Basic Elements in Graphic Design

The image, to the left
has a number of the Basic Elements that we learned about from Jane Veeder's lecture notes and our text, Dondis, chapter 3. The examples below will illustrate a few of those
very basic elements.




 

Basic Elements: DIRECTION

In this next image - Curves (indicated in red), draw
the viewers attention down the page toward the name of the product.  The juxtoposition forming a reverse-S curve that eventually brings the focus on the name of the product.

Basic Elements: MOVEMENT

Movement is often used synonymously with the afore mentioned "Direction." The orange slices are clearly falling - splashing into the juice below (indicated in black), and back up toward the name of the product.

Basic Elements: SCALE

By placing an overlay of the "Golden Rectangle" over this layout, I discovered that this design fit the basic principals of eight Golden Rectangles.

Image credit: behance.net

Design Success & Failure in Relation to Syntactical Guidelines

Balance as Functionality 

According to our lecture notes from Jane Veeder, "we are sensitive to deviations in our expected vertical to horizontal compostions."

When the building of the Pisa Tower began in 1173, it was designed to stand straight.  The foundations were laid in sand - (which does not make a lot of sense when you think about it).  It began to lean when only three of its floors had been built, plans were modified and the building continued until it was completed in 1350.

Photo credit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisa

On the other hand, the Veer Towers in Las Vegas, were deliberately designed to lean. During a January, 2010 interview for the Las Vegas Business Press, Architect Helmut Jahn, claims that he "wanted to do real architecture, which tips its hat towards the entrainment culture. Not 'theming' but architecture based on  urban responsibility, functional efficiency, simple and elegant form, technical refinement and environmental responsibility."  

Photo credit - http://www.designyourway.net

As for Success and Failure, The design and architecture of the Pisa Tower, is world renown, but it is fair to say that the original goal of the architect was not to design a crooked bell tower for the city's cathedral.  In essense, his creation was a failure, regardles of the fact that millions of tourists come to view this famous landmark more than 600 years later.

The goal of the designers for the Veer Towers in Las Vegas, was to intentionally captivate it's audience with this unique "out of balance" structure that offers the same allure as the leaning Pisa Bell Tower. In my opinion, Jahn's design is a success, because one can not help but be drawn to the contrast of these leaning buildings compared to their perfectly vertical neighbors.

WEEK 2 Blog Exercise - Interactions Between the 3 Levels

Several years ago, SanDisk came out with this limited edition, USB Flash Drive that embodied the sleek, sexy lines of a Ducati Motorcycle's gas tank.  Today, you can find flash drives in just about any shape and size imaginable, but back in 2007, when the Ducati Drive first hit the market, it was a pretty bold design at a time when most companies were still producing ordinary, rectangular shaped USB drives.

Representational: The Ducati Drive is a fully functioning Flash Drive, that holds up to 4GB of internal storage with a retractable design that eliminates the need for a cap (I don't know about you, but I'm always misplacing the cap off my standard thumb drive). 

Abstract: When viewing the transcendental design of the Ducati Drive, one can't help but imagine how fast it is - much faster than it's competitors.  The motorcycle design denotes power, acceleration
and extreme velocity 

Symbolic: Ducati is inherently known for the speed of its "road rocket" motorcycles and keeping with that characteristic, SanDisk created a lightening fast flash drive for the speed enthusiast.

MEANING 1 Application (blog) Exercise

The viewer will recognize that the image to the left is of a woman and a man.  This particular couple are dressed in, what we in the United States, would consider traditional western attire - the woman in a dress the man in pants (or shorts, in this case), and shirt. 

Again, because of the attire, we in the United States & most western countries would observe that the image to the right is that of a woman and a man (in abstract form).  This very recognizable image, is used most often to distinguish public
toilet facilities.

The Gender Symbol to
the left, is derived from astrological symbols, denoting the classical planets Mars (man)
and Venus (woman), respectively. These symbols have been used since the Renaissance.

My favorite iPad app!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/design-feed/id403009736?mt=8