Sunday, February 14, 2010
Assignment 2: Less Is More.
Our task:
Create ONE pictogram for a local site of your choice – i.e. shopping complex, school, community centre, sport hall, housing estate or national park.
A pictogram is an image created by people for the purpose of quick and clear communication without language or words, in order to draw attention to something or somewhere.Photo reference:
Here are some pictures of the Esplanade basement!
Intention of the sign:
The Esplanade basement/underpass is free for people to use for dance. Skateboarding, skating and soccer is not allowed there, but dancing definitely is. The dancers that usually head there are B-boys, Hip Hop dancers, Latin dancers, and many other genres that simply need an open space to practice their moves, stunts, kicks, flips etc.
However, at "peak periods", the underpass can get pretty crowded, and competition for space amongst the dancers there tends to occur. Hence I wanted to implement a sign to promote collaborative dancing, such that different dance groups could dance side by side, without competition having to turn ugly. The sign is supposed to request collaborative and harmonious behaviour from dancers. An easy enough concept, I hoped.
Here's the photo reference I used for the creation of the pictogram:
It's taken by a senior from my JC who's a freelance photographer. The two boys featured in it are friends of mine, TWINS in fact. :)
Here's my drafted abstraction process:Here's the original picture with full details.
Step #1:
Step #2 and #3:
I began removing details on the sole of the shoe, clothing creases, hat&shoe details, hem marks, stiches and so on.
Step #4 and #5:
Here, I tried to make the 2 figures as generic as possible. I didn't want to go for the solid black figures that are present in most pictograms, as I felt that wouldn't showcase the dancers' body shapes very well. Hence I went with an outline. On hindsight, I think these 2 steps are a little similar and it might do me good to introduce a step after #5 to further simplify the pictogram.
This is in NO WAY my final abstraction process that I intend to submit, as I feel the 5 steps can be further simplified and refined. But since this is what I have now, I shall upload it on my blog, so that I can look back and reflect upon it if need be.
The critique session for this went well--everyone had good suggestions for everyone.
My peers' feedback and suggestions.
The general consensus was that the "collaborative" component of the dancing was not clear. Some even said they thought the dancers were competing with each other, which is the opposite of what I intended to portray.
Another poignant critique was that the pictogram was still not simplified enough. It seems as if more can be done to further simplify my abstraction process. Witono even mentioned that my pictogram looked more like a drawing than a pictogram. Guess I'll have to simplify it more. Jing suggested adding less details to things like the shirt, sleeves and pants, and focus more on the stereotypical components of the dancers that make even non-dancers recognise them as dancers, such as the caps and the shoes. (the baggy shirt and pants were obvious enough without me having to add details to them, I could simply present them as one body)
Some remarks from Nic.
I did my entire work for this week on paper, with traditional pencils and ink. I'm definitely going to consider using Illustrator for help next time! It'll be so much less tedious.
EDIT! NEW Abstraction Process!
After some thought about the critique given to me, I made some changes to my abstraction process. Here's the new one:
#1:
#2 and #3:
#4:
#5:
#6:
For #4, I heeded Jing's advice and cut down on the details on the shirt and pants.
I also realised that giving the 2 figures a black fill made them look more abstract. They looked more like generic silhouettes this way and thus looked more simplified.
In #6, I took away most details, leaving only 2 bare, generic, abstract figures. Although this is clearly the most simplified abstraction step out of my whole abstraction process, it isn't the stage I've selected for my final prototype.
Final Prototype.
I've chosen step #5 as my final prototype, because it is more clear at this step than at step #6 that the 2 figures are dancers, thanks to the detail in their caps and shoes. Although #6 is more simplified and abstract, it lacks the detail that I prefer in #5, which is clearer in its message that the 2 figures are dancers.
@ the Location!
Here're the photos taken at the Esplanade with my sign in them! :)
Personally I find the "NO SLEEPING" sign beside mine really funny. xD
That's all I have for A2! Thanks for looking! :)
♥ head in clouds.
1:11 AM
