Design Evaluation

To prepare for this assignment I visited my local Lin's Market and then wandered over to the Walgreen's Drug store across the street.  I was looking for inspiration.  What catches my eye or what do I buy and why.  Do I buy it simply because of the packaging? I settled on comparing a couple mint products.

 
Altoids
 
Contextually, Altoids hits it out of the park psychologically (strong, confidant), culturally (historic) and socially (fresh breath). Altoids have a lasting quality to the packaging.  According to their web site, Altoids have been around since the turn of the 19th century and were originally marketed for the medicinal purposes of calming the stomach. The tin container, inside paper lining and overall design gives a feel of an old time pharmacy. 
  
 The container is made of tin plating and is one of the most recyclable materials in manufacturing. 








It also a great way to store buttons, paper clips, pins, screws, etc.


The container itself is aesthetically pleasing.  Rectangular in shape and the label is embossed onto the tin. The contrast of the name "Altoids" is not only black on white but the letters and outside edge of the design are raised giving the cover texture. It has simple, clean lines. The name "Altoids" and the "flavor" are in black which draws the eye and gives the reader the information at a glance.

I find the law of similarity in the color. My eyes group the colors together, first black, then the "color" then the gold which has information, but is not as important. A interesting note, each flavor has a different "color" and that color is used throughout the design.

Icebreakers

The container of the Icebreakers is less than impressive.  It is round, plastic container with a colored base and white lid, plus it has a stick on paper label. Perhaps the goal was to make it appear like a large mint. 

When I look at this label, my first impression is it is too busy, so I asked myself why? More than anything, I think they used too many different kinds of fonts and did not use color well.

The main lettering is a block font, done with white letters and silver/black outline. My eyes don't know where to go. Plus there are all these stars in silver foil that are supposed to represent the flavor crystals, but I think they are a bit distracting.

There is a line in the design of the label from the top of the I then it uses the law of closure and swoops down to the bottom.  It gives the impression of a circle. This gives movement to the label but may also be one of the reasons my initial reaction is that it is too busy.


Going for a fun appeal, the container opens with a "to share" (large opening) or a "not to share" (small opening) option. Unfortunately on the package that I bought, the label was put on the opposite way. 

Gestalt in Architecture

Law of Similarity

I thought the fountain was a good example of similarity because when you look at it you see an entire fountain but it actually many similar shapes put together.










These round columns give the appearance of a straight line.










Law of Proximity

Here these shapes are all the same and placed close together so your eye groups them all together.

Law of Pragnanz 

This photo is a reflection of the entrance of the Eccles Art building.  It shows pragnanz because the windows are reduced to their simplest form of rectangles.

Law of Continuity

If you look at the doorway, your eye moves continuously from side of the arch to the other even though there is a space.

Law of Closure

Well this in not actually architecture...but even though you only see part of the piano and the young lady, you know the rest is there.

Here is a photo that I thought contained several of the principles.

 

Contrast, Balance, Harmony

Contextual Analysis:
This photo really spoke to me from a psychological standpoint. I love animals of all shapes and sizes, but to see something so small created an AHHH moment.  Typically I don't think of turtles as being so small except when they are babies and even then I think they would be larger than a raspberry.

Contrast: This photo does a good job showing many contrast.  The biggest is the size of the turtle compared to a raspberry. Then it uses color to make the raspberry pop out and the rest of the colors blend together. The texture of the rocks is pretty incredible.  Based on the size of the raspberry and turtle, the rocks have to be pretty small, but every shape and dimension shows up creating a very rocky looking soil. The turtles shell and skin has rough and smooth looking texture and the claws look very sharp.

Harmony: The rule of thirds is in the color.  The raspberry being on the left of the frame and the only intense color.

Balance: The photo is asymmetrical because the raspberry and turtle are not centered in the photo.

Visceral Response

When I have the opportunity to view paintings or photos I am always drawn to pictures of trees with a pathway and some light shining through. In my search for that great piece of art I found the paintings of Leonid Afremov.  His paintings are done with a palette knife and oils and are quite unique.  They are very colorful and distinctive. While I find many of his paintings intriguing

I picked October in the Forest to share with you. This particular painting gives me a feeling of peace and serenity and renewal.

October in the Forest - By Leonid Afremov

While his art is beautiful and makes a statement all on it's own Afremov's personal story is inspiring as well.  Born on 12 July 1955 in Vitebsk, Belarus, then former USSR. Afremov was raised in a traditional Jewish family and spoke Yiddish and practiced their religious traditions at home during a time when anti-semitism in the government was high and their family risked imprisonment. He lived through the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 which was only a few hundred kilometers from his town and his 2 year old son was affected by the radiation.  In 1990, he migrated to Israel in hopes for a better life free of persecution.  However, he did not find it because his family was persecuted for being Russian. 

In 2002, he moved to the United States and then in 2010 he moved to moved to Playa del Carmen, a popular resort town near Cancun. Due to many of the bad experiences he has had with galleries, Afremov prefers to sell his paintings directly to collectors.  

Design Influences

Line: The lines in the path create depth and pull you into the picture. They also gives you a sense of continuation, you can just keep walking down the path. The vertical lines (trees) give you the sense of largeness, they continue up to the sky and out of the frame.

Shape: While this is a two dimensional painting have only height and width, the lines on the path create a sense of depth, drawing you into the painting.

Color: The colors used in this painting are very intense throughout the hue of colors. The value of color indicates where the sun is shining through the trees.

Space: You could argue the negative space is the trees and path and the positive space is the person walking on the path. It creates a very isolated feeling of a person walking down a rainy path, plus the person is less focused . The pathway/lines, as I have already discussed create a the three-dimensional space.

Texture: The artist has a lot of texture in his work, not to create something that really is but more to create a tactile feel to the work.  I believe that because is has so much texture in the painting, you really do feel as though it it raining or just finished raining.