RVJ- Make use of been human

Reflective visual journal is an indispensable Tool for all visual creative’s. RVJ is a portable laboratory for the development of your visual thinking. It is also a tool for engaging with the creative process as learning journey. As designer RVJ and design sketching in it plays a big part in designing process. for example RVJ will help the designer to do more creative art works and its helps a lot in brainstorming part in that particular concept. Same time its (practice in sketching) helps the designer to perform more in digital designing. 

Working by hand

As designer it is important to work by your hand in RVJ. Its allow designers to develop an idea, to analyze it, to document a building or a site, as well as to present their ideas to others and same time it helps you to build your own visual language. RVJ is essential as it enables you to engage a physical connection between your hand, your eye, and you’re creative Right brain. This is an entirely different process to thinking in words or working with words, a camera or computer.

Working by hand (Sketching) also helps to solve problems. Furthermore, someone solving a question in mathematics he or she sketches down the Problem into simple drawing. Its help the problem solver to solver problem very efficiently. Same in designing, simple hand sketching in RVJ can help the desiner to see the communication problem from different perspectives, different week point and plus points and creates basic foundation for that particular art-work.

 

Leonardo has developed these ideas by “thinking on the page”. He did not describe the idea in words and then proceed to illustrate his description. This connection of thinking and mark making allows your creative brain to operate.

Many of us carry negative associations about drawing, and our work is limited by self consciousness as a result...

Use your Brain

In your head, there are two brains...The two halves of your brain are essentially separate...

They carry out different processing functions in different ways...You can improve creativity immeasurably by consciously utilizing these functions.

The right brain is like a child at play...Innocent, sensitive, experimental, playful, curious... The left brain is like an Accountant...Organizing, clarifying, quantifying, editing, Selecting, classifying Those with a right-side dominant brain depend more on visual references for understanding and are often times visual learners. They are more emotional, swayed by feelings, and are able to better understand and reflect on these feelings. Furthermore, right-brained thinkers are very intuitive and curious about the world.

As a designer it is important to consciously, repeatedly, switching brain modes in creative process

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Sources:

Lecture Notes

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/11/understanding-your-brain-for-better-design-left-vs-right/

http://manleyart.com/Intro%20Page.html

Legibility Ft. Visual Hierarchy

Legibility

Legibility can define as “the ease with which the reader can discern the type on the page, based on the tone of the type in relation to the background and the letterforms' shape with respect to each other”. In short legibility indicates how clear text is visually

One of the most important aspects design is legibility. Legibility can influence on your artwork in ways of typography, typeface, colors and images that you are using.  Many designers overlook this important aspect and decide on a background image that makes the whole design illegible. To improve legibility in design, it’s better to use a good typography dependent on the background color.

A good combination of contrasting colors ensures increased legibility. One of the things you can do is to use dark text color on a light background. The best is black on white. Light colored text on a dark background proves quite strenuous to the eyes. The typeface is also equally important for good legibility and you can choose one specifically designed to provide proper screen output. When designers create new typefaces they have to pay attention to both legibility aspects and aesthetics.

Visual hierarchy

Visual hierarchy also bit similar to legibility because  Visual hierarchy  also depends on typography, typeface, colors , images that you are using, size, contrast, texture, shape, position, orientation, composition, structure and etc… Visual hierarchy is used in page design to help the viewer process information. Visual Hierarchy is the order that most people will see and identify objects. People focus their eye's on things that stand out such as a bright red stop sign first. Later they look at things that are smaller or less noticeable such as the leaves on the sidewalk. Objects the eye sees first and the mind perceive are considered to be high on the visual hierarchy.

What you see 1st

As example if talk about this magazine front cover layout our eyes will firstly run through the big bold heading which says “DEAD BECAUSE NO ONE CARED”. Then the Three blue boxes on the top of it. And News paper name Daily Mail. Likewise eye will go through the small pictures and sub headlines.

Using this great theory tool “Visual hierarchy” designer can easily catch their target audience by showing them offers, what’s hot, celebrities and etc… As a designer it is important to establish relationships between content images and Guide users through actions.

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Sources:

http://www.humantransit.org/2009/07/legibility-as-marketing-and-the-tovia-problem.html

http://www.just4designers.com/2010/10/31/to-improve-your-sites-legibility-you-need-good-typography/

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:legibility&sa=X&ei=yEHgTPufGsHKhAeO7924DQ&sqi=2&ved=0CBYQkAE

http://www.ciaa.be/documents/positions/Guidelines%20for%20the%20Legibility%20of%20Labelling.pdf

http://www.lukew.com/resources/articles/PageHeirarchy_LukeW_03192008.pdf

Illustration in Practice

As a designer illustrations plays a big role in designing process. for example simple sketch book full  of regular sketching will help the designer to do more creative art works and its helps a lot in brainstorming part in that particular concept. Same time its (practice in sketching) helps the designer to perform more in digital designing.  For a designer his or her regular sketches can be based on (inspired by) life experience, photographs (what he sees), research findings and etc... A large collection of regular sketches and sketches related to any particular campaign will help out to create an own visual vocabulary and uniqueness in designs. And it will support the designer to communicate and attract his or her target audience very easily.

