Lorena Howard | Graphic Portfolio : publication design, posters, teaching projects, CI and symbols

Explorations into composition & oldy but goodie: graphic translation

This section features two rows of projects: the first stands for a long project consisting of several phases. The students created a large amount of abstract compositions, using a variety of techniques and materials (some of which will be described in the correspondent screens) that resulted in contrasting visual vocabularies.

This collection of images gave us an excuse to talk about basic notions of form and composition: form and negative space, concepts like hierarchy, balance, depth, direction, scale, movement, rhythm, contrast, texture, etcetera; visual effects and dynamics, perceptual phenomenons--like the ones explained in the Gestalt Theory--, as well as factors involved in visual interpretation, such as context and personal associations.

For the closing part of the project, the students are free to pick some favorite images and use them to design boxes: inside, outside, opening mechanism, and, if they are up to the challenge, place some meaningful object inside.

The lower row of thumbnails is linked to graphic translation projects, in which the students are required to explore ways of representing objects, places, people, by emphasizing form, function or action, meaning or context, with varying degrees of abstraction or realism.