Blog Exercise: Tone and Color

How Tone is Operating:

Cool tones are apparent throughout this ad. The soft sky and crisp blue ocean compliment the natural tones of the rocks, wood and sand. Contrasting the cool tones are the bold and warm tones from the Corona bottle. 

How Tone is Interacting: 

The tone of the ocean with its light and dark, create a movement. Specifically where the brightest of the whites meets the ground, and where the darkest tone creates folds in the sand. Also, the varying tones of the beer make it appear crisp and refreshing.  

How Color is Operating:

Colors in this ad act as focusing points. The textures of the wooden arm rest draw us in, and its line leads us to the bright and bold Corona bottle, creating a focal point. Presenting itself in front of subdued colors to standout. 

How Color is Interacting:

The colors are interacting with each other giving off a sense of relaxation. There is no static to distract us, and the soft colors put us in calm mind set. With the softness is the punch of color from the bottle, reminding us what the ad is for. 

Blog Exercise: The Basic Elements

Shape: Shape is utilized here to draw and divide attention. The squares around the date are straight forward and get to the point. While the silhouettes forming triangles in the background are loose and organic, suggesting freedom and action. Squares are used once more at the bottom of the poster, again to provide information with the use of a working shape.  

Dot: The dot, blatantly used here, is a connecting shape. The number of dots, and its liquid nature has us unconsciously blending the form to create a picture in our mind. Composition of the dots also creates an deception of tone in the photo, which helps us create a photo. In this case, a portrait of a woman's face. Distance in relation to each dot can make the eye view an image more or less intensely. 

Line: Line is used commonly in photography, especially landscape photography. The directional nature of the line helps us create distance and breaks within a composition. In this photo, the lines of the bridge narrowing towards the center give the appearance of length and draw our eyes to the center. The direct horizon line in the center of the page breaks the photo and gives an endpoint. While the loose indecisive lines of the mountains are fluid and free.  

Visual Thinking Research

 
Left: With this one, my friend guessed 18 triangles. She self-organized and started from the cat's tail and ascended the triangles as she counted. To stay organized she grouped the triangles and would outline each one to refrain from the noise of the others.

Right: My guess was 16 triangles. I began from the top with the ears and followed the hierarchy of the triangles. After counting the large triangles in the body, I moved on to the small ones inside the body and then to the tail.




Left: My friend used the theory of similarity and continuity to solve this puzzle. She started from the outside and multiplied her triangles by squares each time she saw a grouping.

Right: When solving this puzzle I used the simple route of counting by familiarity. I saw four squares and counted the amount of triangles in each square. I then worked outwards and counted the larger triangles surrounding the smaller ones.

Visual Perception 1/ Top-Down Visual Processing

http://daisywarejarrett.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/georgegriemindscape1.jpg

As a visual communications major I like to discover new insights. Surreal images are interesting in top-down visual processing because of their complexity. While our brains are looking to accomplish a goal, it is also taken off guard by the uniqueness of the piece. With the graphic being monochromatic, our eyes naturally become fixated on the light, and biased to its surroundings. Following the light our eyes travel with the ship to look ahead. Then as our scan path moves away from the light they follow the shapes and figures and loop back to the light.