Research Task:​ Visual Dynamics

Brief

The Open College of the Arts asked me to read an essay entitled ‘Point, Line, Plane’. Written by graphic designers Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips. In this blog, I have made notes on the essay.

Essay Reflection

“Point, line, and plane are the building blocks of design. From these elements, designers create images, icons, textures, patterns, diagrams, animations, and typographic systems.”

(Phillips, 2014)

The quote above is from an essay ‘P​oint, Line, Plane​’.

You can access the essay from the OCA Library here:

http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucreative-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4518455 

The author goes into considerable detail regarding the ideas of point, line, plane, space, and volume, as well as drawing with code. It was intriguing to discover ways of using points in a drawing depending on where they are positioned and how they might link to their surroundings. Points can have hardly any value to a drawing or be extremely valuable. (Phillips, 2014) The description of each topic has given me more insight into how to use point, line, plane, space, and volume more effectively in the future. It was helpful to see drawings and photographs with visual examples of every concept. 

At the end of the chapter, there were two projects that challenged students to consider new ideas. I thought this may be helpful for me in the future, so have made notes on the exercises and I have written them up into short briefs for me to complete in the future.

Exercise 1: Three objects, thirty-three ways

Brief

• Observe, represent, and abstract visible objects using a variety of materials and techniques.
• Visit an unusual place with surprising things to see and observe, such as a local museum, aquarium, or botanical garden.
• Produce observational drawings of three objects, pay special attention to the appearance of form, colour, texture, and materials.
• Create a word lists and drawing from memory create ninety-nine studies.

Exercise 2: Spatial translation

Brief

• Chose a space to observe it from multiple points of view.
• Observe it from multiple psychological points of view.
• Produce images using diverse media and mediums.
• In your images, you may be representational, literal, abstract, iconic, indexical or symbolic.
• finally, create a series of representations using dot stickers, tape, and cut paper.
• Using the previous observations create a sequence of ten images suitable for an accordion fold book.

Reflection

Reading the book extract has taught me that patience, observation, and perseverance are key assets to being a creative designer, and I hope that finishing the two briefs from the book will help enhance my own skills. Unfortunately, I know I lack patience and find it difficult to draw random objects without a goal, but the knowledge gained from this research activity has provided me with an objective to aim for. By completing these briefs, I will be able to measure my progress and watch how my sketching skills change.

References

Phillips, J. C. (2014) ‘Point, Line, Plane’, in Graphic Design: The New Basics. New York, NY, USA: Princeton Architectural Press, pp. 33–47; 15 pages.