Depth in Graphic Design

For the cover of Beck's album, The Information, the cover of the CD cover was left empty and inside the sleeve were a bunch of stickers. The idea was that the listener could then create his own CD cover based on  his or her feelings about the CD. This creates some interesting results as for as depth and scale is concerned. Mainly because of the overlapping stickers that through their juxtaposition creates the since of depth withing the design. Some of the stickers also creates a sense of depth based on their use of linear perspective as seen in the rectangular structures above, as well as the converging lines of the escalator below. The relative size and familiar size of objects represented on the stickers, also create interesting markers for depth and size, as seen above with the big silhouette of the artist Beck compared to the abstracted renderings of buildings and trees, as well as clouds. This cover was conceptualized by the company Big Active.

Tone and Color in User Interface

This user interface was designed by F. Hugh and uploaded to deviantart.com. The designer has made good use of both tone and color in this rendering of a user interface for an android phone.

How tone is operating

In this design the background and menu bars are heavily depending on the different tones of a black and grey gradient. The use of tone helps to create a clean and undisturbed surface that makes for a harmonious backdrop, free from distractions. It also creates a dynamic and almost three dimensional effect that gives the screen depth as well as texture. The tonal use in the menu bars further enhances this feeling.

How tone is interacting with the dot

In this rendering of the background the tone is integrated in a mesh pattern made up of small dots. This creates an interesting texture that resembles a metallic surface perforated by tiny dots. The dot is also used as a navigation tool to orient the user as to which page of the interface is active, as well as how many pages there are.

How color is operating

Color in this design is used to highlight the different icons on the screen. By using color these icons are differentiated from each other which effectively guides the eye to the desired application. As the background is so devoid of color the use of color becomes very obvious and makes the applications stand out.

How color is interacting with shape

The interaction between color and shape is very successful in structuring and differentiating the different icons in the display. The primary shape for this being the square that effectively creates a symmetrical grid in which color serves to orient the user. Other shapes that interact with color is the rectangular battery symbol that with its green color communicates the battery level in a intuitive way.

Visual Communication and Basic Elements

 

 Basic elements are everywhere, as is evident by their basic nature. Here I am taking a closer look at three of these basic elements, starting with tone. This Rolling Stone magazine cover won the Cover of the Year award, maybe partly because of the use of shading, by probably more due to the fact that no text has been added on top of the president, leaving a very clean and harmonious image. This feeling of harmony and calm is achieved by tone as the photographer used lighting to create shadows, complimenting his subjects features and give the photograph depth. The use of tone also enhances the colors in the picture and gives the subject a more vibrant appearance. The background is also using tone to frame the subject in a soothing and light environment.

  

Other basic elements that are commonly used in visual communication is lines. Here we see examples of many kinds of lines, some in the form of text at an angle, and others as part of the photographs. These lines give the sensation of movement and action as their extreme directions and wild expressions break the traditional horizontal patterns commonly associated with printed text. There is a break from tradition that highlights the lines and creates new associations. The photographs are also vital in expressing lines as the extreme movements expressed in the pictures become attention grabbers and come off as odd compared to ordinary body language.

The most basic of basic elements is arguably the dot. Especially in half tone print as pictures are made up of thousands of tiny dots that together create tone and color. In this graphic the dot has also been used to create the font, by combining many small dots into a coherent image. Dots are truly abundant in visual communication and can be found as tiny elements in the pictures above, as well as in bigger constellations, like in the font. They are also used in the photo editing of the collage seen above, as the designer uses them to create splines that creates mathematical curves, vital for the editing of images.

Analyzes of Visual Thinking

Me and my wife sat down with these visual puzzles trying to come to terms with how to solve them. We both had different approaches to the problems in these dynamic structures it turned out. My technique was that of pattern seeking as I reviewed the figures, trying to find the logic using visual reasoning. When I thought that I had grasped the idea of the figure I proceeded to doing the drawing, which proved successful on the first try.

My wife on the other hand, used visual induction to try to predict her next move as she made her way through the drawing. She also made spatial analogies to deduce what the rest of her drawing would look like after a certain section had been sketched out. If she then found herself lacking, she would stop and reevaluate her progress, as seen in the photo to the left (above).

Hierarchy in Design

In this book cover for A Clockwork Orange, David Pelham has managed to distill the main character of the book into an abstracted silhouette of a man with one eye covered in makeup (Friedman). The bright colors combined with the different shapes all work to direct the preattentive channels in the brain to focus on the eye, a symbol for the main character and significant for the aesthetic of the story. The unnatural roundness of the eye breaks from the outline of a man and conflicts with our image of how a person should look like, making it stand out. The fact that the eye is also slightly off center in the frame makes it break the balance of the composition which brings it even more to attention. The white of the eye stands in high contrast to the black eyeliner as well as the vibrant background colors. After focusing on the eye, the viewer is lead to observe the figure as a whole, and especially the bowler hat stands out with its dark black contrasting the red background. Then, at the top of the book cover, the title draws attention to itself with the use of yellow lettering on a red background. These are the main attributes in guiding the eye. After these features have been observed the viewer can start scanning the rest of the frame, finding aspects like the logo for Penguin Publishing in the upper corner, or what the person in the picture is wearing.




Friedman, Vitaly. "Excellent Book Covers and Paperbacks | Smashing Magazine." Smashing Magazine. N.p., 14 Apr. 2008. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.

Top Down Approach

The legendary Paul Rand, who is famous for his work at IBM, and a master of of the play on negative and positive space, is the source behind this ad. He masterfully grabs attention by his use of colors and bold illustrations to create an image that sticks out. The representation of a person holding binoculars is instantaneously recognizable, as are the shapes of a car and a roadway. These images evokes the notion that the person is on the look out and that traffic might have something to do with it. Since it is a very simplistic illustration with use of only four colors, there is not much distraction from the main illustration, and focus can be put on a top down approach to interpreting the message. By scanning the ad further, the message becomes clear as the headline explains the illustration further. As the eyes travel from the illustration, the brain struggles to solve the riddle it has produced, and as the headline explains the idea further, the riddle can be solved, and the observer can find satisfaction in understanding the message.

Good vs Bad Vis Com

In this example for the bikenyc campaign, the message is to leave the car at home and take your bike instead. To enhance this message the design been sharpened by tilting the text and giving it texture as if it was part of the pavement. I breaks away from the traditionally balanced and leveled properties of text, and creates an integrated, active visual within the photograph. This integration between the text and the road really works well to illustrate to the viewer that bikers belong on the streets. The birds eye perspective and the yellow taxis also work well to illustrate New York and gives the ad that recognizable and attention grabbing quality that is so important.

Here is an example from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles where the visual syntax does not work well to communicate the message. The main message regarding Point Insurance Reduction Program as been transposed on top of the "&" symbol, obscuring the text and making it illegible. But the fact that this text is also placed to the left, and off center while there is still a lot of space toward the middle, makes the placing quite ambiguous and confusing. It offsets the balance in the  ad and creates disharmony in a bad way. The addition of the photograph to the right in the ad has not been incorporated into the rest of the ad in a satisfying way, causing uncertainty as to how it fits in to the rest of the ad. It also offsets the balance and creates an illusion that the headline "NYS DMV" is not centered.