Design Principles - Week 1: Elements & Principles of Design, Gestalt Theory and Contrast

30/3/2021 - 9/4/2021 / Week 1 - Week 2

Lui Hsiao Hui (Tressa) / 0342003

Design Principles / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

Topic 1: Elements & Principles of Design, Gestalt Theory and Contrast

LECTURES

Week 1: Friday 2/4/2021

Dr. Jinchi's lecture explained all elements and principles of design, gestalt theory and contrast. These principles we learned are very important and are the basis for us designers. We need these principles in our work and learn how to analyse and utilise them to create effective designs.

Week 2: Tuesday 6/4/2021

Dr. Charles further explained and gave examples of a few of the gestalt theories. He also presented extra information about alignment in design.

Fig. 1.1 & 1.2 Overlaying (Proximity)

The overlaying technique creates visual interest, texture, contrast and perspective. In the batman poster, it also creates emphasis and a sense of pattern to the overlayed cards.

Fig. 1.3 & 1.4 Alignment

Notes:

- Similarity: The example of human skeleton/humans - we're all humans, we share the same limbs, etc, but we look different.

- Proximity: Overlapping, reducing gaps, eliminating space, layering, combining.

- Alignment: Visual organisation, putting things together in order (discipline).

- 2 forms of alignment: edge and center (+ perimeter).

- Be aware of compositional frames.

- When creating a visual it must have meaning, ensure you're able to tell a story with just a visual.

- Strong gestalt makes the mind work. Best make it less obvious.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. TWO designs, one for contrast and one for Gestalt.

2. Upload both designs in PDF file in your blog.

3. Send your blog link here.

4. Your blog must be in your actual name for easy identification. Make sure it has:

a) Visual research

b) Idea exploration

c) Feedback from lecturer

d) Final design outcome (pictures must be neatly cropped and must not be shadowy/blur)

e) Brief reflection for the week

Materials: Black and white paper, glue.

VISUAL RESEARCH

1. Elements and Principles of Design

Fig. 2.1 Elements and Principles of Design

Not pictured: Repetition of elements in regular or cyclic fashion creates interest. Repetition strengthens a design by tying together individual elements and bringing a sense of consistency. It can create rhythm (regular, alternating, flowing, random, progressive) and patterns. The variation introduced increases the level of interest.

EXAMPLES

Fine Art

Fig. 2.2 "The Brink" by Hilary Clarq (@hilaryclarcq)

Balance (asymmetrical): There is equal visual weight in this painting as the bonfire and the lady are placed on the two vertical lines of the rule of thirds. However, the balance is somewhat asymmetrical because of the difference in scale. The lady is larger in scale compared to the bonfire.

Colour, value, contrast and emphasis: Contrast in yellow and orange against green and blue (warm vs cool colour). Yellow is a striking colour and much brighter than green, thus creating emphasis on the bonfire, immediately drawing attention to it.

Colour and harmony: The painting is painted with a limited and cohesive colour palette, so there is a sense of unity in colour.

Proportion and scale: The lady on the right is much further from the bonfire, while the other two people at the left are much closer to the bonfire. Smaller-scale gives the illusion of the subject being further away. It adds depth and creates a separation from the foreground (the lady), middle ground (bonfire) and background.

Game Art

Fig. 2.3 Little Nightmares Poster

The gestalt theory 'closure' and 'figure-ground' is used in the design of this game's logo. It resembles an eye, a keyhole and the protagonist "Six". This poster also has many other elements and principles of design, such as colour, proportion and scale, rhythm, balance, harmony, value, contrast, emphasis, texture, pattern and repetition. The protagonist wears a bright yellow raincoat, making her stand out, being the emphasis in this poster. She also contrasts the surrounding darkness (dark values). The way the scene is tilted upwards shows movement (rhythm) and also shows off the scale of the kitchen. For example, the creeping hand, plates and cup are disproportionate to the main character. Although the protagonist is in bright yellow, there is still harmony in this poster as the colours are warm and tinted with a green hue. Additionally, this poster has equal visual weight. Both sides are framed by the shelves, and a door is placed in the center. Overall this poster contains many elements and principles of design.

Photography

Fig. 2.4 Nikolina (@niko_mat) by Alesso Albi (@alessoalbi)

Rhythm and line: Sense of movement from the swirl pattern. These two elements draw viewers' eyes to follow the movement of the lines.

