6.6.2022 - 27.6.2022 (Week 11- Week 14)
Loh Qiao Yin / 0348923
Design Principles / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Taylor's
University
Final Project-:
[Visual Analysis]
LECTURES
Visual analysis
- understanding visual elements and
principles
- understanding the content or meaning of a design
-
to develop the skill of critically interpreting an image
- help
people develop thinking skills instead of just receiving info
passively
Three phases of visual analysis
- Phase 1:
Observation
- Phase 2: Analysis
- Phase 3: Interpretation
INSTRUCTIONS
1) Within the theme of Reduced Inequalities, select an art/design work
that revolves around the theme. Provide a 50-word explanation for the
choice you made.
2) Write a 500-word visual analysis, describing and analysing the design principles of the selected design, and discussing/interpreting the value and meaning of the design work (refer to Visual Analysis lecture notes).
3) Create a work of design of your own, inspired/influenced by/reacting to the one you had analysed.
4) Write a 200-word rationale explaining and defending the decisions
made in your design.
Design process:
- idea exploration and
description
- final outcome in PDF and short
rationale
- feedback given by the
lecturer
- reflection on the particular
exercise
Inequality in education. As you see, Malaysia might be really good at having delicious food but when it comes to the education system in public schools, it is so flawed. One of the hundred aspects of inequality is standardised tests. They are the breeding ground for elitism and classism, sparking discrimination among students with different levels of academic performance. I was part of the students who reap the benefits of standardised tests, getting good looks from society with my academic performance so why do I care? Because I cannot stand being ignorant of how the flaws of these tests harm my peers, my siblings and myself no matter whether we do good in them or not.
Title (from caption): "Can you tell that I hated standardized test"
Artist: Alice Mao
Date: 3 January 2022
Medium: Digital Illustration
Location: Connecticut, United States
PHASE 1- Observation
The artwork is in portrait format as it represents the exam slip for multiple choice exams. There is a student acting as the main focal point sitting on top of the exam slip which is a lot larger than her. However, the student's back is turned to the viewer at an angle where we are looking at her from a 45-degree angle. Thus, her facial expression is unknown. Scribbles on the exam slip and empty blanks that indicate the questions are not answered can be seen. Rows of vertical lines are mostly present in a structural arrangement from left to right.
PHASE 2- Analysis
The emphasis is created on the girl by putting her in the centre of the artwork and with her being more colourful than the background. The blackened parts on the exam slips in each question are positioned in a swirling pattern that creates a slight movement, guiding the viewer's eyes from top to bottom until it stops at the girl. Another subtle thing is the one-point perspective that can be observed if a vanishing point is drawn and also by the size of the alphabets in the foreground vs in the background (diminishing). The original design of exam slips like this has a regular arrangement of questions and choices which creates a repetition.
PHASE 3- Interpretation
"Can you tell that I hated standardised testing" was the caption from the original artist to express her hatred toward this type of academic assessment. My stress level spiked when I first saw this artwork 6 months ago and I still do now. It invoked a mixture of feelings in me -- uneasiness, draining, nerve-wracking, hate of studying and a sense of relief since I do not have to encounter it again. She managed to express what the students experience when having to sit through exams like this. Stars and circles are drawn on questions that we have no clue how to answer so we would get back to it afterwards, and the feeling of being dominated by the exam itself is expressed through the huge size difference between the girl and the exam slip. Overall, the cool colour palette suggests a dull and hopeless mood. On a deeper analysis of standardised exams, studies have shown that despite it having its own pros, the cons still greatly outweigh them. The nature of this type of exam is like judging a fish's ability to swim by asking it to climb a tree. Besides, standardised exam exposes privilege, not intelligence.
IDEA EXPLORATION & DESCRIPTION
FINAL OUTCOME
Standardised exam is not only an unfair way to access each student's ability and knowledge but also the existence of class segregation according to grade is a black hole for students' passion for learning. Every type of skill matters as they are a part of knowledge. At the end of the day, everyone should be allowed to seek knowledge without worrying about getting labelled according to just one benchmark.
