Why Do We Critique Art Anyway?

Photo by Mohammad Metri on Unsplash

If you are a lover of art, being able to go through the stages of critique of someone else’s artwork or your own artwork enables you be a better artist overall. This is because you are looking at the artwork for a long period of time and asking yourself questions about the work that might help you improve it. As someone who is not an artist, learning how to critique artwork will help you improve whatever line of work you are in because the concept of the critique will help you to learn to see details clearly, to look at the overall picture and it’s meaning. Critiquing art work is like being a private investigator or scientist of art!

The critique process is easier then you think it is!

Step 1: Describe the work of art!
To put it simply…all you have to do is describe exactly what you see in a painting. This is not a trick question…WHAT DO YOU SEE? Imagine that you are on the phone and have to describe this work to a friend so that they feel like they are there with you in the museum.

Step 2: Analyze the details!
Now you have to observe the elements and principles of art that are illustrated in the artwork. “What are the elements and principles of art?,” you say? They include the artistic concepts of color, form, line, shape, space, texture, value, balance, emphasis,
harmony, movement, pattern, proportion, repetition, rhythm, unity, and variety.

Step 3: Interpret the meaning!
Explain the meaning of the artwork; what’s the story the artwork is trying to tell? Is there a right or wrong to this part of the critique? Maybe, however, I know that the idea of getting this answer wrong will slow you down, so I like to say that you can make up your own story (unless you want to do the research of what the artist was really trying to say, which could be super interesting!)

Step 4: Judgement day!
Now you can give your constructive criticism of the artwork. Do you like it/not like it and why? What can be improved? What is its great success?

 

 

 

Bold & Beautiful

Graphic designers can “tell” the viewers what to look at first through the use of type. Other then SIZE, a designer will utilize various weights of type to not only create emphasis, but to express the hierarchy of the information. Additionally, the weight of type could also create a vibe to communicate the message of the design.

First: What is hierarchy? Merriam Webster Dictionary states that one of the definitions of hierarchy is “graded or ranked series.” In other words, using hierarchy within the art of graphic design will help show the viewer what the publication wants them to know is the most important information.

 

 

Second: What do you mean by “weights of type?” In your design program, you will choose a typeface that is appropriate to your design in your Control Panel.  In the font style pull down menu, you might be allowed to choose various weights such as bold, semi bold, regular, and light.

 

 

Third: How can I use weight of type to help express the meaning of my design?
With the weight of your type you can illustrate a company as being big and BOLD or quiet and sophisticated.

In the end, it’s not just what the words are actually saying, it’s also how they are visually presented that helps to communicate what the author needs to convey to the readers.

Bright is Beautiful

Color is worth a thousands words! You can communicate your idea, purpose and a feeling through the colors that you choose for a design. Color harmony is essential when creating a successful design.

When designing, you not only have to consider what colors look good together, but also how the colors affect the human brain emotionally and how it impacts the environment it’s going to live in culturally. Color is a BIG (and difficult) decision when designing anything…believe it or not!

Some examples on how colors affect us:

Red= Anger/scary

Blue= Calm

Green= Fresh/new

Yellow= Happy

TIP: Contrast and emphasis is KEY when trying to communicate an idea to the masses. When designing something that is going to be part of an intimate experience, you can consider analogous (similar) colors.

For Example:
Looking at the El Paso Chile Company packaging and L’Arte del Gelato logo (designed by the utterly brilliant Louise Fili) you will notice that the color scheme is the same. However, the El Paso Chile Company is more vibrant then the L’Arte del Gelato, which is more toned down. Look at them in perspective and ask yourself if they have utilized color appropriately for their respective company? The answer is….and why do you think so?

A great website with an amazing amount of info about color is: https://www.colormatters.com/

 

The Line Starts Here

Lines in art are like arrows! Use actual lines to create movement, point the viewer’s eye to an item of emphasis, underline words that are important, divide or highlight information. Hence, lines can be used as an element of the design or a function for the design. 

Designs and photo by Claudia de Almeida for Wired

In design you can also use lines of type for the same task of creating movement or even static energy.

Designs and photo by Claudia de Almeida for Real Simple

Typography overall is made up of lines and your choice of type is based on the message you want to convey.

Designs and photo by Claudia De Almeida for More

 

Is Graphic Design an Art?!

Many years ago when I was starting out, I had a heated discussion with a coworker about whether or not graphic design was an art. I said, “It is!” (I was 22 and couldn’t bare to think that I went to RISD for four years to NOT study ART!). He said, “It isn’t!” (The “discussion” went on and on— and I hated him for it!).

GRAPHIC DESIGN IS ART!

All graphic design products utilize any or all of the Elements and Principles of Art just as paintings, sculpture, illustration, and photography do (although some people don’t think photography is art…yet another post).

BIG IDEA: The Elements and Principles of Art are visual characteristics of a work that make up all art: line, shape, color, value, form, texture, space, balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, and unity. 

For you to make an engaging graphic work, you should and will utilize some of the Elements and Principles of Art. Read on for more details!

Livin’ in the Cloud

You won’t REALLY learn how to be a graphic designer until you dive into an computer app!

