Design Principles- Week 1 (Contrast and Gestalt Theory)

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1/4/2022- 10/4/2022 / Week 1 - Week 2
Chuah Kwai Pin / 0348376
Design Principles / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University 
Week 1 Exercise (Contrast and Gestalt Theory)

LECTURES:

Week 1: 
Lecture 1.1- Introduction to Design Principles

For our first class, we were introduced to our lecturer, Dr. Jin Chi, and was briefed about our pre-recorded lecture, MIB as well as the exercises we have to do. Based on the first lecture, these are my main takeaways.

Elements of design: Individual building blocks
- Point
- Line
- Shape
- Form
- Texture
- Space
- Colour

Principles of design: Organisational fundamentals resulted from or guides the arrangement of elements
- Contrast
- Balance
- Emphasis
- Rules of Third
- Repetition/ Pattern/ Rhythm
- Movement
- Hierarchy
- Alignment
- Harmony
- Unity
- Proportion

Lecture 1.2- Contrast and Gestalt Theory

Contrast- Juxtaposition of strongly dissimilar elements, can provide visual interest, emphasise a point and express content

Gestalt Theory- Rules that describe how the human eye perceives visual elements as a single united form, rather than separate elements
- Principle of Similarity
- Principle of Continuation
- Principle of Closure
- Principle of Proximity
- Principle of Figure/ Ground
- Law of Symmetry and Order

INSTRUCTIONS:



Week 1: Contrast and Gestalt Theory

Your design process:

·   visual research

·   idea exploration and description

·   final outcome in PDF and short rationale

·   feedback by lecturer

·   reflection on the particular exercise

Visual Research:
After watching the pre-recorded lectures on Contrast and Gestalt Theory, I went onto Pinterest to find some interesting artworks that could help me further understand what it is all about.

Contrast

For contrast, I was inspired by these works below which was achieved using geometric shapes and lines.

Fig. 1.1 Contrast Visual Research


Gestalt

For Gestalt Theory, I found interest in the principle of Figure/Ground, Principle of Continuation and Principle of Closure. 

Fig. 1.2 Contrast Visual Research

Idea Exploration and Description:

Contrast

Starting off with my idea exploration for contrast, I have done a few sketches manually, some in black and white and some in colours.


Fig 2.1 Contrast (Black and Yellow), Week 2 (8/4/22)

Initially, I planned to use just black and white for this piece but I thought that adding colours would make the artwork stand out better. For this piece that was done manually, I have used both black and yellow colour pencils to colour in the spaces. While making this artwork, it required a little bit of planning as the colours needed to be strategically alternated. The yellow colour that was chosen is very much striking and bright compared to black, which brings out the "outline" of the circles that are in contrast with the squared background.



Fig 2.2 Contrast (Black and White), Week 2 (8/4/22)

In this piece, I have chosen to work with common black and white colours. This piece was done entirely with just 2B pencil. Similar to my first idea, I also had to plan out the width and length for each squared shape to make it symmetrically balance and even. For contrast, I kept some of the squared shapes blank and alternate it with striped lines. To keep the focus on the centre, I also shaded in the 4 triangles black, in contrast with both the blank and striped squares.

Fig. 2.3 Contrast (Blue and Red), Week 2 (8/4/22)

For my third idea, I wanted to explore using 2 contrasting colours which are red and blue. While working on this, it reminded me of emotions, blue for sadness and red for anger. The contrasting shape of a circle in the midst of the rhythmic narrow rectangles amplifies the idea of overpowering emotions of anger that shadows the feeling of sadness.

Gestalt Theory

Moving on with Gestalt Theory, I tried to focus on Principle of Figure/Ground, Principle of Closure and Principle of Continuation.


Fig. 2.4 Principle of Figure/Ground, Week 2 (8/4/22)

For this Figure/Ground idea, it was intended to represent a rabbit on the moon. Keeping is simple and minimal, I started off with drawing a circle and then outlined a rabbit near the edges. Lastly, I coloured in the black using colour pencil around the outlines of the rabbit which then gives the effect of Figure/Ground.
Fig. 2.5 Principle of Continuation, Week 2 (8/4/22)

In this idea of using Principle of Continuation and Principle of Similarity, I combined the shapes of rectangle and circle to create the letter "i". When duplicated and placed side by side, it gives an image of individuals queueing up with a flow. This piece of word was done by digital means.
Fig. 2.6 Principle of Closure, Week 2 (8/4/22)

For this third idea, I wanted to try principle of closure for a hexagon shape. After completing the hexagon shape, I felt that I could try to implement a few more shapes that can be worked out through subtle lines and a dot. From the hexagon that can be worked out through the circles, when tracing the lines inside, it can form 2 other different shapes which are triangles and trapeziums.

FEEDBACK:

Week 2: 
Contrast

Contrast #1 (Fig. 2.1): Choice of yellow gives a retro 70s feel, it would be great to add some rationale behind the reason of using black and yellow.

Contrast #2 (Fig. 2.2): Common black and white contrast, shows personal creativity from found inspiration.

Contrast #3 (Fig. 2.3): A good combination of contrasting shapes (circle and narrow rectangles) and colours (red and blue) used. Can be developed further for the final artwork.

Gestalt Theory

Principle of Figure/Ground #1 (Fig. 2.4): Rabbit on the moon can also be interpreted as "Down the Rabbit Hole"

Principle of Continuation #2 (Fig. 2.5): The repetitive letter "i" can also be interpreted as "everyone for themselves" besides the idea of people queueing up in a continuous line. Angular edges of the rectangular shapes can be more rounded so it looks more flowing.

Principle of Closure #3 (Fig. 2.6): Looks quite common but it is a good attempt of trying to apply the principle.


FINAL OUTCOMES:


Fig. 3.1 Contrast, Week 2 (10/4/22)

For my final work, I have decided to work digitally for this contrast idea. The blue and red colours are brighter and better captured compared to when it is scanned from a physical work. The contrasting elements found in this piece are the shapes and colours used. With a background filled with angular rectangles, the circular shape breaks the rhythm and attracts viewers to focus on its round and smooth circumference. Whereas the calming blue in the background is disturbed by the striking red that becomes the "centre of attention".


Fig. 3.2 Gestalt Theory (Principle of Continuation), Week 2 (10/4/22)

Following up from the feedback that was given, I have changed the angular edges to a more rounded edge so that it does not look too rigid when placed side by side. I also tried to make use of the grayscale tones by gradually increasing it as it gets larger and closer to the front. By doing this, it creates more depth and further emphasises the Principle of Continuation whereby the line of "i" is never-ending.




REFLECTIONS:

While doing this first exercise, I was able to refresh and recap on my design principles and further understand from the knowledge that I already have on Contrast and Gestalt Theory. I tried to explore a few ideas for each principle so that I could familiarise myself and make sure I understood each of them before I proceeded.

I went onto Pinterest to do some visual research and observed the works of some talented artists who showed great use of Contrast and Gestalt Theory. I then studied the common patterns and tried to use it in my idea exploration. It was a great visual help as it helped me generate more ideas and I could try to explore with different shapes and colours.



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