Design Principles: Final Compilation & Reflection
6/2/2024 - 21/3/2024 (Week 1 - Week 7)
Lim Yu Xuen / 0359676
Design Principles / Bachelors of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Design Principles Final Compilation & Reflection
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUBMISSIONS
Project 1: Exploration
6/2/2024 - 22/2/2024 (Week 1 - Week 3 )
UNSDG GOALS & ARTWORK
Among all 17 United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), I
have decided on goal number 16, which is also known as Peace, Justice
and Strong Institutions.
Brief Description of Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong
Institutions):
Reducing violence, combating crime and corruption, and promoting
transparent governance should be tackled as these issues has been
overtaking the world. UNSDG Goal 16, "Peace, Justice, and Strong
Institutions" aims to build peaceful and inclusive societies with access
to justice for all accountable institutions. United Nations has been
actively promoting Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions as many people
are more educated with the current topic. By working towards Goal 16, it
is crucial for sustainable development, as it encourages trust,
cooperation, equality, and well-being for all individuals and
communities around the world.
Artwork chosen representing Peace, Justice and Strong
Institutions:
Figure 4.1 "World Conversation" by Alex Nabaum, 2016
Title of Artwork: "World Conversation"
Designer's name: Alex Nabaum
Year: 2016
Medium: Illustration, Editorial, Magazine
The reason why I chose this artwork is because this piece met the
visual representations of Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.
From what I have read, it is known that this artwork was created to
promote peace by getting people to listen to each other.
The artwork depicts understanding among differences. Muted colours of orange and teal evokes a feeling of calmness, serenity and balance. The chat bubble icons around the main symbol is to subliminally send contextual interpretation that understanding each other through communication can help settle differences. While the concept of peace, justice and strong institutions is shown in the centre which is also the focal point of the design. The earth symbol with two identical faces represents an inclusive society where differences such as races, gender, and class are overridden and everyone is treated as equal counterparts.
Design Principles Used in "World Conversation" by Alex Nabaum:
- Contrast
- Emphasis
- Balance
- Repetition
- Symbols
- Harmony & Unity
Project 2: Visual Analysis
21/2/2024 - 8/3/2024 (Week 3 - Week 5 )
Phase 1: Observation (102 words)
This piece of artwork is designed in a portrait format and it's medium
is an illustrated editorial and magazine. The background of this artwork
is in a bold black colour, emphasising the symbols that carries the
message of Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. The dominant colours
observed are Brown, Teal, and Beige. The centre, which is the focal
point of the design shows an earth symbol with two identical faces
angled towards one another. Surrounding the portrait are chat bubble
icons in various sizes, and in the 3 dominant colours. Overall the
arrangement of the elements follow a well-balanced and symmetrical
layout.
Phase 2: Analysis (164 words)
The design is asymmetrical, the smaller visual elements
(chat bubble icons) are balanced by a larger visual
element (earth symbol with faces) in the focal point of the artwork,
which is placed in the middle. Muted colours of brown and teal tones are
used to create a contrast, while
putting emphasis to the focal point of the artwork as
well. By using larger icons in the center, the proportion of the
image is made so that our eyes will focus in the center first. This
allows the image to pull the attention of the audience to the focal
point where the earth symbol with faces represents the
freedom of expression where individuals from all around the world are
allowed to uphold their individual
rights. Repetitive shapes of chat bubble icons were
used from the bottom to the top of the design. There
is unity in the overall composition as the visual
elements are arranged to feel like a whole, which follows the specific
theme.
Phase 3: Interpretation (122 words)
This piece of artwork was created in September 27, 2016 by Alex Nabaum
for the Penn Stater Magazine, to celebrate the University’s new “world
in Conversation Center,” that aims to ask people to listen to each other
to promote peace. The art style used is a form of abstraction which
focuses on letting the viewer interpret based on their own ideas and
perception. As this artwork focuses on peace and equality, the art
style uses minimalist design to convey the meaning of simplicity where
everyone is equal even though they come from different parts of the
world. This type of art style also promotes the use of more
abstract icons to let the viewer perceive the artwork based on their own
perception.
Project 3: Design
8/3/2024 - 21/3/2024 (Week 5 - Week 7)
To clearly organise the "behind-the-scenes" and design work of my
artwork, I have prepared a presentation slide that includes the
required information stated in the Task 3 brief. It includes: Visual
references, sketches, progression layers, and rationale with
explanations of design principles that can be applied to my
final artwork.
Presentation Slide:
Figure 1.1 Presentation Slides
Rationale:
“Hand in hand, teach peace” is the artwork I have made to serve a purpose of invoking the idea of peace around the world. In this design, I have chosen to use a globe hand as a symbol of “giving your hand” to tell the audience to cooperate and help each other regardless of their origin. Furthermore, the dove shaped thumb on the hand is to convey the meaning of freedom where people are free from all forms of injustice.
