Design Presentation

My search involved looking through cigarette Ads old and new and then something else caught my eye. It comes from my childhood years when I sat through a program called D.A.R.E. I remember seeing the posters everywhere and thinking, "What the heck?" 

Taken from macdonoughschool.blogspot.com

                      From my perspective; red is a color that represents danger, white represents purity, and black represents the unknown. In this bumper sticker these three colors are presented breaking up the messages, however, I believe there is a misleading aspect to it because each statement has the same message. If like items are to be grouped together, according to Gestalt Similarity, shouldn't the colors also be consistent? "D.A.R.E", "To resist drugs and violence", and "Drug abuse resistance education" are all revealing the same message. This representation fails because the Law of Prägnanz states, "Humans tend to interpret ambiguous or complex images as simple and complete." This picture does nothing to fill in the blanks for me. One can counter my argument by saying there is not enough space on the sticker to do all the things I want it to do but even on large posters this is the only information revealed. I see the message but who is it aimed at? What kind of drugs? I think that the sticker underestimates the program it is suppose to represent by telling it's audience to little. 

On the other hand I look at this ad created by a campaign for Above the Influence,

abovetheinfluence.com

     and I notice my eyes following the slug who is pouring the salt, his arm, then the salt hitting the table, the whiteness of the salt aiming my view at the white colored call to duty in the bottom right hand corner of the poster establishing Gestalt's Law Continuity and Similarity. The background of this poster has a slight blur making it mute causing the audience to focus on the salt. The color corresponds with the text which means they are similar. Taking into consideration the Law of Prägnanz the audience has a chance to make a connection on what is going on in this poster by knowing what things are related. "What's the worst that can happen?" referring to the salt because of similar color. What I take away from this is the meaning that snails shouldn't be messing with salt not only because I know that salt denigrates snails but because when someone asks that specific question the results tend to be unfavorable. Another part of this poster that relates to Law of Prägnanz is that the snails are wearing clothing, sitting at a table, humanizing them so that the audience can assume the snails are suppose to represent people.

DARE is my example of bad design and above the influence is my example of good design.

Contrast, Balance and Harmony

                                                                   
                                                                      Photographed by Radek Leski
                                                                    Fashioned by Daryl Van Wouw

My focus is on the design of these Converse. The Balance is that the shoes are the mirrored reflection of one another from the toe cap to the tongue.  The Contrast is shown in the different textures represented on the shoe: A smooth solid brown tongue next to fur quarters all held together by white shoe laces. Harmony is represented by the contiuous theme throughout the shoe. The laces are crossed in the original fashion following the throat line to the top of the tongue. I can also find harmony in a fresh idea, these are not every day converse they are innovative. I think the designer meant to show that shoes are not only there to protect the feet but they can also make a fashion statement. Why stop at the feet? The shoe leads all the way up to the waist creating a flow of the design without interuption by pants. The person wearing the shoes has a 'look but don't touch' attitude with the positioning of his or her legs. He or she is not welcoming people to interact with him or her but instead is representing a piece of art. The feet are positioned to show of the design of the shoe, making this picture about the fashion not about the person show casing it.

Military Family Reunions

The assignment was to find something beautiful. Well in my case military family reunions are beautiful. There is so much emotion wrapped up in these pictures that I can't help but to react to it. This is what I find beautiful.