DESIGN PRINCIPLE FINAL PROJECT: VISUAL ANALYSIS
Luisa Audrey / 0348741 / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
Design Principle
LECTURE
- Is a method of understanding design that focuses on the visual elements and principles.
- In its strictest definition, a description and explanation of visual structure for its own sake.
- Yet the purpose of visual analysis can also recognize the choices that a designer made in creating the design, as well as to better understand how the formal properties of a design communicate ideas, content, or meaning.
- Visual analysis is a critical part of visual literacy, a skill that helps people read and critically interpret images, whether in a museum, on social media, in entertainment, advertising or the news.
- As citizens of the 21st century, we are constantly confronted with visual media. Practicing visual analysis sharpens critical judgment skills and helps people seek out answers instead of passively receiving information.
How Does Visual Analysis work?
Here is the artwork that Miss Jinchi used as reference:
- Observation means closely looking at and identifying the visual elements of a design, trying to describe them carefully and accurately in you tr own words. Do not read beforehand about the design at all.
- Observation phase is about looking, thinking, and finding good language to communicate what you notice
 |
| Observation example |
2. Phase 2: Analysis
- Analysis requires you to think about your observations and try to make statements about the work based on the evidence of your observations.
- Think about how specific visual elements that you've identified combine together to create a whole, and what effect that whole has on the viewer.
- How your eye is led through the work and why? Apply the Design Principles knowledge you learnt throughout these weeks.
 |
| Analysis example |
3. Phase 3: Interpretation
- In this final phase, your observations, description, and analysis of the work are fused with facts about the design work (and in some cases the designer) and historical context that you find in trustworthy published sources.
- What is the meaning of the design? What was the purpose for it to be created?
 |
| Interpretation example |
There are 2 parts to this project:
- VISUAL ANALYSIS: Select a design of your choice, conduct a visual analysis of the design in about 500 words
- DESIGN: Produce a work of design, in A4 or A3 size, inspired/influenced by the design you have analised, or as a reaction to it, write a 150-200 word rationale for your design.
THINGS TO DO:
- Complete Part 1 and 2
- For Part 2. do some research and idea exploration before delving into developing an idea for your design
- Visual analysis, research, idea exploration, idea development, final idea, rationale, all descriptions and final reflection must be uploaded in your blog before submission date.
- Make sure your blog is complete according to the requirements of the module by the time you submit this project. Remember, part of the Final Assessment includes your blog.
 |
| Work flow |
INSTRUCTION
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1thjdvvnXhNOMaH2Bi3Rmsxg8_w1JX8NF/preview" width="640" height="480" allow="autoplay"></iframe>
VISUAL ANALYSIS :
 |
| "The White Snake" by Gasone 晟一 |
Observation
"The White Snake" is an artwork created by Gasone 晟一 (Chéng yī) or Seiichi when translated to English. I chose this art because I was interested with the concept, color choices, also with the whole composition of the artwork. The piece is in portrait and the main focus is the girl and the snake's head. The main colors here are different tones of grey, green, and red. The whole color scheme is looking a bit gloomy though not to the point of depressed looking. It is also because there is a balance between the lighter value and the darker value. There is a combination between the cool tone and the warm tone, it is dominant with cool tone.
The reason why I pick this art is mostly because of the colors and aesthetic. The whole theme is gloomy but calm and serene at the same time that it makes me smile when I look at it. The second reason why I chose this is because I'm interested in the white snake and by analyzing this artwork, I get to research the meaning behind this art and the story behind the relationship between the girl and the white snake. Then I found out that this design is based on a Chinese Fable "White Snake". This idea alone is very interesting for me and it makes me want to learn deeper and create an artwork based on this idea.
Analysis
We can see from the design that it is asymmetrical balance. The placement of each visual element might seem unequal, however we can see that it is more dynamic and we can see more variety making it look balanced.
 |
| the artwork with golden ratio |
We can also see movement here where we can sense the movement of the white snake here and it surely leads the eye through the body of it. Another example of movement are the ripples around the main elements. There is also a bit of repetition here which is the lotus leaf around the focal point. Rather than looking monotonous, these elements are looking rather harmonious and supporting for the entire artwork.