Some of the things that I’ve mentioned in my earlier posts won’t make sense until you open up a graphic design application and start fiddling around. There are industry standards for creating a variety of graphic design products that you MUST know.

Most, if not all, applications that are used in the graphic design industry are by Adobe and are available now. You can purchase a large suite of applications for $49.99 a month from Adobe Creative Cloud.

Below is a quick guide of what are the best programs for each design need:

InDesign: Print materials, simple interactive materials, apps with DPS (Print designers use Id)

Illustrator: Logos, illustrations, graphics, printed materials (logo designers use Il)

Photoshop: Print materials, logos, illustrations, graphics, photo editing, simple movies, gifs, apps with DPS (print designers, photographers, illustrators, painters, movie makers, and etc use Ps)

Lightroom: Organize, edit, and share photos (Used with Ps)

Dream Weaver: Design and develop websites (Web designers use Dw)

Muse: Design and publish websites without writing code (Web designers and novices use Mu)

SUGGESTION: If you can only purchase one application to get your feet wet, I would suggest getting Adobe Photoshop at $9.99 a month. It’s not the industry standard for print design and web, however if you can only afford one program, it has the best value to learn A LOT of skills. Later, you should get the program that fits your needs.

Great websites to learn about Adobe applications and how to use them:
Lynda.com
Youtube.com
http://tv.adobe.com/
http://www.teachertube.com/user/channel/MsZimmer  

Space Matters

BIG IDEA: Graphic Design is an art that is all about the details! It’s about perfection! There is no room for error!

This brings us to the minute detail of the spacing between letters—kerning and/or tracking.

Kerning: The visually appropriate placement of the proximity of letters in relation to their neighboring letters in a word.

Tracking: The equal spacing of letters within a word.

Kerning and tracking a word appropriately could mean the difference of creating a calm, sophisticated and serious feeling OR a very stressed, busy feeling.

I’m one for using loose kerning (letters spaced further apart then is normal) for headlines/titles/logos that should be modern or peaceful, like Athleta®. However, for a very active or pressured feeling I will use tight kerning (letters that are spaced very close together then is normal), like FedEx®.

Normal kerning, on the other hand, is your standard spacing where the only thing that you are using to convey the vibe of your company is the typeface you use, like Target®.

One thing to note: When kerning your letters, consider the positive and negative space the letters are creating as they sit next to each other. It is acceptable that the actual spacing might not be equal, the important part is that the spacing should be visually appropriate.

Tracking is good for when you have to cut or even add space in body copy, but a real designer (sorry folks!) doesn’t use tracking within headlines/titles/logos because they are so big that every detail matters.

Not only are these terms important for you to know so that you look really smart when you are amongst other graphic designers, but you WILL need to know these terms when designing with any design program (Adobe Creative Cloud apps recommended!)

More about programs in my next entry.

Make Some Space

Space is a major element of design that will be used everywhere in your design and it’s not limited to typography!

Leading is an important term that refers to the spacing between the horizontal lines of type (for historical background go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leading).

When it comes to headlines and titles, you may either use a lot of space between lines for a more quiet and calm composition or use less space to give your composition more stress and energy. In either case, legibility is imperative.

As seen below, two posters designed by the brilliant Paula Scher are using leading in a creative way to help not only convey a message, but to engage people to go to the ballet and theater.

 

Body copy, on the other hand, should be judged by eye. Too much space between lines or too little space can make your message hard to read. If you can read it comfortably, so can your reader. 

TIP: Be honest with yourself as a designer…even if your design looks “cool,” always ask yourself, “Am I effectively communicating my message?” If the answer is, “ehhhh” then it’s time to revisit your design….Again, be honest!

(Font) Size Matters

A headline of a story is large for a reason—to get the readers’ attention and to emphasize the main idea.

Fonts are measured in points. Point size of a font is the measurement of the height of a font that you are going to use within a design (72 pts. per inch). Utilizing the font size appropriately can help communicate your idea appropriately.

For example, your font size can help emphasize a sentiment or hide a photo credit. Hint: When designing any printed material and want people to read it comfortably, don’t go any smaller than 9pt. (Again, rules are made to be broken…) 

Fonts are measured differently for web design. Here is a great site for more info about website type setting: http://typecast.com/blog/a-more-modern-scale-for-web-typography

Serif or Sans Serif?

Since graphic design hinges on typography, it’s important to know how to discern type and why you should do so. There are two top tier categories that describe the appearance of type: Serif and Sans Serif. The difference is basic, but it can make a huge impact on how you communicate a concept.

SERIF:  Serif typefaces are those that have a line, or foot, at the bottom or top of a stroke.

SANS SERIF:  San Serif typefaces are those that do not have feet.
Why Does This Matter?… BIG IDEA AHEAD!
When you are choosing a typeface for your project, you have to think of it as the most important thing that will create the overall feeling of your project. Sans serif typefaces are usually very clear and easy to read. In addition, they could be perceived as economical or modern. In comparison to serif typefaces, which can be ornate and complex. Serif typefaces are considered to be more old fashioned, however, they are also thought of as sophisticated.

Rules Are Meant to Be Broken:
A typographic rule is that large bodies of sans serif type is harder to read in comparison to serif type. You are the designer, so you do what is appropriate to your design…just thought I would put it out there…