Symbolism is what makes up my artwork, starting with the light bulb representing knowledge and then the glowy elements representing various skills. They are all connected eventually to the light bulb as I hoped to convey the message mentioned above. Skills in a blue glow are still under development as blue is associated with coldness and I use that to represent untrained or undiscovered skills, as if they are still in a dormant mode. Skills in a yellow glow are developed as yellow symbolises victory and achievement. Pink clouds are used to evoke an approachable feeling and the colour is associated with nurture, a crucial aspect of a positive learning environment. The tiny humans are painted in red as it shows a heat of passion, to show having a purpose in learning, which sadly does not exist much among students who are exposed to the standardised exams.
Moving on design-wise, the hierarchy of the focal point should be the light bulb, followed by the glowy small elements (both yellow and blue) and lastly the tiny humans. They are supposed to be subtle and only be spotted when the viewers' eyes are following the glowy elements. A common misconception might be the glowing effect of the small elements is caused by the light bulb but no, it is the glowy elements that supply the light in the light bulb. After all, I hope to say that different skills all contribute to the same thing - knowledge.
PART 1- VISUAL ANALYSIS
SELECTED ARTWORK
SELECTED ARTWORK
Inequality in education. As you see, Malaysia might be really good at having delicious food but when it comes to the education system in public schools, it is so flawed. One of the hundred aspects of inequality is standardised tests. They are the breeding ground for elitism and classism, sparking discrimination among students with different levels of academic performance. I was part of the students who reap the benefits of standardised tests, getting good looks from society with my academic performance so why do I care? Because I cannot stand being ignorant of how the flaws of these tests harm my peers, my siblings and myself no matter whether we do good in them or not.
Fig 1.1 Artwork by @alicemaoart on Instagram, 12 June
2022
Title (from caption): "Can you tell that I hated standardized test"
Artist: Alice Mao
Date: 3 January 2022
Medium: Digital Illustration
Location: Connecticut, United States
PHASE 1- Observation
The artwork is in portrait format as it represents the exam slip for multiple choice exams. There is a student acting as the main focal point sitting on top of the exam slip which is a lot larger than her. However, the student's back is turned to the viewer at an angle where we are looking at her from a 45-degree angle. Thus, her facial expression is unknown. Scribbles on the exam slip and empty blanks that indicate the questions are not answered can be seen. Rows of vertical lines are mostly present in a structural arrangement from left to right.
PHASE 2- Analysis
The emphasis is created on the girl by putting her in the centre of the artwork and with her being more colourful than the background. The blackened parts on the exam slips in each question are positioned in a swirling pattern that creates a slight movement, guiding the viewer's eyes from top to bottom until it stops at the girl. Another subtle thing is the one-point perspective that can be observed if a vanishing point is drawn and also by the size of the alphabets in the foreground vs in the background (diminishing). The original design of exam slips like this has a regular arrangement of questions and choices which creates a repetition.
PHASE 3- Interpretation
"Can you tell that I hated standardised testing" was the caption from the original artist to express her hatred toward this type of academic assessment. My stress level spiked when I first saw this artwork 6 months ago and I still do now. It invoked a mixture of feelings in me -- uneasiness, draining, nerve-wracking, hate of studying and a sense of relief since I do not have to encounter it again. She managed to express what the students experience when having to sit through exams like this. Stars and circles are drawn on questions that we have no clue how to answer so we would get back to it afterwards, and the feeling of being dominated by the exam itself is expressed through the huge size difference between the girl and the exam slip. Overall, the cool colour palette suggests a dull and hopeless mood. On a deeper analysis of standardised exams, studies have shown that despite it having its own pros, the cons still greatly outweigh them. The nature of this type of exam is like judging a fish's ability to swim by asking it to climb a tree. Besides, standardised exam exposes privilege, not intelligence.
IDEA EXPLORATION & DESCRIPTION
PART 2- DESIGN
i) Idea development
I had no idea on how to start creating a visual because everything felt too abstract to be drawn into something. Thus, I tried to think of what prompted me to realise something is wrong with class segregation -- and it is the things I have heard from the people I have interacted with in my previous school. I remember vividly because they felt so wrong. Note that they all sounded very sarcastic and discriminative at the moment when I heard them.
