id4230 vcd group c - the visualisers assignment 1

8/7/2019 ID4230 VCD Group C - The Visualisers Assignment 1

1/24

VisualCommunicationDesignAssignment1

StijnJanmaat-1272659

JorisvanKruijssen-1312790

LisavanMastbergen-1329707

LarissaPlink-

TheVisualisers.wordpress.com


2/24

Content

Chapter1PaintingC-3

Chapter1PosterD-4

Chapter2PaintingA-5

Chapter2PictureD-6

Chapter3PictureD-8

Chapter3PosterB-9

Chapter4PictureD-11

Chapter4PosterB-12

Chapter5PaintingA-14

Chapter5PaintingC-15

Chapter7PaintingA-17

Chapter7PaintingC-18


3/24

Chapter1PaintingCMadonnaoftheHarpiesMadonnadelleArpieis

paintedin1517bya

Florentinepainternamed

AndreadelSarto.

Whenlookingatthis

paintingyoustartwith

lookingatfeatures,the

featuresstartbuilding

patternsandthepatterns

arebeingprocessedinthe

visualworkingmemory.Thisprocessiscalled

bottomup:the

informationdrivespattern

finding.

Atthesametimeyour

mindisprocessingwhatit

isseeing,theobjectsthat

aremostrelevantareheld

inthevisualworkingarea,andyourmindstarts

lookingfornewpatternsandfeatures.Thisiscalledtopdown:attentionprocesses

reinforcerelevantinformation.

Whenyoulookatthepaintingyoufirstseethecolours,thenyourmindmakesa

formoutofthat,whichisthepattern,andwhenitisheldinyourvisualworking

memoryyourecognizeitaspeople.Thenyoustartlookingbacktolookforpatterns

andfeaturesthatgivesyoumoreinformationaboutthepersons.

Forinstancethenextthingyoulookatistheshadesanddepth,yourmindmakesa

patternoutofthatandyouseethecomposition.Inyourvisualworkingmemory,youstartthinkingseeingthatthereare3personsofwhichthemidpersonisplaced

higherinthecomposition.Soyourmindstartslookingfornewpatternsandthan

featurestoseethatsheisstandingonapillar.

Yourmindisalreadyprocessingwhatitisseeingandcombiningitwithwhatyou

knowaboutwhatyouareseeing.Whyisthewomansospecialthatsheisstanding

onapillar?Thisquestioncanbelookedatasproblemsolving,thisproblemsolving

leadstoeyemovementandnewpatternfinding.

Whenyouwonderwhysheisstandingonapillar,youstartnoticingtheangels,the

aureoles,thecrossandthebooks.Withoutanexplanationornameaboutthepainting,afteronlyafewsecondsyourmindhadalreadyprocessedwhatthepicture

standsfor,whotheyare,whattheyaredoing,andsoon.


4/24

Chapter1-PosterBGrapus2

Inthepreviouspicturethefirstthingyouseeiscolour.Inthispicturethefirstthing

youseeistheshape.Theshapeismoredominantinthispicturethanthecolour,

becauseoverallthepictureismoreorganizedandhasfewerelementsthanthe

painting.

Whenyouseetheshapes,andstartmakingapattern,youseethattheballinthe

middleistheearth.Nextyouseethecolourunderneaththeearthandtwoarrow

shapedcompositions.Whenyourmindstartsmakingapattern,thearrowshaped

compositionsbecomesagroupofplains,shipsandbombs.Inyourvisualworking

memorythesefiguresareprocessedandyoucanconcludethatthispictureshows

theearthunderattack.

Thecombinationofwhatyouseeandwhatyourmindknowsaboutwhatyouare

seeingmakesyouevenmorecurioustofindmoreinformationaboutthesupposed

upcomingattack.Soyourmindstartsthetopdown,bottomupprocessandfindsthe

colouredshapetosaythattherewillbeademonstrationaboutnuclearweapons.

