Grace Walker Communication Design

A diagram is a graphic representation of a structure, situation, or process. They allow us to see relationships that would not come forward with a straight list of numbers or a verbal description. Edward R. Tufte - “A chart or diagram should employ no metaphoric distractions or excessive flourishes, but should stay within the realm of objective observation”. A network (graph) is a set of connections among nodes or points. Centralised networks include pyramids and trees, where all power issues from a common point. A decentralised network has a spine with radiating elements. A distributed network has node-to-node relationships with no spine and no centre. Diagrams for product design: Matrix diagram Action flow User flow Venn diagram Design Task 1 For this task, I used red lines to connect a grid of dots in different ways. The first is a distributed network and the second two are decentralised networks.  Design Task 2 For this task, I created a di...

Surface pattern is creating a vibrant discourse. Rebirth of ornament. Nearly any pattern arises from 3 basic forms: Isolated elements (dots) Linear elements (stripes) The crisscrossing or interaction of the two (grids) Pattern design is about creating a larger texture. A pattern results from repetition. Every pattern follows a rule - designers can define rules with computer code meaning they can create variations by changing the input into the system.  Design Task 1 Here I created a simple element and added variation to show pattern. Design Task 2 For this task, I created a seemingly random pattern of cats and used slightly overlapped tiles to make a repeating structure.

A grid is a network of lines. The lines are typically vertical and horizontal and evenly spaced. Guidelines help the designer align elements in relation to each other - layout process is more efficient. Grids are culturally associated with modernism. They help designers create active, asymmetrical compositions in place of static, centred ones - leave some spaces open rather than filling up the whole page. Create a black-and-white concept first, then use colour to emphasise or counteract the underlying structure. Columns break up space and make pages less overwhelming for readers.  Design Task 2 For this task, I designed a weekly calendar page. I tried to think creatively and move away from the standard square format of calendars.

Every design problem is completed within a set of constraints or limitations. Modularity is one of these constraints. A module is a fixed element used within a larger system or structure e.g. a pixel. Breaking the rules of a standard design can produce a new response. Modular type can be made of anything. Think about the negative space around the letters. A calligrapher can freely adjust a character in relation to the marks coming before and after. A symbol stands for or represents objects, functions, and processes. Symbol systems are often based on geometric modules that come together to create myriad forms and functions.  Design Task 1 For this task, I used a grid to produce four letterforms with common characteristics. I then translated this into an image from physical objects. Design Task 2 In Illustrator, I used a square, a rectangle and a quatre-circle to make the alphabet, experimenting with letterforms. Design Task 3 I created all the char...

In Photoshop, I used a pair of contrasting letterforms; g & Z, and created logos using just the letters and a background to see how the curves and straight lines contrasted. 

Transparency suggests clarity and directness at a social value. In design, transparency is used to create dense, layered imagery. Opacity.  A viewer perceives the transparency of one plane in relation to a second one. In video and animation, face and dissolve transitions are used.  No material is wholly transparent e.g. scratches or cracks in glass. Graphic transparency. Design Task 1 For this task, I looked for transparency in the environment and photographed examples. These are shown below: Design Task 2 Here I combined image and type, and made parts transparent to see how it affected the image. For the first example, I made the text over the people transparent, to make them stand out and for the second example I used an image of a church and put a layer of crosses on top, and then made a large cross symbol in the crosses transparent so it is hardly noticeable, which is an effect I like.  Design Task 3 For this task, I combined an im...

Layers are simultaneous, overlapping components of an image or sequence. Most printing techniques require an image to be split into layers before it can be reproduced - digital techniques automate this process. Layers allow the designer to treat the image as a collection of assets - Can vary the design by turning layers on and off. Cubists painters popularised collage in the early 20th century. Map designers use data layers. Temporal layers - simultaneous.  Design Task 1 For this task, I chose contrasting images of the Berlin Wall - one of freedom and one of a girl unable to even see the other side. I then used photoshop and created a double exposure composition of these two photographs and added a text, blending it into the image in places. The result is below: Design Task 2 Here, I devised a way for 3 stories to be read at once, by using different ways of presenting them in a square. Design Task 3 For this task, I used 4 sheets of coloured pa...

Hierarchy is the order of importance within a social group or in a body if text. It is expressed through naming systems and conveyed visually, through variations if scale, value, colour, spacing, placement and other signals. Visual hierarchy controls the delivery and impact of a message. A table of contents must be visually exciting and memorable as well as serving the function of a hierarchy.  Design Task 1 For this task, I explored the use of hierarchy to organise a text for an exhibition announcement. I found adding colour and spaces made the text easier to read, with important information standing out. I changed the arrangement slightly 6 times until I was happy with the result. Design Task 2 For this task, I used text from a restaurant menu and organised it into categories and used the type tools to show visual hierarchy. I used Helvetica Neue Bold Italic for the categories (e.g. starters), Helvetica Neue Bold for the dish titles, Helve...

Modern designers often seek to eliminate frames. In politics, framing refers to explaining an issue in terms that will influence how people interpret it. The frame is subservient to the content it surrounds, disappearing as we focus on the image or object in view, yet the frame shapes out understa nding of the content. Experimental design often exposes or dramatizes the interface. Frames often serve to contain an object and Mark it off from its background. The eye contrasts the camera - every photograph is a frame but the eye is in constant motion, focusing and refocusing. Cropping can give a picture new meaning and emphasis. Margins provide open spaces around texts and images. An image 'bleeds' when it runs off the edges of a page. Adding text to a picture changes its meaning, just as adding a picture to text changes the meaning of the text. A graphic border can help define an image which lacks an obvious edge - creates a transition between image and background.  ...

Human cognition simplifies an enormous range of stimuli into understandable units -merges what we see with what we know. Visual perception is shaped by figure/ground relationships. We separate figures from space, colour or patterns that surround them. People are used to seeing the background as passive and unimportant in relation to the dominant subject. Graphic designers seek a balance between figure and ground - this relationship beings energy and order to form and space. Figure/ground is also known as positive/negative space. The brain puts together past experience and immediate sensory input in order to successfully navigate the environment. Designers crop, overlap and fragments images that exploit the brain's ability to full in missing information. We immediately recognise the shapes of letterforms. Perception can also cone in the form of sound - we associate sounds with objects. Grouping combines and separates in human perception. There are 6 modes of grouping: ...