Color Schemes

Most of my color schemes ended up being analogous.  Could mean I relate a particular color to each situation more than other colors.  Or at least a warmth or coolness is associated with the words.

Color Palette Brought to You by Heart On

For Color, Form, Production I chose an image to do a color study with.  I made two color palettes using the colors in the image.  One color palette for RGB and one for PMS.  The image I pulled these colors from was a photograph I took of the album case and artwork for Heart On by the Eagles of Death Metal.  The whole album scheme was a deep and clean red which goes along with the whole idea for the album.

Color Star and Me...and RGB, HEX, and PMS

Round two with the color star. I ran into the same snare.  The red orange messed with me again.  When I went into the pantone selection both red and red orange came out as the same pantone, but they were definitely different colors on my star.  Nevertheless, a different and more suitable red orange was chosen and the rest was straight forward.

Nature's Factory: Physics

Gravity

An alignment is created in the gravity composition between three different objects.  All three objects are related to falling and, therefore, gravity.  The alignment was established to create a movement in each set of dots.  Each compound shape formed by the falling dots starts small at the top and increases in size until they rest on the image of Earth.  The compound shape undergoes repetition to establish a better sense of falling.  Three objects says this more clearly than one would.  A symmetry was composed to make a simpler and more static image.  The only movement I wanted to portray was one that went straight to the Earth image.  Furthermore, the line of v’s pointing straight down and lying in the center along with the image of the shooting star really bring the eye down to Earth

Magnetism

Asymmetry was used to add weight to one side.  I wanted one side to have all the attractive force of a magnet.  The correspondence of the arrows between the small dots suggests like qualities in these forms, like the metals attracted to a magnet would have.  The repetition of the dots adds to the overall attractive force of the larger image of the magnetic poles.  Furthermore, a proximity was established between the arrow dots and only one end of the magnetic pole image to express the central idea behind magnetism.   Objects are magnetized by possessing opposite charges.  Naturally, these same dots couldn’t be in close proximity to the other pole 

Buoyancy

Framing was used specifically with the text on this page layout.  The word Buoyancy is cut off at the top of the page to make it appear like the missing part is floating above the page and the part the viewer sees is submerged onto the page.  Symmetry was established with the image of the buoy to avoid suggesting any other movement than an upward one.  Two compound shapes come from the bottom of the page and swirl and push the buoy upward while the rest of the blue circles behind these shapes undergo a repetition to express the density of water.  The negative space of these shapes also suggest a body of water with there wave like tips that point up and down.  Finally, the layering of the swirls pushing upward and the rest of the body of water allow a clear upward movement to be seen.  The compound shape pops out and pushes up 

Waves

The framing of this layout congests the image and make the viewer feel really close to what’s going on in the composition.  Most waves aren’t visible and require close examination to understand.  This composition suggests this same idea of a close examination with its tight frame.  Asymmetry is used to establish an origin and a better movement for the waves as they start on the left and flow to the right (and right to left for the text).  The scale difference between each wave suggests a dimensionality so that these waves can really flow in all directions.  A continuation off the page allows the viewer to imagine that these waves extend past the book and flow on indefinitely.  A compound shape was created to symbolize the shapes of waves and the repetition of this shape expresses the constant up and down flow of all waves.

Elasticity

An alignment and symmetry was established in the compound shape for this layout so that the shape didn’t have a concentration of weight or a movement to either side.  This shape stays dead center and is pulled up and down and stretched into a thin line.  Framing is used to suggest a close study of elasticity.  It invites one to question the molecular concept of an elastic object as do the dots making the compound shape.  

Tension

The alignment in the set of rope images is essential because any rope undergoing tension will be pulled straight between the two opposing forces.  Tension suggests a tightness that won’t really move.  

Friction

Framing was used in this layout as in the Waves and Elasticity layouts.  The two dominating gray circles are cropped and given a compressed feel to invite one to think on the molecular level.  The viewer is then showed a stark contrast with the white circle and the yellow image inside.  This layered compound shape is layered on top of where the two gray circles meet so that the contact between them appears to be magnified.  This magnified area suggests a scraping and friction between the two circles that can actually be seen.  Asymmetry is used to show a better movement between the two large circles.  The weight on each side but not equal is size or position and suggest a shift occurring.  A negative space was used between half circle of yellow to create the jagged forms that bump into and resist each other.  

