17/02/2025 - 03/03/2025 / Week 3 - Week 5
Lim Pei Jiun (0372548)
Design Principles / Bachelor of Design (Honor) in Creative Media
Task 2 (Visual Analysis & Ideation)
TABLE OF CENTENTS
INTRODUCTION
LECTURES
Topic 6: Visual Analysis
- Is a method of understanding design that focuses on the visual elements and principles.
- A description and explanation of visual structure for its own sake.
- A critical part of visual literacy, a skill that helps people read and critically interpret images
How does Visual Analysis Work?
Phase 1: Observation
- Closely looking at and identifying the visual elements of a design, trying to describe them carefully and accurately in your own words.
- Do not read beforehand about the design at all.
- About looking, thinking, and finding good language to communicate what you notice.
Phase 2: Analysis
- Requires you to think about your observations and try to make statements about the work based on the evidence of your observations.
- Think about how the specific visual elements that you’ve identified combine to create design principles that complete that work of design/art, and the effects on the viewer.
Phase 3: Interpretation
- Observations, description, and analysis of the work are fused with facts about the design work (and in some cases the designer) and historical context that you find in trustworthy published sources.
TASK 2 VISUAL ANALYSIS & IDEATION
Selected Artwork in Task 1
Fig 1.1 The Madonna of Carmel and the Souls in Purgatory by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Tittle: The Madonna of Carmel and the Souls in Purgatory
Artist: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Year: c.1730
Size: 210 x 650 cm
Medium: Oil and canvas
The design principles used in this artwork are contrast, emphasis, unity and harmony, movement and balance
Visual Analysis:
Observation:
This design work is in landscape format. In
the centre, there is a women depicted wearing a flowing robe, holding the child
in her arms. She looked gently at the people below. Below her, there were
people lying on the ground as if struggling, and there were also people
kneeling on the ground, looking at her piously. Angels surrounded the woman,
directing the struggling people to look to her as if she were the saviour. As
for visual elements, the main colours observed are blue, gold, orange and earth
tones. Overall, it is a warm and luminous design. The composition is dynamic
and enhanced by light. Fluid, curving lines define the figures, and the
background consists of billowing clouds.
Analysis:
Fig 1.2 Selected artwork with annotation
This design is asymmetrically balanced because there are fewer characters on the left and more characters on the right.
The emphasis is on the central figure—the women—who is rendered in soft,
radiant hues, drawing the viewer’s attention. She is holding the child, and
their divine presence is highlighted by the surrounding light (1). The movement
in the design is created by the dynamic gestures of angels and people looking
upward (2), directing the viewer's gaze from the lower part of the canvas to the
celestial bodies above. The contrast between the dark tones of Purgatory
and the luminous sky (3) emphasizes the hope for salvation. The elements are
arranged harmoniously, creating a sense of unity between the
heavenly and earthly realms. Proportion is evident in the layout, with the women
as the largest figures, establishing a clear hierarchy, followed by angels and
then the people below. Interpretation:
This painting was created by Giovanni
Battista Tiepolo, a Italian painter known for his Rococo style, in c.1730. Tiepolo
was influenced by the robust plastic modelling of his Venetian contemporary
Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, created it.
This is a religious painting that highlights the divine brilliance of the
Virgin and the painful state of souls in purgatory through the contrast of
light and dark and smooth lines, conveying the theme of mercy to the Virgin and
the salvation of souls.
Sketches
Sketches 1:
For my first idea, I wanted to highlight the Virgin more strongly, so I clustered the figures together, with only the Virgin standing. The angels surrounding the Virgin can express her identity and I retaining the movement of the angel's fingers pointing to the Virgin.
Fig 2.1 Sketches 1
Sketches 2:
For my second idea, I mainly wanted to show the tenderness of the Virgin, so there were only the Virgin and the angels in the painting. The Virgin opened her arms tenderly, as if embracing everything in the world. The two little angels looked at the Virgin affectionately, showing that the Virgin is close and beloved.
Fig 2.2 Sketches 2
Sketches 3:For my third idea, I think having only one believer in the scene would make the composition appear more solemn. The seated Virgin and the kneeling believer create a distinction of status, while the cherub with outstretched arms seems to serve as a witness to this blessing ceremony.
Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Britannica. Retrieved March 2, 2025
FEEDBACK
Week 4
General Feedback
For the sketches, can paint in all the painting medium, but the use of Ai is prohibited
Specific Feedback
For the analysis, it is better to add some mention on the picture
Week 5
General Feedback
For the sketches, it is not recommended to color it at the beginning. Need to present a process from draft to detailed painting
Specific Feedback
For the picture of the sketches, it is better to be more bigger
Experience:
For this task, I learned a lot of things that I had never been exposed to before. I learned that there are three phase of visual analysis, each of which can help us better understand the work. We need to first observe the work ourselves without looking for information, and then analyze the design principle used in the work.
Observations:
I observed that visual analysis can help us understand the work well. It can also improve our observation and analytical skills. Besides, the sketch doesn't need to be very detailed, it is just a preliminary drawing of our ideas, so there is no need to color the sketch or do more in-depth drawing.
Findings:
After Task 2, I learned that visual analysis is very helpful to us and is also very important. We often lose our own judgment and thinking when looking for information, so it is necessary to observe the work before looking up information.
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