Creative Problem Solving and Critical Thinking...
These assignments are all specifically designed to help develop critical thinking skills, introduce you to creative thinking and problem solving techniques and strategies, and increase your "visual literacy". Many of these worksheets are based on the work of Richard Wilde, and his phenomenal book Visual Literacy.
Having been lucky enough to be a student of his while working on my Masters Degree, I consider this work to be incredibly important to your success as designers.
Having been lucky enough to be a student of his while working on my Masters Degree, I consider this work to be incredibly important to your success as designers.
Negative Space...
Negative Space is the "leftover" or unused space in your design. Its what remains after you place your objects (or design units) in your picture plane.
A good designer will spend just as much time thinking abut and manipulating the negative space as they do the positive space. Think about the PowerPoint we went over in class, and how negative space was used (or not). This worksheet will help focus your eye on the negative space in your work. |
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Visual Communication (The Road Sign)...
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The Road Sign...
In the world of graphic design, communication through imagery is the name of the game. More importantly, communicating quickly and easily through easy to read graphics is a necessity. So to, in the world of the road sign - the motorist must be able to decode the image and discern its meaning with a glance, traveling at upwards of 50 MPH. However... That doesn't mean it has to be ugly. Or a cliche (although cliche has its place). |
Symbolism and Communication (The Bar Code)...
The Bar Code...
It has become one of the symbols of the modern age - we see it everywhere, but rarely do we look at and ask ourselves what it does and more importantly - what does it mean or what does it say about us? Your task it to take the generic bar code (or its child the QR code) and create a mini piece of design, based on, or using the bar code as subject matter. BUT... Your design needs to make a political or social statement. |
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The Typographic Portrait...
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Using typography to communicate.
Type is another tool for visual communication that is often overlooked. Your task, after reading chapter 7 of your textbook, (and based on the discussion of typography in class) is to take your sheet and create name tags for yourself. However... Each name tag should use basic design principles and type (as a design personality tool) to express a given personality type or a facet of your personality as described on the worksheet. |
Seeing Sound (communication through design personality)...
If you could see sound, what would it look like? How would the sound of shattering glass be different from the sound o dripping water? Would the sound of a guitar look different from the sound of a trumpet?
Design personality is the graphic designers means to communicate through design elements (shape, color, line etc.) with a reliance on subject matter. This exercise will test your ability to express meaning with nothing but the Elements of Design as tools. |
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Theme and Variation 1...
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Four Squares assignment...
How much can you communicate to the viewer with how little?
Using a minimum of imagery (4 squares to be exact) and simple images to boot, and with a very limited picture plane, can you communicate a complex concept? Minimalism in design is harder than you think... Or then again, maybe its not... |
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Creative Thinking Time Trials 1...
How fast can you think? How fast can you work? How fast can you do both at the same time? In the graphic design and illustration field, very often, under pressure, the artist/designer is required to generate both great ideas and great work on the spot or in a short period of time. Idiom's, oxymoron's, pun's, cliche's - all of these things are excellent fodder for creative thinking.
Your task? To generate a list of 10 visual pun's, idiom's, oxymoron's or common "turns of the phrase". You will have 2 hours (1 class session) to generate your list, select 1, generate a concept, find your photo reference and craft a finished image that is both a high quality image as well as visually expresses the idea inherent in your verbiage. |
Creative Thinking Time Trials 2...
The MEME...
You know it, you love it. We think of it as a new and strange product of the 21st century, a combination of the internet and computer graphics programs, but is it really? A meme is "an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture". A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices that can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena with a mimicked theme. "Kilroy was here" was graffiti that became popular in the 1940s (WW2), and existed under various names in different countries - an early MEME! |
Creative Thinking Time Trials 3...
The Clown...
Clowns are most often associated with the circus, where they have performed a comedic role since the late 18th century. The first mainstream clown role was portrayed by Joseph Grimaldi who also created the traditional white-face make-up design. Traditionally, the white-face clown uses makeup to cover the entire face and neck, leaving none of the underlying natural skin visible. In the European white-face makeup, the ears are painted red, the features, in red and black, are delicate. The white-face clown is traditionally costumed far more extravagantly than the other clown types. |