These are examples of my teaching experience. I find it one of the most rewarding parts of what I do.
Constancy is the idea that we see a particular object in the size, color, shape, feel, and other senses that we expect. We always see humans, for instance, in the same way. We expect that they will be 6 foot tall or less, and see multiple humans in that context. If we introduce comparative objects that we recognize the size of, it will alter our perception of scale.
In this illustration, I decided to alter the relative size of human silhouettes to expand the depth of the piece.
Confirmation is necessary when you want to remind, warn, or make a user especially aware of the importance of a change or choice that they are about to make. Confirmation can happen in industrial design, such as when you have to confirm your intention to arm a device by lifting a protective flap over a trigger, but we meet it far more often in software, where we are asked if we really want to perform an action. A very simple implementation of confirmation occurs on websites with the JavaScript alert function.
In this illustration, I thought it would be a wonderful thing to have a tool that would simply remove you from all social media presence in an instant. Given all the potential cascading changes to your online identity as a result, you would almost certainly want to have your decision confirmed.
Today, I had the pleasure of a return visit to Rossmoor, a gated community near Monroe, NJ. In the past I’ve talked about the Chromebook, Social Media, and graphic design at this 55 plus Computer Users Group, but today I talked about something more akin to Psychology or Business meetups than computer groups: Organizational and personal branding. I was a bit worried about how it would be received because I have only given the talk to more brand minded groups, but figured that if I really believe that brand is universal, which I do, that the talk would be appropriate.
It was received very well. The people there talked about their communication methods, their platforms, their keywords, and discovered their brand. We discussed abstraction and concretia in branding, such as the idea of loving as a keyword versus technology as a keyword. We talked about how everyday meetups and conversations are opportunities for branding, and that even though not everyone is familiar with their brand, that everyone has one and that it is beneficial to become familiar with it, shape it, and strengthen it.
Thanks very much to Rossmoor, Paul, and Gano for the kind reception, patient ear, and engaged responses.
The link to my presentation is here:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1VR3uWDW0zpbJUrT0YfJtleB4-e7qOnj6Qj-39mIKyok/edit?usp=sharing
Comparison as a design principle takes into account the effect of illustration of differences in a controlled system. Comparison is most effective when it is benchmarked against standard systems, enforced by fact and citation, and when apples are compared to apples. It is easy but not recommended to create a false reality by manipulating scale, standards, and perspective through selective framing.
In this illustration, I decided to compare both the populations and land masses of the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania to emphasize that the population difference is far smaller than the land mass difference, which underlines the crowded experience that many New Jerseyans feel in this state. .
Common fate is another of the gestalt principles, and states that objects that are closer to each other or grouped in some way comparative to the overall set seem to be together, on a common path, or associated more closely than other design elements.
In this illustration, I started with a line of identical circles, evenly spaced. As the story progresses, the line of circles breaks into two even lines, creating two distinct groups. In the third part of the story, some of the circles go off on their own, and some of the circle pairs start to travel together, but none are a part of the original lines anymore.
Color is an incredibly rich and deep topic for design, but color theory has been established to make working with color as a designer easier. One misconception about color is that color is equated with emotion, e.g. blue=trust or yellow = fear. Blue used in context can evoke trust, but in and of itself, it does not have emotional predetermination. However, rules exist for easy use of color, such as 5 colors or less in a design, matching colors with their compliment (the color across from it on a color wheel) or adjacent color (the color next to it on the color wheel). Also, tints, opacity, and intensity can all affect the look and feel of a design. Darker tints, for example, can evoke solemnity and seriousness.
In this illustration, I wanted to introduce the idea of complimentary color and the effect of tinting and darkening colors for effect.
