Design Principles - Lectures notes

Week 01 - 03 (04/1/2022- 20/1/2022)

Lean See Phing |0353393

Design Principle| Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

Lecture notes

Fig 1.0: Thumbnail



Instruction




Lecture notes

Week 01 (4/1/2022 & 6/1/2022)

In week one, before we begin the first class, Dr. Charles briefed us on the module and assignment, and what we should do for the following 7 weeks. To keep us from becoming confused, Dr. Charles then showed us some examples of it, as well as an ice-breaking part to relax us.

Following the section, Dr. Charles began to teach on the elements and principles of design. And here are my notes for the first week's classes.

Topic 1.1: Introduction to Elements and Principles of Design


Why is learning visual languages important?

To conduct and accomplish successful visual communication or design projects and to deliver purposeful messages to audiences, learning and applying the elements and principles of design in composition.


# Elements of design

1. Point
- A point is the most basic design element.
- Other two- and three-dimensional forms are produced as the point travels across space.




2. Line
- refers to a continuous mark made on a surface by a moving point. It can be:

(a) Active
(b) Static
(c) Aggressive/ Passive

- used in a variety of ways:

(a) thick/ thin
(b) movement
(c) form pattern/ texture/ solid masses
etc.

Fig 1.1.4: Movement showed by line.

Video 1.1.5: Drawing formed by line


3. Shape
- refers to the enclosed space that expanse within the outline and is limited to 2 dimensions.

(a) Geometric shapes
- tend to be precise and regular.

(b) Organic shapes
- refers to natural, informal, and freeform shapes.


Fig 1.1.6: Organic shapes

Fig 1.1.7: Geometric shapes


4. Form
- Different from shape, a three-dimensional area is called a form, turned volume as a shape encloses it.

5. Texture
- The tactile qualities of surfaces or the visual representation of those attributes are referred to as texture.

(a) rough/ smooth
(b) soft/ hard
etc.
(a) Actual texture: experienced by touching
(b) Simulated/ implied texture: through visual suggestion (created to look like to real texture).


Fig 1.1.11: Actual texture of hand.

Fig 1.1.12: Implied texture


6. Space
- refer to the distance or area around or between elements in a work. 

(a) Three-dimensional space
- we perceive mass from the outside, and volume from the inside.

Fig 1.1.13: 3D space- mass

Fig 1.1.14: 3D space- volume

(b) Two-dimensional space
- Refers to the area that a shape or form takes up.

i. Positive space: filled space and often the shapes make up the design.
ii. Negative space: empty space which normally acts as the background.

Fig 1.1.15: 2D space

7. Color
- refers to the visual byproduct of the spectrum of light as it passes through a transparent medium or is absorbed and reflected off a surface.

Fig 1.1.16: Colour spectrum

(a) Hue
- Hue literally means the most intense color of the spectrum.


(b) Value
- refers to the lightness or darkness color, ranging from white to grey to black.

(a) White added to a hue: TINT
(b) Grey added to a hue: TONE
(c) Black added to a hue: SHADE


Fig 1.1.17: Value on the color wheel


(c) Intensity (saturation/ Chroma)
- meaning the purity of a hue.
- A pure hue's intensity will be diminished and is dulled when color's pigment (black, grey, and white) is added into it.


Fig 1.1.18: Intensity


- Color groupings that provide distinct color harmonies are called color schemes:

(a) Monochromatic
rely on variation in the value and intensity of a single hue.

(b) Analogous
use colors that are next to each other on the color wheel and have the same pure hue.

(c) Complementary
emphasize two hues directly opposite each other on the color wheel.
Fig 1.1.19: Three color schemes



# Principles of design

1. Contrast
- It draws the viewer's attention to itself through the sheer force of its differences.

2. Balance
- One side will never seem heavier than another.

3. Emphasis
- A point of interest

4. Repetition/ Pattern/ Rhythm
- Repeating the same or a slightly different of the elements of design in design work.

5. Movement
- It is used to create the impression of action in design work.

6. Hierarchy
- refers to the use of elements in an arrangement or presentation to imply importance.

7. Alignment
- refers to the arrangement of elements on a page that prevents them from becoming a jumbled mess and creates a sense of stability.

8. Harmony
- refers to the aesthetically pleasing effect of combining similar or related elements.

9. Unity
- refers to the elements of design work coming together and creating a sense of wholeness.

10. Scale and Proportion
- refers to the size connection between one aspect of a design and another portion, or the entire design.

Further reading: Principles of design

Principles of design will be explained in-depth
in the following topic.



