Design Analysis- ART
Savina230
design_analysis_form2.docxGraphic Design Analysis Form
Adapted from a guide by Prof. J.S. Held, Barnard College / Prof. Robert Rubyan, BMCC
The following Design Analysis Form will guide you through a visual and conceptual analysis of a particular work of graphic design that you have chosen. The form consists of four sections, with multiple sub-sections within each, and multiple questions within each sub-section. It is essential to answer as best as possible all the various questions within each lettered sub-section, to provide a complete and cohesive analysis of the work you’ve selected. Use the language within the questions in your answers.
Students must refer to the Design Analysis Guide while completing the Analysis Form. The Guide will assist you in understanding terminology, theories of design, and the specific design elements and principles (and how they’re used) within your choice. Students may also refer to the attached terminology supplement and/or research any terms that you are not familiar with.
The final document you submit for grading should be this exact form with your answers included under (retain) my questions/descriptions for each lettered/numbered section. (10-11pt, single-spaced). Do not re-write or re-structure the form. No personal embellishments/variations, please.
Students must supply at least one clear color image of the design they have chosen, preferably inserted into this document (see next page), or attached with their submission on Blackboard. DESIGN ANALYSIS FORMS WITHOUT COLOR IMAGES WILL NOT BE GRADED.
You may choose any work of graphic design/visual communication - the “printed arts”, and NOT “fine arts” such as painting, drawing or sculpture. Remember that graphic design and fine art have a slight difference; graphic design always serves a purpose, usually to inform people of something. It's usually words and image(s) combined. For this assignment you should choose a work that has word(s) (typography) and image (or shapes/forms). This could be: printed publications; magazine or newspaper covers, magazine editorials, book covers (front or full jacket), comic book covers, print or web advertisements, posters (movie, TV, or concert posters are always a good choice), album covers, billboards, website graphics (just home page, not full site), even product packaging… basically an image or design with text. The work you choose should fall within the general periods/regions/timeframes that will be covered in class. These are listed below, but pretty much anything will do.
· Early book design (Illuminated manuscripts, etc., anywhere in the world)
· Early printing (anywhere in the world)/printing during the Renaissance
· Early Industrial Revolution/Victorian Graphic design
· Arts & Crafts Movement
· European and American Art Nouveau (French, Glasgow School, Vienna Secession, etc.)
· Early 20th century styles (Wiener Werkstätte, Sachplakat, Plakatstil. Art Deco, etc., anywhere in the world)
· Russian Constructivism and its offshoots, propaganda posters (anywhere in the world)
· The Bauhaus/New Typography
· Mid-century Modernist design (anywhere in the world)
· International Typographic Style
· New York School/American Avant-Garde, Push-Pin Studios, Psychedelic Posters, etc.
· Postmodern Design of the 70s, 80s, 90s (anywhere in the world)
· Digital design/Desktop publishing
· Contemporary graphic design (anywhere) in the world
Assignment:
1. Choose work of graphic design.
2. Complete the Design Analysis Form.doc. Utilize the Design Analysis Guide to assist you with every question (.pdf file attached on Blackboard).
3. Submit essay (with image included) into Blackboard.
Grade assessment: Specific point assessment listed within each section of the Design Analysis Form.
This assignment will count 30% towards your final grade. OPEN DUE DATE - END OF TERM.
As with all assignments, students are encouraged to submit work as soon as possible, allowing for assignments to be graded, returned, and potentially revised for a higher grade/points if necessary, within the timeframe of the semester. Students will have as many opportunities as they need to revise their work after submission and initial grading, time permitting.
*Students may omit this first page of the form and submit only the subsequent following pages into Blackboard
NAME:
DATE:
CLASS SECTION NUMBER:
[insert color image of chosen design here]
General Information:
Individual designer or design firm’s name:
Individual designer or design firm’s nationality/region the work is from:
Individual designer’s date of birth/death:
Title of work:
Date (roughly) in which the work was produced:
Medium: (material(s) or software used to create work)
Dimensions: (measurements of actual produced work)
Info/History: (any brief info or history regarding the particular work, or the product/design campaign if this is a form of advertising)
1. DESCRIBE
20 points
Section 1 simply deals with a precise and objective understanding of exactly what it is we are looking at.
Detailed physical description of work: Describe in precise detail the physical/visual characteristics of the work, as you see it. You are only objectively describing exactly what you see, not providing commentary on history, meaning, expression, context, symbolism, purpose, etc. Start with a general description of the overall image, and then be as absolutely specific and thoroughly descriptive as possible with every aspect of the work, down to the absolute minutia, including background, borders, and negative space. If there is a figure in the work, do not simply say there is a figure. Describe, in great detail, every aspect of hair, facial features/expression, pose/posture, musculature, clothing, etc. Describe all elements of decoration and pattern. List all copy (words/text), and describe the style/color/size/placement of the typography (serif, sans-serif, thick, thin, etc.). Even though you are supplying images, you should quite literally describe the work as if you are describing it to a blind person. MINIMUM 400 WORDS .
