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A Practical Exploration of Compositional Balance: Manifesto Document

Final Crit of Practical Work

Positive Feedback:

• Strong synthesis between theoretical research and practical. 
• Can see the development from tests and experiments into final outcomes. 
• The final outcomes reflect the creative process they were created with - can tell between ones made with rules and ones without. 

Thoughts: 

I am really happy with the feedback I got from this final crit. I think what I've been investigating and intending to achieve with this practical project has come across well to others, which is always nice to see. I agree with the comments that I should continue to investigate this beyond the research project within my general practice - I really like the idea of creating a series of similar screen-prints exploring composition. I think images like these could definitely work well on something more product/retail related - like soft furnishings (rugs, upholstery) or clothing. 

Survey

These are the results of the survey I conducted within the final practical crit. I did not get as many responses as I would have liked but the reactions to my work have proved interesting. In the survey, each category of images were either titled with "A", "B" or "C", to provide anonymity, and also numbered 1 to 3. The participants were then asked to mark in the corresponding column in response to two questions: "Which set of images have the most balanced compositions?" (out of each set) and, more specifically "Which individual image(s) have the most balanced composition(s)?"

A - Play 

B - Rules

C - Breaking the Rules

• Two thirds of participants marked in column B, meaning they think the category of images made using the manifesto of rules are most balanced. 
• The remaining third marked in column A ('Play') , and no one in column C ('Breaking The Rules"). 

• The most popular image, was B1 (featured below), which is balanced according to Arnheim's rule of homogeneity through the use of symmetry. 

What do these results mean for my practical research?

These results could support the argument that Arnheim's psychological theories are more effective in producing balanced composition than when purely working from creative intuition. It also supports the idea that symmetrical images represent a greater sense of balance than ones made up of counterbalancing forces. 

But are these results reliable?

• This has only been measured against my own sense of intuition - therefore it's a very narrow comparison from which to draw such a conclusion. 
• Can we trust the opinions of others to be fact - probably not because the way we appreciate artwork is always somewhat influenced by subjective taste. 
• Are these images complete reflections of compositional balance or even the theories outlined in the manifesto? They must to some extent be influenced by my own visual preferences. 

Final Collaged Paintings

• I made a final set of collaged paintings, 3 in each category of "Play", "Rules" and "Breaking the Rules". 
• I am overall very happy with these collages. I think each category reflects their own creative process but the common use of similar textures, colours and forms create a sense of continuity across all nine. 
• In the process of making these, however, I found it difficult to use the manifesto as a determinate set of rules - does this mean they do not fully reflect Arnheim's theories? 
• Personally I prefer the "Play" set of images. I think because they were made through a lot of testing and experimentation they have a sense of fluidity and playfulness to them that the others lack.
• The images made concerning "Rules" feel very rigid and definite in their structure.  

I would like to use the upcoming crit to conduct a survey, asking people which set of images they think have the most balanced compositions. I think this could help draw more interesting conclusions out of this research and resolve my curiosities on which works better - rules or creative intuition? 

"A Designer's Art", Paul Rand

(pg4) “The Designer’s Problem”

“To believe that a good layout is produced merely by making a pleasing arrangement of some visual miscellany (photos, type, illustrations) is an erroneous conception of the graphic designer’s function. What is implied is that a problem can be solved simply be pushing things around until something happens. This obviously involves the time-consuming uncertainties of trial and error.”

“The designer is confronted, primarily, with three classes of material: a) the given – produce, copy, slogan, logotype, format, media, production process; b) the formal – space, contrast, proportion, harmony, rhythm, repetition, line, mass, shape, colour, weight, volume, value, texture; c) the psychological – visual perception and optical illusion problems, the spectator’s instincts, intuitions, and emotions as well as the designer’s own needs.”

Pg(239)

“Graphic design which fufills aesthetic needs, complies with the laws of form and the exigencies of two dimensional space; which speak in semiotics, sans-serifs, and geometrics; which abstracts, transforms translates, rotates, dilates, repeats, mirrors, groups and regroups is not good design if it is irrelevant.

Graphic design which evokes the symmetria of Vitruvius, the dynamic symmetry of Hambidge, asymmetry of Mondrian; which is good gestalt, generated by intuition or by computer, by invention of by a system of coordinates is not good design if it does not communicate.”

By the argument of Paul Rand if a piece of design does not effectively communicate, or solve the presented problem – even if it is aesthetically appealing – as a commercial service it does meet the needs of the consumer or client and therefore is not good design.

The psychological theories of Arnheim and Ross pose an understanding of aesthetics within design, however do not provide a finite way of processing, translating and effectively communicating subject matter. Therefore their importance to contemporary design practice, as according to Rand, is in fact limited as they do not provide all the necessary elements of a design work. 

Rand, P. (1985) A Designer's Art. New Haven & London : Yale University Press

Experimenting with Collage: "Rules"

• Selecting the best combination of forms through thumb-nailing, I have been making a series of collages derived out of my written manifesto on compositional balance, as according to Arnheim. 
• I am finding it sometimes hard to apply Arnheim's theories to the making of my images. It takes a lot of thought to generate a collection of forms that both look visually appealing and in some way apply to these rules. 
• I think in many aspects my own creative intuition does play a part in the making of these images. 
• So far, within the collages, I have been experimenting with my combination of media - using gouache, mono-printed textures, coloured card and coloured pencil.
• The coloured card, in itself, is good to use physically as it allows me to move elements around and therefore play with layout - but the texture of it doesn't give a very nice finish. 
• I started using gouache and coloured pencil together - but felt that it not provide enough differentiation, so have resolved on using the mono-printed textures and gouache paint.