Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Visual organization

Not directing the audience through a design is misdirecting them.

Eye movement: the typical eye moves left to right and top to bottom

Controlling eye movement within a composition is a matter of directing the natural scanning tendency of the viewer's eye.

The eye tends gravitate towards areas of complexity first, In pictures of people, the eye is always attracted to the face and particularly the eye.

Light areas of a composition will attract the eye, especially when adjacent to a dark area.
Diagonal lines or edges will guide eye movement.

Optical center: The spot where the human eye tends to enter the page. Optical center is slightly above mathematical center and just to the left, it takes a compelling element to pull your eyes away from the optical center.

Z pattern: our visual pattern makes a sweep of the page, generally, in the shape of a Z

Effective page design maps a viewer's route through the information. The designer's objective is to lead the viewer's eye to the important elements or information.

guidelines: no more than 2 fonts a page, make sure they compliment eachother. avoid caps lock, choose the right font. Do not overuse fancy fonts    www.typography.com/email/2010_03/index.htm

Monday, February 13, 2012

Podcast: Cave Paintings | 35,000 years ago

What are cave paintings?Detailed representations found in caves.

Name several common themes found in cave paintings?
Patterns, bison, human hands, horses, deer

How were these paintings created (tools, pigments)?
water, plant juice, animal blood, soil, charcoal

What is the most famous cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?

Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.
Lascaux, 4 teenage boys

Why did this cave have to be closed? What was done to satisfy public curiosity?
paintings were being damaged by co2, the french government made Lascaux 2



Post an example of cave painting(s) from Altamira cave.
In Altamira cave, why do most of the paintings have a red hue?
red clay in the soil

Who discovered this site? How old are the paintings confirmed to be?
amateur archeologest, sanz de sutuola

What is the oldest known cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?


Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.
Chauvet-point arc, 3 speleogists, Eliette Brunell Deschamps, Christian hillaire, jean-marie chauvet in 1994

What was different about the painting techniques at this site?
they were created by techniques not seen in other sites

What is "speleology"?


What three reasons do archeologists and historians believe prehistoric man created cave paintings?

the were created to tell a story, instructional visual aid to teach hunting, created for magical or religious reasons