Visual Organization

  Not directing the audience's is misdirection them.
Eye Movement
-The typical eye moves left to right and top to bottom.
-Controlling eye movement within a composition is a matter of directing the natural scanning tendency of the viewer's eye.
-The eye tends gravitate towards areas of complexity first. In pictures of people, the eye is always attracted to the face and particularly the eye.
- Light areas of a composition will attract the eye, especially when adjacent to the dark area.
-Diagonal lines or edges will guide eye movement.

Optical Center
-The spot where the human eye tends to enter the page. Optical center is slightly above mathematical (or exact) center and just to the left.
- It takes a compelling element to pull your eyes away from this spot.


 Z Pattern
-Our visual pattern makes a sweep of the page, generally, in the shape of a "Z".
-Effective page design maps a viewer's route through the information. The designer's objective is to lead the viewer's eye to the important elements or information.


Fonts
-No more than 2 fonts
-Avoid all caps
 -Headlines are okay
-Chose the right font
 -Chose accordingly to what you are doing
-Do not overuse fancy or complicated fonts

Visual Hierarchy
It will establish focal points based on their importance to the message that's being communicated.

-A crucial part of the design process is to establish an order or elements, a visual structure, to help the viewer absorb the information provided by a design

Questions to ask
What do I want my viewer to look at:
1.first
2.second
3.third

The Grid
-A way of organizing content on a page, using any combination of margins, guide lines, rows, and columns.
-Instituted by Modernism
-Can assist the audience by breaking info into manageable chinks and est. relationships between text and images
-A grid consists of a distinct set of alignment-based relationships that act as guides for distributing elements across a format
-Every design is different; therefore every design will require a different grid structure, one that addresses for the particular elements within the design
-A grid is used to help clarify the message being communicated and to unity the elements

"Cuneiform and the Sumerians | 3,000 BC"

"Cuneiform and the Sumerians | 3,000 BC"

The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? What does that mean?
They were a nomadic civilization which means they migrated from place to place.

Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization?
It is where Cuneiform was created, the worlds first written language.

What could the Sumerians practice year round because of the regions climate?
They could practice year long agriculture.

Post an example of early Cuneiform (Sumerian pictograph).

Why was Cuneiform created?To keep up with business transactions.

What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface?
Clay tablets were chosen to write on, they would: wet the clay, form it into a flat surface, then use wedge shaped stylus to make impressions on the surface, and let them dry in the sun.

What did Cuneiform begin as a series of? 
Pictographs

Post an example of evolved Cuneiform (wedge-shaped).

After it evolved over time, what shape did the characters of Cuneiform evolve into?
Wedge shaped letters.
Post an example of Akkadian Cuneiform.

After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language?
They adopted the Sumerian culture.

What is a pictograph?
A pictorial or visual representation of an object.

Why did the creation of Cuneiform allow the Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture?

The new form of communication allowed them to keep track of everything that happened.

Cave Paintings | 35,000 years ago

Cave Paintings

What are cave paintings?
Beautiful, detailed and colorful representations found on cave walls & ceilings.

Name several common themes found in cave paintings?
Large animals, bison, horses, deer, abstract designs, and human hands

How were these paintings created (tools, pigments)?
Water, plant juice, animal blood, soil, charcoal, hematite, sticks, small stones, leaves, and animal hair.

What is the most famous cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?
Lascaux is the most famous site, discovered in 1940 by 4 teenage boys.

Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.

Why did this cave have to be closed? What was done to satisfy public curiosity?
The paintings were being damaged by carbon dioxide, they created the Lascaux II 

Post an example of cave painting(s) from Altamira cave.

In Altamira cave, why do most of the paintings have a red hue?
It is caused by the red clay in the soil used to make the paintings.

Who discovered this site? How old are the paintings confirmed to be?
It was discovered by Marceline Sanz De Sautuola and his daughter Maria. They were made almost 19,000 years ago.

What is the oldest known cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?
Chauvet-Point Arc, discovered in 1994 by 3 speleologists.

Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.

What was different about the painting techniques at this site?
They were scraped clear of debris and had a 3D effect.

What is "speleology"?
It is the study of caves and other karst features.

What three reasons do archeologists and historians believe prehistoric man created cave paintings?

1. To tell a story or event that happened

2. A instructional guide to help on hunting

3. Created for magical or religious reasons

Assignment #13 Research & Inspiration

                                                                         Research
 
Surrealism: An art movement in the 1920's about dream-like ideas.
Exquisite Corpse: a collection of words or images is collectively assembled

                                                                        Brainstorming


Examples

This picture of surrealism is a really cool piece to me. The squid on top of a robots head and what looks the both of them are truing to get the red ball from the air.

This exquisite corpse was funny and very well done. Its this tall, creepy man with half a suit holding a hammer , has some huge shoes, and has a speedo of some sort that says "Hammer Time!".

The Creative Process

A series of steps repeated every time you design something.

Why do we follow the creative process?

1. Improves consistency

2. Ability to plan and time your work

3. Raise the quality of your work

4. Communicate more effectively and in a more professional manner

The 5 Steps

1. Research: The more you know, the easier the project will be. 

2. Brainstorm/Inspiration: Striving to be unique and innovative while still following the current trends. Coming up with adjectives or phrases to best describe your project.

What kind of message am I trying to communicate?

Who is my audience? 

What am I trying to tell them?

What kind of color/style with work for this audience? 

3. Sketch: Thumbnails, sketch to get your thoughts out and to work through ideas. 

4. Execute: Implement your ideas. Combine type and imagery, into a well developed composition. Utilize design principles and visual organization guidelines to help. Try techniques, explore possible options, and analyze the outcome. If you get stuck, walk away and clear your head. If the peace doesn't look how you imagined, and it isn;t working. Try another idea forcing an idea won't result in a good design.

5. Critique and Revise: Take a step back and look at your design with an objective eye. Make sure the design effectively conveys the message to the intended audience. If it doesn't, go back and tweak the composition until it does! Asking others for their opinion will help with this process.

Photo Composition

Snapshot A quick shot, spontaneous, taken to record a moment.
Photograph An image taken with care and thought.


Rule of Thirds
(Imaginary lines drawn dividing the frame of your camera into thirds, both horizontally and vertically)
•Place the important subject. or important elements of your composition where these lines intersect.
•Place the horizon line at the top or bottom horizontal divider.
•Fill up the entire frame with the subject for a close up image.


Leading Lines
•Use the lines created within the foreground or background of the composition tho lead the viewer's eye through the photo.
•Lines can draw attention to one or more intended subjects or a single focal point.


Point of View
•Change the way your subject is perceived by changing the camera position.

Simplicity
•Keep your background simple and clear of clutter.
•The mood and effectiveness of a photo can be altered by what is in the background.
•A chaotic composition will cause the viewer to look away.

Semester Reflection

Over this semester I have been able to use illustrator and photoshop better than I previously was able to. The class has probably taught me more than I would have ever been able to learn about graphic design without it. I enjoy the class and being able to get better from the assignments that we do, each going over a different part of graphic design, would have been boring is we kept on going over the same stuff for each assignment. I don't really feel like there needs to be anything changed I think the class is great the way it is, and I'm not the most knowledgeable about all the parts of graphic design so whatever we do is fine.