Emerge Booklet Design

For the exhibition, we had to design a cover for a information booklet and this is my design which i created.
once again, the main thing that stands out to me is the amount of contrast happening through dark and light areas, between colour and more desaturated areas, rough and soft objects and also between different types of textures used as well.
A gestalt principle that jumps out at me is closure. This appears in the girls face where you can see bit and pieces of her features which when combined together create an abstract image of a womans head and hair.
Through the different shapes and in particular, the lines flowing throug hte design, this created alot of continuation as well.
Within the design you can notice flowers...here is a good example of proximity, when creating these shapes, i made them using smaller shapes to create the flower petals you see now.

RIA awards

This is a logo which i designed for the Research and Innovation awards which happen in the nothern territory annually.
There is a few gestalt principles which appear in here.
The arrow used in this logo which is represented as a star has both similarity and also continuation in it. Similarity appears becuase
the points of this star as all the same except for one which is extended longer then the rest, but still keeping in context with the rest.
Continuation occurs becuase the extended point in this star, in conjunction with the other points, make the viewer follow in the direction of hte longer point.
Apart from the start, continuation also occurs throughout the rest of the logo, becuase the logo is basically made up of one shape, it flows nicely,
and for me personally im compelled to look through the logo from start the end.
Closure is also evident here, this is visiable mainly in the arms and in in particular, the bow which the man is using to "aim for the stars"
Although the bow is not complete, the viewer can still distinguish what it is.

Bridging the divide

Hmm this is a corporate design which i did this term..so dont expect much reflection on this..but i thought it would be a good idea to include something corporate on blogger..( and i thought it was good i wouldnt have to write much ;)
But seriously, anyway, the thing that stands out most to me in this design is the levels of depth which can been seen through the leaf shaped ojects scattered on the left hand side. Each one has a different blending mode as well as different opacity levels which gives it a varied, none generic look which i like.
There is also a slight occurence of continuation through the wave black borders which appear on the top and bottom which lead the eyes across the page.
There is also proximity going on here with the sqaure pictures positioned closely together to form one object.

Mako Poster

This is a poster which i did this year for my Mako Creative promotion package.
The thing that stands out most for me is the contrast between the colourful clouds against the black and white picture which dominates most of the area.
Within the black and white picture itself, there is alot of contrast between the light and dark areas which gives it alot if depth, and aso a fantasy feel which i was after.
In terms of Gestalt i cant really see a whole lot of it but ill comment on what i can.
As always there is the ever so slight hint of continuence, the right hand side is built up with buildings and tree that connected to a bridge which leaves the canvas area so it really leads the eyes in that direction.
There is also some closure happening here with the moon. There is only some outlining of the moon, but just enough for it to represent itself accurately.
thats about it i think

Mako Creative

Righto, Gestalt gestalt gestalt... So, here is a design which did for my major at hte beginning of this year for my corporate identity assignment for
a company i made up for myself called Mako Creative.. i like the name personally.
To start off with, i would like to talk about Gestalt principles ;)
I notice here there is alot of coninuence going on as usual, this is through the border designs of both the back and front of the brochure.
The design flow and direct the viewer around in sort of a circle outling the page, even though this is subtle.
On the front page ( the black one ) there is a little bit of Closure happening... On the front there is a the logo which has been
erased in some areas to give it a aging effect and the black background shows through..however, due to the remaing elements of the logo that is left
behind..you can see the logo shape and design itself.. well i can. Thats about as close to closure i can find in this design. Unfortunately thats all the gestalt princles i can find in this design.
ANd now for a more general overview of this brochure.
Contrast, there is plenty of it..once again im a big fan of using shades with colors..in this case ive done it with the black and white picture of a city
along with the colourful patterns and texture overlayed ontop.
On the front cover, although there isnt any colours used, there is still plenty of contrast using just black and white as well as midtones.
Along with the contrast, there is alot of depth as well. THis is done through the use of different shades of the same color, as well as lowering opacities on some objects which others stay full, and also
using good photos that use alot of perception and view points.

