Today's assignment for the visual journalism class was to make an image that features hands. I made this picture of our family holding hands to illustrate the assignment. Typically, I would focus in on hands to capture feeling, but this time I was interested in stretching myself a bit more conceptually. I think it works. I really love images that feature hands because they can be so expressive. As an exercise, the hands assignment helps us to concentrate on observing the details in life -- it can slow us down a bit and teach us to really see.
Frederick Franck is an artist who has spent much of his life learning to see.
According to Franck, “We have become addicted to merely looking-at things and beings. The more we regress from seeing to looking-at the world—through the ever-more-perfected machinery of viewfinders, TV tubes, VCRs, microscopes, stereoscopes—the less we see, the more numbed we become to the joy and the pain of being alive, and the further estranged we become from ourselves and all others.”
There's a nice article online about Franck's work, "The meaning of life is to see: Pacem in Terris" by Krista Grom.
With regard to seeing, I think there are some underestimated forces at work in the visual process that we often take for granted. I'll outline them here and discuss them as time permits.
Major design principles: porportion, balance, harmony, unity, contrast, rhythm, perspective, and color.
Proportion:
Proportion essentially refers to the spatial relationship between visual elements on a page.
1. The dominant design dimension throughout history.
2. Rectangular shapes
3. Refers to a proportional relationship
4. Equal to ratio of .616 to 1.0 so that if an area is 5 inches wide it would be proportional to 3.09 inches deep.
5. Standardized paper sizes are based on the rule of the thirds otherwise called the golden section.
6. Unequal margins are more interesting than square and equal margins.
Optical Center refers to a spot the eye is drawn to on a printed page, which is slightly above the mathematical center. The optical center is an orientation point on the page.
Design layouts should take the optical center into consideration rather than aligning things to “dead center.” Applying the optical center to design contributes to BALANCE.
Balance:
1. Makes objects appear stable, secure and proper
2. Formal and Informal Balance or Symmetry and Asymmetry in design.
3. Formal balance appears reserved and dignified in the transmission of a visual message.
4. Informal balance is slightly less stiff and more dynamic.
5. Balance in design is achieved through controlling the size, tone, and placement of elements on a page.
Unity:
1. Simplicity eliminates distractions
2. Produces a natural flow and rhythm in the design
3. Unity holds a design together and creates order.
4. Designs with unity have a center of interest
5. Unity relies on the proximity or closeness of visual elements to maintain order.
6. Using a border around a design may contribute to unity by enclosing the elements.
7. Minimize the number of types as well as the number of shapes and sizes of art.
8. Unity can be created through the THREE-POINT Layout method or the concept of threes which tend to be unified.
9. Consistency in the use of tone, shape and size also contributes to unity.
Contrast:
1. Variety in tone of visual elements
2. Variety in Shape of visual elements
3. Variety in Size of visual elements
4. Contrast adds emphasis to the message
5. Contrast relieves monotony and makes the design more interesting.
Perspective:
1. Psychological closure to the way our minds complete a picture.
2. Produces the illusion of depth or three dimensionality in a picture.
Color:
1. Color affects feelings, emotions, and shapes human behavior.
2. Color is produced by various wavelengths and combinations of wavelengths of light reflecting off the surface of objects.
3. Each color has a different wavelength.
White reflects back the most amount of light falling on an object, while black reflect the least amount.
4. Light can be described as a narrow band of energy from the electromagnetic spectrum. When these bands of energy enter the eye, nerve cells convert the electromagnetic energy in electrochemical signals that are coded and decoded in the central nervous system.