Digital Photography and Imaging / Project 2

20.9.2021- 11.10.2021 (Week 5 - Week 8)
Cheryl Voo Yie Qi / 0349878
Digital Photography and Imaging / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
Project 2

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LECTURES

Week 5 (20/9/2021) - Poster Design Development
Conceptual Poster Design

- Posters are a conventional medium to convey information to the target audience.
- If too many colors, fonts, images or animated figures are involved in conveying information or message, it confuses the viewers.

Fig 1.1, posters, https://www.canva.com/create/posters/

The power of posters in generating awareness on an issue or conveying a brand message and luring the audience into buying products or services is immense.

When you start brainstorming for your poster design idea, you need to ask yourself why you’re making this poster :

1. Is it a poster for brand awareness? 
2. Is it an advertising poster? 
3. Is it a Public Service Announcement poster? 

A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated without charge, with the objective of raising awareness of, and changing public attitudes and behavior towards, a social issue.

Creative posters where meaningful information comes wrapped with striking pictures and images.

Fig 1.2, example of  Public Service Announcement (PSA) Poster, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/525795325219799671/

Creative Poster is made up of four key features: 

• Title
• Graphic
• Text
• White space

Layout, flow, and color affect the order and style of these four key features.

Fig 1.3, example of creative poster, https://venngage.com/blog/creative-poster-ideas/

Title

The title is a descriptive indicator of the contents of the poster, and it should not exceed two lines of text.

Text

The text should clearly describe the message clearly but not overloaded. 

Graphic 

Graphics must appear in context with the main text. Choose high-resolution images (300 dpi or higher).

White space

White space creates ​“breathing room” within poster, which helps viewers avoid feeling overwhelmed by the information being presented.

Layout

There are many design layout . (For our project, we suggest graphics-centered layout)

Flow

Flow coordinates with how readers’ eyes move around the different sections of poster. Maintain Hierarchy While Displaying Your Message.

Colour

Color draws reader’s gaze and define the different sections of your poster. 

We need to think about :

1. Will My Design Create An Impact? 
2. What is the purpose of my poster design?
3. Am I clearly depicting the idea of my poster design?
4. Does my poster convey its message meaningfully and beautifully?

Week 6 (27/9/2021)- Poster Design Execution 

Continue to last week's lecture, about A public service announcement (PSA), how a designer evokes viewer's feeling, deliver strong impression? Here are the ways:

• Shock Value →Brutal

Fig 1.4, example of shock value, source from lecture

• Provocative→Upsetting
  
  

Fig 1.5,example of provocative, source from lecture

• Humor →Sarcastic

Fig 1.6, examples of humor, source from lecture

• Sensitive→Heart warming

Fig 1.7, examples of sensitive, source from lecture

• Artistic →Subtle

Fig 1.8, examples of artistic, source from lecture

Most mental health PSA posters take gentle approach. (Graphics work well, Target audiences vulnerable)

Fig 1.9, Example of mental health PSA, source from lecture

Fig 1.10, Example of mental health PSA, source from lecture

Week 7 (4/10/2021)- Colour Theory

Colour theory is both the science and art of using colour. It explains how humans perceive colour and how the messages colours communicate artistically and emotionally.

Fig 1.11, The colour wheel, source from lecture

RGB vs CMYK

RGB colour is used to display on your computer screen

Cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) are the primary colours of printing. 

Fig 1.12, RGB and CMYK, source from lecture

• RGB (Additive color mixing model)
  TVs, screens and projectors use red, green and blue (RGB) as their primary colours.

Fig 1.13, RGB , source from lecture

• CMYK (Subtractive color mixing model)
  The CMYK color system is the color system used for printing.

Fig 1.14, CMYK, source from lecture

Hue, shade, tint and tone

• Hue is the most basic of color terms and denotes an object’s color. 

• Shade is a hue to which black has been added. For example, red + black = burgundy.

• Tint is a hue to which white has been added. For example, red + white = pink.

• Tone is a color to which black and white (or grey) have been added.