Asyourmindisprocessingtheentireposter,asalastelementitwillprocessthe

featuresofthebackground,theshapesandcoloursthatareprocessedintothe

shapeoftheeiffeltowerandthusParis.


5/24

Chapter2PaintingAFishingboatsonthebeach

atLesSaintesMariesdelaMer

Inthepaintingtheretheattentionisverymuchdrawntowardstheclosestboat.

Mostlyusingmuchbrightercoloursthenintherestofthescenedoesthis.

Moreover,thelinesofthefirstboatareveryneatandformdistinctiveplanesthat

havecontrastwithneighbouringplanes.

Thesky,seaandbeacharepaintedquitesmudgyandblurryinamuchlessbright

colourastheboats(onthebeach).

Theboatsontheseaseemtobelongmoretotheseathentotheboatsontheshore.

Theyarefarawayandblendintotheenvironment.Thisisdonebycoloursaturation

butalsothesuggestionofwind,whichseemstoflowthroughtheairdisplayedby

thebrushstrokes.

TherearetwodirectionalcuestobefoundwhichvanGoghusedtoguidetheviewer.

Whentheclosestboatistheinitialviewpoint,theviewerseyeisdirectedfromboat

toboat,furtherawaybydesaturatingcoloursandplacingtheboatsinanarc,away

fromtheshore.Theboomsoftheboats,whichpointtothesea,aidthisglobal

viewingdirectionandtheboatshullsalsoareoriented(althoughwiththeback)

towardsthesea.


6/24

Thesecondcueisthedirectionofbrushstrokesabovetheboatsontheshore.They

formanarcaroundtheintendedcentreofattentionandcontributetotheattracting

effect.


7/24

Chapter2PictureDInnocent2

InthiscommercialphotographforInnocentsmoothiestheirgoalistocommunicate

theirbrandimage.Thepictureattractsattentiontocertainaspectsoftheimageby

usingsomechanneldifferences.Thetwomaincomponentsofthispicturearethe

pileoffruitandthesmoothiebottle.Theystandoutfromthegreengrassbycolour

andbecausethegrasshasnonoticeablestructureandisblurryandchaotic,even

wherethegrassisnotactuallyblurred.

Thetwomaincomponentsareintentionallydepictedinapproximatelythesame

size.Theyarepresentedasequals.

HorizontalWhatpathway

VerticalWherepathway


8/24

Thispicturecomesacrossasaverynaturalpicture.Thereisdepthtobeidentified,

proportionsarecorrect,colorsarenaturalandenvironmentisreal.Theobjects

demandingattentionarethereforeregardedbyourWhatandWherepathwaysto

identifythem.ThesizeanddistanceisdeterminedbyourWherepathway(vertical

direction)guidedbytheblurrinessofthegrassandtrees.Inthestripthatissharp,

objectsofinterestareidentifiedthroughtheWhatpathway(horizontaldirection).

Theseobjectsareperceivedasimportantbecausetheyaresharpandwhenlooking

atthemtheblurrinessoftherestofthepicturecorrespondswithreality.

Thedesignertookeyemovementacrossthispictureinconsideration.Startingpoint

willbeoneofthepop-outobjects.Theplacementofthefruitontheleftandbottle

ontherightindicatestheirdependency:thesmoothieismadefromfruitandisa

resultofthefruit.IntheWesternworldwereadfromlefttoright,sotheviewergets

ahintofthefruitandsmoothiesrelation.


9/24


10/24

outonthetopandbottomofthepicture(indicatedbythearrows).Thisputsthe

emphasisonthelowercentreofthepicture;theareawherethefruitpileandthe

bottleareplaced.

Thefruitpileismadeoutofdifferenttypesoffruitelements.Alltheseelements

togetherformaparticularshape;theycreateapatternbecauseofthespatiallayoutoftheshapeoftheelements.Thebrainwillindicateitasoneshape.Thepatterncan

beindicatedasatriangle.Inthispicturetherearenooverlappingregionsthatcould

confusethings.Thiskeepsthepicturesimpleandeasiertoapprehend.

