Lecture Week 4 & 5:Harmony, Unity, Symbol, Word & image.

Kam Zi Ying (0348207) 

Bachelor of Mass Communication (Hons) Advertising & Brand Management

Taylor's University

Design Principles

Exercises

Lecture Week 4 & 5: Harmony, Unity, Symbol, Word & image.

Harmony is mean the sense of elements share a common trait that fits in the same theme, aesthetic style or mood in design. The main difference between unity and harmony is that unity has a more obvious focus in a design. 

Unity refers to the repetition of elements such as shapes, colours or materials composed in a balance to create a theme throughout the design.

Graphic symbols: design of a sign, shape or object to emphasise the information or represents a story.

Pictorial symbols: image related & simplified pictures

Abstract symbols: fewer details in representing objects

Arbitrary symbols: 

-based on geometrical shapes and colours

-invented with meaning constructed

Typography of words and imagery is important to deepen the meaning of design & show the visual hierarchy & balance in a design artwork. It is also relatable to a concept of a brand. 

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Visual Research 

Shifted colour harmony 

Source: http://www.robinurton.com/blog/creating-harmony-in-color/

Colour harmony

source: https://photos.com/featured/colors-of-humanity-series-marthadavies.html

Unity 

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/259660734753975956/

Symbol 

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/834151162232900515/

word & image 

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/222857881549859686/

Word & image

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/89931323800190047/

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Artwork idea exploration 

Harmony

From the visual research of the first figure, the elements of leaves and flowers are matching well with the background using complimentary colour scheme and brings the feeling of peaceful with the shifted colour on background. It reminised me of the stained glass in the church. Hence, I got my idea from the square boxes of stained glass to develop my design artwork. 

Stained glass window in church

Source: 

https://www.dreamstime.com/brightly-colored-stained-glass-windows-dark-church-modern-stained-glass-old-spanish-church-image103963324

Word & image 

To show a deeper information of the image, text is an important element in layout to highlight the overall artwork. I got my inspiration from the clock symbol. To emphasise the main topic of time, I use hourglass in my artwork instead of clock. 

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Final Design

Colour Harmony 

The main inspiration of this artwork is from the stained glass of the window in the church, to make the overall visual looks simple with complimentary scheme theme. The topic of desert in a dimmer tone of colour is shown in the visual to show the harmony between elements and theme, contrasting a peaceful and the quiet ambience of the desert. 

 

Word & Image 

The flowing sand of the hourglass in the visual is emphasising the running of time. With the word 'EMPTY' presenting in white colour and lower opacity to highlight the importance of time are going to be empty soon. Meanwhile, the layout of the words around the hourglass are guiding the viewer's eye to look on the overflow of the design. 

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Reflection

At the beginning, I was confused on the differences between harmony and unity. After having research on both topic and analysing the lectures video again, I then understand that Unity is about having a focus point in the overall design. While Harmony is related to a similar theme, colours and feelings. In sum, I was glad that it helps me on developing my idea in a more creative way that i haven't been did before.