Squares & Ampersands
September 2022
For my Communication Design Fundamentals class, we were given a list of word-pairs to illustrate using only a combination of solid black squares and ampersands (&): Playful/Serious, Noisy/Quiet, and Dangerous/Safe. Through first sketching 30 thumbnails, digitizing in Adobe Illustrator, receiving feedback, and iterating, we landed on our final designs.
Results Preview:
Danger & Safe
Noisy & Quiet
Figure-Ground
Ideation Phase - Initial Sketches
During my initial pencil-and-paper sketching phase, my main focus was just coming up with any ideas that I thought could possibly convey the given words. I found it challenging to come up with so many sketches, and I think some were definitely more successful than others at conveying the message, but I think that each idea was pretty unique from each other, giving me many options to choose from.
Initial Sketches
Digital Iterations
After receiving feedback on the sketches, I digitized my selected drawings in Adobe Illustrator. This was my first experience with Illustrator, and I got a basic rundown of translating, rotating, and scaling objects, as well as how to use the artboards, layers, and clipping masks.
Digital Iterations
Final Result
The final designs effectively illustrate the word pairs using only black squares and ampersands. This project allowed me to practice applying design principles, receive and incorporate feedback, and gain experience with Adobe Illustrator. The constraints of using a limited set of elements forced me to think creatively and iterate my designs multiple times, refining the visual communication of each concept.
Danger & Safe
Noisy & Quiet
Figure-Ground
Reflection
Overall, I really enjoyed doing this project! Not only was I able to practice thinking about applying specific design principles, but I also gained new experience in using Adobe Illustrator, talking through critiques, and iterating digital designs. It was an exercise I haven’t tried before, and I think the constraints of using only black squares and ampersands forced me to think more creatively. Having to do so many iterations and getting external feedback also helped me refine my ideas, and changed how the message was conveyed more than I thought I would. I also think it was helpful to formally learn gestalt and design principles, so I could think more concretely about why a piece is more or less successful. I will try to take these concepts and design principles into my future designs too.