Field Journal

Through history, we could know that people used to make the whole graphic design as rich as they can. When the world of design step to modern age, designers loves to make things simple. Moreover, because those designs are simple, the composition of everything is extremely important. Designers have to think deeply where the images should be place.

Before I major in design, I was majoring in mathematic. I know that is ironic, but it’s fact. Sincerely, I’d like to put forward the Geometry of design here. Designers don’t place things with just feeling. In fact, designers all hold certain visual balance regarding to math. For example, I put forward the images I scanned from the textbook.

The upper image is from the Chapter 22 of textbook. It is such a simple design that there is just a word on it. From the upper image, you could see the radius of the imaginary circle is almost exactly the width of the picture. It means that the image dose bend for a reason. Due to the visual proportions within the image, audiences could feel the order and balance from it.

Also, this design is so simple, as it contains just three same words. The first one is horizontal, but the last two are rotated according to the exactly angle. It is systematic certainly, as the designers don’t place it there for no reasons. I could say that it would be a bit awful if the words were not in certain visual order. This makes audiences feel comfortable since it is geometrically placed.

The upper image is the poster for the Paris newspaper L’Intransigeant during 1925. This kind of composition is seen in Pictorial Modernism too. They are even much more exact. Everything is well-planned on the picture. They are exactly obey certain kind of law of geometry. The lines are all on the place they should be. As a designer, A.M. Cassandre made all lines geometrical correct.

In my opinion, since the design of Pictorial Modernism are not simple, the Geometry of design is even more powerful there. Geometry makes things tidy, and audiences like tidy designs.

This kind of composition could be seen in photography too. I choose the classic cover of Playboy for the third example. During 1971, Darine Stern became the first even black lady who hit the cover of Playboy. The whole image is extremely simple, as there is just Darine and the chair. The background is totally black in order to make audiences pay fully attention to the cover girl.

The interesting point is, if we draw two lines from the opposite angles and make them across at the middle point, the pose of Darine and the ears of the chair just match the lines certainly. Also, the head of Darine is perfectly placed on the middle, and also the top of the crosspoint. It shows a certain visual symmetry and balance toward audiences.

Psychologically, human beings love seeing thing in order or in symmetry. Moreover, designers know that. This fact is noticeable when we look at some modern simple graphic design. The composition of everything is geometrical. Such views have given us a way to look at the design principles. We could actually try to design something well-planned.

PS. I am not supporting porn media. I just see it in view of design. No offense.

Image

1. Rosmarie Tissi, Graphis cover, 1980

2. Siegfried Odermatt, advertisement for Union wall safes, 1968

3. A.M. Cassandre, poster for the Paris newspaper L’Intransigeant, 1925

4. Richard Fegley, Playboy cover, 1971

Works Cited

Meggs, Philip B., Purvis, Alston W., Meggs History of Graphic Design: Fifth Edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print.

Field Journal

Let’s begin with is single question. What’s “middle”?

Just like my other classmates, I am now studying history of design. Finally, my textbook brings me to the modern age. Within the modern design, I found an interesting thing, regarding to a mental process of human being. Design is all about what you want audiences to see. Thus, design is well related to how people see. In order to modify the skill of design, it’s always good to question how people see mentally.

We could see design in the view of psychologists. Cognitive psychologists prove that people in the entire world don’t actually see what the exact sight. Our minds always misdirect us to see something else, beyond the reality. There are so many errors that made by ourselves when we look at something. Beyond psychologists, most of the designers know it too. There is an untold secret in the world of design.

Human beings don’t see middle when they look at middle. For example…

I put the word in the exact middle of the picture, however, you would feel like the word has fallen down a little bit, instead of being in the middle. Honestly, people feel more comfortable while they are looking at something actually above middle. Remember, psychologically, this law dose not applies to the designs that are a bunch of stuff. This law is well known in the world of design certainly. The pictures below are all found in my textbook, which is Meggs History of Graphic Design.

I did a few notes at the side, so that you could see it clearly. The red line is the exact middle. The main words or images are always a bit upper than the middle. Then, why? Why did the designers choose to put the words and images above? Why not middle?

Audiences would feel seeing them in the middle if they don’t really measure them. Most likely, audience would feel more comfortable when they look at something above the middle. If they were in the exact middle, ironically, it would seem like they have fallen down.

Currently, the modern designs don’t usually make the whole graphic design rich. Instead, designers nowadays love to make design simple. It is common that there are just a few words in the “middle”, while the rest remain blank. “Simple is the best,” right? When we decide to something like that, it’s better to put the main words or images a bit above the exact middle. It makes audiences see those things more likely to be in the middle.

Image

1. This is just my work.

2. Herb Lubalin and Etienne Delessert, pages from Fact, 1967.

3. Paul Rand, IBM package design, late 1950s.

Works Cited

Meggs, Philip B., Purvis, Alston W., Meggs History of Graphic Design: Fifth Edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print.