Design Basic Index: Word Portraits Exercise
- Jennifer Stevenson (round and open)
Opposite:
rigid
- Jennifer Stevenson (neat and whimsical)
Opposite:
conformed
- Jennifer Stevenson (round and friendly)
Opposite:
offensive
- Jennifer Stevenson (business and normal)
Opposite: non-coformnist
- Jennifer Stevenson (loud and bold)
Opposite:
quiet
- Jennifer Stevenson (narrow and elegant)
Opposite:
crass
- Jennifer Stevenson (heavy and round)
Opposite:
airy
- Jennifer Stevenson (straight and neat)
Opposite:
slanted
- Jennifer Stevenson (medium and neat)
Opposite:
large
Jennifer
Stevenson (different and expressive)
Opposite:
plain jane
- Jennifer Stevenson (refined and different)
Opposite:
unrefined
- Jennifer Stevenson (Sloppy and tight)
Opposite:
Neat
- Jennifer Stevenson (narrow and businesslike)
Opposite:
wide
Picking
various fonts and trying to come up with descriptive words for them was very
eye opening. I stuck with some fonts
that I usually used but then I used a few that I never used. In doing this exercise, I realized that I
tend to like neat, narrow businesslike fonts.
The ones that are too bold or heavy seem to intimidate me or make me
think of trying to be too loud so I tend to stay away from them. I never realized that we have such emotional
reactions to font. The more that I learn
about the different elements of design, the more I appreciate what it takes to
create a great visual piece. I am going
to challenge myself to use different fonts.
Normally, I wouldn’t use this one because it is heavy. I like to be able to bold words and see a
noticeable difference between the bold typeface and the regular one.
Exercise #2 White Space
![["Arcady," George Owen Knapp house, Sycamore Canyon Road, Montecito, California. Lower garden, view to Santa Ynez Mountains]](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/ppmsca/16000/16097r.jpg)
This
picture is breathtaking. It definitely elicits
a peaceful response from the viewer.
There are three elements that best stand out. The first one is space. The use of positive and negative space is
balanced. The use of both organic and
inorganic shapes also balances the picture.
Element No. 4 size is also noticeable.
The trees are all about the same height and width so no one thing
overpowers the other. The Principle that
is most dominant is the creation of a focal point. This picture is beautifully balanced so that
the eye’s movement is controlled.
This
picture is simply beautiful in its simplicity.
I stared at this one for hours.
The element of design that has the most impact is the creation of the
line. The line created by the repetition
of the canon and the decrease in size draws your eye to start from the beginning
and keep looking further back over and over again. Principle 4: Movement has a strong presence
in this photo. As mentioned before the
photographer controls your eye’s movement and this is a part of what drew me to
the picture. I also like the Unity of
the picture. All of the elements work
together. The railroad track, the solider,
the cannon and the building all compliment each other.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/var.0289/
This
picture stands out because of the Value.
There are tones are white and gray in the foreground and they make the
dancers in the front really stand out. I
also like the use of pattern using mostly the colors black and white to draw
attention to certain features. There is
a rhythm to their outfits as well as their actual movements.
Jennifer - so weird, I just read through your blog and I said almost the exact same thing about font choice! I also used a mixture of familiar fonts, as well as some I've never used. I liked your use of the words "neat and whimsical" Whimsical is definitely a good word to use and one I had not thought of. You also used the word "airy" for the opposite of #7 and I thought that was spot on! Your adjectives are well thought out. As for the photos you chose, I enjoyed looking at those as well. I loved your explanation of value for the last picture. The white and black outfits really do stand out against the orange background. I had thought of what it would look like if that was reversed - if the dancers were orange and the background was black and white, and I think that would've been tacky and too much. Great job!
ReplyDeleteLauren
Thanks, Lauren. It is a new with me trying to play with the elements of design as well. Ever since we did the exercise to improve upon something we created, I have thought about how I'd change designs. The same thing is happening to you as well! We are starting to consider how we can improve upon existing ideas.I think I have a new eye so I will definitely be utilizing it more going forward.
DeleteJennifer, I like that we did the same exercises because it gives me perspective on how others view the same directions. I like your layout of the fonts. While I made a table for mine, I like the way yours all has your name written in them. By seeing the same words written over and over, it really gives me more of a feel for the font, rather than just reading all different words (which is how I did it).
ReplyDeleteI also love your pictures. I too am enamored by the middle picture. It is so amazing how one simple black and white picture can tell such a beautiful and emotional story. I agree that the way that the line is used is really strategic. I wonder if the photographer laid out this image prior to taking it, or if it is truly just a moment captured in time.
I agree that we have emotional reactions to font. Reading a whole bold or italicized paragraph is such a chore because it looks kind of "sloppy" to me, like someone tried to emphasize too much -- like when you're taking notes and you highlight the whole page! It's important to use moderation in fonts so we don't overpower the reader with a big block of text that's just hard to read because the font is too wide or too "loud" or something like that.
ReplyDeleteI also love your second and third picture choices - the second one is so quiet and somber, and the black and white really helps with that. You can tell that it's a quiet and serious moment even though most of the picture is white instead of gray or black; I think sometimes we tend to think that darker = edgier and more serious, so this is a good example of the opposite. The second one just has so much energy, it's very fun!
Hi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if it's just my computer, but I'm actually unable to see your font exercise completed the way I believe it is supposed to look. Many of the fonts look exactly the same. It appears your colleagues in the course were able to see how each differed as you intended for them to be posted -- I imagine it's just the way Blogger formatted your post when you pasted it in.
For your second exercise, I love each of the images you selected because they're so different from each other, and evoke such different emotional responses from the viewer (as apparent from the responses of your peers in their comments above!)
I am in agreement with one of your classmates who wrote that they each depict varied narratives - all with one simple "click" of a shutter. The seriousness of the second image juxtaposed with the fun, celebratory nature of the third really makes for a great contrast, especially for describing the elements each portray in such distinctly opposite ways. The black and white versus the colors...even the FONT in the third picture speaks volumes (I believe this font was well selected to depict the emotions of those portrayed in the image). The silence, lines, strict, orderly fashion of the second image speaks volumes -- no font or caption necessary. I can see why you were able to stare at it for so long -- I too, spent quite a bit of time viewing each of the images you selected.
Very nicely done!
prof h