Topic 1.2: Contrast and Gestalt theory

# Contrast
- Juxtaposition of strongly dissimilar elements to provide visual interest and prevent the audiences' visual experience to be monotonous by emphasizing a point and expressing content.

Fig 1.2.2: Contrast (colour)



# Gestalt theory
- the rules of different visual perceptions of different audiences while perceiving visual elements.
- Aim to show how one's eyes perceive:

(a) simplify complex scenes.
(b) united form of shapes from separate elements.


1. Principle of similarity
- One's eyes and brain are prone to seeing similar elements (or sharing a certain observable trait) as a complete, group, and the whole one, even the elements are separated.


2. Principle of continuation
- refers to leads audiences' attention by following the continuous and smooth flowing elements and continuing in that direction until they come across another item or object. 

Fig 1.2.6: Example of Continuation #2


3. Principle of closure
- People tend to fill in blanks to perceive a complete object whenever an external stimulus partially matches that object.

Fig 1.2.7: Example of Closure


4. Principle of proximity
- refers to a few related design elements will be placed together and seen as belonging.
- Close proximity shows that things are related to one another, forming a single visual unit, and can aid in the organization or structure of a layout.

Fig 1.2.8: Example of proximity (grab app)


5. Principle of figure-ground
- Objects are automatically classified as being in the:

(a) foreground (positive space/ figure): the subject or areas of interest in design.
(b) background (negative space/ ground): the area surrounding the work's subject.


6. Law of symmetry and order
- refers to elements that are symmetrical to each other are and tend to be perceived as a united group than those that are not symmetrical.



Topic 2: Balance and emphasis

# Balance
Refers to the distribution of visual weight in design work to create visual equilibrium and make the total image appear balanced and stable.


(a) Symmetrical balance
- Design elements are balanced equally in a mirror-like in composition.

i. Bilateral balance: Arranging elements equally on both sides of the center axis (horizontal or vertical).
ii. Radial balance: Arranging elements equally around a central point.
iii. Approximate balance: Nearly the same elements on both sides of the composition.

Fig 2.0: Approximate balance.


(b)  Asymmetrical balance
- Elements are unequally distributed throughout the composition yet to have an equal visual weight nonetheless.
- One side can contain a dominant element; the other side can be balanced by lesser focus points.


(c) The golden ratio
- Also known as phi, Golden Mean, Golden Section, is a mathematical concept and a number that goes on indefinitely.

i. For designers: used to bring harmony, balance, and structure to one’s work and also increase the appeal of composition.


(d) Rule of thirds
- Means an image is divided into thirds

i. both horizontally and vertically
ii. the subject is positioned at the junction of those dividing lines
iii. or along with one of them.


# Emphasis and dominance
- Used to create dominance and focus in composition.
- Elements (color, shape, contrast, etc) will be used to ensure that certain area is where audiences' eyes are attracted first.


Further readings: 



Topic 3: Repetition and Movement

# Repetition
- Repeating the use of elements of design to make composition seem active, and create rhythm or pattern within the work.

- Variety:
(a) An important exist to avoid monotony and keep rhythm active.
(b) Refers to slightly change or differences in elements to prevent boring composition.


# Movement
- The path the eye takes is a result of a design leading the eye into, around, and through a composition.



-sub principles-


#Hierachy
- refers to the choreography of content in a composition to imply importance by using elements of design.

Fig 3.3: Hierarchy design.


# Alignment
- The positioning of elements in such a way that can create a sense of unity, stability and cohesion in composition:

(a) their edges line up along common rows or columns.
(b) their bodies line up along a common center.


Fig 3.4: Alignment design



Topic 4: Harmony and Unity

# Harmony
- refers to the sense that all of the elements of composition fit together by sharing a common trait and creating a "togetherness" visual quality.

(a) Theme
(b) Aesthetic style
(c) Mood


# Unity
- refers to the repetition of particular elements throughout a composition and gives a sense of "oneness" as the elements are composed in such a way that they are balanced.


-sub principles-


# Scale and Proportion

(a) Scale
- It is the size of one object in respect to the other objects in the composition, referring to the size and dimension of figures and shapes about a given unit of measurement.


Fig 4.3: Actual measurement in scale
Fig 4.4: Visual estimates based on comparison


Fig 4.5: Design applied scale


(b) Proportion
- the connection of two or more elements in a composition and how they compare to one another in terms of some design elements and will result in harmony and unity.

