DVB102 | Hayley Blonde - Larger reflection | #oneperday2023
Over the last 7 weeks of class, I have been challenged to come up with quick-fire images and to spend time developing others it has been an ongoing challenge to keep up with all the chopping and changing of what skills we are going to be using each day.
The first week we explored mark-making, using some tools that I have never even thought about using in my illustrations, and the tools I use in my everyday drawing. Comparing the techniques and trying new mediums was an eye-opening experience for me. This activity really showed me that even after spending my whole life drawing I can still learn new techniques and develop the ones I already have. Week 3 was an example of pushing me out of my comfort zone I don't like to work with a pen, I don't like the finality of them. The skills we learned in week one provided me with the techniques and confidence to be able to step outside of my comfort zone to be able to tell a story and give it depth and dimension.
I have been exposed to a number of design processes in my design journey, The one we explored in graphic design: Australian style Manual (Barnum 2011). Unforchinitely the design process outlined in this book was not practical to follow as the design tools, image and process were started in class, taking away some of the time and freedom needed to follow this process. I was able to fall back on the 5 phases of design thinking (Radiant, 2023) to help me quickly come up with the tools and ideas I wanted to use for each week's activities. I really enjoyed the quick turnaround of each week's images, working to a brief and starting in class learning new skills. It did not feel like there was enough time to really develop each week's images, I would have loved to put more time and effort into it.
In week 4 we started playing with mixed media, going from an analog technique using four different pens, watercolours and then Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator to create a final poster that tells a story and meets a brief. I can really appreciate the value of working on the analogue design before jumping on the computer. Moving into week 5 and being able to develop that idea even further was an exciting opportunity to explore the design processes mentioned above (Barnum 2011) meaning that I could then Research and develop the concept further which led to a much more refined poster that felt like something that would catch the attention of the target market.
The struggle of doing this kind of class online is you don’t get to show the person next to you and ask them what you think, you have to use the tools you have at hand and do a lot of trial and error to try and get it right. This was very evident to me with the cutting of my whale I spent hours trying to get the first one right, however, my tools were not the best quality and not as fine as I needed to do the work at the size I wanted to. So I had to rethink the scale of the prints I was doing. I'm glad I have the opportunity to and resources to be able to cut it out again.
The use of shape and space as described by Dabner “as the relations between genitive and positive form”(Dabner, 2009) played a massive role in the first 4 weeks of the class and started building new skills that are important for intricate and in-depth design. I have been enjoying playing with colour therapy (Ambrose, 2008), it is one of my favourite design tools. I have chosen to use the colour triad (Adobe, 2023) to find the complementary colourway that goes with the red and cian blue used in my final artwork was taken directly through this tool. It took some of the pressure of trying to find the right colour to go with the bold red (Barnum, 2011) that represents me.
I have used negative space throughout the weekly challenges, I find it creates a very clean-looking finished work that for me is very appealing. Being able to find the right balance between negative space (Digital Synopsis, 2023) and the design elements being used is an important part of the design process. The Fibonacci spiral was used in a number of my finished pieces to help with creating a point of interest. The use of Symmetry and balance was something I focused on throughout my weekly challenge and this was shown the most in my final artwork.
The combination of using the analog tool and the digital one has meant that I have been able to keep working on my creative thinking and not just rely on one skill set or the other. I hope to be able to keep creating with my hands not just my computer moving through my design care.
Bibliography
Adobe (2023) Adobe wheel. https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel
Ambrose, G. Harris, P. (2008) The production manual: a graphic design handbook. AVA Academia
Barnum, Andrew, et al. Graphic Design: Australian Style Manual, McGraw-Hill Australia, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/qut/detail.action?docID=5471216.
Dabner, D., Calvert, S. & Casey, A. (2009) The New Graphic Design School : A Foundation Course in Principles and Practice. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/qut/reader.action?ppg=36&docID=947193&tm=1535934077402
Digital Synopsis (2023) 51 creative Logos that use negative space brilliantly. https://digitalsynopsis.com/design/creative-logo-design-negative-space/
Jackson, W (2015) Digital image compositing fundamentals. file:///Users/laces/Downloads/978-1-4842-4060-1%20(2).pdf
Radiant (2023) 5 Phases of the design thinking process https://www.radiant.digital/the-importance-of-ideation-in-ux-research/