Fig 1.15 & 16, Hue, shade, tint and tone,source from lecture

Colour Harmony

The arrangement of the colors in design is the most attractive and effective way for user’s perception.

Fig 1.17, Colour Harmony, source from lecture

Monochromatic 

Monochromatic is hard to make a mistake and create a distasteful color scheme.

Fig 1.18, Monochromatic, source from lecture

Analogous

Analogous are 3 colors located right next to each other on the color wheel. (Usually one of the three colors predominates)

Fig 1.19, Analogous, source from lecture

Complementary

Complementary colours are opposites on the color wheel, they make imagery pop, but overusing them can get tiresome.

This scheme is opposite to analogous and monochromatic since it aims to produce high contrast.

Fig 1.20, Complementary, source from lecture

Split-Complementary

It involves the use of three colors. Start with one color, find its complement and then use the two colors on either side of it. 

Fig 1.21, Split-Complementary, source from lecture

Triadic

Triadic colors are evenly spaced around the color wheel and tend to be very bright and dynamic. 

Using triadic color scheme creates visual contrast and harmony simultaneously.

Fig 1.22, Triadic, source from lecture

The Psychology of Colour

Colours have an extraordinary ability to provoke specific emotions for each individual and to attract people’s attention and harmony simultaneously.

Fig 1.23, The Psychology of Colour, source from lecture

While perceptions of color are somewhat subjective, some effects have universal meaning. 

Fig 1.24, The Psychology of Colour, source from lecture

Warm vs Cool

Draw a line through the center of the wheel, and you’ll separate the warm colours from cool colours .

Fig 1.25, Cool and warm colours, source from lecture

Warm colours

• Warm colours often evoke feelings of happiness, optimism and energy. 
• Yellow, red and orange can also have an attention grabbing effect and signal danger or make you take action (like think stop signs and hazard warnings)

Cool colours

• Cool colors are usually calming and soothing but can also express sadness. 
• Purple is often used to help spark creativity as it’s a mixture of blue (calm) and red (intense).

Black

• Black adds an air of sophistication and elegance, and also mystery, though with much bolder confidence.

White

• As primary, white gives off an impression of clean, virtuous, healthy.
• White pairs well with just about anything, making it ideal as a secondary colour. 

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INSTRUCTION

Week 5 (20/9/2021)
Project 2A
My reflection 
I followed the steps like how I did in the Shazam exercise.

Fig 2.1, process of clipping out from the background

Next, I match the colour of my image to the background, and I added shadow and gaussian blur to my image. After that, I added my reflection to the water using the same technique as the Shazam exercise.

Fig 2.2, process of adding shadow

Here is the result :

Fig 2.3, Result

Fig 2.4, Final in PDF

Recoloring Black and White Photo 

Exercise for recoloring black and white photos:
I chose this photo from lots of it that are provided by Mr.Martin.

Fig 2.5, Original photo

 I took these photos as reference for skin colour and hair colour.

Fig 2.6, skin and hair reference, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/654992339534343622/

Fig 2.7, hair reference, https://www.shutterstock.com/search/black+boy+model

Fig 2.8, process of taking the skin tone color from reference

Fig 2.9, process of taking the skin tone color from reference

Fig 2.10, process of taking the hair color from reference

Fig 2.11, process of recoloring photo

Fig 2.12, Final result

Fig 2.13, Final Result in PDF 

Project 2B : Digital Poster

Mental heath affected by COVID19

   I wanted to say as a person who loves to stay home and is somehow an introverted person,  it was easy to stay home at first. But slowly, I felt kind of imprisoned and frustrated. In 2020, when I was still a high school student, the time of staying at home is more than the time of being in school. We used to have online classes too, it was sad to not sit in class and have fun with friends but sit in front of the computer at home. My biggest regret is me and my classmates can't even give each other one last hug on that day before we graduated since some of them are going to study overseas.

