Class Assignments

this assignment is titled: Talking Forms.

it was group activity that was meant to complete during lecture. i did this exercise with two other friends. the lecturer gave our group two topics to work on: "ingenious" and "surprise".

below are the ideas that we came up with after consulting the tutors.

some basic requirements are to use basic elements (i.e. line and dot) to create 2 abstract / semi-abstract representative images conveying meaning of each word. Also, there are only two colors to be used (excluding paper color).

Assignment 6: Design Analysis

the eighth tutorial (01/04):

it's april's fool! anyway, this week's tutorial is rather relaxing because the subject that we are supposed to present is not design by us (aww..) so this assignment is to find a good and bad posters that allow us to apply theories on them. so below are the...

GOOD...


for the GOOD:
there is flow in looking at the picture. from the sun to the tagline, down to the stream and finally to the foreground. cool colors (blue and green) are used. the color scheme is analogous because there are different shades of green.

1. sun - principles of visual: expressive line -> jagged lines express energy or anger.
2. trees - principles of visual: similarity -> the trees are similar to one another.
3. windmill - gestalt principles: closure -> the triangles shape out the windmill.
4. small shrubs - complementary color -> the green is a cool color and red color is a warm color; both are opposite of each other in the color wheel.
5. ducks - principles of visual: contrast in size -> the ducks are of different sizes.
6. stream - gestalt principles: continuity -> the stream is as if flowing from the background to the foreground.
7. sheep - gestalt principles: proximity -> the sheep are closed to one another so it is depicted as a group.

as for the bad:
i guess you just have to read it. seriously, just try reading it and time yourself. i think the circles make it so hard for readers' to get the message. furthermore, the gradient makes the white color words "fade" into the background. i hope you have fun reading but don't torture your eyes when doing so (hee..)

..and the BAD...

Assignment 5: Greeting Card (theme: LOVE)

the seventh tutorial (25/03):

my greeting card was more or less 90 percent complete before this tutorial. there was one problem pointed out - the text.

as the heart needed wide spaces, the words should not stretch too much across. in addition, the spacing between the lines were rather compact. so i've made some modification to it by expanding space between the lines and shrinking the size of the words. below is my final work:

hope you like it. =)

Greeting Card (theme: LOVE): Draft

the sixth tutorial (19/03):

over the weekend, i was surfing the website for inspiration. looking out for quotes and all. finally, i decide to do on: CONFESSION and LOST LOVE.

i guess it will be interesting because love confession should be innocently sweet. so the color scheme used is pink (of course!). also, because of the innocence, i used white color to trace out the silhoutte of a man and a young lady. i want to do a silhoutte because it is rather easy (since i don't really need to worry about the facial expression) and that is SECRET love (so personally, i feel silhoutte give such feeling).

a confession i have to make: i traced the man and the young lady from online picture. but i did some modification like the rose was add on and the man's stomach was flatten (hee..). hope you like it..enjoy~



comments from the class:
1. the pink color made them tired. i guess it was too overwhelming (hee..) so i need to change the color. most probably make the pink lighter.

2. the quote is rather long. i will most probably make it smaller. another classmate also mentioned that the quotation didn't have any love meaning in it. i'm not too sure about it but i thought it is quite sweet. i guess i feel this way because i watched the movie.


as mentioned, this is my LOST LOVE card. it is kind of weird because i'm sure this card would not sell in the market. however, i designed it just for fun. to be honest, when i was working on the card, i was kind of sad. well, not that i've just lost my love, it's just some unknown causes.

the girl in the card was also traced and i've also made some modifications. in the original picture, the girl was sitting down. she was not crying and the butterfly was actually flying towards her.

since i am trying to express a lost love, it is rather ironic to have the butterfly flying towards her (well, i hope i successfully "make the butterfly = love"). thus, the butterfly is flying towards the window, away from her.



comments from the class:
1. nobody will buy this card (haha..) i kind of expected they will say that because i guess i won't buy it either.

2. one of my classmate mentioned that the butterfly did not look as if it was flying out. so he suggested i should place the edge of the butterfly to the back so as to make the connection.

3. the window should looke more like a window. i'm thinking of adding shadow so making the feeling as if the light source from outside is brighter than the interior.

4. the tear drop: it is quite redundant because the whole card already suggested it. it's either i should enlarge the tear drop or remove the tear drop.

that's about it.

Greeting Card (theme: LOVE): Draft II

after thinking for some time, i decide to take the CONFESSION design as my final. not because i've lost my love, it really makes me feel sad when designing it. though i really like the concept a lot, i don't really know how to do the effects (casting the shadow from the window, making the room a bit brighter).

well, actually the Confession design not too bad, just that the concept is simple and everyone is doing lovey-dovey card (so not very outstanding). but oh well, this card is too Swweeet.. =)

my second draft:


i've change the color of the circles and the arrangement of it. also, i've decreased the font size.