(*translation will be provided)
Translation
ii) Visual research
iii) Sketch development
Sketch #3
To me, the artist's artwork showcases the 'problem' ,
whereas my artwork will show the ugly side of the
problem.
Generally, the idea for doing this topic came from my own experience and observations of negative situations in primary and secondary school. I then spent hours finding study research to back up my observations to make sure I am not biased. Here is a mindmap of what I have unfortunately witnessed. I will mainly touch on the topic of class segregation according to grades.
Generally, the idea for doing this topic came from my own experience and observations of negative situations in primary and secondary school. I then spent hours finding study research to back up my observations to make sure I am not biased. Here is a mindmap of what I have unfortunately witnessed. I will mainly touch on the topic of class segregation according to grades.
Fig 2.1 Mindmap, 12 June 2022
Reference:
1) Strauss, V. (2017, April 19). 34 problems with
standardized tests.WashingtonPost.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/04/19/34-problems-with-standardized-tests/
2) Daily Orange. (2021, February 10).
Standardized tests expose privilege, not intelligence.
The Daily Orange.
https://dailyorange.com/2021/02/standardized-tests-expose-privilege-not-intelligence/
3) Huggins, E. (2021, January 8). Standardized
Tests are Institutionalized Classism and Racism. The
Scituation.
https://www.scituation.net/opinions/2021/01/08/standardized-tests-are-institutionalized-classism-and-racism/
4) Strauss, V. (2014, April 22). 11 problems
created by the standardized testing obsession.
Washington Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/04/22/11-problems-created-by-the-standardized-testing-obsession/
i) Idea development
I had no idea on how to start creating a visual because everything felt too abstract to be drawn into something. Thus, I tried to think of what prompted me to realise something is wrong with class segregation -- and it is the things I have heard from the people I have interacted with in my previous school. I remember vividly because they felt so wrong. Note that they all sounded very sarcastic and discriminative at the moment when I heard them.
Fig 2.2 Things I have heard from other people from
memory, 19 June 2022
1) 1st text: "You all are top-class students, unlike
the last-class students." (Said by a teacher in front of
both classes)
2) 2nd text: "The books that are in a good condition
should be taken by top-class students, the remaining bad
ones are for last-class students." (Students in
government schools get their textbooks via a 'borrowing
system' in the school.)
3) 4th text: "There is no need to care about last-class students, just let them be."
4) 5th text: "These students that are in the lion dance club must be last-class students, they are up to no good."
5) 6th text: "Oh... So you are from top-class, you must have looked down on me right... haha... "
3) 4th text: "There is no need to care about last-class students, just let them be."
4) 5th text: "These students that are in the lion dance club must be last-class students, they are up to no good."
5) 6th text: "Oh... So you are from top-class, you must have looked down on me right... haha... "
ii) Visual research
The poster for Namewee's film, Babi (2020) has a dark
and gloomy feeling I hope to incorporate into my
design. Besides, the film talks about discrimination
too just in a different aspect which is racism.
Fig 2.3 Babi, a film by Namewee, 19 June 2022
What's for sure is that I hope to include the words in
Fig 2.2 in my artwork to show the discrimination formed
due to the class segregation system in my previous
school. Too often, people tend to say whatever they want
without taking responsibility for their own words.
Sketch #1
The stone pillars look tall and rigid, this is to represent how the discriminative mindset is rooted in some people. The thorns represent how hurtful words can be, it also shows that the students will not be able to climb to the top as the thorns will hurt them, which shows that the students are not given an opportunity to become a better version of themselves even if they want to.
Sketch #2
Same elements as sketch #1 but with a different angle and wall. I wanted to go for a fish-eye perspective but there is no impact on the way I did it. The Xs are just to represent the words.
Sketch #1
The stone pillars look tall and rigid, this is to represent how the discriminative mindset is rooted in some people. The thorns represent how hurtful words can be, it also shows that the students will not be able to climb to the top as the thorns will hurt them, which shows that the students are not given an opportunity to become a better version of themselves even if they want to.
Fig 2.4 Sketch #1, 19 June 2022
Same elements as sketch #1 but with a different angle and wall. I wanted to go for a fish-eye perspective but there is no impact on the way I did it. The Xs are just to represent the words.
