Abstract Geometric Perspective: Concept

Concept: Violin

Design Principles 
-Proportion: Bottom significantly larger than top
-Balance: Symmetrical instrument (other than chin rest)
-Unity: Curves and material tie instrument together
-Emphasis: Curved body of the instrument
-Rhythm: Alternating strings, repeating curves

Design Elements
-Space: Hollow inside, holes are negative space
-Line: Vertical line of strings, curved line of wood
-Texture: Smooth wood grain, strings, bow hair
-Value/Contrast: Dark color, contrast of strings against neck of instrument
-Color: Reddish brown, black
-Shape: Oval shape with concave indentions
-Form: Curved body, straight neck

Weatherspoon Diagrams

Documenting the experience of a visit to the Weatherspoon Art Museum is important to understanding how we move about the space. This began with a written narrative of the travel sequence of a typical visitor in the museum. 

With a sequence established, I could then represent the experience in diagram form...

 I created a circulation diagram that illustrates the sequence of movement the student makes while going to a certain gallery in Weatherspoon. The size of the circles reflects the scale of the space and therefore the feeling of openness one experiences while circulating through the space.

In my first diagram, I used arrows to show the direction of travel through the museum, the green arrows showing the path toward the main activity (viewing the gallery) and the orange arrows showing the path away from the main activity.

In my second diagram, I used the same method to document the circulation experience but annotated the diagram with Rengel's facets of a circulation system.

In my third attempt, I further clarified the diagram by adding a title and labeling the main spaces of the museum. In this diagram, I showed the circulation path in a more true, organic form in which one would travel in the space. 

In this revision, I used the same method as in diagram 3, but color coded the circulation experience into an entering path, a path for main activities, and a departure path. 

In my final diagram, I refined the line quality and also used rectangles to illustrate connector spaces.

Thumbnail sketches further illustrate the experience of a visit to Weatherspoon.

Name Tag Design [Kate Ewen]

For Kate's name tag, she asked for a clean and simple lines, muted colors, and a uniform look in the letters of her name. In my first draft, I decided to create a modern design that I believed represented Kate as a designer. I experimented with a gradient look using a muted blue prismacolor marker, and used dark purple for the lettering and lines, since that was one of the colors that Kate liked.

In my revision, I decided that gray letters would complement the soft blue tone more so than white. The gray marker on top of the blue marker created a unique white-out effect that made the overall design look more interesting.

The principles and elements of design are also present in the name tag.  It has a sense of proportion-- all of the letters are the same size and take up almost half of the overall name tag, which is substantial and creates a unified look. All of the letters are spaced evenly apart, spanning across the length of the tag which contributes to the balance of the design. The lightness at the top of the name tag also balances with the light color of the letters at the bottom. The fact that all of the letters are the same size and are spaced evenly also contributes to the principle of rhythm. Each letter creates an equal "beat" across the name tag.  A happy accident that took place when I used the gray marker on top of the blue was the play of positive and negative space, the letters being negative and the solid lines of the blue floating on top of the name. This design takes advantage of a straight horizontal line that is continuous across the name tag.  I considered the constrictions of a header on blogger in the shape of the name tag. I wanted the form to be simple and easy to scan and display. Since Kate wanted muted colors, I decided on this cool blue tone that would play well with a soft grey. Texture is evident in this design through the soft, watery blending of the marker.  Finally, I played with value and contrast in the gradient pattern, moving from darker and heavier at the bottom to lighter at the top.