Design Principles / Task 1: Exploration

03.02.2025 - 17.02.25 (Week 1-3)

Celine Christabelle Patricia / 0374872

Design Principles / Bachelors of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / The Design School

Task 1 - Exploration

Table Contents

Instructions
Lectures
Task 1
Feedback
Further reading

Instructions

Lectures

Gestalt theory

Principle of similarity

Human eyes see similar objects as one whole even if they are together.

Principle of continuation

Human eyes follow the flow of the path of the design to see a continuous flow in the object.

Principle of closure

Human eyes tend to complete incomplete shapes in designs.

Principle of proximity

Related design elements should be grouped and positioned together.

Principle of figure/ground

Objects are seen in the foreground or background.

Law of symmetry/order

Something symmetrical is seen as something unified.

Law of uniform connectedness

Elements are connected to each other by lines, color and shapes

Law of Prägnanz

Human eyes tend to simplify complex object to simpler shapes

Fig 1.1.1 - https://pin.it/2pIbfYBOj (Flower painting)

What Gestalt Theory is applies (Fig 1.1.1)

The principle of closure

In the first glance it is visible to be a portrait of a lady instead of a flower painting

Although the features of the face is not fully complete, we still can illustrate the portrait in our heads

The Law of Prägnanz

Instead of learning the complex shapes of the flowers, human eye would see the portrait of the lady first

The principle of similarities

They are all paintings of flower, we see it as one whole object, not every stem

The principle of continuation

As we see from the leaf that looks like an eye, the stem which is the guiding line leads our eye to see more details in the picture

Fig 1.1.2 - https://pin.it/19LvAuEp7j (Leslie Peterson Figure-Ground Reversal Paper)

What Gestalt Theory is applies (Fig 1.1.2)
Principle of closure
Human eyes tend to complete incomplete shapes in designs, the bird picture seems incomplete
Principle of figure/ground
We can see two objects, fish and bird
Fig 1.1.3 - https://images.app.goo.gl/DbtKF2wjB6asDf4i9 (UX Website Desing)

What Gestalt Theory is applies (Fig 1.1.3)
Principle of proximity
They are grouped as templates, And all the templates are related, which lets user to easily look for the template
Law of uniform connectedness
All of the elements are uniform, they are grouped in a rectangular shape.

Fig 1.1.4 - https://pin.it/1CmuUfwDk (Vigilante Movie Poster)

What Gestalt Theory is applies (Fig 1.1.4)
Law of symmetry and order
The picture of the portrait are symmetrical to one another, same face but different vibe and atmosphere, seems unified

Contrast

Contrast highlights differences of objects, for example different vibrant colors or same colors with different values, to prevent it from being monotone.

Fig 1.2 - https://pin.it/7wXCQ4jeo (tripleS Album Cover)

How does it contrast? (Fig 1.2)

The dark soft blurred background makes the subject stand out

The darkness of the background and clothing emphasize the brightness of the skin and text.

With the dark background, the light color text emphasize a huge contrast which makes it readable and standout

Emphasis

Emphasis creates dominance and focus in element(s) in a design, creating a focal point.

Fig 1.3 - https://pin.it/3hWSYkZgQ (Different by Omarvisuals)

Where is the emphasis (Fig 1.3)

When we first see this picture, we will see the person in the centre

The overall picture dark and cool, the subject is bright and warm

The artist gives an emphasis on the yellow colored person in the middle, creating focus

Balance

Symmetrical Balance:

It has equal visual weight on each side of the design

Radial balance: elements gives balance from the center and radiates outwards, creating depth.

Approximate symmetry: they don't mirror each other, but they are still distributed evenly

Fig 1.4 - https://pin.it/3Exv7PmGY (Alibaba Poster Design)

How is it symmetrical (Fig 1.4)

This is approximate symmetry

The poster do not mirror each other, but they are distributed evenly, from the colors and lighting

It has equal visual weight in the right and left side

Asymmetrical Balance:

It has unequal visual weight, one side is more dominant. Relationships with elements are more complex

Golden Ratio: mathematical concept of composition, ratio of Fibonacci sequence (1:1.618), creating a spiral

Rule of thirds: an image is divided into thirds evenly, and the focal point is placed in the intersection(s)

Fig 1.5 - https://pin.it/49oIgutwA (Greek Angel Poster)

How is it asymmetrical (Fig 1.5)

This poster uses golden ratio as the guide

The flying angels are positioned according to the spiral of the Golden Ratio, from one angel to another

The spiral also leads the viewer to he typeface

It has unequal visual weight, the angels is more dominant as the focal point

The clouds has lower hierarchy, less focus

Repetition

Repetition creates rhythm or pattern by repeating the usage of variety (a slight change) of elements.