Fig 4.7: Proportion design (size)

Fig 4.8: Proportion design

Week 02 (11/1/2022 & 13/1/2022)

Without any lectures, this week will be primarily focused on the tutorial of the exercise, in which students are able to present their work or sketch for Dr. Charles and ask for any doubts about the exercise, as well as receive feedback from Dr. Charles. Then, conduct some class activity.


Class activity (11/1/2022)

Activity 1

Song 1: Dream Dust

My perception: I personally feel that there is someone dancing in the midst of the desert but not in a pleasant mood but with perhaps some evil thoughts. 

Final outcome:



Explanation:

I utilized a simple line and drew it in the middle, then filled light and dark browns with the two organic shapes divided by the line to create a desert. At the same time, I drew a stickman (since the rule for our work was no complex shapes) to portray someone dancing over the top of the desert.


Activity 2

Song: Future Horizon

My perception: For this, I actually sensed a very futuristic vibe in this song, but as a girl humming voice appeared, I think the feeling altered, and it is now more like I'm about to glimpse someone's face but can't see it. 

Final outcome:



Explanation:

I combined the two feelings and attempted to express both of them at the same time. I selected two Tiffany blue colours, one bright and one dark, to portray futuristic feelings, but white in the midst to convey there is something enigmatic that I can't see. Then, erased some of the colours to improve visual quality.


Briefing - Project 1 (14/1/2022)

After some random talking with students, Dr. Charles has conducted a briefing of Project 1 as well as the exercises we are working on. 

Dr. Charles asked us to particularly focus on self-exploration before we move on to our project by using various ways. Meanwhile, he also reminded us things that we should include in our exercises again to prevent us from making any mistake.


Week 03 (18/1/2022 - 20/1/2022

Public holiday- no class (18/1/2022)


 Briefing #2 - Project 1 (20/1/2022)

Dr. Charles gave us an in-depth explanation of what to accomplish and how to perform project 1 after viewing some others' works and providing feedback. Dr. Charles emphasized the need of conducting self-research on oneself, which may be done in a variety of ways, like writing, sketching, using no colour at all, using a lot of color, and so on.

In the meanwhile, Dr. Charles showed us some of his self-expression work. He gave us his experience and story that was related to his profession. (And he told us he likes sunset hehe.)


Week 04 (25/1/2022- 27/1/2022)


Notes of pre-recorded video (25/1/2022)

Dr. Charles reminded us to view Dr. Jinchi's pre-recorded lecture to better comprehend the project we're working on as well as the future project. As a result, I leave class sooner than usual since Dr. Charles allows us to do so if we don't have any work to present him.


Summary of the pre-recorded video

Sense of place isn't just about drawing about a place that leaves a lasting impression on our minds; it's also about how you express your feelings about the place. Rather than merely drawing out one's feelings about a location, one might express them in a variety of ways. (Example: Instagram of Island Bazaar- photography)


In terms of sense of place, the most essential two components are:

  1. Observation: Observing a certain place enables us to gather enough knowledge to solve a problem and share our thoughts and ideas.
  1. Senses: All observations are made using our senses, which allows us to feel, understand, and analyse what we see and hear in a specified place.


Briefing - Project 2 (27/1/2022)

In this class, Dr. Charles primarily focused on providing feedback for our project in the first session, and then, to better help us understand how the "sense of place" of our next project may be, Dr. Charles utilised a really interesting way to present us in the second session.

Dr. Charles went to a park near his home for a walk.


He told us that finding a place that is related to us, a place that can bring back memories, or a place where we can express our personalities is more important, and that is why he selected this park.


Dr. Charles chose this park because, according to him, it is his favourite place where he can be completely calm and be himself every time he visits. People must always put on a mask and act as who we should on any occasion, but at this place, he may always be himself, be a kid, have different thinking and feeling.


As a result, he's attempting to demonstrate how we may go to a place that has a special place in our hearts and observe it, which can vary as the things, climates, and even we, the people change.


Week 05 (1/2/2022 - 3/2/2022)


* No classes for this week due to the Chinese New Year holiday, and mainly working on project 2: Sense of place*


Week 06 (8/2/2022 - 10/2/2022)

We mostly discuss our final project and how to construct our final blog this week. We also spoke about how to fill out our self-evaluation sheet so that we can learn to critically evaluate our own project and have the right to do so. At the same time, Dr. Charles gave us several examples of how to do our own visual analysis. This included a video essay on the divisive Batman v Superman film as a modern classic.


Visual analysis is mainly divided into three stages:

1. Observation:

Observe, see, and explain what is in an artwork, using appropriate terminology to describe and distribute components that you perceive in clarity. However, keep in mind that this procedure does not have to incorporate personal thought or imply meaning.


