Lesson 2: Lesson 1 Part 2

Helloooo Mac

Having been using Windows all my life, I find myself slightly bewildered sitting behind a Mac desktop, trying to work my way through it - not to mention the annoyingly slow mouse that did little to help my adapting. 

In the second part of our first lesson, we set on learning how to use this complicated designing application called Adobe Illustrator. We were introduced to raster and vector files. Raster files are predominantly used in Photoshop and has photographic detail, giving its files a more real-life photographic look. On the other hand, vector files has less detail as compared to raster files and is graphic, giving its files a cartoon-ish kind of look. We learnt about the various sizes of files and paper that we could open with the illustrator. Moving on, we looked at the tool bar and started with the pen tool, marking out 3 dots to form a triangle. Going on, we used the anchor tool to make curves with the triangle we formed. We then changed the colour of the triangle and its outline (stroke). 

That was pretty much all that we learnt on illustrator for the lesson. 

Restaurant Menu

Here I have a restaurant menu which I think is nicely designed. The pictures of the food served at the restaurant is larger than the text of the menu, drawing the eye to them first. They carry quite a heavy visual weight and takes up a fair amount of space, hence making it dominant in the menu. The text is aligned neatly in 3 columns with regular proximity from one another- the 2 equal columns at the sides being slightly bigger than the one in the middle. This makes it easy for readers to read each dish orderly without spending much effort as the menu is arranged very orderly. The Principles of Design at work, along with the neat font and descriptions makes this menu very reader-friendly.


  Hope you enjoyed this entry. Thanks!

  Yeo Zong Rong, Ronald

Lesson 1: Lesson 1 Part 1

The Beginning

As I first step into the room lined with neat rows of Apple products known as the 'Mac Lab', so begins my education of the ''Essentials of Graphic Design''. 

We were introduced to the Principles of Design, which were 'rules that help guide designers on how to arrange the various elements of a composition in relation to each other and the overall design'.


These rules fall under the following various categories:

1. Balance
- Makes a design stable and gives it structure. It is the weight distributed by the positions of the different elements in a design. 2 types of balance, Asymmetrical & Symmetrical. 
Asymmetrical: When weight is not evenly distributed. 

Symmetrical: When weight is evenly distributed.

2. Proportion
- How close or far are the elements from one another affects how they look: Whether they are in the background or in front.

Smaller balloons in the background while bigger ones in front

3. Contrast
- Happens when 2 elements are different and hence 'Contrast's each other due to size and colour. It is used to emphasize the difference and make it obvious to the eye. Effective for advertising something outstanding.

4. Dominance
- Refers to the different amount of emphasis placed in elements of the design. Determines where readers look first when looking at the design.

Product is largest visual and hence Dominant

5. Alignment
- Aligning text and graphics makes the design more eye-catching and dynamic. Breaking alignment serves to bring attention to a particular element of the design. 

6. White Space
- Absence of text and graphics. Makes a design less crammed, confusing and overwhelming. Able to deliver a message or catch readers' attention to product simply and effectively if done well.

Addidas ad using White Space

7. Rhythm
- 2 types: Regular and Flowing
Regular: Happens when the spaces between elements, and oft times the elements themselves, are the same in size or length.

Flow: Gives the design a sense of movement, makes it feel more organic.

8. Proximity 
- Achieved by keeping similar items together and forming harmony by the distance between elements. Suggests a relationship, or lack thereof, between dissimilar parts.

All of which will be used by me in my analysis, critics and discussions of designs.

Moving on, we were broken into groups and given LEGO blocks. Our task was to make as many characters we know as possible using those LEGO blocks. After our given time to build our LEGO characters, many popular characters were seen, all of which recognizable simply from their unique colours and shape. Spongebob with his yellow body and brown clothes, Captain America's blue and red shield with a silver star in the middle and one of my favourite Pokemon, Pikachu with its yellow fur. This showed that colours and shapes play important roles in design as we relate to the characters through their iconic colours and shapes. 

Unevolved Brands

This point was further emphasized when a picture full of Unevolved Brands were shown to us and we had to guess the brands with only their shape and colours to aid us. I was fascinated to know that we were able to identify almost all the brands just by looking at their colours and shapes! This shows that simple colours and shapes actually play very important roles in creating iconic logos and designs known by people all around the world.

Save Nature

As mentioned above, I will be using the Principles of Design in my analysis, discussion and critics of designs. I have here a poster that caught my eye. With the weight in the middle, there is a symmetrical balance in this poster. The hand is aligned in the middle of the poster with white space at both sides, leaving the focus all on the hand and bringing out the dominance of it. With all the attention on the hand in the middle of the poster, we are able to soak in the powerful imagery. Principles of Design apart, the picture of a human hand crushing nature evokes strong feelings within us as we are able to relate to it. We stop for a moment and begin to ask ourselves: 'Is this what we are doing to our environment?'. Because of the Principles of Designs applied to making this poster, it is able to capture the attention of people and hence get the message of 'Save Nature' effectively to the public. All in all, the Principles of Design mentioned combined with the powerful imagery makes this a great poster in promoting the saving of nature.

That's all for this entry. Thanks!

Yeo Zong Rong, Ronald