Fig 1.6 - https://pin.it/1bsYj4zlw (Chinese New Year Poster)

How is it repetitive (Fig 1.6)

The snake element is used repetitively as elements

The year 2025 is also used repeatedly for the top and bottom

It has a variety even though its the same element, by positioning it differently, turning it into a wavy frame

The position of the snakes and the year 2025 makes the design look symmetrical

Movement

Motion in design that from how it leads the audience eye, seen by positions, sizes, etc.

Hierarchy: directs audience on which subject that catches the eye first, the most important one.

Alignment: placements of design which will create the overall aesthetics, stability and unity.

Fig 1.7 - https://pin.it/3FRTh7p0X (Food Advertisement Design)

Where is the Movement (Fig 1.7)

The audience will see the food photography first, then to the bigger bold text on the left, to the smaller one

The hierarchy of this poster is the food, where it will be the main subject seen first

The Alignment is left alignment, which makes it more readable as well

Harmony & Unity

Harmony: Elements that shows common traits but various.

Unity: Repetition of some elements, composed with balanced.

Scale and Proportion: Scale is the size of elements, Proportion refers to the relationship with size

Fig 1.8 - https://pin.it/1WqALiFF3 (Cake roll photography)

How is it harmony and unity (Fig 1.8)

The proportion of the cake as the main subject and background is balance, they are on a different scale

There are a lot of blueberries and strawberries, but they are arranged in different position to create balance in the picture

There are sliced strawberries, a strawberry as a whole, also in a bowl, which creates repetition of elements but not monotone

The color of the overall picture is harmonious, they are mainly white

Symbol

Figurative representations:

Visuals

Graphic symbols

Pictorial symbols: image related and simplified (life cycle, sewing)

Abstract symbols: less detailed than the represented object (toilet signage)

Arbitrary symbols: no resemblance with represented object, must be learned (hospital symbol, hazard)

Fig 1.9.1 - https://pin.it/4Wx9qSf4d (Yin and Yang)

Symbol explanation (Fig 1.9,1)

This is Abstract symbols, Yin and Yang

It has a correlation with the meaning

The symbol itself looks like two opposites that look balance with one another

While the meaning tells a whole story. Shortly, Yin and Yang is a process of harmonization that ensures a constant, dynamic balance of all things.

Fig 1.9.2 - https://pin.it/6u6fGoV4x (Radiation Hazard)
Symbol explanation (Fig 1.9,2)

This is Arbitrary symbols, the radiation hazard
There is not correlation between the symbol and the picture, it must be learned

Fig 1.9.3 - https://pin.it/1tyO8HZCs (Twitter Logo)

Symbol explanation (Fig 1.9,3)

This is Pictorial symbols, the twitter logo
Related to an image and simplified, we can know that this logo represents a bird.

Word and Image

Fig 1.10 - https://pin.it/1iWj97jfx (Aura 02 Perfume Advertisement)

Relation with word and image (Fig 1.10)

A relevant image is used, correlates with the purpose which is to promote the certain object.

The typeface used is relevant with the product traits, which is elegance

Relevant elements are used in the photography, to tell the audience the scent of the perfume

Task 1: Exploration

Design

Fig 2.0 - Mulan movie poster,
BLT Communication, 2020,
Size: (-) ,
Digital poster and Photography,
https://www.bltomato.com/project/mulan

Rationale

In Fig 2.0, I chose this poster because it looks beautiful and tense at the same time. I do wonder what is the relation of the beautiful girl and the sword before watching the movie. This movie poster is obvious with its focal point.

In my opinion, movie poster has a clear subject since they are promoting the character in the movie. It has an amazing lighting effect that highlights the main character, also the contrasting reflection of the character in the sword, where the main subject is stunning red, and the reflection is gloomy blue. It also has Chinese characters on the sword which represents the Chinese culture in the movie. Moreover, the title itself is bold and red, it also have a similar font with the Chinese characters. There is balance between the subject and the properties, also contrast in the between the subject and the sword. The red lighting on the subject gives emphasis on the character. Lastly, word and image is used in this poster for the title and description.

Feedback

Week 2

Each picture must include the figure number (Fig 1.1) and a short description. The image example for the "Word and Image" section could be better. For the design rationale, include the reason why it is interesting and why do you like it

Week 3

Images are well selected and explanation is explained well and organized. Add the word and image for the last rationale.