Contrast: Harsh shadows. Light and dark.

Emphasis: The lines create an emphasis on the model's right eye as the swirl pattern ends there, and acts as a frame around her eye.

Pattern and repetition: Repetition of the lines, creating a swirl pattern.

Graphic Design

Fig. 2.5 World of Type (@worldoftype_) Fig. 2.6 Melis Ugurlu (@melisugurlu.studio)

Fig. 2.4: Shape, space, colour, lines, contrast

Gestalt theory is also present here. The circle shapes and lines combined forms the number '2'. Though one can also perceive it as just circles and lines attached to one another.

Fig. 2.5: Space. contrast, shape, texture, balance (symmetrical), emphasis (yellow and the levitation of the left rectangle).

Fashion Design

Besides art and design, these elements and principles are also present in fashion design. It helps to create interest in the garments.

Fig. 2.7 Gareth Pugh SS09 Fig. 2.8 Greg Lauren

Fig. 2.6: Balance (symmetrical), line, texture, rhythm, harmony

Fig, 2.7: Balance (asymmetrical), line, texture, contrast, colour

Fig. 2.9 Maison Margiela SS18 Fig. 2.10 Maison Margiela AW18

Fig. 2.8: Emphasis, colour, contrast, texture

Fig. 2.9: Proportion and scale, colour, texture, contrast, emphasis, harmony

Fig. 2.11 Elie Saab SS20 Fig. 2.12 Marni AW20

Fig. 2.10: Balance (symmetrical), texture, pattern, shape, harmony, colour

Fig. 2.11: Pattern, texture, shape, colour, contrast, harmony

2. Gestalt Theory

Fig. 3.1 Gestalt Principles

The whole is different from the sum of its parts. Gestalt theory is to organise visual elements into groups or 'unified wholes' when certain principles are applied. The mind will attempt to fill in details that aren't actually there.

Fig. 3.2 Gestalt Theory

EXAMPLES

Fig. 3.3 Milton Glaser Fig. 3.4 Melis Ugurlu @melisugurlu.studio

Fig. 3.3: Closure, colour, line, shape, contrast, space

Fig. 3.4: Proximity and similarity, colour, balance (asymmetrical) and harmony

Fig. 3.5 Nicola van Acker @studio.koevoet Fig. 3.6 Balla Kristof @balla.kristof

Fig. 3.5: Similarity in colour, style and abstract shapes and lines. This creates a sense of harmony. The arrangement of the elements on both pages have equal visual weight, therefore it's symmetrical in balance.

Fig. 3.6: Continuity. Although the 'a' is of a different type, it has a smooth leading line that connects to the 'p'.

3. Contrast

Colour, values, shape, texture and other elements.

Art/Cinematography

Fig. 4.1 Stills of the Dream SMP Animatic "Innocence" by Late-August

The use of strong colour contrast is present throughout this animatic. The artist uses the colour red to highlight specific and significant characters of the plot and events. Red is a striking colour that stands out against the greys and black. Contrast here is used to symbolise importance and draw viewers' attention to what the artist wants them to see first before anything else. This is also a form of emphasis, as the entire scene is grayscale, making the red stand out. Besides contrast, there are other principles and elements of design present, such as proportion and scale, balance, space and form. Proportion/scale: some characters are larger in scale to create the visual illusion that they are closer to the viewers. In these 3 scenes, there is symmetrical balance, creating equal visual weight. Besides that, the artist also makes use of empty space so it creates focus on the characters. Space also creates the illusion of distance, so where the characters are placed within a space can tell viewers how far they are etc.

Photography

Fig. 4.2 Portraits

Left to right: @moodydarkroom, @lissyellelaricchia and @stepan.gladkov

These photos showcase good use of contrast, and how contrast is used to create interest, as well as evoking a certain feeling. In the first photo by @moodydarkroom, there is colour contrast - red against green. In the second photo, the model stands out very much as she is in all white (cream) while the background is black. The harsh lighting also creates a stronger contrast in the image. In the last photo, there is a good use of negative space to create contrast between the model and the background. The harsh lighting creates a harsh shadow over the model's eyes, adding to the contrast. The strong contrast in this image also allows the distinct shape of the hat to be the focal point or emphasis of the image.

