For this exercise, the task was to take an image, and crop it multiple times to create different contexts, images and storytelling. I decided on the image below.
I have been increasingly concerned by the instructions in my coursework. I appreciate that the first course is intended to be able to be completed without any digital software at all. However I find there is a large repetition of instructions to print multiple pages. Given a lot of the output is either not needed for the exercise, or will be discarded after, I find these instructions wasteful and not in line with my own values on sustainability.
So for this exercise I decided to use my photo editing software to crop the image multiple times to effect the same result. The images I selected are below:
The next step was to take on of the images, and use it alongside text to create a poster. I decided to use the final photo above, which I called 'Giants'. For me the perspective of this image was really intriguing. It really felt like the skyscrapers had personalities, that they were slowly moving, migrating. That the people were like ants at the feet of giants.
To start, I thought about the practicalities. As a poster, just using the image as-is won't work, as the aspect ratio doesn't fit normal poster proportions. So I would need to work with the image to get a more traditional proportion. I opted for something like A3.
My first thought was to try and do the work traditionally, and perhaps use the computer to enhance or touch it up after. Given it's harder to rework the image traditionally, I needed to work a little in reverse. I decided to combine some thumbnails with some digital mock-ups using the photos. Then I could transfer the concept to paper for the final rendition.
However, a death in the family meant that my planned time was compromised. I wanted to try and approach this exercise as if it were a real brief with a deadline, so I decided to alter my approach. I opted to go down the route of making a vector illustration instead. This was also useful for me, as I had had difficulties achieving the right perspective with the text when I was sketching thumbnails.
I started by cropping the image again, using aspect ratio of an A4 / A3 etc. poster. I decided to go for a poster that would work as both a tourist promotional image, as well as something that could work as artwork in a home at the same time. You can see the crop that I used as a reference.
I felt that this crop still told the same narrative as the wider image above, but left enough space for text. I wanted to really get a sense of hierarchy in the image and this composition gave me a distinctive fore, mid and background.
My next step taking this revised approach was to think about how I wanted to look stylistically. So I really thought long and hard about stylistic cues and the palette that I would use. A lot of New York architecture is influenced by the design language of the 1930s and 40s, so I decided to draw on those influences. I have also been looking at the vector illustration of Charlie Davis. I really enjoy the shapes that he uses and I love the palettes he manages to use so effectively in his work. I wanted that same quality of light in mine, so that's what I focused on using in this illustration.
Using an app on my iPad, I played around with several options, finally settling on the general palette you see below. I wanted a close palette which was relatively desaturated. I have used a lot of saturated colour in my work so far, so wanted to push myself to try and use a palette that was both limited and less colourful. I did keep a few saturated extremes to allow me to create the contrast I thought I would need.
I thought it was an interesting selection of colour, and I was feeling very out of my comfort zone!
The image was created in Affinity Designer - first on the ipad, and then later on the PC version so I could be a little more productive with the tools (as I am more familiar with that version). I then opened the vector file in Affinity Photo, to use its tools that allow me to play with perspective non-destructively, and keep the image as a vector.
Using the original image as a guide underneath, I created layers of shapes, using gradients and noise to help with hierarchy and texture. I would like to play with adding more texture to images like this, but I think I will need to play and research how best to do it.
There were a few things I did intentionally to try and establish a sense of hierarchy in the piece:
The large "GIANTS" text is placed behind the skyscrapers, and adjusted to be along the same perspective lines, this places the letters in the landscape, and gives a sense of size.
I used less saturated colours in the background to emulate atmospheric perspective
I added a vector brush stroke to the nearest trees in the mid-ground to emulate more detail.
I added a Gaussian blur to the foreground tree to emulate depth-of-field.
When completing the image, I had an idea about the colour choice from the palette in my head. But I remembered my tutor's feedback from the last assignment, and so I did some experimentation with the colour options:
I liked the first option most, as it gave me the same sense of light that the photo originally did. The second option seemed more like an L.A. sunset, and the third one (whilst really nice) wouldn't really work without extra work to show different lighting on the buildings and trees. The first one needed tweaks, however - the overall tone seemed a bit too dark, the heart in the traditional 'I love NY' logo didn't seem right, and I wan't sold on the choice of font for the lowercase words.
I had sought feedback from fellow OCA students on the Visual Communication Discord server, and others felt that the 'walk among' was the right option. I had considered others like 'walk below' and 'walk with'. The first thing I did was to change the colour of the heart to be closer to the original red, but still from my chosen palette. The next step was to lighten the background by reducing its opacity against a white layer underneath. Finally I checked to see if the image would work as a poster, by superimposing it into a mockup. I am pleased with the results, but I wonder if I could play with it more, to see if the image can fit into an overall poster composition where more information has to be communicated.
Lastly, the pink writing in lowercase. It seemed too modern, and not in keeping with the Art Deco font choice for the "GIANTS" text. So I decided to experiment with other options:
I tried each of these options in situ on the image. The original is too modern and the other options, whilst more 'retro', didn't seem to fit with the other font. They seemed to be reminiscent of later decades. I did some research into fonts of the 20s and 30s. People are often familiar with headline fonts of that era, but less focus is placed on more perfunctory font usage. It, being an image of New York, also got me to thinking about the font that The New Yorker magazine uses. I managed to find a freeware font (called New Yorker) that took cues from that magazine, and the era I was looking to emulate. You can see it as the last option, above. This was I finally went for, and you can see the final image below:
I am pleased with the final image. I was playing with the size and position of the pink text, but had to stop myself fiddling in the end, and made a commitment. I still think it could be better! I am pleased with my ability to change approach when faced with personal adversity, but I am also conscious that this hindered how much time I spent with options in my sketchbook. I found it difficult to work with many options when constrained with having to use a reference photo as part of the work. I am not sure how to resolve this, so I am looking forward to the feedback from my tutor.
Follow-up
My tutor noted that the pink text was "floating off" above the 'Giants' text, so I experimented with how best to resolve that ahead of assessment. I didn't make a huge change, but I think it really does improve the composition and the way the image reads. I'm really grateful for my tutor's feedback and it's shown my how just little adjustments can have a big impact.
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