Which leads us towards unity where we can see repetition of several elements(lotus leaf) and we can also see the sense of oneness on the girl and the white snake. After unity, of course we could also see harmony, especially from the cool tone color combination and how it creates its own aesthetic. Aside from all of that, we can also see emphasis on the girl because of the colors chosen where the girl is looking slightly brighter than the rest of the element.
Interpretation
 |
| The White Snake's Cave |
"The White Snake" artwork by Gasone 晟一 was posted on his artstation account around 5 years ago. After doing several research regarding this art, I realized that this design is inspired by a Chinese Fable "White Snake". It is a story about a female demon white snake who falls in love with a young man. Based from that, I concluded that the girl and the snake from his artwork are the characters from the Chinese Fable "White Snake" but gender-bended.
 |
| Madame White Snake by Wang Tianwen, 2015 |
To dive deeper into the story, the white snake is called Bai Suzhen (白素貞) or simply known as "White Lady" or "White Maiden". She originally travelled down to earth with her sister Green Snake or Xiaoqing(小青). She then later met the young man who's called Xuxian(許仙) in Hangzhou broken bridge. On their first meeting, Xuxian lent Bai Suzhen his umbrella because it was raining. Which explains why in this artwork, the girl is holding an umbrella. We can also see that the girl is looking at the snake with an adoring look which shows that she is truly in love.
IDEA EXPLORATION:
The Weaver Girl and The Cowherd
In Chinese mythical traditions, the status quo generally denounces ‘intergalactical’ relationships, and those who tamper with such rules suffer great punishments – often not death itself, but lifelong separation. This is the tale of the weaver girl and the cowherd. The former was an immortal fairy who descended to earth for a rendezvous, fell in love and even started a family with a humble cowherd. Torn between celestial and earthly existences, she was eventually summoned home with permission to see her husband and two children only once every year, over a bridge of magpies. Their reunion is marked on the seventh day of the seventh month in the lunisolar calendar, also known as the ‘Chinese Valentine’s Day’. The weaver girl and the cowherd are symbolized by the two brightest stars in the Summer Triangle, Vega and Altair, which can be observed on a clear night in the northern hemisphere around this time of the year.
Chang'e The Moon Goddess
Long time ago, 9 suns scorched the Earth and burnt famers' crops. Houyi, an archer, was sent by the villagers to shoot them out of the sky. After he did his honor to protect the village, Hou Yi was rewarded the Elixir of Life by the gods. Hou Yi met Chang'e and quickly fell in love with her. He went to the gods and asked them for an Elixir of Immortality so that he could be forever together with Chang'e. The couple planned on drinking the elixir on the 15th of August while the moon was full (when the Mid - Autumn Festival is held today). A jealous man, Feng Meng, overheard their plan and tried to steal the elixir for himself. When Chang'e found out that Feng Meng had tried to steal the elixir, she had drunk the bottle by herself and was sent to the moon as an immortal deity, thus becoming the goddess of the moon. After realizing that Chang' e was gone, Hou Yi would offer food every year on the August 15, to honor his wife.
Butterfly Lovers
The story is set in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
A young woman named Zhu Yingtai from Shangyu, Zhejiang, disguises herself as a man traveling to Hangzhou to study. During her journey, she meets and joins Liang Shanbo, a companion schoolmate from Kuaiji in the same province. They study together for three years, during which their relationship strengthens. When the two part, Zhu offers to arrange for Liang to marry her 16 year-old fictitious sister. When Liang travels to Zhu's home, he discovers her true gender. Although they are devoted and passionate about each other at that point, Zhu is already engaged with Ma Wencai, a man her parents had arranged for her to be married to. Depressed, Liang dies in office as a county magistrate. On the day Zhu is to be married to Ma, whirlwinds prevent the wedding procession from escorting Zhu beyond Liang's tomb. Zhu leaves the procession to pay her respects for Liang. Liang's tomb splits apart, and Zhu dives into it to join him. A pair of butterflies emerges from the tomb and flies away.
After searching through several Chinese Legends, I decided that I will make an artwork that is inspired by Butterfly Lovers.
Since this is the last project and the most impactful one for me, I decided that I'm going to make it look a little bit different.
Since Butterfly Lovers is a romance story, there is one thing that I would like to express, which is my support towards lgbtq. I decided that I would change the couple from the Chinese Legends into lesbian to show my support.