Acceleration

The compound shapes were aligned to show them as a compound shape and one group.  Each shape is composed of circles that get larger from the left of the page to right.  Asymmetry was used to show an increase in motion on the right side of the page.  The scale of the dots in each compound shape suggest a movement from the left to the right to further enforce an acceleration from the left side to the right.  

Rotation

The globes are aligned and in close proximity to establish a sequence of events.  A scaling was used on the little blue dots so that they could act as points on the globe.  The dot and comes back again and falls into the same place as the blue dot in the bottom left globe.  The path of the globes continues off the page to suggest a continued and never ending rotation. Repetition was used to show a sequence of images.

 

A formal approach to these dot compositions allowed each student to express the words for their theme in a more interesting way.  We were given limits on how to express these ideas, and through this deprivation we were able to come up with appealing forms made from many dots.  Approaching them formally allowed us to look past the shapes as just dots or circles.  We had to rack our brains for thumbnails and ideas and through this process each student should have learned how to communicate better in an abstract, visual, and sometimes conceptual way.  

Most images I used suggested science in one way or another.  Many textures were used to create gradations and probably make up the most kinds of images I used.  These textures generally created a great movement on the pages they were used on.  Since I was dealing with Physics, this movement was vital.  Most of Physics is based on movement so these images were ideal.  The background also helped the compositions move.  The background for the entire book is one continuous grid that twists and turns and matches up on the edge of each page.  The grid flows from one page to another to further symbolize this needed movement that exists in physics.  Most of the images, including the warped grids, suggest science.  They, along with the compositions tend to appear similar to diagrams and  charts.  The color also speaks science.  Blue is a color usually related to wisdom and intelligence and is also frequently used to symbolize science classes.  Gray is a dull and boring color and when gradated into the blue hue on the front cover causes the blue to become a dull and boring color.

My main concept for the appearance of the book was to make look and feel like a physics textbook.  I used a gloss paper and a sturdy boardfor the cover which almost every physics textbook (any textbook really) I’ve come across uses.  The cover is simple and somewhat dull, which some people correlate to science in general.  All the pages maintain a good smoothness and the grids further enforce this idea of physics.

If there was anything I would have done differently it would have been to have been constantly finding images and cutting them throughout the whole course of the project.  Doing them all at once is pretty repetitive and discouraging.  Also, had I known the background grids would have taken so long to make and print, I may have avoided using them all together.  Also the back and front cover pages were printed using ink on gloss so the ink smeared very badly in both cases.  I would just simply use a laser printer next time.

Emotions from Colors

bright red 186-Positive-love, passion, comfort, warmth, excitement, cheerfulness, ecstasy 
Negative-hate, anger, violent, betrayal, fear, disappointment, frustration, 

vibrant orange1585-Positive-relaxed, comfort, calm, meditative, quiet, joy, triumph, content, excitement  Negative-frustration, jealousy, envy, hostility

bright yellow 116-Positive-Joy, Intelligent, helpful, careful, hopeful, observant 
Negative-cowardice, lazy, annoying, restlessness, nervous

earth brown 438-Positive-accepting, generous, helpful, encouraging, welcoming 
Negative-despair, hopelessness, solitude, bored, disappointment, stagnant, ignorance

deep blue 2747-Positive-loyalty, comfort, calm, wisdom, strength, determination, encouraging, masculine 
Negative-lost, hopeless, depression, arrogant

chartreuse green 584-Positive-friendly, witty, clever, quirky, surprised 
Negative-annoying, sinister, deceived, 

blue purple 267-Positive- success, reassured, certain, wisdom, confidence, generous 
Negative-arrogance, narcissism, forced, cramped, 

charcoal gray 425-Positive-relaxed, calming, resolute, wholeness, peaceful 
Negative-depression, despair, hopeless, useless, disappointment , lost, aimless

white-Positive-peace, hope, morale, anticipation,joy 
Negative-emptiness, solitude, 

black-Positive-openness, sturdy, strength, capable, expansive, inquisitive 
Negative-loneliness, hate, grief, fear, uncertainty, hopeless, timid, nervous

Layers, Like Onions...