Theviewerofthispicturewillindicatethesemanticrelationshipbetweenthefruit

pileandthejuicebottle.Standingnexttoeachotheritwillindicatethereisa

connection.Itsymbolisesthatthepileoffruitisprocessedinthebottleofjuice.The

viewercouldalsointerpretthatnothingisaddedtothejuice,becausethereisjust

onebigpileoffruitnexttotthebottle.Otherwisethemanufacturerprobably

wouldntputtheemphasisonthisquality.


11/24

Chapter3PosterBGrapus2

Thisposterconsistsoutoffourmainelements:theplanetearth,anannouncement,

themilitarysymbolsandthebackground.Forthepattern-processingsysteminthe

brains,thisposterisquiteunderstandable.Thissystemislookingforboundariesofobjects,alsomentionedascontours.Theobjectsinthisposterarereallywell

distinguishedfromthebackground.Differentfeaturesdothis.

Thefirstfeaturethatmakesalltheobjectsstandoutfromthebackgroundisthe

differenceinblur.Thebackgroundisvagueandblurrycomparedtotheother

objects.Theotherobjectsarenotblurryatallandthismakesthempopoutofthe

background.

Theannouncementinthisposterstandsoutthemostofallobjects,despitethefact

thatitisabitcoveredbytheplanetobject.Themainreasonforthatistheuseof

colour.Thecompleteposterisinblackandwhite,exceptforthisannouncement.

Thedesignerdidthisonpurpose.Itcreatesabigdistinguishfromtherestanditwill

bethefirstthingthatpullstheattentionoftheviewer.Itisverylikelythatthisobject

isthemostimportantoneoftheposter.Itcarriesalltherequiredinformationabout

aspecificevent.

Themilitarysymbolsstandout.Notassinglesymbols,butasabasicshape.Together

theyformapattern.Onecanseethisevenbetterfromadistanceorwiththeeyes

halfshut.Thespatiallayoutoftheshapeswillmakethemperceiveasoneshape.

Theyclearlyshapethecontourofanarrowonbothsidesoftheposter.Thisis

probablythefirstthingthattheviewerwillnotice,thearrowshape.Withacloserlook,theviewerwillindicatethatthisarrowconsistsoutofsymbols,military


12/24

symbols.Theshapedarrowisevenmoreemphasizedwiththesesymbols,because

thesesymbolspointinthesamedirectionasthecompletearrowcontourdoes.

Thesetwoarrowshavemultiplemeanings.Thefirstsemanticmeaningisthatthe

twoarrowspointingtothemiddleputafocusonsomething.Theyemphasizethat

thevitalinformationisinthemiddleoftheposter,theycommunicate:Thisiswhatitsallabout.

Thesymbolsthatshapethesearrowsalsohaveameaning.Theannouncedeventis

aboutdisarmament.Thatiswhythedesignerpickedthesesymbols.The

unconsciouslytellsomethingaboutthesubjectoftheposter.

Thecombinationoftheblurandcolourdifferenceandthesemanticmeaningofthe

arrows,makeitaveryclearandpowerfulposter.Itmakesuseofthepattern-

processingsystemandthepermeationofourspokenlanguage(thesemantic

meaningofthearrows).


13/24

Chapter4PictureDInnocent2

Thisisanadvertisementforinnocentsmoothies.Theyobviouslytriedtoputthe

focusonthebottleandthelittlemountainoffruit.Ifweevaluatethepictureon

colourthereareacoupleofaspectsthatstandout.

Saturation-Atfirstweseetheuseofsaturation.Thecoloursforthebackgroundare

dark,sonotsaturating.Thebackgrounddoesntmatterfortheadvertisement.Itis

alsoveryblurryjustlikethebeginningofthegrassattheforeground,whatmakesit

thatthosetwoareasdonotcatchattention.

Inthegrassinthemiddlethereismoredetail,andthecoloursaremoresaturated

thenthelittlefruitmountain.Thecoloursareverystrongsaturating;thisistheway

thismountaingetsattention.

