Movement & Implied Motion

Credit to: http://www.visionmagazine.com/archives/0709/artistofthemonth.html

This design is by one of my favorite artists, New York based Justin Bua. It depicts a breakdancing scene during the 80's when Hip Hop was at its prime. This image is great because it emphasizes motion on many levels. The focal point that draws you in is the breakdancer in the center. His legs are not actually moving but the artist does a great job of portraying motion through scale and detailing. The people near the foreground of the image also have a sense of motion by the way their bodies curve out and upwards, almost dodging out the dancer. Looking down the vanishing point there is a crowd of viewers visible. Many of these characters don't look stagnant, they seem as if they are all an active part of the scene and are reacting to the flashy dance skills. The buildings in the background were also intentionally designed to portray movement, almost as if they are right there dancing to the beat of the boombox that plays on the street.

Credit to: http://iproduceart.com/lebron-nike-zoom-concept/

This design is a concept for the Lebron James Nike Sneaker. Nike is an athletic brand that promotes many designs that showcase movement, because their product of course is based around fitness. The logo itself is a check mark (or swoosh) that is, at its basic level, a motion graphic. With that being said, there is an extreme amount of movement present within this design. Without even looking closely at the details, the overall shape looks like something between an explosion and dropping a heavy object in a pool of water to see the splash. Taking a closer look, some of the implied motions are more apparent. For example, the splash of color coming from the top of the shoe on both the right and the left side of the design suggest outward motion. The sharp, blade-like design in the background also gives an implied motion that the shoe is almost gliding down through the canvas. All these elements along with the cracking lined texture of the background make this piece successful in the implied motion of the design.

Tone and Color

How Tone is Operating

In this infographic image, the overall tone is noticeably blue. There are generally muted tones at play here but the image does a nice job of creating tonal hierarchy with the bar graphs and circle graphs. Since the overall tone is a light blue, the designer makes sure he doesn't use lighter colors for text, instead he contrasts it with darker tones of blue to allow readers an easier experience.

How Tone is Interacting

Each object in this image is differentiated with the use of tone. Tone has a definitive relationship with shape in the illustration as each shape is only one tone and it tells the mind, "if this is a different tone it must mean something different." This is evident with the bar graph that displays The Causes of Major Oil Spills and the circle graph that displays The Volume of Oil Spills per Decade. As the numbers and percentages increase, the graph is given a darker tonal value.

 How Color is Operating

Colors in this image are simply blue, orange, white, and black. Color is being used as a indicator of information. There is a sense of hierarchy though. Most of the small text (descriptors) are written in a more vibrant blue than the background. Black is used as headers for the different sections, and white is used as a labeler for the numbers given on the top portion of the infographic. It appears to be an intentional placement by the designer.

How Color is Interacting

Color is also interacting with shape in this model because color is used to represent the vectored images in the data along with the map of the world in the top portion. Color is also being used to grab attention from the viewers with the one splash of orange that yells, "Look here! If there's one thing I want you to take away from this article its this!!" This is very intentional because the designer knows that he only has a few seconds to attract attention of the average user and uses it on the most valuable information in the illustration.

Basic Elements found in Infographics

COLOR

This is an infographic that discusses the idea of color in common corporate logos and their potential symbolism to society. Each color has a certain emotion to it, blue symbolizes strength and trust, while yellow suggests optimism and warmth. The design itself is very simple in color tones, but looking at each of the logos one can identify the different tints and shades that the individual companies incorporate. Intentional differentiating of products can be seen with the bright playful orange being used by Fanta and the bold classic red in Coca-Cola, this usually falls on the shoulders of the designers as they look to create an appeal for audiences. 

LINE

There is a clear expression of lines throughout this infographic of how to pair up certain foods with the right wine. The lines connect and establish key relationships between the top selection and the bottom selection, they lead the eyes to make the experience more intuitive and give viewers choices as to where they want to go with the information. The pathways give the idea of "if this, then that" and each line is color-coded which makes it easy to follow and identify specific connections.  

SCALE

This infographic cleanly represents the data for research that was found on carbon dioxide emissions around the world. The three elements that are easily noticeable in this depiction are color, shape, and scale. The color arranges the data into more recognizable sections while the shape of circles create a consistency among the data. Scale is probably one of the most important aspects of this model because it is what the data is being represented as. The larger the circle the greater the CO2 emissions, and that's something the viewer can easily tell without really having to read the information within the circles or in the legend. It makes the data intuitive and simple to comprehend. I know, without having to search the entire graph that China has the greatest carbon dioxide emission followed closely by the USA. This sort of visualization through scale makes a more effective and engaging design for readers of all interests.