Fig 2.5 Sketch #2, 19 June 2022
Replaced the wall with the stone pillars. The stone
pillars are blocking a sense of connection and indicate
a separate area between the two sides. It also felt
difficult to cross to the other sides from both
areas.
Fig 2.6 Sketch #3, 19 June 2022
Sketch #4
iv) Colouring Stage
After feedback, I tried to make my Sketch #1 work but I
still could not find a shock element to make the design
impactful and work. Thus, I changed my art direction and
message to an extremely positive and cheerful one. If I
could not rock one end of the spectrum, then might as
well try the other end of it, right?
Fig 2.7 Sketch #4, 26 June 2022
Explored various colour palettes to decide the mood of
the artwork.
Fig 2.8 Colouring stage, 26 June 2022
Made two variations. The reddish one was the initial
artwork but I felt like it was too saturated and
aggressive. I then played around with a different hue
and tried out a pinkish tone while maintaining the level
of saturation. After feedback, the cloud will be pinkish whereas the tiny humans will be reddish to establish a slight contrast in colours.
Fig 2.9 Reddish and pinkish tone, 26 June 2022
FINAL OUTCOME
Inequality in Education
Fig 3.1 Final submission for Project 3- Visual Analysis, 27 June 2022
Standardised exam is not only an unfair way to access each student's ability and knowledge but also the existence of class segregation according to grade is a black hole for students' passion for learning. Every type of skill matters as they are a part of knowledge. At the end of the day, everyone should be allowed to seek knowledge without worrying about getting labelled according to just one benchmark.
Symbolism is what makes up my artwork, starting with the light bulb representing knowledge and then the glowy elements representing various skills. They are all connected eventually to the light bulb as I hoped to convey the message mentioned above. Skills in a blue glow are still under development as blue is associated with coldness and I use that to represent untrained or undiscovered skills, as if they are still in a dormant mode. Skills in a yellow glow are developed as yellow symbolises victory and achievement. Pink clouds are used to evoke an approachable feeling and the colour is associated with nurture, a crucial aspect of a positive learning environment. The tiny humans are painted in red as it shows a heat of passion, to show having a purpose in learning, which sadly does not exist much among students who are exposed to the standardised exams.
PDF File
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Fig 3.2 Final submission of Project 3- Visual Analysis in PDF, 27 June 2022
FEEDBACK
Week 14
Ms Jinchi raised a few issues that slipped my mind in terms of design and rationale wise. Design-wise, despite wanting the kids to look subtle, it would be better if a slight contrast exists by using a slightly different colour and a reflected light from the glowy elements. Secondly, there should be more explanation on the choice of colours I am using and I should not forget to link the message in my artwork to the inequality I am talking about.
Week 13
I was redirected to the concept of students trying to reach the pinnacle of knowledge for my sketch ideas and that education should not separate students from the best to the weakest, instead, it should be everyone trying to reach the same goal but they have their own pace.
Week 12
Ms Jinchi raised a few issues that slipped my mind in terms of design and rationale wise. Design-wise, despite wanting the kids to look subtle, it would be better if a slight contrast exists by using a slightly different colour and a reflected light from the glowy elements. Secondly, there should be more explanation on the choice of colours I am using and I should not forget to link the message in my artwork to the inequality I am talking about.
Week 13
I was redirected to the concept of students trying to reach the pinnacle of knowledge for my sketch ideas and that education should not separate students from the best to the weakest, instead, it should be everyone trying to reach the same goal but they have their own pace.
Week 12
Ms Jinchi gave me the green light to proceed with my main idea.
There was some tweaking to do in the writing for the visual
analysis.
REFLECTION
There are things that are not right, and people feel uncomfortable
with it but they just stay quiet, so things will not be an
inconvenience to them. This project reminded me of a sharing session
by an alumni who was a design student at Taylor's. She said, "People
know that things are not right but rarely will they talk about it or
even do something about it." Am I even doing something that can help
with this problem despite being so unsatisfied with this system? I
do not know. But I know that it is foolish to judge a person's
ethical values and personality entirely based on their exam results;
And that everyone deserves a platform to shine in their own ways.
Final Compilation and Reflection
Final Compilation and Reflection
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