Unfortunatelythecolourofthejuiceinthebottleisntverysaturating,resultingthat

thefruitsgetmoreattentionthanthebottle.Whichshouldgettheattention,

becausethisistheproducttheywanttosell.

Contrast-Contrastsarentabigissueforthisposter.Therearealotofdifferent

tonesofgreen,allverycloselytoeachother.Thegrapes,bananasandstrawberries

showthiscontrastalittle.Butthroughtheyellowflowersinthegrassthiscontrastislessnoticeable.

Afternoticingallthiswecanlookatthegreyscaleimage;theredstrawberrieshave

almostthesametoneasthegrass,thesamethingforthecolourofthejuice.Thatis

athingwecantchange.Thebestthingistomakethegrassadifferenttoneof

green.

Thecontrastisusedwellonthebottle,theinnocentlogostandsoutonitswhite

background.Thelitofthebottleisverynicelycontrastingtothedarkbackground.

Anadviceforthisposterwillbetomakethegrasslessrestless,byuseoflessgreentones.


14/24

Depth-Thedepthinthispictureismadethoughblurring.Thefrontgrassstrokeand

thebackgroundareblurred,sothefocuslaysonthemiddlestrokeofthepicture.

Shadingtomakethedepthstrongerisusedbyaddingadropshadowtothebottle.


15/24

Chapter4PosterBGrapus2

On22Octoberin1983peoplestoodupanddemonstratedfornucleardisarmament.

ThisposterisanadvertisementforwalkfordisarmamentinParisatthePlacede

JeanJaurslaruedelaPaix.

Contrast-Contrastisabigissueonthisposterandcanbenoticedindifferentpartsofit.Atfirsttheticketinthemiddlestandsout.Thisisbecausethewholeposterisin

greyscale,exceptfromthisticket.

Withinthisonlyprimarycoloursandblackandwhiteareused.Thetextsonthe

ticketarewrittenonstrongsaturatingbackgrounds.Whiteagainstaredbackground,

blackagainstayellowbackgroundandyellowagainstabluebackgroundare

examplesofsharpcontrasts,whicharewellusedonthisposter.Thismakesthetexts

legible.

Depth-Theticketisnottheonlyaspectthatcomesintotheeye.Theglobepopsup

too.Notonlythroughalittletouchofcolour,blueandabrownish/orangecanbe

spotted,butalsobyputtingitpartlyinfrontoftheticket.Thisblackbottomofthe

globecontrastsagainstthered/yellowtopoftheticket,whichcreatesdepthinthe

picture.Depthcouldbedepictedwellbyshading.Nowbothitemsarefreestanding

fromthebackground,thelookisalikeacollage.


16/24

Thisisanotherexampleoftheposter.Thereismuchmoregoingonhere.Oratleast

itlookslikethereis.Thispostershowsusafriendlierversionoftheposter.The

greyscaleairplanesandboatsareexchangedforcolouredflowers.Theworldhas

alsomorecolours.Thispostershowsusabetterworld.Asthedemonstratingpeople

wanttheirworldtobe.Themottobehindthisposteris:Iftheworlddoesntperish,

itwillblossom.

Alongwiththispresenceofmorecolouredisanattentionfactor.Theticketdoesnt

standoutanymore.Theforegroundimagesaremuchmoresharpenedtoo.The

backgroundbecomesvague.


17/24

Chapter5-PaintingAFishingboatsonthebeach


Inthepaintingthereareseveraldepthcuestobeidentified.Sinceitisapicture,they

aremerepictorialdepthcues.Iwilldiscusstheapplieddepthcuesinorderof

strength.

Occlusion-Thelineofboatsontheshoregeneratesagreatsenseofdepth.They

partiallyoccludeoneanotherandthisfixesthewaytheseaandbeachshouldbe

seen.Withouttheboatsthebeachandshorewouldbetoouniformandnotdetailed

enoughtoogiveasenseofdepth:toofewdepthcues.