Graphic Design

Fig. 4.3 Collection Peter Stuyvesant Fig. 4.4 Bauhaus by Herbert Bayer 1968

Fig. 4.3 & 4.4: Shape, colour, value, space, emphasis, balance and scale. In both designs, the red square stands out the most (emphasis), as it is the only shape that is red in colour. One may say the yellow triangle in Fig. 4.3 is the emphasis since it's the only shape in yellow, but the red is still stronger and more vibrant than the yellow. Other than that, using different colours opposite each other in the colour wheel (complementary colours) creates a strong contrast, as shown in these two designs.

PROGRESS AND IDEA EXPLORATION

1. Gestalt Theory

For this exercise, I used geometric shapes to convey each gestalt theory.

Fig. 5.1 Closure & Fig. 5.2 Continuity, Week 2 (3/4/2021)

Closure: Circle. The circle isn't fully encased, but the mind creates a line on its own.

Continuity: A sense of continuity and movement, as viewers' eyes move from top to bottom or bottom to top. Was going for abstract stairs type of look for this piece.

Fig. 5.3 Figure-ground & Fig. 5.4 Proximity, Week 2 (3/4/2021)

Figure-ground: Button or circles.

Proximity: Variation in the number of circles and their proximity within each other allows viewers to know which are grouped. It also shows a sense of hierarchy and order.

Fig. 5.5 Similarity, Week 2 (3/4/2021)

Rectangles of different sizes and rotation grouped together. A sense of cohesion in style. For these pieces, I also made use of negative space, shape, line, contrast and the rule of thirds. The designs are minimalistic, with the primary focus being to portray each gestalt theory.

2. Contrast

Fig. 5.6, Week 2 (5/4/2021)

Contrast in space, colour, shape, scale and balance (asymmetrical). In Fig. 5.6, I focused on asymmetrical balance and was trying to portray the look of balancing stones. I arranged the shapes as if the large oval (symbolising a stone) was going to topple over. Furthermore, I also played with the contrast of space. Comparing Fig. 5.6 with Fig. 6.3 below (under final outcomes), the shapes are much more huddled together, while Fig. 6.3 has more white space.

Final Outcomes

Fig. 6.1 Gestalt Theory (Closure), Week 2 (6/4/2021)

I had the idea of creating a 3D box to represent the gestalt theory of closure and figure-ground. In the first view, it looks like an opening box, but when flipped (Fig. 6.2 below), it appears to be a room (attic) with lighting coming in from the window. Although not everyone may see it as a room as it is a bit abstract.

Fig. 6.2 Gestalt Theory (Figure-ground), Week 2 (6/4/2021)

Besides that, there is contrast, asymmetrical balance, proportion and scale, line, shape, form and space (negative and positive) in this piece. While sketching the idea for this, I drew the box in one point perspective because I didn't want it to look boring without the little distortion in the proportions.

Fig. 6.3 Contrast, Week 2 (5/4/2021)

For my contrast design, I focused on contrast in shapes and scale. I also made use of the design element space. I think the presence of a large negative space creates a divide and brings out the differences (contrast) of each shape. The distance between all shapes also serves as a way to bring emphasis to certain shapes. For example, the large circle is the farthest from the other two shapes.

Fig. 6.4 Rough sketches, Week 2 (5/4/2021)

These are some rough sketches I did before attempting to make the collages with black and white paper. Sketches 1 to 3 were an attempt at conveying closure. I got the idea of flipping the design to show figure-ground later on when I started cutting out the shapes. for my gestalt final piece. The 4th sketch is a sketch of Fig. 6.3, where I used the rule of thirds, keeping in mind the element space. It started off in landscape view, but I thought it looked better in portrait view.

PDF FILE

Fig. 7 Exercise 1: Gestalt Theory & Contrast - PDF, Week 2 (6/4/2021)

REFLECTION

At first, it was tough to enjoy what I was doing because I didn't like limitations in materials when it comes to assignments. To solve this issue, I thought of ways to make myself enjoy the assignment, that is to analyse other people's work which I find interesting and inspirational. Dr. Charles also emphasized many times the importance of having fun while creating designs and doing assignments. Besides that, I've never really thought of contrast as a completely separate principle during Dr. Jinchi's lecture. But after all the visual research and analysis I've found that it is present in all forms of art. Whenever there is a difference in subject or colour, it automatically creates contrast. Furthermore, Dr. Charles's lecture helped me further understand the gestalt theories and his extra lecture on alignment was very insightful. It showed me a new perspective on design, as I've never given much thought to alignment.