#inlectureactivity

In-lecture Exercise G: Creating Patterns

In-lecture Exercise F: Colour Scheme 

#6D181F: a burgundy red, dark shade of red, readily captures attention at first glance, as indicated by the dress 

#8D5D4B: a warm, earthly tone of brown, conveys notion of nature, which mostly consists of skin colour in the photo

#E9D8CB: a muted but creamy white/beige which exudes purity, and also to a certain degree, calmness as showcased by both the blouse and a hue of the sunset at the background 

#89ACDE: a much dull shade of sky blue, which conveys feelings of serenity and peacefulness, as illustrated by the sky (maybe even the shorts?!)

In-lecture Exercise E: Typography 

This typographic representation was not only a visual eye-sore but also terribly difficult to read 😢😭

Firstly, what stood out the most to be was the severe lack of contrast and choice of both typeface and font. The header was of greater font-size than the body which was good in guiding the reader when reading the text as it provides hierarchy to the typography. However, the choice of making the font hollow was quite problematic as it reduces the readability of the body text greatly and undermines the whole representation as a whole since it is of the same style as the title. To improve this, a choice of a non-hollow sans-serif would have been better in terms of looking cleaner and increasing readability. This would also produce contrast between the hollow slab-serif header, which might enhance the aesthetics of the typography. 

In-lecture Exercise D: Composing Compositions

I took 4 shots of my friend’s cool colourful keyboard. 

In the first picture, I took a standard photo of what a person would see when he uses the keyboard (Eye-level shot), including the computer screen as well (which is equally as colourful like the keyboard :) ). There is nothing particularly special to this shot but the rule of thirds was used where the keyboard was placed at the lower portion of the grid. Perhaps this draws more attention to the screen display of Rick & Morty, and less emphasis is placed on the keyboard itself. But overall, the colour from both screen and keyboard complements each other well. 

The long shot photo of the keyboard connotes the idea of capturing as many things as possible. In this case, a full front shot of the keyboard which essentially showcases the main feature of the product, which is the rainbow lights. 

The close up shot of the keyboard was taken from a relatively high angle, which displays, in greater detail, the more intricate details of the keyboard. It also adds depth to the photo since it is taken from an unorthodox angle (perhaps dutch canted angle?)

In-lecture Activity C: Heinz Ketchup Ad

Signifier: Printed advertisement of slices of tomatoes, which are stacked to form a Heinz tomato ketchup sauce bottle.

Signified: Notions of total freshness and natural ingredients used in the products Heinz uses for their tomato ketchup.

For syntactics,  the unorganized alignment of the tomato slices similarly convey the idea of something natural, and untampered with which further adds to the credibility that their ketchup is produced with only organic tomatoes, unlike most foods these days with artificial flavouring.

This could be alluded to the concept of abstraction, where the ketchup sauce bottle is rendered into its simplest form, in a sense, where only its essential features (tomatoes) are depicted. This is to communicate the simplicity in its message in being understood to the audience, that their ketchup is in fact made with naturally grown tomatoes, which is the selling point of their product.

Red is the main colour used in this advertisement. It is striking and easily stands out to the audience, and additionally matches with the natural colour of the tomato.

In-lecture Activity B: Great Wave Off Kanagawa

The iconic Great Wave Off Kanagawa is a ukio-e woodblock print in ink by Japanese artist, Katasushika Hokusai during the Edo period (1615-1868), in his series of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.

This artwork is most distinct in the way it utilises the spectrum of varying blue tones to create a simple, yet complex looking perspective of Mt. Fuji amidst enourmous waves. Despite being created on a 2D woodblock print, the artwork is captivating in its use of different blue hues, in sharp contrast with the background of greyish tones that portray the sky. The lines used to outline the artwork are simple, yet the dynamic use of shades of blue clearly unveil much intricacies of this dignified Great Wave. The detailed shapes of the cresting waves add body and movement when visualising the artwork.

In spite of his endeavour of showcasing different angles of the nationally symbolic peak, Mt. Fuji, Houksai's masterpiece has garnered an enduring widespread influence for its magnificent composition of the Great Wave, which commands spectators' attention upon first inspection. The wave is majestic and powerful, as it is depicted in its overwhelming presence, posing a threat to the 3 boats in the sea. This could be representative of the sea (perhaps tsunamis) that wreck havoc in Japan. This artwork could be Hokusai's way of expressing the ambivalence of mother nature towards mankind, in its beauty yet deadly powers, which could be alluding to the fact that Japan’s susceptibility to earthquakes and thus, tsunamis, due to its geographical location.

In-lecture Activity A: Productivity/Creativity Machine