This work was done as part of my master's thesis at the Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University in 2018.The project has several large-scale and ambitious tasks at once. First of all, it is to develop a new approach that simplifies the study of the history of graphic design for students. An interactive VR application is designed to make this process interesting and memorable. Also, this approach may interest people who are far from design, start to understand it and learn new.
I divided the project into 3 parts: art history research, analysis of technical capabilities and design.
The study of history usually begins with the chronology of events. But the peculiarity of the design is that the time intervals of the existence of graphic styles are presumably. The data in different information sources usually differ.
Based on various sources, I have compiled a diagram on which the periods of active development of the style are indicated in saturated color. Translucent areas are the time when the style flows in other directions.
The timeline is important because it gives an idea of the historical context of the period and the events that influenced culture and design. But the chronological visualization of styles does not give a sufficient idea of them.
Graphic design styles in the 20th century were not taken out of nowhere and did not disappear without a trace. Each style has been in continuous development throughout its existence, generating prerequisites for new directions and mixing with existing ones.
To study the history of graphic design, it is important to understand the evolution of these styles. Therefore, I made a diagram in which evolution is represented as influences on each other without chronological reference.
Despite the lack of strict reference to time intervals and the constant change of styles, historians classify the works of designers, referring them to one or another direction. This is possible due to the means of artistic expression characteristic of the style.
My first hypothesis is that a combination of 5 criteria is enough to identify a style: forming, composition, color, typography, visual attributes.
And the second hypothesis is that the chronological and evolutionary timelines can be grouped by periods in such a way that it is possible to track the relationships, while having a historical context.
To do this, I decided to use a construction in which each of the axes corresponds to one of the periods.
I assume that it is possible to study a style based on the idea of the relationships of styles and these 5 criteria that can be visualized and presented in an interactive format.
VR is used to create the application. The technology allows you to immerse a person inside the style and make the study of content more exciting and memorable. You need HTC glasses and a controller to interact with interface.
It is necessary to take into account the ergonomics of human vision when designing the interface in VR to ensure a comfortable interaction with the application. Based on the features of vision, I obtained the values of angles that determine the freely visible zone and the zone of peripheral vision. Interactive elements are located on the basis of this.
How it works:
Step 1: A person sits down and puts on VR glasses.
Step 2: Multimedia content is projected in front of the user, with which he can interact.
Step 3: The user can rotate 360 degrees and observe the graphics.
Step 1: A person sits down and puts on VR glasses.
Step 2: Multimedia content is projected in front of the user, with which he can interact.
Step 3: The user can rotate 360 degrees and observe the graphics.
The timeline plays the role of a menu through which the user can go to the study of any style. Each style consists of 5 scenes that meet certain criteria.
The interface that allows you to switch between scenes is tied to the controller. Interaction with the content occurs by clicking on the markers in the scene, which start the animation and show pop-up windows with text.
When the application is launched, the user gets into the timeline. Here he can see the evolution of design styles. Each style is visualized by a miniature containing the main recognizable features of the style.
I developed some miniatures by myself, relying on well-known images. But most of the miniatures are the real works of artists of the style.
By clicking on the style thumbnail, the user can read a brief information or explore the style in detail in a new scene. The effects of styles on each other are shown by arrows and appear only when clicked to facilitate the perception of the timeline.
Next, the user selects the style of interest to explore it. For the presentation of this part of the application, I chose De Stijl. Graphics based on this style are projected on the faces of the cube inside which the user is located. In this way, I realize Theo Van Doesburg's dream — to place a person not in front of plastic art, but inside it.
For each of the 5 criteria, a separate scene has been created with its own interactive, which helps to remember the stylistic features.
Forming
Forming is based on the primary opposites: horizontal/vertical, plane/line, color/non-color, large/small.
Composition
All the dimensions and proportions of the elements are set by a rectangular grid. De Stijl is characterized by the presence of only a right angle in their compositions. Using the division of space by planes, volumes are compiled.
All the dimensions and proportions of the elements are set by a rectangular grid. De Stijl is characterized by the presence of only a right angle in their compositions. Using the division of space by planes, volumes are compiled.
These criteria are visualized using a video texture based on the works of Piet Mondriaan. The texture is looped and seamlessly projected onto the faces of the cube. The animation of the elements of the picture emphasizes the principles of shaping.
The main colors are red, yellow and blue. Black, gray and white are used as additional or background colors. With the help of color, designers organize and change the perception of space.
The controller is used for interactivity with color. It makes the selected color active. Markers in the scene tell about the principles of working with color.
Typography
The recognizable symbol of De Stijl is the elastic modular alphabet designed by Theo Van Doesburg. The font is based on a square grid of 5 by 5 cells. And it is called elastic, because it provides for the alignment of lines of different lengths by stretching and narrowing the letters.
The principles of building and using the modular alphabet by Theo Van Doesburg are visualized in this scene.
Visual attributes
Most styles are characterized by the use of specific symbols. For example, futurism is the anthem of industry and machines. In the modern style plant motifs and the image of a woman are often found. But the painterly manner of the neoplasticists is extremely limited and abstract.
Therefore, in this scene I used objects that can be called the exit of De Stijl into three-dimensional space. This is the Red and blue chair and the Schröder House by Gerrit Rietveld, Cafe De Unie by Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud. This objects can explain an idea of the style.
Throughout the history of the profession, designers have tried to use the most advanced technologies in their work. With this concept there is an opportunity to create a tool that can bring new things to the study of the theory and evolution of graphic design. Thus becoming an intermediary between modern culture and historical culture.
