Design Principles | Task 2 : Visual Analysis & Ideation

17.02.2025 - 03.03.2025 (Week 3 - Week 5)

Brenda Wynn (0372128)

Design Principles / Bachelors of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Task 2

JUMP LINKS

INSTRUCTIONS

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LECTURE

Visual Analysis : a way of understanding design that aims to focus on visual elements and principles.

Visual Analysis aims to notice the designers choice when creating a design and also for us to get a better understanding on how the formal properties in a design conveys an idea or message.
Visual literacy is a ability that helps people understand images, and visual analysis is an important part of it.
By practicing visual analysis it helps improve critical judgement skills and helps people find answers instead of misinformation.

Visual Analysis Steps :

1. Phase 1 : Observation

= Describing and identifying visual elements in a design.

2. Phase 2 : Analysis

= Making statements while implying the observations from before and identifying design principles.

3. Phase 3 : Interpretation

= Where the statements and observations made are incorporated with facts, whether it is about the artwork, designer, or with a trustworthy historical statement.

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TASK

CHOSEN ARTWORK

Figure 1.1 (The Starry Night painting, 23/02/2025, week 3)

The Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh;

1889, 73.7 cm x 92.1 cm, oil on canvas, source

VISUAL ANALYSIS

Phase 1 : Observation

= There are a lot of swirls in different sizes with different shades of yellow that are located in the sky. On the foreground of the painting, there seems to be a type of tree or tower that seems disoriented. On the bottom part of the painting, seems to be a town. A moon is also place on the top right corner of the painting. Lastly, the method that was used to paint the sky looks like it was painted as if it was waves in the ocean. The background seems to be filled with mountains and hills.

Phase 2 : Analysis

= The first principle I noticed is the Gestalt Theory. It is the Principle of Similarity that is used, which was observed from the different shades of yellow, the swirls on the sky, and also the technique that was used to paint the sky. The second principle I observed was Contrast, which can be seen by the difference in color between the yellow and blue color palette elements. The third principle is Repetition, that is observed in the lines that creates a pattern & shape which makes the painting look active. The technique of painting the overall artwork was also considered as Repetition, since it increases the surface interest of the painting. The next principle is the Movement principle, that is because of the swirl that is located in the middle of the sky which makes the painting look alive. The last principle is Harmony & Unity, which can be seen by the method that is used to paint almost the entirety of the painting, the elements, the variety of colors that is used complements each other, and that makes the painting seems as a whole.

Phase 3 : Interpretation

Figure 1.2 Green Wheat Field with Cypress (24/02/2025, week 4) source

= The Starry Night is painted in 1889 by Vincent van Gogh, it is based of his imagination and memory of his view from a window in his room at an asylum located in Saint-Remy. Though it was not the same exact view he saw from his window when he painted The Starry Night, since he included new shapes, a village on the bottom of the painting and he also added a sense of glow. The cypress tree he painted was a representation between life and death. Which was a part of his imagination too, though the inspiration was thought to be from the painting that Vincent van Gogh did with the title "Green Wheat Field with Cypress". The technique he used to paint The Starry Night was adapted from the expressive style he had refined during the time he stayed in Paris. The technique he used was to immediately paint from the paint tube to the canvas, which creates a thick painting because of the thick paint that is applied onto the canvas that also includes the bold colors. The message behind The Starry Night was an expression of Vincent van Gogh's mental health being and also his attraction with stars, death and transcendence. Though when the painting was created, Vincent van Gogh thought that the painting was a failure. resources

SKETCHES

FIRST IDEAS

Figure 1.3 first idea sketches (24/02/2025, week 4)

These 2 sketches were the first ideas I had on what I can improved from the painting. But, Ms. Jinchi informed me that these sketches were too similar to the original and told me to research more about the meaning behind the elements and the overall painting.

SECOND IDEAS

=The second ideas I have, will implement the method Vincent van Gogh used to paint The Starry Night on the sky part of the poster. So that when people view the painting, they will see a resemblance of the original painting. For the first and second sketch, my inspiration was based of the original painting itself and meaning behind it. The third sketch inspiration was from the story on how The Starry Night was created, but I implemented my own imagination to it. Here are the sketches I came up with:

SKETCH 1

Figure 1.4 first sketch (27/02/2025, week 4)

The first sketch (Figure 1.4) was an idea I got from the meaning of the cypress tree that is placed on the foreground of the original painting that holds a meaning between life and death. To convey the meaning of the tree, I decided to portray 2 different sides. The left side is the village in a daytime setting, making the overall color palette of both the tree and the background bright. The right side is the village in a night time setting, implementing a dark color palette to the elements on the right side. With the implementation of both the daytime and night time setting, the bright colors from the left side will resemble life and the night time setting on the right side will resemble darkness that conveys death. The design principles I used are Contrast, because of the distinct difference between the color palette on each side and the other one is Gestalt Theory, Principle of Figure / Ground which can be seen from the placement of the background and the tree. The third one is Balance, Asymmetrical Balance which can be seen from the almost symmetrical tree that is placed on the foreground.

SKETCH 2

Figure 1.5 second sketch (27/02/2025, week 4)

The second sketch (Figure 1.5) represents the dark tree in the foreground of the original painting and the background will be a daytime setting of the village. This poster aims to convey a similar message as the first poster sketch, which is to show the difference between life and death. But it will emphasize on the message "life" more, showing the bright and colorful side of it. The design principles I used are Contrast, because of the different color that I will implement to the tree and the background and the second one is Gestalt Theory, Principle of Figure / Ground that can be seen from the difference in the placement of the village and the tree.

SKETCH 3 REFERENCES

Figure 1.6 sketch 3 references (27/02/2025, week 4) source

SKETCH 3

Figure 1.7 third sketch (27/02/2025, week 4)

The last sketch (Figure 1.7) I thought of was emphasizing more on the inspiration Vincent van Gogh got, which was from the window of his asylum. But, I decided to change it to a more homey and cozy setting. So I chose a home setting, with the view of The Starry Night. The design principles I used are Gestalt Theory, Law of Symmetry & Order that can be seen from the symmetrical "star swirls" outside of the window and the second one is Repetition, because of the pattern of the "star swirls".

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FEEDBACK

Week 4

Ms. Jinchi told me to do a fact check regarding the method Vincent van Gogh used to paint the Starry Night. She also told me to focus on a part of the painting instead the entirety of it, since the sketches that I have presented was too similar to the original painting.

Week 5

Ms. Jinchi recommended me one of the sketches that might be good to develop and also told me to organize my images and text better at some parts.

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