Sunday, October 26, 2008

Reading Pictures

I was very close to naming my blog "Reading Pictures" as it perfectly describes how I metaphorically understand art. Like a reel from a projector screen, each scene is a beat from a letter on the page. As I peruse each line, something happens: there are details that form; those forms, in turn, create relationships; and those relationships send a message.

As an alumna from UCLA for Art History and English Literature, I am taught to read the lines and what are in-between. However, I have never been taught to read the negative space. In literary theory, the text and meaning of the words are what mattered, not in what space did they occupy their surroundings. In that sense, design, and especially graphic design, rely more on what the french call "coup d'oeil," a first, impressionable glance that intuitively grabs the viewer from a visceral place.

based on wine bottle openers of different sizes, my composition deploys negative space effectively. the contrast between the black and white does not detract from either the forms nor the flow that leads the eye through the negative space. Maintaining fluidity but also excitement, the biggest wine bottle opener is slightly off-center, and thus, creates a nice, subtle rhythmic action from left to right and vice versa.

the only negative aspect about this exercise was the execution of the piece. the intricacy in details of the ridges and twists in the bottle opener was lost and did not look professional enough. execution of design is just as important as the concept to present a whole look, and in this case, the x-acto knife used to cut the traces were not sharp enough. this project about tools was definitely a lesson on high dividends for using tools of better caliber.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

am·per·sand

ampersand (ām'pər-sānd')
n. The character or sign (&) representing the word and.

red ampersand is first and foremost an idea, one that was forged to express thoughts and feelings of a creative nature. not so much a diary nor that of a journal, though quite reflective of the happenings and experiences that have occurred through my life, I consider the red ampersand my conceptual playground to explore all things relevant to the meaning of Art.


since studying graphic design, I've come upon this book upon the recommendation of a respectable teacher and graphic designer. from Malcolm Grear of Malcolm Grear Designs, this book teaches, through a number of exercises, the important lessons one should never forget in pursuing in ultimate design.

photo cover from http://www.mgrear.com/