Perspective-Thereisaclearsizegradientintheboatsontheshoreandonthesea.

Texturegradientsarehardertoidentify,buttheyellowishspotsonthebeachup

closedisappeargraduallyandthebeachbecomesauniformcolour.Thisdetailing

playsasmallpartinperceptionofdepthinthispainting.

Linearperspectiveisnotreallypresent.Therearesomelinestobedrawnacrossthe

frontandendpointsoftheboatsontheshore(seepicture),assumingtheboatsare

thesamesize.Buttheydonotcreateavanishingpoint,solinearperspectivedoes

notplayaroleasadepthcueinthispainting.


18/24

Castshadows-Thereareremarkablyfewshadowsandreflections.Onlythe

foremostboathasabitdarkerbrownsandunderitshull,butthiscouldverywellbe

thedarkersandthatwasbroughttothesurfacewhentheshipwasdraggedonthe

shore.

Heightonpictureplane-Thisisanobviouslypresentdepthcue:alltheboatsareinrelationofoneanotherinheightandsize.

Shading-Thedownwardfacingpartsoftheshipshullsontheshorearequitedark.

Especiallythesecondandthirdintherowhaveadarkerbottom.Butingeneral,itis

prettymuchunutilized.

Referencetonearbyknownobjects-Theboatsareasizethatcanbeeasily

estimatedbyhumans.

Degreeofcontrast-Thiscanbenoticedattheboats.Thebackmostboatsonthesea

arepaintedinfarlesssaturatedcolors.Astheboatsappearcloser,theusedpaintgetsbrighterandmorecolorful.

Inconclusion,theminimaluseofshadowsmakeitabitflatpictureatfirstsight.The

niceperspectiveoftheboatmakethempopout,buttherestisdeliberatelyvague

andfacilitatingthepresenceoftheboatsontheshore.Theblurryenvironmentisto

makepeoplewanderaboutthemeaninganddreamofthepainting:whatcouldbe,

whatcouldhappeniftheshipsreachtherightendofthepainting?Wheredothey

go?


19/24

Chapter5-PaintingCMadonnaoftheHarpies

Inthepaintingthereareseveralpictorialdepthcuestobeidentified.

Occlusion-Thereissomeocclusionoccurringwithineachofthe3mainfigures

(handsholdingbooksandcrosses),butthefiguresdonotoverlaponeanother.They

areatthesamedistancefromtheviewer.TheHarpieshalfoccludedbythepedestal

andtheMadonnagivethelatterabeautifulsenseofdepth.

Perspective-Thereisaverysmallperspectivetobeidentified(greylines),butthisit

doesntreallyplayaroleindepthperceptioninthispainting.

Castshadows-Therearequitesomecastshadowsthatdeterminetheplaceinthe

environment.Allfigureshaveshadowsonthefloorandthebackwall.

Heightonpictureplane-Theheightofthefiguresisindicativefortheirimportance,

notthedepth.Theyareapproximatelythesamedistancefromtheviewer.

Shading-Thisisextremelyimportantintheperceptionoftheshapeoftheclothing.

Allthefoldsintherobesmakeitalmosttouchable.Alsothechildinthearmsof

Madonnagetsvolumebecauseofthedetailedshading.

Referencetonearbyknownobjects-Humanssizesarewellknown,sowecan

easilydeterminethescale.

Degreeofcontrast-Thisdepthcueisnotpresent.


20/24

Inthisclassicalmedievalpaintingdepthistreatedverylocally.Therelativedistance

ofthefiguresanddistancetotheviewerisnotreallyimportant.Theyaretogether,

becausetheytellastorytogether.Depthwithinfiguresisimportantandisrealized

byalotofshading,shadowsandsomeocclusion.Butocclusionishandledwithcare,

becausethestorycannotsufferfromunclarity.Anoften-usedtechniqueisthelightly

paintedknees,whichreallycomeforward.Theyprovideperceptualinformation

aboutthepostureandmakethewholefiguredynamic.


