DESIGN PRINCIPLES | TASK 3 — DESIGN

Produce a work of design inspired / influenced by the design you analysed in Task 2.
☑ Apply your knowledge of design principles.
☑ Use of any medium / materials that are suitable to convey your visual message.
☒ Direct use of photographs.

Submission:

Visual references (citation required).
3–5 digital / manual sketches.
Final design — A4-sized, JPEG, labelled: [Your Name_Title of Design_Task 3].
A 150–200-word rationale explaining the decisions made in your design (i.e. meaning / purpose, design principles).

2.1 IDEATION & VISUAL REFERENCES

Recap: I chose UNSDG Goal 15: Life on Land and analysed Project S 4: Poison Swamps.

2.1.1 WORLD OF GOO

I tried to think of ways I could promote Goal 15 without it looking like a typical "Save the Earth" poster. Personally, I find posters of this sort boring as they regurgitate information and visuals I'm already familiar with. On the other hand, I've always been drawn to fictional destruction. They tend to parallel real-world situations, but in a more exciting manner.

For example, in World of Goo, the player is an employee of the World of Goo Corporation who collects goo balls for an unknown purpose. Throughout the progression of the game, it is revealed that the goo balls have been excessively used to create a variety of products, leading to their extinction. One of the Corporation's factories explodes due to overworking in the system, leaving behind a thick layer of smog that envelops the world (Figure 2.1.1-1).

Figure 2.1.1-1: World of Goo by 2D Boy, Week 5 (06/03/24)
The aftermath of the explosion.

I really like the way WoG explores industrialisation and extinction (both relatively heavy topics) in a goofy and contradictory way (e.g. cute yet creepy art style, upbeat yet depressing music, silly yet serious storyline, the player becoming attached to the goo balls but is unaware of their role in perpetuating their exploitation until it is too late).

Environmental destruction is nothing new in the real world, but the element of fantasy (e.g. fictional species like goo balls) and personal attachment make the destruction in WoG feel that much heavier.

2.1.2 MERIDIAN MALICE

Next, I need to think of how I want to present my design. One of my all-time favourite projects came to mind.

Meridian Malice is a fantasy TTRPG project by Merchant Swift. While I'm not particularly interested in TTRPGs, what drew me in was how information is presented. Merchant Swift takes a "found footage" approach to his content sharing. The viewer is exposed to lore and worldbuilding through various in-universe artefacts, such as pamphlets (e.g. Figure 2.1.2-1) and news articles (e.g. Figure 2.1.2-2).

Figure 2.1.2-1: Meridian Malice by Merchant Swift — Creatures of the Crimson Sea,
Week 5 (07/03/24)
Pamphlet showcasing the various creatures lurking in the ocean.

Figure 2.1.2-2: Meridian Malice by Merchant Swift — Honest Human: Trusted Human News,
Week 5 (07/03/24)
Human newspaper with anti-elf propaganda.

I like the interactivity and storytelling potential of found footage content. It makes the viewer seem like they're part of the fictional world. For my design, I think I'll do something similar.

2.1.3 MOOD BOARD

Figure 2.1.3-1: Mood Board, Week 6 (11/03/24)

2.2 SKETCHES

2.2.1 INITIAL SKETCHES

Figure 2.2.1-1: Initial Sketches, Week 6 (13/03/24)

Sketches #1 and #2 are storytelling-focused; Sketch #3 is more of a minimalistic poster design. Based on Dr Jinchi's feedback, I'll be elaborating on Sketch #1, with inspiration from Sketches #2 and #3.

2.2.2 FINALISED SKETCHES

Figure 2.2.2-1: Finalised Sketches, Week 7 (20/03/24)

I used a (largely) complementary colour palette, with the primary colour being swamp green with red and acid green accents. Inspired by Andy Walsh's use of colour saturation as a form of contrast (e.g. Figure 2.2.2-2 & Figure 2.2.2-3)

Did some minor tweaks to the design (i.e. repositioning and adjusting the colour balance of certain elements) after feedback.

Figure 2.2.2-2: The Sunken Temple of Cthulhu by Andy Walsh, Week 7 (19/03/24)

Figure 2.2.2-3: Return to Castle Grayskull by Andy Walsh, Week 7 (19/03/24)

*Sidenote: I really enjoy Andy Walsh's thumbnailing and sketching process (an example of it can be found in his Return to Castle Grayskull ArtStation post). Very dynamic and full of storytelling. Wish I found his work sooner :P

2.3 DIGITISATION

Figure 2.3-1: Progress (Procreate), Week 7 (20/03/24)

BRUSHES:

Initially, I used a smooth brush to outline the tree trunk, however, the cleanness of the lines made my illustration feel sterile.
I wanted to retain the looseness and wildness in my sketches, so I messed around with Procreate's many textured brushes until I found some that fit my illustration.
Now my illustration looks like it's being seen through a filter, which it is (i.e. the viewer is looking through the recording camera's POV).