60 points/5 pts each lettered sub-section
Section 2 addresses the formal characteristics of the work, i.e., how the designer uses the design elements and principles in the work. If an element or principle was not used/considered or relevant, write N/A.
A. Technique : What material or materials were used and what are their physical characteristics? If the work is an illustration and there are drawn or painted elements, how are the drawn/painted marks applied (thickly/thinly/delicately/coarsely/etc.)? What materials or software were used? Are there photographic elements? Collage? If so, describe. If the final work is a print, what type of print is it ?
B. Composition: (How the elements/parts of the work are arranged/composed with the binding edge).
Is the work symmetrical or asymmetrical, center balanced, or both? Do the elements or parts seem ordered/patterned or dynamic/freeform/accidental? Is the work simple or minimal, or complex and dense? Is there a formal compositional structure (the sense of an underlying grid that the shapes are placed within)? Yes or no.
C. Forms/Shapes: (Describes the shapes of the elements within the work) Are the shapes: organic/curved, rectilinear/straight, irregular, representational, stylized, abstract, figurative (representing a human figure), typographical? What are the dominant shapes? Are the shapes flat, or do they have a sense (through shading/modeling) of mass, or three-dimensionality?
D. Size: Is there a variation in size of the elements/shapes within the work? What is the largest element/shape?
E. Space: Is there an illusion of depth/space within the work? How is depth suggested (diminishing size, overlapping, atmospheric perspective, linear perspective, etc.), if at all?
F. Color: (Including black, white, and grays). Are the colors bright (saturated) or subdued (unsaturated)? Are there many colors (“wide” palette) or few (“limited” palette)? What are the dominant colors? Are the colors warm (reds/yellows) or cool (blues/cyan)? Are the colors opaque (solid) or transparent (see-through)? What is the psychological effect of the colors used?
G. Position/Direction: Describe the position or direction of the elements in the work, or the work itself, as they relate to the elements within the work, to the binding edge (border), or to you, the viewer.
H. Gravity/weight: (Not physical but visual; heaviness, lightness, stability, instability. Visual Weight refers to visual presence, impact, or emphasis, see 2.I, below). Is there a sense of gravity within the composition? Do some elements have greater visual weight than others? What are they, and how is this achieved?
I. Emphasis: Is there a particular focal point? What is the first element you see in the work? The second? How does the designer pull the viewer’s attention/gaze to a particular part of the design? (E.g. contrast of size, contrast of value. Contrast – see 2.J – often creates visual weight and focal point).
J. Contrast/Variety : Are there obvious variations in light/dark? In size? In color, etc.? What is the effect of these contrasts on you, the viewer ( e.g., do they create a focal point, or point of visual tension within the work)?
K . Rhythm : Observe how your gaze is induced to move through the work. Is there a noticeable movement or visual flow (of your eyes) within the work? Is the general feeling you get kinetic (active/energetic, lots of visual movement) or static (inactive/rigid, little visual movement)? It may be both. How is this achieved? Is there a pattern or repetition of elements/forms that creates visual movement or activity, or inactivity?
L . Unity/Harmony : Is there a dominant sense of harmony or continuity? Which element or elements (color, form, shape, texture, etc.) help to promote consistency the most? Do the elements create a unified whole or a work that seems disjointed/chaotic? Is this intentional?
3. INTERPRET
10 points/5 pts each lettered sub-section
Section 3 deals specifically with interpreting the iconography, meaning, and purpose/intent of the work. I.e., what is the designer trying to do or say through the work of graphic design.
A . What is the designer trying to say or do with this work? What, if any, is its purpose? Is the work an advertisement? If so, what is being advertised? Who is the target audience? How does the designer use the elements and principles of design to express some quality or information about the product? How does the designer make you feel about the product/idea/statement that is being communicated?
B. How do the subject/themes/symbols/forms/elements/composition, etc. convey specific or abstract ideas, values, sentiments, etc.? If there are symbolic or allegorical elements within the work (or the work itself), what are they and how should they be interpreted? What do these elements and the work itself say about the period or culture in which it was created? Be specific.
10 points
What do you think of the work? In your opinion, what is the success or failure of the work? Why did you choose this work? What does it make you feel? Are there specific elements or areas of the work that attract/repel you? Why is this? Be specific.
5. RESEARCH/BIBLIOGRAPHY
Please research the specific work and/or designer, and, if possible, provide a brief statement. This could be referencing any or all information pertaining to the specific work, the designer, or the period or culture in which it was created. Further research may include information regarding the general style of the work., or your own thoughts on the style/genre. For example, if you have chosen a particular graphic work in the French Art Nouveau style, and you are unable to find any detailed information on that particular work or designer, you can provide some information on French Art Nouveau in general. Cite any sources.