21/24

Chapter7PaintingAFishingboatsonthebeach


Atfirstsightthispaintingdoesnthavemuchverbalnarrativeaspectsthroughits

visuals.Thepainterdidnottrytocommunicateamessagewiththispainting.It

describesaviewofaspecificlandscape.

Anaspectthatispresentinthispaintingistheuseofitsstillimagestoexpressa

dynamicsituation.Thepaintingis,ofcourse,notmoving,buttheviewercan

understandthatthedescribedsituationisnotstaticinreallife.Thisunderstanding

comesfromdifferentaspectsinthepainting.

AsColinWarestatesinVisualThinkingforDesign:Inasense,thebrainisconstantly

makingpredictionsaboutthestateoftheworldthatwillfollowfromactionssuchas

eyeorhandmovements.Thevisualsinthepaintingsupportthelogicalrelationships

thatarepresent.

Theobviousbrushstrokesthatarepresentintheskyemphasizethemovementof

theair.Thesestrokescreateapatternandcolourdifference.Thebrainwillmakea

predictionthatthisairisprobablyinmovement.

Areactiononthiswindblowingisthesailsoftheboats.Thefirsttwosailingboatsareclearlyinmovement.Theviewergetsthismessage,itcanbeseenthatthesails

arefilledwithwind,becausetheyarecurved.


22/24

Itisalsocleartotheviewerofthepaintingthattheseaisnotstatic,butthatitis

moving.Thedynamicsofthewavescanbeabstractedfromthestyleofpainting.

Thepatternofthewaves,thealignmentofthebreakersimplicatesthatonewaveis

comingafteranother.Thestrokesusedtomakethesewavesamplifythedynamics.


23/24

Chapter7-PaintingCMadonnaoftheHarpies

Obviouslythisareligionrelatedpainting.ItshowstheVirginholdingachild,flanked

bytwoangels.Nexttotheseangelsaretwosaints.

Thepaintingshowsanobvioushierarchystructure,apyramidshape.Thevirginand

thechildarethehighestinhierarchy,thatsalsothereasonwhytheyareplacedona

pedestal.Thesaintstakesecondplaceandtheangelscomeafterthem.

Inthepaintingthreeaspectswithlearnedsymbolicvaluecanbeindicated.Themost

knownoneisthecrossthattheleftsaintisholding.Theassociationthatpeoplehavewiththissymbolisareligiousone,Christianity.Itreferstothebiblestorywhere

Jesuswasnailedtothecross.


24/24

Anotherlearnedsymbolarethehalosthatareabovetheheadsofthepersonsin

thepicture.Thehaloindicatesthatthepersonsareholy.Incurrentsocietythis

symbolismostusedwhenangelsaredepicted.Itisalsousedincartoonsandother

drawings,inasometimes-exaggeratedway,toshowthatapersoniscompletely

honestandtrue.

Thewingsoftheangelsinthepaintingalsohaveasymbolicvalue.Peopleareableto

indicateadrawnpersonwithwingsasanangelorsomebodythathaspassedaway.

Itreferstoahigherpowerandthehereafter.

Somedeicticgesturesinthepaintingarequiteobvious.Thebabyisgrabbingthe

virginaroundherneck.Thiswaythebabyshowsitsdevotiontothevirgin.Itwants

tobenurturedandprotectedbyher.

Thevirginholdsthebaby;sheistakingcareofit.Shelooksdowntothebibleofthe

rightsaint,butnotwithgreatinterest.

Theleftsaintisturnedtothevirgin.Healsoshowshisdevotion,butinadifferent

waythanthebaby.Holdingthecross,heprobablywantstopraiseorblessher.

Therightsaintlooksrealcalmandself-assured,likehehasthingsundercontrol.It

shouldlooklikehehislecturingthevirginfromtheholybible.

Theangelsholdingthevirginhaveadesperateandinsecurelook.Thereasonforthis

gestureisnotclear(tous).

id4230 vcd group c - the visualisers assignment 1

Documents