WK 15- Interactions Between the 3 Levels

   

Representational:  This record label logo for Makatsuku Records consists of a record player and a cartoon-like hand as the needle playing the record. Any person who has been in contact with technology will recognize the record player and pull from their personal experience to come to the conclusion that this logo is in some way connected to music, vinyl in particular. This is related to the abstract and symbolic levels because it is the source for a symbol that must go through the process of abstraction to become a symbol. The representational level is important because in order to have a successful symbol, you must have a representational object that people can relate to through their experiences.

   Abstract: The logo is an abstracted version of a record player which has been stripped of many minor details. It relates to both the representational and symbolic levels because it is the middle stage that takes something that we recognize from the real world and makes a symbol out of it that now symbolizes a record label who strongly believes in the vinyl format and releases its music via vinyl. 

   Symbol: This logo symbolizes a record label that releases their music on vinyl only. This symbol relates to the representational level only it has gone through the process of abstraction to now become something that communicates its a particular message more clearly and directly. 

Week 14- Representational, Abstract and Symbolic

This match lighter is representational because it is a lighter that represents a large match. This is funny or clever for the viewer because we all know that a match is also used to create fire. The flame even comes from the same area as would a real match. This lighter-match combines the aesthetic of a real match with the convenient functionality of a lighter to create a functional piece of art.

 

This piece of art is abstract because it is a stripped down version of an ocean-sunset scenery with only the bare essentials. There is just enough information here for us to make the correlation between this piece and what it actually represents in the real world without any intricate detail.

This is symbolic because it signifies that something is flamable by using two pieces of wood and a flame. People understand that stacking wood is a conventional and primal way to create fire. This symbol is stripped down completely to its bare essentials with no extra detail and is quite clear and universal.

Visual Techniques

Intricacy
Harmony
symmetry
complexity
simplicity
exaggeration
Randomness

Exaggeration
Intricacy
Spontaneity
Harmony
Symmetry
Complexity
Balance

Both compositions are successful designs because of their balance and symmetry. The main meat of the compositions are nicely centered both horizontally and vertically, leaving adequate space all on sides of the piece to breathe and for the essentials to stand out. Although both pieces are intricate and complex, they both appear very clean-cut and concise. Although only three to four colors are used in either piece, both pieces represent extremely harmonious color schemes. The second composition seems to be a bit more eye catching and interesting than the first because of the overly exaggerated text size and vibrant colors like yellow. The large simple text and the intricate group of people at the bottom seem to balance each other out very well and draw the eye into the piece without being overly busy. Also the three dimensionality of the large text and people provide a bit more depth to the second piece and thus more interesting. Although I do like the first piece, I feel that it lacks complexity and is missing the intricate coloration that the second piece provides.

Week 11 Contrast

This design uses very extreme color contrast to emphasize the name of the artist and also differentiate the title from the rest of the design. The brightly colored title contrasts very well with the all black background and really 'pops-out' out to the viewer. The dark background also influences our perception of the colored text by making it look brighter than if it were in front of a lighter background. There is also contrast in scaling, color, and shape between the different types of text that prioritize and differentiate them. The more important artists name is larger, more flamboyantly colored, and a different text style as opposed to the smaller, darker, more plain font of the 'DJ-Kicks', which is the name of the record label.

This design is interesting and eye-catching because of the high contrast in shape and color between the black objects on and around the subject and the background. The color contrasts between the black arm and light, cream-colored background really make the arm 'pop-out' and direct the eye to what is the center point of this design. The hand-written, black script on the girls chest and stomach also contrast very well from everything else because of their unique shape and color. The light gray spots to the left of the girl also contrast well with their background in color, shape and tone and offer a nice balance to the busy subject to the right.

Implied motion In Design

This is the logo of an L.A-based record label called Stones Throw. The implied motion here are sun rays beaming from the circular logo. This implied motion adds a nice gradient of color as the sun rays fade out toward the edges of the poster. Also the spaces in between the rays provide an interesting contrast between light and dark. Although the implied motion is that of light rays beaming outward, the eye is drawn into the source of the light rays where the subject of the piece is located.

The implied motion of these dancers is their reactions to the music that the DJ is playing. The name of the compilation is called 'Phuturistc Dancin' and the cover art is just that. The designer wants his viewer to see the implied motion of these people and believe that the music within will make us do the same. It is an illustration of a dance party snapshot, where the photographer was able to capture a magical moment in time. If the illustrator were to press play again, I have a pretty good idea of the motion of these characters that the designer was implying.

Week 8 - Tone and Color

Tone is used in this example to help focus the eye into the middle of the design where the information of the record appears and also give the effect of a spherical 3-d object. A large dynamic tonal range also not only offers the viewer a wide array of colors, but also helps fade in and out of different colors to create a smooth gradient of very different colors.  The tonal change from red to black at the outside of the circle fades the circle out into black and provides the illusion of the top of a 3-d sphere. This smooth transition is much more interesting than a simple sharp edge, offering more color information and different dimensional possibilities.

Tone is interacting with the center circle of the record and title by surrounding it and emphasizing it. The eye is guided toward the middle of the record because of tonal changes from complete black on the outside corners to complete white on the inside. Along with tonal changes, changes in color are also happening going form the outside in. Darker colors are used on the outside corners and the colors lighten as we move into the center circle. 

Graphic Design

1. Direction

The artist name and album title are rectangular blocks that give us both the horizontal and the vertical directions. I like the different directional elements that these two titles offer and they balance each other out very well as two objects perpendicular with each other. If both titles were either both vertical or both horizontal these design wouldn't be as successful because the two titles would no longer balance each other out and fill the correct spaces as they do now.

2. Texture


If you look closely, the white background of the image is not a plain white background, but a dusty off white color with the circular wear and tear marks of an old record sleeve from 1971. The designer included these wear and tear marks in the design to simulate that of a vintage record because the music enclosed in the cover was made with many vintage musical instruments and also contains many 1970's soul samples. Apart from its associations with the music, I think that this texture serves as a much more interesting backdrop to the text and image than would a plain color background and also gives the entire piece a bit more dimension to a design that would otherwise be overly flat. 

3. Dot

 The dot is used in this album cover to represent a profile photo of the artist in half-tone. Different sizes of dots and their relative locations are used to represent gradients and shading. I really like this style and the way the image is broken up into individual parts and we are still able to recognize this collection of dots as a cohesive piece. This half tone pattern is much more interesting and eye catching than a normal photograph because we are able to see this image not only as a whole but also able to see its individual parts.