COLOUR PALETTE:

Made the greens even more desaturated — Felt that the original green was too healthy for a dying ecosystem.
Shifted the wastewater colour to a yellowish-green — Contrasts better with the other greens while still giving off a sickly, nauseous feeling (metaphor about the earth dying?).

Figure 2.3-2: Progress (Photoshop), Week 8 (24/03/24)

I asked my family and friends for their opinions on the final designs. Most agreed that Final #1 had an eerier vibe, whereas Final #3 looked more serene. Final #2 is a bit too dark for my liking.

2.4 FINAL SUBMISSION

Google Drive

Figure 2.4-1: Task 3 — JPEG (Final Submission), Week 8 (25/03/24)
Emily Soh Ching-Ling_[REC: DOOMSDAY]_Task 3

Figure 2.4-2: Task 3 — PDF (Final Submission), Week 8 (25/03/24)

Emily Soh Ching-Ling_[REC: DOOMSDAY]_Task 3

RATIONALE:

[REC: DOOMSDAY] is a video recording of a collapsed ecosystem, a forest so polluted that the waters glow green. A creature fell into the lake and came back mutated, leaving behind only a trail of wastewater and a set of fresh claw marks.

I wanted my design to convey a sense of dread and danger, as though the creature from the lake is still there. Waiting. Watching. The use of found footage creates a sense of realism and puts the viewer into the perspective of the cameraperson. The chameleon in the midground and the deer in the background stare back at the viewer, daring them to make a sound. Fun fact: Regular deer do not have front-facing eyes.

A not-so-gentle reminder that this will be our doomsday if we don't change the way we coexist with our ecosystems.

Design principles observed:

Contrast — The bright yellow-green wastewater and red scratch marks contrast against the desaturated forest.
Movement — The curved tree leads the viewer's eye towards the crumpled warning sign.
Symbol — Arbitrary symbol of a radiation warning sign.
Emphasis — Emphasis is placed on the scratch marks and wastewater.
Balance — Asymmetrical balance; the golden ratio.
Harmony — Consistent colour palette (grey-green, yellow-green, red).

3.0 FEEDBACK

3.1 WEEK 5

General Feedback:

Design process ≠ creation process.
Each idea / sketch must be described / given a rationale.

3.2 WEEK 6

Specific Feedback:

Sketch #1:

Needs more contrast between the value of the tree and the warning sign.
Could show more traces of the thing that fell in the lake.

Sketch #2:

Shows a lot of subtlety in the storytelling.
Really like the mutated hand thing.
Maybe change the phoenix to a real animal (e.g. pangolin).

Sketch #3:

Shows a lot of subtlety in the storytelling.
Could do a mutated monster looming in the background.
Title could be something like "doom".

Have annotations. Good.
Since you are going with minimalism, don't clutter the design with too many details.
All three sketches are solid.
Could combine aspects of two sketches.
Suggest further elaborating on Sketch #1.

3.3 WEEK 7

Specific Feedback:

Increase the brightness of the warning sign.
Warning sign can be positioned higher to showcase the claw marks betters.
More claw marks + make claw marks more obvious.

Red claw marks could look very striking against a primarily dark green background.

Camera recording overlay frames the illustration.
Could add another animal at the upper right to increase the feeling of being watched.

4.0 REFLECTION

4.1 EXPERIENCE

I haven't had this much fun with an assignment in some time. Having the creative freedom to do whatever I want but with clear guidelines made ideation a lot easier and less stressful (compared to having no guidelines, cough cough Intercultural cough cough).

4.2 OBSERVATIONS

On a not-so-fun note, the last week of assignment crunching was...heart-pumping. Not the type of cardio exercise I wanted, but alas, that's what bad time management and a tendency to get distracted will get you.

4.3 FINDINGS

I should take the time I allocate for any illustration assignment and double it. Digital painting takes much longer than expected, especially for a beginner🙇

QUICK LINKS

TASK 1 — EXPLORATION

TASK 2 — VISUAL ANALYSIS

TASK 3 — DESIGN

FINAL COMPILATION

LECTURE NOTES

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DESIGN PRINCIPLES | TASK 3 — DESIGN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 INSTRUCTIONS

2.0 TASK 3 — DESIGN