2. Analysis

Based on your observations, you began to study all of the parts in the composition, including the usage of design principles that is used to improve the composition's visual quality and purpose of using it.


3. Interpretation

Study the background of the work at this point, and discuss what you perceive from the piece, how it feels to you, and what the objective of producing this piece is, etc.



Week 07 (15/2/2022 - 17/2/2022)

Dr. Charles decided to make this week's lessons more flexible so that we could finish our own work better, so he stayed online and allowed us go if we didn't have any questions and wanted to concentrate on our own project.


Meanwhile, Dr. Charles keeps reminding us of the final project's specifics to keep us from making errors.

Feedback

Week 01

There is no fixed way to approach how to record your weekly class sessions but think of these as entries in a journal. And your references too. Don't worry, keep going and maintain what you're doing with confidence.


Week 02

Specific feedback (Activity 1): 

There is line work here and a stick person, but cleverly put in a tiny look, but you can see convergence where the line is pointing to the center, emphasizing the person in the center. In this case, it's a very interesting play of figure-ground, line work, and a good sense of asymmetry and symmetry, as well as very good balance and use of color and depth. Good job, well done.

Specific feedback (Activity 2):

This one hypnotized me, but for this one, you don’t necessarily need to see a strong line but somewhat you could make up overlapping on overs and they are blending and you could see gradient, convergence, some sense of balance and movement, but the movement is from top to down, down to the top, because of that you tend to look at the center longer.


Week 03

My discord late-night cafe will be open from 10pm onwards till 12am. If you can't sleep and work on your DP, you can pop up by! By the way, guys, try to get sketches done and each of you can get to show them in next class. Post your idea sketch in team chat so I can give you quick feedback. (Except those getting feedback via telegram before.)


Week 04


Week 05

There will be no lecture for both classes due to the holiday, however, anyone may still contact me via telegram for any project 2 feedback. Project 2 will be extended to Friday, February 11th, 2022. 


Week 06

Waiting now for confirmation of final marks hand in on my side. Hang in there. Once I have info, will decide how much extension to give you for final project.


Week 07

I'm going to make the class more flexible, and I'm going to give you guys an extension till week 8, 25/2. You requested a Zoom session to show me the development of your final project, however all of these are by appointment only.


Reflection

Week 01

To be honest, I think the first week is anxious and fairly information overwhelmed while receiving five topics at once, and doubt myself if I'm having the ability to make good design. However, I managed to calm by listening to what Dr. Charles said, "You're not here to be perfect but to make errors securely." 

Meanwhile, I suddenly realized that a composition that I thought was fantastic had a reason after learning these principles. The starry night is incredible because the artist employed the balancing principle to achieve visual equilibrium, among other things. 

BTW, still don't get to understand the differences between unity and harmony tho.


Week 02

I really like how this exercise works because I feel like I'm making more straightforward yet fantastic work than if I were sitting in front of a chair and exhaustingly brainstorming ideas for a good design. 

By participating in this type of activity, I realized that I have a tendency to have great ideas for design only under a positive environment, but I couldn't really feel that if I was under pressure and struggling to create a design that I'd be satisfied with before the deadline. I wish that I can spend more time training myself to draw randomly for more wonderful creations.


Week 03

To be honest, it was still an anxious week; after finishing the exercises, I swiftly moved on to project 1, for which we only had a week to complete; yet, I was able to relax since Dr. Charles always knows what students are thinking. (Perhaps it's just me) I'm constantly worried and struggling with the deadline. But, after listening to what Dr. Charles had to say and explain about Project 1, I was able to rest. He gives confidence in me, haha.


Week 04

This week, I realized that the way we study for our assignment may be more than just looking up information on Pinterest, Google, or other websites. It may also be accomplished by visiting a certain place that has piqued your interest at the time, or a place that has left an indelible impression on you, and so on.


Week 05

*No reflection this week due to the holidays and there will be no class.*


Week 06

I've seen a number of examples, including my classmates' final projects, and it's really surprised me that they all have their own distinct artstyles and that what they did for the final project was such an unexpected and out-of-the-box option. This has encouraged me to create non-digital artwork that is unusual, original, and engaging in my future journey.


Week 07

This is the last week of the semester and our courses, and I'm reluctant since everything occurred so quickly and I'm not sure how to respond. This semester, I learned a lot of new things and met a lot of fantastic classmates with whom I can continue to learn. I can't wait to meet them in person, and I'm eager to learn more about the topics in the future! +I'll miss Dr. Charles and his cute quotes for each class's morning meeting.

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