Geisha Series

Here is a series of designs which i spent some doing over the last week...i was trying some new ideas and ways of designing which i thought would look good.
Ive gone for a contemporary japanese painting theme through which i did a total of 3 different design which are similiar to eachother.
in terms of pointing out design aspects of these, i think there is quite a bit to comment on.
Ill start off by nailing the first thing i really notice when looking at these, and is my favourite element of all, and that is the depth
which the picture is showing. There is alot of it through the placement of the cherry blossoms which, and this brings me to my next point, contrasts
really nicely with the very flat image of the japanese geisha in the scene. Not only this type of contrast, but through the use of vibrant colors being the pinks and red,
and also the plan earthly colors of the textured background, this creates a brilliant contrast of colors.
I can also notice a bit of continuence happening here. Its only slight but it is there through the cherry blossoms which cascade into the canvas
which direct the eyes down the page as well as also across.
With japanese artwork there is often subtle hints of closure as well...Alot of the geisha is actually see through and the shading with the help of some of the outlining
help to compose the pictures as a whole.
Proximity also occurs here..in a weird sort of way. Im not sure if im getting the right meaning of proximity..but here it goes. THe cherry blossoms are actually
made up of little bloches of paint, but when combined together...they make cherry blossom flowers!!
Anyway..i think thats all the gestalt principles i can see in these designs without going silly..so ill leave it at that.

Emerge Poster

Here is the poster that i designed for the upcoming student exhibition. To me there is alot going on in this poster in terms of design principles.
What strikes me the most is the level of depth that can be found in this photo through the use of transparency and also the millions of layers of shapes as well.
Also, there is alot of contrast as well. Different contrasts include shapes, colours, different textures, light and dark areas as well as soft and hard objects which appear everywhere here.
There is a slight hint of continuence going on here as well...only slight but it is there..through the use of the lines which start on the sides and seem to flow through the title and out of the page again.
There is also a real use of positive and negative space going on here. At the top is cluttered with heaps of colorful objects as well as the title and a description where the bottom is left pretty much open.
With the black and white picture in the background..again there is heaps of contrast here where ive bumped on the contrast between the white and black which gives it alot of depth and again, alot of texture as well.
Brains a little dead at the moment, so im going to leave it at that :) hope i got em all

WorkWorx Logo

So, here is a logo which i designed for a wood working studio down in Brisbane. They do alot of traditional, old style wood work, so i thought something along the lines of 1950's style logo would suit it quite well.
I think in terms of gestalt principles.. ( i hope thats spelt right ) Like my previous piece there is a definate sense of continuance. By looking at it everything seems to be moving around in almost a circular motion and then directs the eye to the centre.
There is also alot of symmetry happening here which again, adds to the old traditional feel i was after in terms of design.
Also i would like to mention that in terms of design according to the book " How logos work ", when conceptualizing for this logo i wanted something that reflected what the business was about. Not only this, but for the viewer, it needed to represent the type of service they are after as well. For people wanting traditional, quality woodwork done, they suits perfectly.
Also according to the book, a logo must be able to withstand the test of time. This in my eyes, becuase the style is so old itself, its beyond the barriers of fashion, and crosses over into sort of a "timeless style" which never grows old.

Michael Gestalt principles

Instructor response to the exercise.

Gestalt Princiles

With this design, i can definately see elements of the Gestalt Principles. In particular continuity. This is shown through the wavy lines which direct the viewer to the bottom left side of the page and give the overall image a sort of a flow.

Response to Contrast Evaluation

Instructor comments on contrast exploration.

contrast

This is a art piece i did last year. I think this demonstrates a number of techniques used in contrasting.
The smoothness of the girls skin to the roughness of the ruins surrounding her is a good example of contrast and is in my opinion very effective.
There is also contrast between dark areas and light areas. Light areas being the girl herself and the moon, and the rest of the image staying quite dark which gives it a sort of hierarchy.
The picture is also balanced into negative and postive space.
Lastly, the woman has very soft and curvy egdes in comparison to the edges of the concrete which are sharp and jaggered. This works well together.

Coke Competition

Here is my design for the upcoming competition by Nandos for a coke cola bottle design. So far this is what ive come up with. I think it looks quite good and to be is gives off the vibe of Optimism and Happiness, which was the criteria for the entry.
However, i think i will have to change some of the shapes and silhouettes ive used to give it a little more depth by using gradients.
Apart from that, i think the colors and overall layout work well. I stll need be to print it off and see what it looks like on a bottle before i can be a %100 confident with this.

Intro to DSGN133

Howdy, this blog has been created to basically post up artwork and to reflect upon not only by me, but by fellow design peers.
Altogether, there will eventually be 10 pieces of work added between now and towards the end of this second semester of the Advanced diploma in Graphic Design.