Assignment 4: Save This/That

after looking through the last posters, i feel that the red colored words can't be seen. i guess i'll just stick to white colored wordings. and YES, THIS IS THE FINAL. (haha).



this is the most updated poster i've made because i find the previous copy quite "crappy". i'm seriously not sure what nice phrases can be used to link piracy and the fist together. so hopefully, somebody will be nice to help me out with this. thank you so much. =)


the final poster that i'm planning to submit:

there are a couple of changes from the last poster:

1. missing laptops: since i'm planning to focus on just pirated cds, i'll keep to my cds and "discard" the uploading/downloading idea.

2. the copy: as mentioned, i will change the heading and the body copy. i wanted to make the words simple and outstanding. i thought that by using slang may somehow catch attention and it is rather in a local context. it says: "you cheapo! stop piracy, stop starving your favorite idol, stop being such a cheapskate."

3. copy color: i've decided to make it red because it capture attention (again). i thought red goes well with black background. it stands out but not so much that it is "separated from the background"

as compared to the draft, it is much more simpler. there are lesser items in the poster and reduce messiness. there are lesser items to clutter the poster and have more spaces. hopefully, there will be more comments whether is it an improvement from the previous one.

Save This/That: Draft

the fifth tutorial (12/03):

oh, if you're sensitive to the dates, by now i guess you've realised that the date is on a Wednesday, instead of the usual Tuesday. due to some unforeseen circumstances, i can't make it for my usual tutorial slot so i went to a Wednesday morning class as a make-up.



this is what i'd presented to the class. basically, the idea was PIRACY (i hope you can see that..haha..). the message that i wanted to appeal to people was to stop (demonstrated by the fist) piracy and buy original; also stop sharing files. as for the heading, i was finding a word to link the whole idea of piracy and fist. to be honest, i could not find that one word and the body copy was just a rough idea.

comments from the class:
1. mixture of concepts because piracy is one issue and downloading is another issue. it is hard to portray both concepts out.
- actually, it is quite true. as in when i was designing, i was so much into thinking what to put in and neglect what does piracy really mean. thus, i'm planning to change to either anti-piracy or stop illegal downloading.

2. the words cannot be seen because of the background. i've to admit that i've tried using a contrasting color. However, it stood out so much that it seemed to me that it was two different entities.
- in my final changes, i'll take note of it and may be i'll try to play with other colors so that the words do not stand out but also on the other hand, not to the extent of blending into the background. of course, i'll change the words because it is really meaningless.

3. besides that, i think my motion blur was not very well done. i felt that it was more like the hand sprinkled some flakes rather than breaking the cds. so hopefully, someone will help me with the effects and answer to my call for help..

one thing that i should mention is that i want to give credits to my father for participating enthusiastically in this project. i really like the idea that the fist break the pirated cds..hee..and so glad that he is involved =)

Assignment 3: U C What I C

after two weeks, i finally finished this assignment.

oh yeah, the man in the picture is my father (*wink) cool huh, he didn't reject my request when i asked him to be my model. he was super sporting and cooperative when i asked him to do such action. though he was kind of camera shy initially, he still managed to hold his laughter and froze there till i snapped the picture. my mother and sister had a great laugh when my father was "modelling".

U C What I C: Draft

the fourth tutorial (04/03):

this is what i had presented in class.

oh well, the story goes like this:
"i was crying bitterly over something and i had the "intentions to commit suicide". thus, the stool and rope. instead of the rope, a fishing net was of better use. the story ends with the fact that i was actually trying to fish out my dead fish and i was sad because of the dead goldfish."

my classmates commented that:

1. the first two frames should be removed because the 3rd frame already depicted my sadness. they also mentioned that if i insisted on putting up the first two, i should use either the fish tank as a background instead of facing it.

i agreed to what they said because personally, i felt the first two frames were quite out of place. the initial idea was that i was so sad over something and i happened to cry in front of the fish tank and lean against it. however, i guess it was rather hard to portray that out.

i guess i will remove the first two frames to create more curiousity and re-take the 3rd frame from the top. as mentioned in class, this might portray a different feeling than just taking it at eye level.

2. i should not use 'cross' or 'tick' to convey the message that the fishing net was of better use than the rope.

i also have to agree to it. one of them suggested that i should ask my mother or sister to show me that the fishing net is better than the rope. again, the initial idea was that i wanted to capture a hand throwing the rope away. however, it was quite difficult to capture that moment. so i was thought of "crossing" the rope.

i plan to remove the two frames and change them to something like probably my sister taking the rope away and frowning at my silliness to fish out a dead fish with a rope. in the next frame, she will pass me a fishing net while i stand on the stool.

that's about it. the next post will be a final copy of this assignment.

