Design Principles / Final Project

06/03/2024 - 20/03/2024 / Week 5 - Week 7
Iman binti Kamarudin / 0364014
Design Principles / Bachelors of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

Task 3

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INSTRUCTIONS

Recap

1. Create a design inspired by your selected artwork
2. Apply design principles in your artwork
3. Write a rationale for your design (150-200 words)
4. Create a moodboard that follows your ideas

I compiled my moodboard through researching on Pinterest. The visual references I chose are mostly black and white, some with a contrasting colour. A few of them make use of silhouettes and Gestalt’s law of closure. 

Fig 1.1 - Moodboard

Pinterest Link: https://pin.it/2ZVIb5Dmu

Idea #1

Fig 2.1 - Sketch #1

This idea is about the anger and exhaustion capitalism can cause. The subject is covered in reciepts, and they somewhat represent her hair, symbolising how the cycle of buying and selling things is now a part of her. She is mostly in shadow, only showing half her face to set a serious and dark tone. Behind her are logos of high end brands that repeat over and over again to show how she’s being haunted by them and how they plague her mind since society puts worth on a person based on whether or not they can afford products from these brands.

Design principles; emphasis, contrast, repitition, symmetrical balance, symbol

Idea #2

Fig 2.2 - Sketch #2

This idea is based on how small and helpless you feel trying to exist peacefully in a world that demands you to buy, buy and buy. Every corporation is wanting you to buy more, spend more and sometimes it feels all too much. This design has a silhouette of a person in the middle of the canvas, surrounded by receipts that are much bigger than them. On the receipts, is text with common phrases and deals that stores have such as “buy 1, get 1 free”, “50% off” and “sale”. The silhouette of the person symbolises the emptiness they feel and how hollow they are inside.

Design principles; contrast, emphasis, repitition, symmetrical balance

Idea #3

Fig 2.3 - Sketch #3

This idea is about excessive spending. All the items cover up the subject’s face, essentially symbolising how its consumed their personhood and that they now lack identity, succumbing to only being known as a consumer. There is a reciept trailing to the ground, showing just how much they’ve spent and leading your eyes through all the things they’ve bought.

Design principles; contrast, emphasis, symmetrical balance, movement

After consulting, it was suggested that I combined the background of the first idea with the third subject and adding the repeating ‘sales’ text on the receipt. So I revised my sketch and proceeded to render it.

FINAL SKETCH

Fig 2.4 - Final Revised Sketch

PROCESS

Fig 3.1 - Process Screenshot

Fig 3.2 - Process Screenshot

Fig 3.3 - Process Screenshot

Fig 3.4- Process Screenshot

Fig 3.5 - Process Screenshot

Fig 3.6 - Process Screenshot

Fig 3.7 - Process Screenshot

Fig 3.8 - Artwork as of 20/03/2024

After consultation,  I added the suggestions that were given to me (red hands and dripping blood). 

Fig 3.9 - Reworked illustration

FINAL ARTWORK

Fig 4.1 - Final Task 3 Artwork 'Consume' JPEG

The idea behind this artwork is about excessive spending, not even for necessity but just for the sake of doing so. All the items pile up to cover the subject and symbolises how its consumed their personhood and that they now lack identity, succumbing to only being known as a consumer. There is a receipt trailing to the ground with the text 'sale' repeating over and over again, almost like a demand and a mantra. Even though you can't see how much the subject has spent or what they bought, you can clearly tell that they've overindulged themselves. The receipt is also a guide leading your eyes through all the things they’ve bought and eventually ending up at the hands of the subject, which are covered in blood. The meaning behind the subject's hands being covered in blood references the exploited workers in sweatshops whose blood, sweat and tears are exchanged for a large amount of products to be made. The entire artwork is in black and white with a red as an accent colour to be a reference to my original chosen artwork in Task 1 and 2. The rendering/shading is also very dramatic and intense as well to reference stencil graffiti art.

Design principles; contrast, emphasis, symmetrical balance, movement, repetition, symbols, harmony.

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FEEDBACK

Week 7

Specific Feedback - Idea character one is interesting but suggest to proceed with the third one and combine the first background and add sale on the receipt.

Specific Feedback - Make the whole hands red to symbolise blood and leave the nails white.

Specific Feedback - Make the blood drip down further and maybe add some blood spots on the bags.

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REFLECTION

My experience with this task was pretty positive. I sometimes fluctuate between really enjoying drawing to hating it for a couple minutes but I got to try out a new style of shading and rendering and it was a fun challenge. There were some moments where I was really struggling to like my artwork but I pushed through and in the end I really like how it came out.

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FURTHER READING

https://www.myartbroker.com/artist-banksy/articles/master-of-the-stencil

This article was a quick insight into Banksy's process and it helped me understand a bit better how to go about shading my artwork. Although I do wish there was more of an explanation regarding how specifically to define shadows and lights of multiple objects, it sufficed.

https://watchingpaintdryblogging.wordpress.com/2015/12/19/research-project-street-art-stencil-graffiti/

This blog featured various artists and artwork in the stencil graffiti community and was a light read. I don't really have much commentary about it but it had some nice information about Banksy and a couple videos.