Class Info

This Week’s has been outlined in detail to give a clear vision of the overall course. 

Course Goals: Introduce the field of graphic design including its basic working methods and theory. This class will focus on communication through form, the visible shape or configuration.

Critique

Lecture

It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world;
we explain that world with words, but words can never undo the fact that we are surrounded by it. The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled. 

John Berger, Ways of Seeing 

Design Fundamentals

how we see: visual perception

gestalt principles of design: 

• • • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk7cXdjX2Ys

• • • negative space logo letter begin 1 min; illustrator tips: 5:00; letter and symbol: 7:05

In music, are the separations between notes less important than the notes themselves? Malcolm Grear

A figure (form) is always seen in relation to what surrounds it (background)—letters to a page, a building to its site, or a sculpture to the space around it.

A black shape on a black field is not visible; without separation and contrast, form disappears.

The ability to create and evaluate effective figure/ground tension is an essential skill for graphic designers.

Train your eye to carve out white space as you compose with forms.

Learn to massage the positive and negative areas as you adjust the scale of images and typography. Even subtle ambiguity can invigorate the end result and shift its direction and impact.

design details: Papyrus

Review: sketches

figure/ground icon

Create an icon from a “recognizable” object

The form of an object is not more important than the form of the space surrounding it All things exist in interaction with other things.

Use a “recognizable” object

• • Icons should quickly communicate an object, idea, or action.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

figure ground icon

Video: negative space logo design

rubric for final icon

 

 

Homework

Due: 10/7; 8:30 am on Miro

goal: figure ground icon

To Do

1. 1. create your icon in illustrator.
   2. upload letterform for grading

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 1 Create your icon in illustrator

Sketch and create that version in illustrator Criteria

5 inch square surrounded by a 1 point black rule

The object and negative space must be the opposite color of the letter.

Work with large shapes – do NOT use LINE

Carve an icon out of your letterform
Make sure you are not turning the letter into an illustration

Post your sketch and illustrator icon to Miro

 

Resources:

 

 

 

 

 

Use negative space in logo design; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzvJWWLTuEM

 

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2   Finalize: your letterform

Save your final as a jpg, correctly name it, and upload to the Google Drive

Finalize letterform checklist:

• • • • • square format?
        • does the design use shape or line?
        • does it have an equal amount of black and white?
        • does it demonstrate a figure-ground principle? (does the eye shift back and forth between

Process:

1 Create a negative and a positive version. (both versions are 5 inch squares)

(the negative version is exactly the same as the positive, except that it uses the opposite color)

• • • What was black will be white, what was white will be black.
    • The positive and negative versions MUST be exactly alike except it reverses color

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.  In illustrator, create a 7 x13″ rectangle filled with 50% black

Place both  5 inch square versions on the grey background

Position with a 1 inch border on all sides and 1 inch between squares (see diagram below)

Save as a layered pdf, (in case you want to make changes later)

3 Save as a png

Name your file

“comd1200_f24_letterform_first name last name”

example: comd1200_f24_letterform_alex smith

4 Upload your correctly named jpg to the Google Drive

 

example:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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