Adjective Designs: Positive and Negative Space

"Indestructible"

"Intimidating"

"Spirited"

Purpose: 

• To become familiar with Photoshop Shape and Selection Tools through experimentation and the creation of designs 

• To continue to communicate a message through the use of positive and negative shapes 

        Through completing this project, I’ve acquired many new skills and abilities in Photoshop, an improved ability to devise a concept, then execute it successfully, and most importantly, much new and valuable knowledge regarding design in general.

        To begin, I am beginning to become much more comfortable and savvy in using Photoshop. While working on this project, I experimented with many new tools, such as the warp tool, the skew tool, the shape tool, and many more. The more I experiment, the more I get a sense of when the various tools should be used and the effects that they can create. I am also starting to get a better understanding of the program as a whole and how it functions.

        In addition, this project greatly helped me understand myself as a designer. Through creating many different drafts of the three designs, I was able obtain an understanding of what worked in the execution of each design and what didn’t. On top of this, I learned to pinpoint why something didn’t work. I was then able to use this realization as a way to help my next design improve.

        Lastly, this project refreshed and built on my knowledge of design in many ways. The concept of balancing positive and negative space was a refresher for me. Another refresher involved use of symmetry and asymmetry in design. In terms of new concepts and knowledge, I learned that the meaning of a given design isn’t always candid. Design is very sophisticated and, often, more complex than one may think. In other words, all elements of a given design are there for a reason: interactions between different shapes, the arrangement of different shapes, the design’s composition, and more all are created in a way to convey something. That something doesn’t always have to be complicated, however there is a reason for everything in design.