Summary
This activity demonstrated the power of positioning visual elements using black squares. Basic arrangements were used to convey the meanings of words to assist in an understanding of depth, space and dimension in layout design. The squares were used as a design technique representing elements such as images, text or letterforms to emphasise the power of special relationship. Two dimensional design principles included:
- Framal reference - relationship to frame;
- Touching - shapes touching;
- Overlapping - shape overlapping;
- Cropping - shape bleeding of frame;
- Illusion of Space - creation of depth;
- Contrast of shapes - size, direction, space and position;
- Dynamics and stability - creation of movement / at rest / ready to move;
- Positive and negative space - white shapes created from the black shapes;
Part A
Instructions
Using the supplied template, draw up to four black squares to express the meaning of six words in the thumbnail boxes provided. Select the most effective design and copy this image into the larger square.
- Order
- Increase
- Bold
- Congested
- Tension
- Playful
Process
- Researched black square theory.
- Searched Google Images for keywords.
- Drew thumbnails in Visual Diary.
- Selected 4 thumbnails for each word on template.
- Selected final thumbnail for each word.
- Drew thumbnails on template.
- Documented results.
Results
Thumbnails
Template
Discussion
| Order | This accentuated framal reference, wasn't too bold, and was effective in conveying the meaning. It used cropping and to a lesser extent dynamics of movement |
| Increase | This used positive and negative space with four squares. Its bold appearance overlapped with the bold series, but for diversity and the formation of stability this was chosen. |
| Bold | This embraced the meaning of bold. Other thumbnails looked better small, but this large version emphasised contrast of position and the illusion of depth. |
| Congested | I liked the third thumbnail, but chose this to its effectiveness. It used framal reference, cropping, dynamics of movement and contracts of size to achieve a good result. |
| Tension | This featured framal reference through proportion, touching at the point of tension, stability in the surrounding structure, and conveyed the meaning effectively. |
| Playful | Chosen over the fourth thumbnail although the first most accurate. This used dynamics of stability, overlapping, cropping, framal reference though proportion and depth . |
Part B
Instructions
Find magazine advertisements or business cards that demonstrate each of the six word categories in part A.
Process
- Searched Google Images for keywords.
- Selected business card / logo images.
- Selected magazine layout images.
- Chose best image for each category.
- Documented results.
Results / Discussion
Order |
|
|
I initially chose a pattern of 2D photo frames and two business cards with pixelated images. This image demonstrated proportions, the book size large enough as singular and many to form the perspective, and used framal reference, cropping and the illusion of space. |
Increase |
|
|
I initially chose two business cards, one with growing figure, and one with spiralling flower. This image was relevant, with contrasts of size and position overlapping to form a growing arrangement surrounded by text. Dynamics of stability were achieved with a butterfly at the top. |
Bold |
|
|
I initially chose a face with spray painted text and two layouts using positive and negative space. This image was technology related featuring the illusion of space using touching and overlapping shapes. The perspective added dynamics of movement to suggest loud bold words. |
Congested |
|
|
I initially chose an overlapping social media advertisement and a cross word formation of bold text. This image was relevant to my background and used negative space to surround dynamic movement of a car to an obstruction. Text and images were overlapped to create the layout. |
Tension |
|
|
I initially chose an explosion made of squares and a layout featuring a woman pulled apart into cubes. This image was relevant to my interests and used overlapping to create an illusion of space and depth. The title text used positive and negative space and the hand added tension. |
Playful |
|
|
I initially chose two layouts, both featuring an array of titled text and images. This image was relevant to my interests and used framal reference to set perspective proportions. Overlapping images and text along shapes added dynamics and the title used positive space. |
Conclusion
Part A of this activity involved using black squares to convey the meaning of words. After reading relevant material and sourcing examples of keywords I drew 48 thumbnails, 8 for each category. I experimented with two dimensional design principles attempting to create diversity. I chose 4 images to transfer to the template and then the best from each category. Spatial relationship is an important factor in layout or logo design and this exercise has given me insight into the possibilities. The principles of design add depth and dimension and black boxes can form an impressive layout. Part B involved sourcing an image from a magazine or business card to represent each of the categories. I selected the best examples of layouts and business cards / logos for each category and listed the design principles used. I found this activity interesting demonstrating methods to achieve power in positioning visual elements. This will assist inDesign tasks with techniques to apply to text and image boxes.
A link to this assignment is available here.
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