Layers, in a nutshell, are basically a way of fitting more visual elements into an area without expanding the area.  Layers create a dimensionality that allows images to lie on top of each other.  Any images that are covered carry a continuation through the image on top which conceptually allows the entire image underneath and hidden to exist in the viewpoint.
Layers also allow more information in an area by combing two elements into one space.  The graphs, maps, and sheet music examples in Graphic Design: The New Basics by Ellen Lupton are great examples of this ability to not only allow information to conceptually and visually combine to maximize space and so forth, these examples also show how the combination of these layers drastically improves their function and   readability.

Transparency is a major aid to the concept of layering.  It adds dimensionality without entirely obscuring and interrupting images.  Transparent images also suggest different meanings.  A faded image may be used to suggest a weakness or retreat.

 Inourassignment a few things happen with the layering of dot compositions and transparent semantic compositions.  Another meaning isn't created in the layering of our transparent and opaque pages, but instead the meaning of the word is enforced through the combination of the pages.  Our books also allow for the compositions to be viewed with or without the text semantics on the transparent pages.  In my book in particular there are three levels of layering and serendipity occurring.  As in my classmates books, the dot compositions and semantic compositions overlap to express one idea.  In my book a vector grid was printed as a background.  These vectors symbolize the dimensionality, graphing, and movement associated with ideas of physics.  The dot compositions will then be adhered to these pages with these grids in the background twisting in space and creating a dimensionality that spans from page to page.  These grids also suggest a greater sense of movement which is highly necessary in physics.  The flow of some of the grids will seem to carry some dots throughout the composition.  These grids are also on the backside of every page where no imagery occurs until the transparency page is flipped over and lies on top.  The words will then be backward, thus taking away from readability but the forms created in the semantic aspects will possibly interact with the moving grids.  Here are some pics of these grids.

A Beginning to Album Collage

These pictures were like a practice run for my color harmony book soon to come.  All compositions are made using the album and its limited parts.  There are three parts to most of my CDs: the actual disc, the casing to hold the disc, and the booklet that is held in the front panel of the case.  In most cases the front of the booklet acts as the album cover too.  Inside CD booklets can be a variety of things like the band members names and roles on the album, lyrics to some or all songs on the album, notes or comments made by the artists, more album artwork (some booklets just have images and no personnel or lyrics), and much more.  In most instances though, if not all instances, the copyright information is on the back of the booklet.

So far i explored some of the purple, orange, and blue, hues I found in my collection.  They were all done on a solid white surface too.  I'm going to try putting tables and a CD player in some backgrounds and maybe have some hands holding them.  With these hues I did a complimentary contrast with the blue and orange objects, and a monochromatic study with purple and blue.  The images for the red picture all came from one album so it is not really a study.  That is the image I am pulling my palette colors from for Color Form.

Color Experience with J A

J A as in Joseph Albers. Word.  I think the thing I found most appealing was Albers' craft.  In most cases you can't even tell that the images were done with paper.  Many look digital not analog.  I was also amazed by how many solid and clean color fields he found.  The way I took it he collected most colors from scraps.  Maybe I misread on that part, but regardless his palette of colors was numerous.  I'm fairly familiar with a some of the illusions he creates like making one color look like two through contrast and creating after images using contrasting colors.  Although experiencing these series of images in his book helped me understand them a lot more.  Something that I feel like can only be done through repetition of studying color interactions.

I posted the above images from his book because of particular things I noticed in them.  With  the first image Albers suggests looking at both compositions up close and from a distance.  When trying this I noticed that both create an intense pulsating effect when held close to the eyes and moved back and forth while still staying in close proximity to the face.  This works in both compositions but is noticed far more in the orange and blue.  With the second image Albers comments on a ground exchange between the hues however I simply only see the green as the ground and not the red.

Syntactic Aspect Meets Physics

My main two goals behind these compositions was to do the most different ideas I could brainstorm for each word.  Even if they drifted slightly from the basic idea, I wanted to establish two opposite poles, in a way, and see what didn't work with them.  I thought I might be able to then look between the two ideas and find a resolution for a final composition by using what worked the best in the compositions.  Some compositions differ more than others amongst each word and some are fairly similar.

In some I tried to use certain letters to enhance the meaning.  In acceleration I was going with a down hill drag race kind of effect.  The c's were supposed to act as wheels.  In waves a w was repeated to show the motion of waves.  In buoyancy an o was enlarged to show it floating.  The enlarging of the o came from the thought of air bubbles rising in water.

