided to portray death as something more hopeful. This led me to think about how I should depict life in this scenario. The thought about clinging onto life sparked an idea within me, hence my decision in illustrating that scene.

My intention is to convey the need to let go. The black hands, which I intended them to represent the living, are desperately reaching out for the white hand, the dead. In an attempt of keeping the white hand to stay with them, they scarred the white hand. But in the end, the white hand still leaves— and on the contrary, recovered from wounds as it gets closer to the light.

This design has used the design principles repetition in variety(the black hands), contrast(black and white hands), balance(composition weight split evenly) and emphasis(the light and white hand against the dark and black hands). I felt that the design has expressed what I wanted to convey, and was satisfied with how it turned out.

PDF File of Project

 

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FEEDBACK

Week 14

The design (design #2) is interesting. It gives the audience something to think about and a chance for them interpret its meaning. Try to overlap the hands at the bottom to add more dynamism and sense of motion as they reach out for the hand that is avoiding them. Put a little distance in between to emphasize the white hand avoiding the others.

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REFLECTIONS

Experience

I had never picked apart a design and creating something from the inspiration, so this was a new experience for me. Having to sit down, observe and process a piece of work makes me slow down and consider the intention of the design, rather than looking at it for the aesthetics. In fact, dissecting a design helps me in knowing more about how it clicks with the right elements. And having the chance to create something with the knowledge I had gotten is a great opportunity to practice it.

Observations

I observed how each design principles play into a design. Typically, the subject/main focus of the design is highlighted by principles like emphasis, contrast and sometimes movement(which directs the viewers eyes to the subject). For designs like illustrations, there must also be principles like harmony and unity to make sure the subject fits into the picture without looking tacky.

Findings

I found that dissecting the composition and design principles of others' artworks can be beneficial. It helps deepen my understanding and knowledge about the principles of design, which in turn can be applied into my own designs to make them better.