Design Basic Index p. 241
This activity was one that I personally enjoyed doing. Previous to completing this exercise, I had always loved fonts and the fact that there was so many different ones to choose from. When I was younger, I played with the Word Art function in MS Word a lot and just for fun. I even managed to figure out how to download different fonts as well.
Present day, I don't play around with fonts as often but I found that choosing 12 different fonts for this activity was the "easy" part and finding corresponding or contradicting words to come up with was a much harder task. I used Google Docs to complete this assignment because I liked the user friendly functions and wide range of fonts the platform had to offer. After completing this activity, it was really interesting to see how much of an impact fonts can have on tone/emotions. Fonts can either allude to the meaning that the text is trying to convey or do the opposite which can cause confusion on what the text is communicating. I've learned that fonts can and will make a difference in what you're trying to communicate via text which is important to keep in mind the next time I am making a graphic design.
Textural Composition
Design Basic Index p. 135
After I created a few shapes, I decided to complete the textural composition activity and stick with the heart shape (and theme) since Valentine's Day is coming up. Huge disclaimer here because even after "completing" the activity, I don't think I did everything quite right. The wording of the activity's instructions were confusing to me, especially when it mentioned to "arrange these copies around the central image in a tight though freely structured manner". Those two words/phrases seem contradictory but nonetheless I interpreted it the best I could and came up with this unique arrangement.
I enjoyed finding "textures" to place inside the shapes and while it was a bit tedious, it was fun to specifically find Valentine's related ones. Within this graphic, there are a combination of "textures" (through photos) and patterns (visual texture) that fill the spaces that were previously a solid black. These specific textures in combination with the shape, contribute to the theme I was trying to communicate. From this activity, I've learned that textures are much like fonts in that they can elicit certain feelings/emotions, which can either aid or hinder the clarity of the message the creator is trying to get across. I've also learned that creating graphics from scratch is much harder than I thought. There are so many options on how to adjust a simple shape (on Inkscape at least) and the amount of different shapes that can be created takes much more than a simple drag and drop. I definitely have a newfound appreciation for those who are graphic designers.
References:
Krause, J. (2004). Design Basics Index. Cincinnati, OH: How Design Books.
https://inkscape.org/en/
I'm so impressed with both your commitment to understanding Inkscape, and your designs themselves! Once again you did a great job Elaina. Looking at your hearts, I wouldn't have imagined that you had to make them yourself from component shapes (I was wondering, so thank you for sharing!).
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, would you use Inkscape again? For last week's mini art school, I used Canva to make the different toy store posters. At first, I was a bit conflicted, since it felt almost like cheating, but finally I decided that there was no point to reinventing the wheel. Especially in terms of design to be used in the classroom, time is of the essence. I don't know if it's worth it to spend hours hand-designing something that could be accomplished in minutes using other programs. Is there enough added functionality in Inkscape to justify spending extra time on it?
Hi Christine,
DeleteThank you for your comment! I don't think I'll use Inkscape again (unless another mini art school assignment calls for it). It was not very user friendly for a beginner designer. In my opinion, the time I spent trying to figure out how to use basic functions wasn't really worth the output.
Last week, I also used Canva for my toy store posters and I think that program is much more worth the time investment for our purposes! Especially when you need to create a quick graphic for the classroom, you don't want to spend hours trying to figure out how to even create a simple text box.
With that being said, Inkscape probably isn't a bad program. I just haven't figured out what half the tools do, as the "simple" functions took me quite a long time to learn (ex: turning an object requires you to input the degrees you want to rotate by, not dragging the sides). It's probably great for those who have the time, (and possibly a design based occupation) as its very advanced in comparison to programs such as Canva.
Thanks for your thoughtful response! I could definitely see how Inkscape wouldn't be too user friendly for a beginner, but I love that you framed it with such a positive growth mindset.
DeleteThis is an audio response, still trying to figure how to link it!
ReplyDeletehttp://vocaroo.com/i/s1iNfi8sk3Co
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ReplyDeleteVocaroo
ReplyDeleteThis might work!
Great interpretation of the assignment, Elaina. You have successfully applied the principles of using art as a form of communication. You have also engaged in the practice of planning and projecting ideas as well as with formalizing your experiences with visual and textual content. Job well done!
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