Graphic Design

My pets are transparent plastic knives. I like taking pictures of them because they are see-through. Having see-through pets has been nice because I can take pictures of the knives and have the background show through the knives too.

Week 1: I chose this picture because I love the rhythm and the shape of the shadow. I like the details in the shadow–like the sparkle from the sun and the way it moves along the raised blocks. There is some nice contrast between the hard edges of the shadow and the softer edges of the cement.

Week 2: This was my favorite picture because the colors are pretty. I love the way the sun shines through the knives because the knives sparkle with lots of colors. I also like the depth of the picture. The composition allows the eye to travel from left to right and then back again.

Week 3: My choice for this week was harder to choose because I liked a few others from this shoot. I chose this one, though, because the having the knives in the water allows you to see through the knives and also through the reflections of the knives. I love the red leaf being partly under the knives because it adds depth and interest.

Week 4: I decided to experiement with how the sun shines through the knives this week. I chose this picture because I like the colors and textures. The pattern of light that came through the knife made really interesting designs on this sewer grate. I like the contrast of the organic shapes of the shadow and the geometric shapes and lines of the grate. I like taking pictures of just the shadows and reflections of the knives because they look more abstract. I want to keep experimenting with this to see what kind of light and shadow patterns the knives can make.

Week 5: I experimented with with shadows again this week. I wanted the shadows to be interesting shapes this time instead of just having interesting textures. I chose this picture because I like the way the shadows move along the metal. The contrast was nice but I wanted more so I really exaggerated the contrast in Photoshop. I like the subtle color with all the black and white.

There are letter forms all around us if we just look for them. I used tools for my alphabet because I wanted recognizable objects and I wanted to be able to manipulate each letter with my hands.

Once I decided to use tools I had to find a tool for each letter that would actually look like the letter. Once I found the right tool I shot them on a barn door for the wood texture. The texture of the wood added nicely to the rustic look of the tools. It looks like the tools are hanging on the wall in a shed and I liked that natural look. The colors and the textures of my alphabet add interest. Everyone has seen tools before so it’s a good subject matter. At first it just looks like tools, but then when you look a little longer you see the alphabet and that makes you want to look at each letter.

In the end I think my project turned out well. I found the alphabet in things that are usually pretty ordinary and made them interesting to look at.

Learning Summary

The most challenging part of this project was finding tools that looked like each letter. I had to look at tools differently than I have before. Once I found the tools I needed a good place to photograph them which wasn’t easy. I ended up hanging them on a nail on a barn door. That was hard because some tools wouldn’t hang on a nail so I had to use wires.