Readings

Through reading the AIGA article, I have learned that graphic designers are not only communicators; but thinkers, thought developers, and problem solvers who dedicate their time and effort into doing whatever it takes to solve a problem. The problem is not only a task, but a process that will influence towns, schools, businesses, the government and the arts. In design, you not only communicate to your audience, but you communicate to the world and in some way, influence change through such a powerful message. To communicate good design, the process must always be consistent. To be consistent, you must thoroughly define the problem.

The process is a journey and everyone must be inspired once they start it. Everyone must work as a team to reach the solution. The point that stood out to me the most was number 12, "Rapidly learning and tacking based on your successes and failures." The article states the "most effective teams are those who constantly learn. Strive. Improve." Starting out GPHD 125 early on this semester, I was afraid of being wrong and afraid of failing. I have now learned that I shouldn't be afraid of being wrong, but learn why I was wrong and how can I improve that wrong to make a right. Anticipate failure and strive to make it better. It's going to take many wrong designs to make a right, and you shouldn't assume your first couple of designs will be your solution without going through a variety of edits.

"When we encounter any usual field, the most fundamental distinction our eye brain system makes is to identify contrast."
-What Makes us Look?

Reading about contrast and learning how to apply it has made me realize it is a very important key element in design. There's a variety of different ways contrast can be incorporated and it provides  visual interest within a composition. It is an effective way to immediately grab the viewer's attention and hold it long enough to get your message across. Design is dialogue and your composition must speak for itself in volumes in the split second glance someone takes of it.

Closure is another important key element the article talks about. How much information can be taken away from a composition so that the viewer would still be able to recognize it? Our mind fills in any missing information that is absent within a composition. I remember Gwen had stated during class, "If you find yourself adding, stop." Sometimes too much information can become cluttered and that's where closure comes in to balance the composition by creating an illusion of a complete image while utilizing the white space around it.