   Luckily, me and my family were still healthy during this pandemic. However, hearing so many unfortunate cases is quite broken-hearted. Seeing the number of deaths is getting higher and higher, some of them are even medical personnel, I felt really helpless and started to think is it the end of the world, humans are going to die. It was hard to believe the situations like movies are actually happening now. 
   Other than that, studying at home is quite tiring and stressful since we spend more time on the computer and studying at home means more time for studying even the class is over. But compared to adults who are struggling to survive during this pandemic, my mental and physical health is lighter than they are. No matter about the financial problem or about health, everyone is trying hard to survive during this pandemic, hope this pandemic could end as soon as possible.

Research on "mental health affected by COVID19":

Research from Association for young people's health (UK)

(https://www.youngpeopleshealth.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Impact-of-Covid-19-on-young-people-briefing.pdf)

The Association for Young People’s Health (AYPH), their focuses is on the 10-24 age group because this is such an important age for health. There are 11.6 million young people of this age in the UK, forming 20% of the population. 

Fig 2.23, Research from Association for young people's health

It is important to set any discussions of mental health impacts on young people in the broader context of pre-existing concerns about high levels of problems. In fact, the prevalence data specifically for rises in 11-16 year olds were not statistically significant, despite an increase in probable disorders from 12.6% to 17.6%. When we look at the older age group (17-22), rates seem high (20% overall, 27% for young women), but trend data were not available so it was not possible to say if this was an increase attributable to the pandemic. 

Fig 2.24, Research from Association for young people's health

Research from Unicef 

(https://www.unicef.org/lac/en/impact-covid-19-mental-health-adolescents-and-youth)

The research amplified the voices of 8,444 adolescents and young people between the ages of 13 and 29 in nine countries and territories in the region. 

Among the participants, 27% reported feeling anxiety and 15% depression in the last seven days. 

Fig 2.25, Anxiety

The general situation in the countries and their localities has affected the daily life of young people as 46% report having less motivation to do activities they usually enjoyed, 36% feel less motivated to do regular chores.

Fig 2.26, Less Motivation

Lastly, 43% of the women feel pessimistic about the future compared to 31% of the male participants.

 

Fig 2.27, Pessimistic about the future

Posters Research

Fig 2.28, Poster example, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/894879388427826133/

I like how the word "EDM" and the orange line "cut" into the girl and her hand. This poster used black, white, and different shades of orange and it creates contrast in this poster. 

Fig 2.29, Poster example, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/12033123993611645/

I like the red words turned into white when they go across the man's head to create a difference. The composition of this poster is also showed balance and it is tidy overall. I also like how it keeps it simple by using a few colours only.

PSA Posters Research

Fig 2.30, PSA Poster , https://www.pinterest.com/pin/813392382706511982/

From the poster, I think it trying to tell that people are depressed and frustrated during this pandemic by the masked look, the plastic glove, and the position that his hand placed on his head. I like how the word "mask" runs through the man and has only outlined on his shirt. The two lines at the bottom express the poster even more, "I thought by masking the depression with silence, the feelings might disappear". 

Fig 2.31, PSA poster, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/305118943513527128/

This poster tries to express that words can be deadly as a bomb if we didn't use them well or use it in the wrong way like attacking people with bad words. Then, it has the number and alphabet buttons on the bomb like a phone. It is a straightforward poster here, we can immediately understand what the poster trying to express. This poster is using normal colors like the black and silver bomb, white background. But it has a line of message in the center using red which means an important message.

Fig 2.33, PSA poster, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/21532904457595385/

This poster is about high-speed driving, we can see a skeleton and a kid's face on the poster. In my opinion, I think the poster is trying to tell people that 30mph and 40mph have a huge difference even though it is just a 10mph difference between them. But from the poster, if people hit a kid at 40mph, there is 80% of chance that he or she will die. If people hit a kid at 30mph, there is 80% of chance that he or she will live. So the traffic sign that has the limit of driving at 30mph has a reason for it. I like how the poster used the two halved photos to show two different faces and expressed the poster in a simple way using the two photos.

DEFINE CONCEPT
Since the theme is about Mental health, staying positive during this pandemic, I decided to work with my title, slogan, details, and call for action as below.