For example, famous designer Jill Callder the Illustration expert who works is full of playful anarchy, according to Illustrophile, also a calligrapher, painter and lecturer with a love of drawing, ideas, colour, ink, typography, deadlines and sketchbooks. And she work for clients both in the UK and internationally.

Following picture shows that how she sketches her researchable findings and day today observations and the type of visual vocabulary she is trying to create. Same time it prove how she inspired from this sketches and observation in her designing career. 

Also her sketches can’t define as simple sketches. It’s also communicate feelings, motions, weight and deferent view points 




As another example if talk about Marion Deuchars who is an award-winning illustrator with an instantly-recognisable and much-loved style. Marion has worked for Unicef, Penguin Books, The Guardian, The Independent, Volkswagen, Formula 1 and many other clients, and of course produces illustrations and jackets for many books. His style of sketching and way he inspired is totally different from Jill Callders style. Because it’s seems likes Marion is using his own experiences and his own imagination in his sketching. Sometimes it’s very very simple and bit harder to get the idea without thinking twice.

He also proves that importance of sketching in brainstorm ideas and write down whatever comes to mind. And how he starts sketching until develop something that can translate well onto the computer.

In conclusion sketching can be used as a journaling activity to record and explore your interests. It can also be used to explore multiple options you could take in a particular design.


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Sources:
http://www.jillcalder.com/jillcalder_blog.php
http://www.mariondeuchars.com/

Notions of originality & recontextualised ideas

In modern world there are various kinds of creative designs. Although those are very modern and creative, there is a doubt which always on our mind, which questions is this original idea or reproduction of previous design (a Copy). Most of the time, it’s not an original idea. Because, a person or the team which designs that particular art work will go through enormous range of previous sketches, collages, drawings, prints, Archaeological findings and various kind of researches before they develop the art work. So getting an idea from a previous design can’t be criminal offence or unethical effort. It can be define as the Notions of originality & recontextualised ideas. The subject where the interesting examples begins 

Andy Warhols picture of Marylin Monroe was probably made for Marylin herself. The picture was made in the sixties when all the bright colours and hippy colours were contemporary; the vivid colours that he has chosen work well together. By keeping the skin tone a subtle pink and enhancing the other colours to a nearly neon tone makes the picture one of a kind in its time. Also enhancing Marylins best features such as the lips and hair.As the colours used are so bright the visual communication that the picture is putting across is very strong and powerful. This piece of art was created intentionally to get the viewers attention by the use of fluorescent colours that would usually clash when brought together. This piece would be for the younger generation of that time, more than likely at the higher end of the financial status.

This image is a recreation of the Marylin picture by Andy Warhole it is an image created by Matteo Bertolio for tank magazine in 2004. It is a photograph of a beautiful young lady wearing a wig and heavy eye and lip makeup. The artist has then edited the colours on the computer, making the hair eye and lip colour extremely bright also placing the image on a bright blue background makes the image stand out. The image is used in the tank magazine, which is aimed at a younger age bracket of both genders interested in contemporary art. This is an effective piece of visual communication as people can relate to the Marylin painting by Andy Warhole, the use of the intense colours make the image dominant.This recreation of a classic piece of art, works well for its time and generation of 2004, extra features such as the pin in her hair and the necklace instead of a collar works great to give it that modern edge, Bertolio makes his piece of work look clean, which always makes art look more modern ad designed.

And this shows that how the “Nike” used range of fluorescent color versions of Marylin picture used in a modern shoe

Above painting is world famous “jesus last supper” done by Leonardo da vici. The Last Supper did in 15th century mural painting in Milan created by Leonardo da Vinci for his patron Duke Ludovico Sforza and his duchess Beatrice d'Este. It represents the scene of The Last Supper from the final days of Jesus as narrated in the Gospel of John 13:21, when Jesus announces that one of his Twelve Apostles would betray him. And below images shows that how the designers recontextualised this idea or the theme using their creativity for their designs

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Sources:

http://www.newinspirationalmovement.org/blog/?cat=12&paged=2

http://www.penwith.co.uk/artofeurope/da_vinci.htm

http://inventorspot.com/articles/andy_warhol_marilyn_monroe_pop_art_sneakers_nike_34184

http://momentmagazine.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/seders-and-the-last-supper-and-jesus-oh-my/

http://www.treklens.com/gallery/North_America/United_States/photo502604.htm