Minimalism, Contrast, Repetition and Repetition

I think I have told you before that I am a minimalist.

For this reason, this part of our design unit was especially enjoyable for me. I spent a lot of time looking at minimalist images on flickr, google images, tumblr etc. and I honestly couldn't pick a favorite, so I have a couple example of minimalism that I really like that I will share with y'all.

Allard One on Flickr

airows on Tumblr

artssake on Tumblr

Let's start with the first image. There isn't a lot going on here, but the contrast of the blue and red definitely defines the image. Though it is pretty simple, the bold colors show a perfect example of how contrast can help a minimalist image. This image is compelling because we don't exactly know what is going on - where are these chairs, who previously sat in them, why are they here? From the dark edges and bright colors, we get almost an eerie feeling from this photo - again exemplified from the contrast. The two red chairs also help this image because they gives us one of the main design elements discussed from Williams: repetition. This repetition helps the image by giving it a bold blast of color and, as discussed by Williams, an element of recognition.

The next image doesn't contain much content, but I really enjoy it. Again, this is a prefect representation of Williams' discussion of both contrast and repetition. The same circles, same frame around the words, same font – repetition is a main theme of this image and ties it all together. The contrast is also very obvious. Like Williams discusses, "don't be a wimp about it"; either go big or go home. Don't contrast navy blue with royal blue, but instead contrast red with black, which is perfectly portrayed in this image.

This last image is probably one of my favorites. While there are plenty of different colors in this picture, they are all fairly similar and are repeated throughout the image – each square has (more or less) the same color scheme as the next. There is obviously repetition throughout the image, and this consistency helps bring the image together, once again bringing a sense of recognition to its viewers. The contrast is once again obviously by comparing each square to the next, since the colors contrast and compliment each other nicely.

All of these images are great representations of Williams' discussion of design through repetition and contrast. Each have repetition, or stick to a certain theme that evokes a feeling within the viewer, as well as a contrast that helps keep the image interesting, unique and beautiful.

W E E K L Y . S U M M A R Y

Not-so busy week consisted of:

• Dating Someone 10 Years Older - Audio project 1
• Interviewing a House - Audio project 2
• Images Review
• Two Visual Creates

This week the course load wasn't too heavy for this class, mostly because the audio creates took a bit of work to complete. I'm happy with the end result of my two projects, and I liked working with and editing audio for our class. Mostly I'm glad I found a new appreciation for radio, and while I may not listen to it hardly at all, I definitely know it's there and I hope it doesn't die out! Radio is and has been important to many people for many years, and I'm all about stickin' to your roots.

Mainly I'm excited for the visual portion of this class. A while ago I used to be a photo-editing fiend (we all had the middle school phase, don't deny it), but since then I have lost most of my abilities. I used to use photoshop all the time, but I now don't have the software and am not too keen on buying it anytime soon - it's pretty expensive, and buying it illegally is (of course) out of the question. 

I think this section of class will be interesting because photo-editing is always interesting to work with, and I have always been interested in graphic design. Since the two go hand in hand, I can't wait to see what else we get to work with and discover in this section of class.

VISUAL C R E A T E S

Here are some magnificent photos I worked on:

For the first image, I thought we had to make a cheesy picture with some cheesy line. I thought this fit the criteria pretty well, and I think the end product is both revolting and revolutionary. Middle school girls, step aside.

I honestly couldn't retrace my steps completely in making this picture. I started off by adding the lens flare-type stars to the corners, which came from some of the filter effects. You get to actually place them on the X and Y axes of the picture, which I thought was pretty cool for some reason. Adding text was a little difficult, mostly because it was challenging to place the text, resize it, and change the font – a lot of clicking was needed in order to select the right thing. For the color effect, I simply went under the "color" menu and played around with which colors were more apparent in the picture; cyan and yellow, magenta and green, etc.

This second picture was originally taken from my phone with the Catwang app (I recommend it, it's a lot of fun). I simply added the cartoon filter in order to get the effect – this is actually for the first design assignment. 

After playing around a little bit, I have to say that I don't really like Gimp. I don't think the software is completely intuitive and easy to use, and the menu screens that pop up when adding an effect are never centered, and always behind other layers. Other than that I'm sure it has good qualities, but it ran a little slowly on my computer. Hopefully I'll learn to use it better!

I M A G E S

Flickr user polapix

This...article? Book? Essay? Excerpt? I couldn't really tell what it was, but judging from the chapters I'm guessing it is a book of sorts. Anyways, I really enjoyed it. Mostly because it tells exactly what it describes - images.

I really like having the opportunity to form an image of a story in my head, and this is exactly what this book did for me. I think that telling a story through only images is a very interesting choice. This way, you can really let a reader get immersed into a story - they have an image that they can picture in their mind's eye. 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and while this is an interesting take on the matter, I feel like a thousand words could describe an endless amount of images. The experiences of simply looking at an image or describing it with just words are completely different. With words, you can describe every aspect of an image, as well as other things that relate to it, your personal experience, allusions to other images...the list goes on and on. Furthermore, in reading the description of an image, each individual can form his or her own experience around the descriptions, which leads to a very personalized, often intimate, experience of a certain instance. 

This book made me excited for the visual part of our class. I'm more of a visual learner and I love experimenting with different images, so this part of class should be especially interesting.