Sorry they're not in a line. I can't figure out an easy way to post the pictures.

Mimic Final Composition

The first image is the final composition I turned in for class and the second is one I altered after critique.  I went back and took out the scale changes of the m and c that laid inside other like letters.  They were simply too much and distracted from the other reflected letters forms which better expressed mimic.  Looking back it was an obvious choice for those letters removed to not have been there in the first place.  The redo is much clearer and not so cramped.  The simpler form truly speaks better.

Solid Red Color Study

I chose this album to do a one solid color study because the red tone used in it is the same for the cover, the booklet, and the cd.  There are other tints and shades of red but the dominant one is primary red.

9 words decided

my final nine words, which have been known for a few days just not posted are:

gravity
magnetism
buoyancy
waves
elasticity
tension
friction
acceleration
rotation

Also my title is Physics: Nature's Factory

The Stones Perfect Logo

Lil' Logo Lesson

The Tongue and Lips logo was the icon of of the world famous English rock and roll band.  The logo spoke volumes for the band and helped make them one of the most recognizable groups ever.  The band formed in 1962 and put their first album out in 1964.  As many know, they formed in the U.K. and shortly after became part of the British Invasion movement in the U.S. alongside their musical rivals the Beatles.  

In 1971 the album Sticky Fingers was released and was the first Rolling Stones album to feature the Tongue and Lips logo.  The logo was designed by a student at the time by the name John Pasche.  Pasche, in my opinion, was lucky to have his design chosen by the band.  Or should I say the Rolling Stones were lucky to stumble upon Pasche at the Royal College of Art.  Needless to say, the collaboration created one of the worlds most popular images.  This largely came from the status of the band itself, but may have been helped by the powerful logo as well.  

The album Sticky Fingers was also designed by Andy Warhol.  The cover was designed by Warhol and the original vinyl covers were made with a real zipper that would open the pants of the person on the cover.  

The concept of the logo is pretty straight forward.  Mick Jagger has a huge mouth.  Pasche even commented on the issue about the logo design.  The tongue also represents the hard rock, gritty, rebellious attitude the Rolling Stones radiated.  The solid bright red color provokes deep emotions.  Passion and excitement are strongly suggested through the color and image combination.  The band strongly focused on the raw emotions people experience in life.  All in all, I really don’t think a better logo could’ve been made for the band.  It represents the frontman, their emotion, their passion, and their attitude perfectly.  Its so raw.

John Pasche Bio

John Pasche, most recognized for the tongue and lips logo for the Rolling Stones, is a British designer that has done work for various music artists, a few event and advertisement posters, and has claimed several awards from his endeavors.

Pasche attended Brighton College of Art from 1963 until 1967 when he received his Bachelor of Arts in graphic design.  He then went on to the Royal College of Art in London and received his Master of Arts in 1970.  While at the Royal College of Art Pasche designed a poster for the film Judex in 1969, and then another poster for the film And God Created Woman in 1970.

After graduating from the Royal College of Art, Pasche began working with the Rolling Stones on poster designs and eventually their iconic logo.  From 1970 to 1974 he created four different tour posters for the Stones.  In 1970 he created the tongue and lip logo and it was first used in 1971 on the album Sticky Fingers.  Mick Jagger had apparently gone to the Royal College in 1969 hoping to find images to represent the band.  Pasche’s image was chosen and history was set.  Referring to the logo, Pasche said that one of the first things one could notice about Jagger was the size of his lips and mouth.

Pasche’s also done other work for musicians like The Who, Paul McCartney, The Stranglers, Dr. Feelgood, Jimi Hendrix (his studios not the actual person) Judas Priest, and David Bowie.  He is also known several projects done for Chrysalis Records.

Throughout his career, Pasche has received several awards.  His first award, and one of the most notable, is IPA award Best Graphic Design Student at the Royal College  of Art.  He’s also won several awards for album sleeves and commercial and sale designs.  He now works as a freelance graphic designer in Surrey, England.

Here's pics of the original design for the logo, the logo now, the album cover of Sticky Fingers designed by Andy Warhol, and an inner slave with the first published Rolling Stones logo.