Fig 2.34, My title, slogan, details, and call for action (4/10/2021)

I started with some sketches with my title, slogan, and call for action to plan the composition on my poster.

Fig 2.35, Sketches of title (4/10/2021)

Fig 2.36, Sketch of the slogan (4/10/2021)

Fig 2.37, Sketch of call for action (4/10/2021)

After that, I sketched two posters to have more choices to choose from. Here are they :
For the title, I wanted to express life under pandemic better by placing the "Life" under the "Pandemic" word. I wanted to place the call for action on his or her shirt and my slogan at the bottom.

Fig 2.38, Sketch of mock-up poster (4/10/2021)

For this sketch, I get the inspiration for the title from the game that we played when we were little, the game called Wordsearch, it is a puzzle consisting of letters arranged in a grid, containing several hidden words written in any direction. So I arranged the title by their common alphabet to create a different title. Next, I drew half of a girl's face on the left and fill the space on the right with my call for action words. Lastly, the same slogan at the bottom too.

Fig 2.39, example of WordSearch

Fig 2.40, Sketch of mock-up poster (4/10/2021)

DIGITAL POSTER

First, to match the theme "stay positive during this pandemic", I searched on the internet for people smiling while wearing their masks on. Here are some of them:

Fig 2.41, Boy smiling behind mask,

https://elemental.medium.com/masks-are-causing-our-smiles-to-evolve-c0981ec19e90 (5/10/2021)

Fig 2.42, Girl smiling behind mask, https://www.shutterstock.com/search/smiling+woman+behind+mask (5/10/2021)

Fig 2.43, Girl smiling behind mask,

 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/style/face-mask-emotion-coronavirus.html (5/10/2021)

But at last, I chose the boy smiling behind mask, because I like how his eyes squint when he smiles and his position is also in the center so I chose him for my poster.

I forgot to screenshot the process of me doing the poster, so I'm going to explain through words, I started my poster design by cropping the boy's head and pasting it on a black background. Then, I wanted to have a black background but the boy's photo is too bright so I adjusted it using the match colour that we learned in the Shazam's exercise, hue and saturation to adjust the brightness and match it with the black background. I also coloured the boy's hair using a lighter brown to make it more brighter but it did not turned out well. Then, in my sketch, I placed the words on the mask that suppose to be on the shirt. 

Fig 2.44, Process of adjusting colour (5/10/2021)

Fig 2.45, JPG of the poster (5/10/2021)

Mr. Martin gave me a youtube link to integrate the text on the mask better when he gives us feedback.

Fig 2.46, Process of integrating the text on the mask (18/10/2021)

Here's the video that Mr.Martin gave me to integrate the text on the mask better.

Fig 2.47, Video of How to Conform Text to a Surface Using a Displacement Map in Photoshop (18/10/2021)

After integrating the text on the mask, I think that my poster still lacks something, so I added details "To learn more about mental health and where to get help, visit https://relate.com.my/.". Then, I added the slogan behind the boy to make it more visible.

Fig 2.48, Adding details at the bottom (18/10/2021)

Fig 2.49, Adding slogan behind the boy (18/10/2021)

For the slogan, I watched a youtube video to help me further work on the slogan. I wanted a cutout effect like one of my research.

Fig 2.50, Video of Text Stroke Cutout Effect in Photoshop (18/10/2021)

Fig 2.51, Final JPG (18/10/2021)

Fig 2.52, Final PDF (18/10/2021)

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FEEDBACK

• Nice idea. You can integrated the text on mask better by displacement map: https://youtu.be/huvysaySBrw

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REFLECTION

It is fun and interesting in these exercises and projects. I used photoshop with the techniques that I learned in class and I'm getting familiar with photoshop. Didn't know that one day I will be using photoshop in a familiar way. I really learned a lot from Mr. Martin's classes. For the poster project, when I was searching on youtube for more effects, then I realized that there are a lot of things that we can learn and play with. Compare to others, I knew my poster would be more lack of skills, but do enjoy it a lot in this project.