The Principles of Imagery

Imagery

 

1. Imagery

When the modern design movement first took shape, the communication demands on the designer were often fairly obvious. It was enough to establish the name and identification of the product or service and imply the satisfaction derived from its use. In more complex situations, the designer was only expected to organize the information he was given in a reasonably logical readable way on the printed page.

 

Throughout the last two centuries, there has been a gradual and then an accelerated movement of communication patterns until today the public is virtually bombarded by printed and projected images until most of them become blurred and meaningless. This burden of visual ideas places new demanded on the designer for more knowledge and for a greater involvement in the planning and problem-solving aspects of communication. Whether he/she likes it or not, the contemporary art director must be at ease with editorial thinking, advertising objectives, market strategy, human response and social responsibility – his/her layouts are to move from the egocentric boundaries of the drawing board to the excitement of the printed page.

 

A.                          History – In the late 1920’s and 1930’s, when the modern design movement was in its first thrust and the communication revolution in the popular press was beginning to take form, design began to occupy a dominant position on the printed page.

      Cassandre, France, 1932

B.                          By the 1940’s there was less emphasis on the form of the page itself and more on the visual content. This was a period in which great illustrators dominated editorial pages and advertising.

     FHK Henrion, UK, 1944

C.                          By the end of World War II in the mid-1940’s, photography – inspired by a decade of leadership by the picture magazines Life, Look and Esquire – began to take the spotlight away from illustration. Though the photographic continued until the end of the 1960’s,


      


D.                          A new concentration on word ideas and word images began to take form in the 1950’s, and this emphasis continued into the 1970’s.
   

”Hello, Sadness”                                    Saul Bass, 1957


             

Armin Hofmann, 1967                                   Paul Rand, 1970

The resulting search for verbal approaches and provocative headlines led to the formation of art and copy teams dedicated to the pursuit of the creative concept. Although these gyrations of emphasis only reinforce the fact that the most constant elements in design is change, they do not diminish the importance of finding the right solution to a design problem, regardless of trends.

 

E.                          Types of Images

 

1.       Photography –

2.       Illustration – Usually describes line art drawings of an item of information that is representative of a type.




Ralph Steadman
                                   

3.       Technical Illustrations – U­sed to depict a part in a way which makes it clearly recognizable. This does not require the inclusion of every detail. In most cases, parts are represented in perspective form since this is the form the human eye is more familiar with. Consequently, technical illustrations can also be comprehended by persons who have not undergone any special training as draftsmen.



Edward Tufte, 1967                                  

Analytical design theorist, educator, and landscape sculptor, Edward Tufte is best known for a trilogy of self-published books on analytical design. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (1983, 2001), Envisioning Information (1990), and Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative (1997), give practical advice on aspects of data display as well as providing an spectacular array of historic and contemporary examples. Regarded as the primary authority on the presentation of information by designers, information architects, engineers, and scientists, Tufte’s work has also generated a strong mainstream interest. One million copies of these books are in print.

 

F.                           Form | Defining Structure

 

1.       Symmetry –

Correspondence in size, shape, and relative position of parts on opposite sides of a dividing line or median plane or about a center or axis.

­­               

2.       Asymmetry –

Lack of proportion between the parts within a composition. Lack of coordination of two parts acting in connection with one another



3.       Balance –

Balance is the key element in the success of both symmetrical and asymmetrical designs. The equilibrium of a formal layout in the symmetrical style is easy to understand – with the center of the page serving as a fulcrum and the content uniformly divided on either side. The asymmetrical design on the other hand, with its multiple options and its off-center stresses, requires considerable skill to execute.

   

 

4.       Contrast of Value, Color and Size -

The contrasts of dark against light and large against small, the contrast of mood in subject matter, and the punctuation of space by strong accents all contribute toward the dramatic presentation of graphic material. Jan Tschicold, often considered the father of modern typography, identified contrast as “the most important element in all modern design.”