DESIGN PRINCIPLES - PROJECT 2

12/6/19 - 26/6/19 (Week 11 - Week 13)
Neoh Kar Yan (0339338)
Design Principles
Project 2 - Sense of Place

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For project 2, we were to capture the sense of a familiar place in a composition and to communicate a story through our artwork. We were free to use any mediums. 

I researched on compositions with a sense of place. Here are some of the artworks I found.

Fig.1.1: London Underground poster 1952, Edward Bawden

Fig.1.2: Back streets, Porto Portugal. Karen Stamper

For this project initially, I was stuck in the process of choosing a place. I wanted to have a place which is familiar to me and at the same time, it tells a meaningful story. After a week of thought process, I thought that it would be nice if I can visit my high school. It brings back so many memories and nostalgic emotions to me which I want to showcase that. 

I drove alone to my high school, SMK Seafield on a rainy morning and spent a good 2 hours there taking photos of every corner of the school. Thankfully, the staircases weren't locked and that I was able to climb up to visit my old classrooms. 

Fig.1.3: School Logo

Fig.1.4: Photo of my high school

I feel glad that I am able to execute this project as I've made the right decision. This project has given me the opportunity to return back to my high school, which means a lot to me. Not only it allows me to recapture the memories spent here, but I am able to share this memory and to put it in the form of art.

I chose photoshop as my medium for this project. To start with, I filtered out pictures that I can potentially use for this project then compiled them together in my desktop, to make the process of dragging into photoshop easier.

Fig.1.5: Pictures on my desktop

Secondly, I proceeded to combine elements into photoshop. 

Fig.1.6: Combining elements

I began experimenting with positioning, size, blending modes and colours to create a visually pleasing collage. 

Here is the process:

Fig.1.7

Fig.1.8 Adding a yellow gradient

Fig.1.9 Adding the 1st background picture

Fig.1.10: Adding the 2nd background picture then adjusting the opacity

Fig.1.11:  Adding extra elements

Fig.1.12:  Adding extra elements

Fig.1.13:  First outcome

I wasn't satisfied with my first outcome as the mural painting on top didn't sit well with the rest of the image. Hence, I changed the mural painting to my school's logo and added a yellow hue to the composition. 

Fig.1.14: Second outcome

Later on, one of my friends pointed out that there was a yellow line coming from one of the pictures which looked a little distracting, thus, I took her advice and returned to photoshop to remove it.

Here is my final outcome:

Fig.1.15: The Final Outcome, 'Seafield'

My final composition aims to tell a story about the place which impacted everyone and myself who has gone through their high school years in a government school. I wanted to portray elements of nostalgia from my artwork. I also showcased design principles such as perspective from the buildings, hierarchy with my school logo on the top and rhythm with the building floors.

Each elements used has their own meanings:

1. The building floors with perspective on both sides focus their direction outwards from the roof of the school building. This represents the warmness and light which my school has given to me. 

2. The signage 'Guru bimbingkan kami menuju kejayaan' means that teachers will always guide us to success. I totally agree with this statement. I wanted to put this element into the composition because I wanted to prioritize all the teachers who have impacted me and guided me throughout my school life. Without them, I may not have the success I have today. 

3. The signage 'Bilik Disiplin' has a significant meaning to me. It is called the 'Discipline room'. It is the room of all the discipline teachers. I was a school prefect throughout my high school life. When I was in Form 5, I was the secretary for the prefectorial board. Hence, I used to work in the discipline room every single day for a year and a half. I helped teachers to sort out documents, meeting minutes and all things paperwork. For most people, 'Bilik Disiplin' to them is a scary place. Reason is because for students with any wrongdoings, they will be called to the room and get punished by the teachers. It is a familiar place for all students with poor behaviour. Yet for myself, this room is a place of growth, learning, and responsibility. 

All in all, this artwork is titled 'Seafield', the name of my high school. I am grateful for this place, it has taught me a lot, and it brings back all the good memories. Definitely, It has a place in my heart and I hope my artwork brings out the sense of this place from my heart. 

FEEDBACK: Ms Sherry thought it was nice to work on a place which has a meaning to me. Some of my classmates agreed that there were alot of perspective going on and they liked the clear hierarchy shown from the school logo.