Assignment 2: Level of Abstraction

there..my final product for Assignment 2:

the purpose of this assignment is to make the images talk, developing skills in controlling visual message. So the process of abstraction is to reduce of mulitple visual factors to only the essential and most typical features of what is being represented.

initially, i didn't want to draw the button. however, looking at it for a while, i feel that it is kind of essential to make the abstract clearer that it is a camera.

Level of Abstraction: Draft

the THIRD tutorial (19/02):

this tutorial was conducted in an unusual manner. we didn't have any face-to-face tutorial because it's e-Learning Week! oh well, though there was no class, i felt busier than usual (i.e. the days when there are face-to-face tutorials). not sure about the rest, but i prefer going to school (hee..at least not so much work..)

anw, below was what i presented at the forum (finally, i learnt how to make the three picture files into one! yay!)



first of all, thank you so much to those from DW5 who commented on my work.

to summarize the comments:

1. further abstract my last sketch, for instance:
- remove the shutter button and the rectangular shape inside the circle.
- do away with the flash.
2. harden the lines.
3. straighten the lines and make them more ridgid so as to make it more symbolic.

* the final presentation of this assignment will have a darker, straighter lines for sure. it is to shape out the camera, making it more symbolic than the above, which is like a sketch.

personally, i feel that i should either do without the shutter button or the flash. to me, i think that the shutterhole is still a significant part of the abstraction. thus, i will still keep the shutterhole and the flash.

Assignment 1: Me, Myself and I

Assignment 1: to draw your name using something you like and don't like.

my finished products:

Welcome and appreciate all comments =)

Me, Myself and I: Draft Part II

the SECOND tutorial (12/02)..

over the Chinese New Year Holiday, i've used Photoshop to color my drawings.

there are some changes to the LIKE
1. the alphabet 'E' was changed from a bitten strawberry into a leaf of a strawberry:
i decided to change after consulting my family as they felt that the 'E' was not visible. i didn't want to change it at first because i thought it was really creative to illustate the 'E' through a bitten strawberry. i thought maybe by coloring or bolding the lines would bring out the 'E'. however, i was wrong. indeed, it is not visible. (creativity kills readability). Thus, i changed the 'E' into a strawberry stalk.

2. the 'X' strawberry changed position:
this change was not a dilemma. i thought since the first two strawberries (K and E) were on the same direction, the third strawberry 'X' should be of different direction. So, i just changed the direction for more variation.

my name is emphasized by the super large stalks of the strawberries. though it's not really realistic, i like the design a lot =)

during the tutorial, my classmates commented that the background was quite bare. They suggested a cloudy sky background. i agreed that it looked really bare. one of them also suggested to lighten the redness of the strawberries. personally, i think the red looks fine to me because i feel that the red is balanced off by green color.
another suggestion that my classmates had pointed out is that the stalk of the 'I' is not straight. but i feel that it's really not necessary because it will look even weirder to have a super straight stalk.

likewise, digitised the HATE through photoshop. there are just minor changes to make the edges sharper.

anyway, i've chosen the black, grey, white color combination because i feel that dislike should not have fanciful color. i showed it to my friend prior the tutorial class and my friend suggested to add faces to the grey circles. though it was taxing (since they were hand drawn), at least i felt the sense of accomplishment.

during the tutorial class, my classmates thought it was really cute. they suggested to put those msn emoticons (e.g. angry face emoticons) but some thought it was fine this way. i'm not sure should i or not because if i do so, people may thought i dislike to msn (haha). anyhow, i'll try to figure out if the emoticons suits the theme. (and of course, will adopt it if it does suit).

Me, Myself and I: Draft Part I

the first NM2208 tutorial (29/01):

brought along myself and my four drawings:

one of the many things i LIKE is STRAWBERRIES.

(hopefully, by now you can spell out my name)

personally, i like this drawing a lot, especially the E. though it may seems as if it's bitten by rabbits (because of the only two teethmarks), i feel it is quite a brilliant idea (hee).

i also LIKE to SING (fyi, the girl in the picture is not me).

this drawing was an improvement from a stickman thumbnail to a more human-like A5. unfortunately, in the midst of enlarging the picture and changing stickman to human form, the alphabets that spelt my name were lost. =(

here is one of the many things i disliked.

(see what is it?) Not needles, but DRUGS. and yes, i dislike DRUGS. the 'K' is shaking his hand vigorously, telling the 'E' not to inject because drugs are fatal. this fatality is represented by the 'X' and of course the "culprit" is the 'I' which is a toxin syringe.

i also dislike crowded places. i prefer to have my personal space to dream, wonder, observe whenever i'm alone.

i drew stickmen as background to show that it is really crowded and the angry faces depicts my dislikes. though the idea seems good, the drawing seems messy. the feedback i received was instead of drawing stickmen, i could change the background into circles or squares. i am also thinkin of using just black and white since there is element of dislikes.


On the next post, it will be Feb 12. by then, i should have chosen my two prototypes and colored them using photoshop.