In this very first class project we were given the task to create abstract compositions that communicate the ideas of power and fragility. The first part was to discover the line element, we doodled lines but limited to the lines of a square, triangle, and circle. So it was three pages total; square lines (horizontal/vertical), triangle lines (diagonal), and circle lines (arcs). Also this part included the prompt of the project which is the words fragility and power. We listed what came to mind when we thought about these words. Second part was to develop these ideas visually with line designs and the use of size and thickness. Third part was to define, we would choose only four designs out of all (2 for power and 2 for fragility) and create two more variations each. Final step was to deliver. We ended up choosing either for the variations or the originals the best and that would be our final designs.
Personally I liked and enjoyed this project. I don’t think I ever did an abstract composition and it is interesting how the combination of lines (limited to horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and arcs) can represent something. Also I think it was a good project to start with because you can actually see how big difference thickness makes in a visual work. Working with thin and thick lines create that contrast and can give that mood/feeling to the piece to represent what you want. There were things that actually I had never really thought about like where the design is coming or starting from in the frame and that is something you can apply to the variations to experiment how it changes the design mood.
I looked at my classmates work and commented to one of them saying I liked how simple she kept it and still being able to represent the words she chose. Of course keeping it simple doesn’t mean easy because you have to find the way to give it meaning. In this case with the line density, size, and direction. I guess that is why we had these limitations of using only lines and adding these characteristics. So I see this project as learning how these ”little” things matter a lot and make a big difference in design.
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