The use of contrasting colours in the artwork is also used to create a sense of variety which symbolises the difference among people while cool colours are used to create a feeling of peace and balance within the chaotic nature and contrasting differences of people. Besides that, the globe hand being placed in the middle is to get the attention of the audience and spread the core message of the artwork. Thus, the main message of the artwork - “Make the world a better place by teaching and sharing peace around the world” can be effectively sent to the audience through these elements that are strategically placed which aligns with the UNSDG Goal of achieving peace, justice, and strong institutions.
Final Artwork (JPG):
Figure 1.2 "Hand in hand, Teach Peace". by Lim Yu Xuen.
Title of Artwork: "Hand in hand, Teach Peace"
Designer's name: Lim Yu Xuen
Year: 2024
Medium: Digital Illustration, Print, Poster
PDF COMPILATION OF ALL BLOG POSTS
This PDF includes:
- Project 1
- Project 2
- Project 3
- Final Compilation & Reflection
Figure 2.1 PDF Compilation of All Blog Posts
REFLECTION
1. What have I learnt from this module?
In this module, I have learnt that design principles can be applied
anywhere and everywhere in life. It is important that I understand all the
design principles and how they impact the creation of design artworks. At
first, I thought a designer can dive into creating an artwork from scratch,
but turns out I have learnt that the first step is to analyse and apply
design principles into our designs, so that it enhances what we originally
have. Now, I am aware about utilising these design principles in my future
artworks. In Task 1, I have learnt about design principles and dived in
deeper into every one of them. Learning about these design principles helped
me improved my artworks, and guided me to think out of the box to create
designs that are effective and in quality. Through Task 2, I used my
knowledge about design principles and analysed different artworks on the
Internet. I got to further understand the use of design principles and
strengthen my knowledge about it. Besides that, I was exposed to UNSDG Goals
and discovered many meaningful artworks that conveys these wonderful
messages. Lastly, in task 3, I was able to apply the knowledge and
understanding of design principles into the design work I was doing. I think
it really improved my process of designing, and reminded me to be more
thoughtful when designing an artwork.
2. What did I enjoy the most?
I enjoyed the process of analysing artworks by other creators and applying
the knowledge I have regarding design principles. It was a rewarding journey
as I got to learn, understand, and apply my knowledge for each task given.
My favourite task was Task 2: Visual Analysis, as I had the chance and
motivation to look through artworks designed by many talented people, and
that really opened up my mind and sparked the interest of design in me even
more. Because the task was related to UNSDG goals, I got to do research
about these goals and read through many inspiring stories and design works
which was very meaningful.
3. What did I not enjoy the most?
For task 3, there was a lot of steps to go through in order to complete
this task. The timeframe given to complete this task, was the same as the
other 2 projects. But compared to the project 1 & 2, I think task 3 took
the longest time to complete. It was obvious that the given timeframe was
not enough for me, I was not really proud of my final artwork as I think I
could have done better. The submission week for this last task was close to
the other module I was sitting for, and that really affected my time to
complete all my work, as it was hard to balance both heavy
tasks.
4. What have I learnt about myself through this module?
I learnt that I like to look through artworks created by other designers
around the world, as it sparks an interest in me. Looking at all the
pretty designs, I was motivated to create my own unique piece of artwork
too. But there is a downside to looking at reference images as it limits my
imagination and creativity, since I have been relying on them too much. I
would want to further improve my creativity and reducing the amount of
times I look for inspiration online. I also learnt that being organised and
able to convey in detail is my strength. I loved organising my blog posts
and learning new details such as hyperlinks to be added to my blog. Besides
that, I also created a presentation slide to explain my tasks clearly for
the last task.
5. What has changed and what has not in my learning journey?
Compared to my previous semester, I was able to keep on track with my
progressions, and receive feedback from Dr Yip. Besides that, I learnt to
organise my blog neatly and be able to complete my blog before the given
deadline. From the day I learnt about design principles, I apply this
knowledge to my daily life and view design works in a different perspective.
What did not change was that I still have struggles with updating my blog before the next class, I still have to work on
this and be more disciplined.
6. What could be improved in this module?
I learnt a lot throughout the learning progress, I really like how the
tasks are all related to one another. I think it is important to do
additional research to improve our understanding of design principles
rather than relying on the given materials by lecturers, as it limited.
Most students focused on digital artworks for the given tasks, but I think
everyone should take a look and observe the artworks around us physically.
This will definitely improve our observation skills and further
understanding about design principles.
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