Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Assignment 13: Research & Inspiration

Research: name of the game
Exquisite corpse: a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled (Wikipedia).
Developed in 1925 by the French surrealists ("The Exquisite Corpse and The Surrealists").
Surrealism: an art movement that goes against reality


Inspiration:
crazy
cute
modern
exciting
weird

Brainstorming:
Who is your target audience? me and my group
What are you trying to communicate? surrealism

Inspiration Pieces:
I like the use of color. 
I like how crazy it is, but how well it all flows together.
I like the different usage
of modern and ancient
portraits for the sections.

Monday, January 30, 2012

The Creative Process

The Creative Process: A series of steps repeated every time you design something.

Why do we need to do this?
1. It improves consistency
2. The ability to plan and time your work
3. Raise the quality of your work
4. Communicate more effectively and in a more professional manner

Steps of the creative process:
1. Research - Research the client and the competition. Get online, look in magazines, listen to music, pay attention to the world around you...whatever you need to get inspired. 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, ensures a fresh and creative approach.
- coming up with adjectives of what your end product should be
- ask yourself some questions, if you can answer then with your brainstorming, then you are on the right track.
     - what kind of message am I trying to communicate?
     - who is my audience?
     - what am I trying to tell the audience?
     - what kind of visuals will work for this audience?
3. Sketch - Thumbnails, thumbnails, and more 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 sand 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 piece 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 & Revise - take a step back, (literally) 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.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Photo Composition

Snapshot: a quick shot, often spontaneous, taken to record a moment in time
Photograph: an image taken with care and thought


Rules of Composition: 
1. Rule of Thirds: Imaginary lines drawn dividing the frame of your camera into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. Avoid the center square! Place important subject, or important elements of your composition where these lines intersect; place the horizon line at the top or the bottom horizontal divider; or fill up the entire frame with the subject for a close up image.
2. Leading Lines: Use the lines created within the foreground or background of the composition to lead the viewer's eye through the photo. Lines can draw attention to one or more intended subjects or a single focal point.
3. Point of View: Change the way your subject is perceived by changing the camera position. If you are photographing a subject that you want to seem very tall, compose the shot so that the camera is looking upwards. If you are photographing a subject that you want to seem very short or small, compose the shot so that the camera is looking downwards.
4. 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.