After I decided on what I wanted to make looked through references in Pinterest regarding lesbian couples. Here are few reference that I found:
I found the extremely beautiful. All of these artwork has their own theme and elements yet all of them are very much pleasing to the eye.
After that, I decided that I wanted to highlight the part where Zhu jumped in to Liang's tomb joining her loved ones. However, instead of diving to death, I wanted to emphasize their love by showing Zhu diving down with a smile and loving eyes coming towards Liang to reach eternal love. In this part, I wanted to make Liang looked surprised as he didn't expect that Zhu will go this far for the sake of their love.
I found this artwork in Pinterest which hugely inspired me:
I decided that I want to make it in this perspective with Zhu reaching out for Liang who is still stuck in his sorrow. But, I'm going to make two girls instead.
Here is the first sketch that I made.
I asked Mr. Charles opinion and apparently he mentioned that this might not appear very impactful since they don't look like they are in love. They look more like they care towards each other. Mr. Charles also gave me reference that shows more intimacy. Here is what he explained to me:
So I tried to adjust my sketch and make them closer.
However, it still didn't work and I can still see that it lacks intimacy. Mr. Charles said that I still need to increase the sense of proximity. So I tried to come up with a new perspective and tried to make them more touchy. I learnt that they need a bit more skin ship in order to emphasize the feeling of romance. So here is the new idea that I came up with:
I tried to make them touching each others face. Instead of making the bottom girl's eyes closed, I tried to make her look more surprised, moved, and caring, while the other girl I tried to make her look at the bottom girl in a more loving way.
Mr. Charles said that this is a lot better as it is a better use of space. So I made the whole sketch:
After that, Mr. Charles mentioned that I need to be careful with the coloring. He said that it is better to make 2 versions which are the colored one and the duotone one.
I tried to look for so many color references and managed to came up with 3 versions at first.
The color picking was truly challenging for me because I was having such a hard time trying to find the right color that would emphasize the romance. Here are the 3 colors that I found, and majority of them chose the last one. Personally, I prefer the last one as well, the tone is more warm yet I can still sense the fantasy just like how I wanted it to be.
 |
 |
| FINAL RESULT "Eternal Love" |
"Eternal Love" PDF
Brief Explanation
This art is a story of two girls who are deeply in love with each other. Despite uniqueness and their surroundings disapproval, they still managed to hold tight with each other to maintain their love. Someone stated that they are impossible by matched one girl with someone else by force until the other died because of her deep sorrow. However, the other girl wouldn't let their love end there by joining her death. Here she was diving down reaching towards the sad girl. Later on, she was full of surprised when she found out that her loved one was willing to go that far for the sake of their love. They both finally reunited, flying together towards freedom like two butterflies chasing for their everlasting love.
FEEDBACK
Mr. Charles mentioned that in the first sketch, they don't show the love. There are too much space and I need to increase the sense of proximity to show more intimacy. Later on I changed the sketch and Mr. Charles mentioned that it looked so much better. The tricky part is the coloring, he asked me to be careful with the coloring because skin tone, linework, lighting, detail and texture are all very important. To make it safe, Mr. Charles asked me to make 2 version which are the colored version and the duotone version.
REFLECTION
Experience: Personally for me, this project is both fun and challenging. At first I had a hard time deciding on what kind of artwork I would make. Time seemed like it flew so fast and I was having a hard time creating a nice artwork in a very brief period of time. So I needed to draw and decide wisely on how I would want it to be created. However in the end, I managed to finish it. I admit I could have done better with a better time management, which I still need to improve at this point. Mr. Charles has also been very helpful on providing me feedback which I'm really grateful of.
Observation: The important thing here is that we need to be very focused and precise on writing the visual analysis. It would be so much better to be able to provide every information. The visual analysis is also very important because it made me learn on how to tell people about an artwork with just letters. We could also notice the emotional impact poured in the artwork by doing visual analysis.
Finding: I found that doing visual analysis is really important because it teaches us how to communicate with a visual artwork. By doing visual analysis, it assists the student because we learnt to analyze our own work which helps us in improving our way of expressing the emotion we are trying to tell.
1.jpeg)
Comments
Post a Comment