Design interpretation

a torrens University project

By Grace Anne Bobadilla

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THE BRIEF

You have been tasked with creating two (2) A3 poster designs that promote the two cities of your choice from the four locations that the exhibition will visit: Paris, Tokyo, Marrakesh and Miami (USA). (Select two cities in total; one for each poster). You will need to create different visuals for each of the two posters. The artwork in each poster will also need to demonstrate the principles of design: Unity/Harmony, Balance, Hierarchy, Proportion/scale, Contrast/Similarity and Dominance/Emphasis. (Select two principles in total). Consider appropriate imagery and colour themes that represent your two chosen cities. Explore ideas that move beyond visual clichés and stereotypical concepts of your chosen cities. Faux Gallery is seeking something unique and engaging in your poster visuals. You can be as literal or abstract as you like.

My approach

I chose to base the design on Tokyo for my second poster because I admire the city’s aesthetics and culture. I also hoped to challenge myself to unify these factors through my design. Jennifer Gaskins explains unity in design as using harmonious colours, shapes and textures, balancing positive and negative space, and playing with repetition, proximity and alignment. I went through the divergent and convergent thinking stages. I initially considered using watercolour as a medium, but then decided to set up two paper lanterns and planned to enhance the design digitally. However, I decided to change the direction of my design by creating a fully digital version based on cherry blossoms. I drew three cherry blossoms in Adobe Illustrator and placed them into Photoshop. The cherry blossoms had varying designs, different petal patterns, and a mix of pink hues to represent unity. I created a gradient blue background in Photoshop and placed each cherry blossom over this. I then added ‘Tokyo’ and highlighted the first ‘O’ to represent the Japanese flag.