Author Archives: Tiffany Lo

ADV1100 – D106, Graphic Design Principles I

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tiffany lo final project

Final Project

On the first day of class, I learned many vocabulary words and terms of design such as focal point, perspective, Bauhaus and temperature of colors. I did not expect to learn that much in one day. I expected to draw basic and simple things on the first day of class and just go through the syllabus. After the first session, I started paying more attention to the advertisements on the street especially the focal point, the temperature of the colors and understood the idea of Bauhaus.
It is interesting to know about Nicolaou’s “Left To Right Theory”. Although the measurement of the margins and shape are symmetrical, we tend to think the left margin is slightly larger than the right margin because we read from left to right and this creates an illusion. If the drawing is too small, the white space takes over the drawing/ shape; if it is too large, it loses the focal point. Also if the work is a vertical rectangular shape where the top margin should be a little less, because if the sides and top margins were the same measurement, it would still not seem symmetrical. The rectangle creates illusion and the top margin seems larger than it is. On the black and white unit, the measurement of the margins and the size of the shape have to create symmetry/ balance. At first, I could not determine how to improve on my draughtsmanship and I started to experiment by drawing different sizes and margins to determine which ones work best and paying more attention to other students’ work during the critique.
Gouache was difficult at first because it dried quickly and the amount of water I used changed the tone completely. I kept adding water every time when it dried up, so the tone was changed and the draughtsmanship did not work very well. Also, when I placed the tape between the two squares to separate the two tones of colors, the paint tended to come off and made the color not even. The tape is to be pressed hard enough or else the color is going to leak through the other side of the tone, yet the tape cannot be too pressured because when I take off the tape at the end, it might rip the paper off.
Throughout this course, my eyes have became more sensitive on designs of the advertisements based on the perspective, focal point, use of colors, symmetrical balance and Bauhaus. I started critiquing the advertisements on the street to see if they worked and what they can improve on. Based on many advertisements I’ve seen so far the theory of “less is more” tends always to work better.