Visual Thinking Puzzles

The challenge for this puzzle was to find how many hidden triangles were within the pentagon. This first puzzle was done by my dad and he counted 20. The method he came up with 20 was by starting small with the singular triangles and progressively counting up to the larger ones. This type of visual thinking can be identified as pattern-seeking, or finding, constructing up each triangular shape.

For my version I followed the same method of starting from the smallest and finding larger shapes from there. When I did my puzzle I found there were 28 shapes, which my dad went back and found more of them. It turned out there were 35 shapes total but our methodology was in line with the solution given. I also used visual thinking through pattern seeking and finding.  

This puzzle was very challenging as it asked to navigate the person to their respective houses without crossing the path of the others. This is the one that my dad did, we were both working in pen which probably wasn't the best idea because we couldn't erase but it just made finding the answer more challenging. My dad used inductive reasoning to find out that all boxes must be used and that none of the lines can be straight. The answer to the puzzle was found using visual reasoning and spacial analogy.

This is the version of the puzzle that I completed. I mentally had to go through each of the different pathways and I would ponder, using visual reasoning, whether or not the path that I was drawing would be blocking another path. I definitely did not figure it out on the first, second, or even third try but I used deductive reasoning to figure out which alignment would allow the right passage for each of the lines.

Top-Down Design (Simpsons Editions)

This here is a photo of the main characters on the hit show The Simpsons. In the context of Visual Design Literacy, it is also a great example of top-down design. There is a great amount of detail going on in this picture; Snowball the Cat has a tutu on, Patty & Selma are smoking,Bumble Bee Man looks worried, while Chief Wiggums is content with his donut. That being said, the eyes see a big blurb at first while the mind has to catch up and process all the information in the scene. This is called deductive analysis; the picture only makes sense when the individual parts are identified by their unique stories. How else would we know that Martin is getting an atomic wedgie? Top-down design wins again.

Design that Encompasses Representational, Abstraction, and Symbolism

This amazing clock was designed by London artists
Will Aspinall and Neil Lambeth, (http://thespiralclock.com/)

Representational

- It is a representational form of a clock people are able to recognize this by the overall shape
- The viewer is able to tell time in an interesting fashion
- The representation of the clock is tied into the abstraction piece because it is a way of looking at time that is unconventional. The representation works together with the symbolism of the numbers and the maze-like structure to create a compelling yet familiar product.

Abstract

- The abstraction is really what makes this clock visually compelling. I have never seen a clock that used a maze as a way of telling time. It sort of reminds me of sundials but in a more new age fashion.
-I think its a great way of drawing viewers in. I was curious as to how it would reset back to twelve which is actually pretty fascinating since the ball drops back down after it reaches 11:59. Great design.
- The abstraction makes the representation of time more compelling I would say. It gives it a new meaning while still being consistent in symbolizing what many would recognize as the functions of a clock.

Symbolic

- The clock is a symbol of time and the way it which it slowly keeps moving.
- For the viewers I believe it say that time keeping can still be done in unconventional ways yet be recognizable through the symbols of the twelve numbers around a circle. When I see numbers 1-12 (or intervals) I automatically think "time" due to cultural references.
- The symbolism of time is prevalent throughout the entire design. It is represented by having the traditional timekeeping functions of the clock and abstracted through the ball and maze.

Meanings in Representation, Abstraction and Symbolism

Representation

This is a representation of the Dark Knight himself. It is an easily discernible representation as it showcases the hero in his well-known black and grey bat suit. He is standing over Gotham City, the urban area he has sworn to protect. This image is a clear depiction of Batman that viewers are able to recognize instantly. Any better representation, you'd hear the Joker's signature laugh in the background.

Abstraction

This is an abstract representation of Flash. Flash is known in the superhero world as the fastest man on the planet and this image is a reduction from the detail of a representation. It just gives the pure essence of Flash. In the abstraction, it focuses on Flash's legs and the speed-trail colorfully flying behind him. The piece focuses on color, shape and direction. It does a great job of giving a sense of movement and purpose.

Symbolism

This is a symbol for one of the greatest superhero's of all time; Superman. It is also known as one of the most world famous symbols. The symbol visualizes an S in a shield to bring symbolism to the Man of Steel. The colors are typically seen as a gold and crimson red and the overall symbol remains very simple even throughout its years of evolution. There is no discerning this symbol from Superman, as it has become a well-solidified pop culture reference. The "Super S" is linked to our memory of who he is, as the hero of Metropolis.