Cuneiform and the Sumerians | 3,000 BC

The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? What does that mean?
Nomadic, they roamed until they found where they wanted to live. 
Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization?
It is where cuneiform, the first written language, was created.
What could the Sumerians practice year round because of the regions climate?
Agriculture

Why was Cuneiform created?
To keep track of business transactions
What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface? 
They wrote on clay tablets. They would wet the clay, form it into flat surfaces, and use a wedge shaped stylus made from reeds to make impressions into the clay surface. 
2:15
What did Cuneiform begin as a series of? 
Pictographs

After it evolved over time, what shape did the characters of Cuneiform evolve into? 
Wedge shape 

After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language?
The akkadians adopted the sumerian culture and their written language, cuneiform.
What is a pictograph?
A pictorial or visual representation of an object.
Why did the creation of Cuneiform allow the Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture?
It gave them a form of communication that had not been available before.

Assignment #14 research and inspiration

Research 

American Institute of Graphic Arts

• Founded in 1914
• Mission statement: "AIGA’s mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force." 
• What they do: "inform about best practices, standards for ethical conduct and professional expertise, communicate design’s importance to the public and business leaders about the power of design, inspire through articles, online galleries, profiles, videos and exhibitions, represent the profession through a network of chapters and student groups, stimulate discussion of the industry through events, social media and websites." Who they represent: Graphic Designers 
• How to become a member: apply for membership as a professional, associate, student, full time faculty, or group, receive membership materials. Student member opportunities: "Gain exposure by posting your portfolio in the AIGA Member Gallery. Find jobs and internships in AIGA Design Jobs. Network and learn at local and national events. Access exclusive member benefits."

Inspiration 

Z

focused

attention grabbing 

purposeful 

who is the target audience?

peers

what are you trying to communicate?

AIGA 

I think this poster does a really good job of communicating the AIGA and using the Z principles, it forces your eye to move around the page but the colors, lines, and fonts keep it interesting as you move around the page.

I believe this poster effectively moves your eye. I like that all of the objects work together in a slightly related way that still gives a random look. It makes the design both appealing and interesting.

Visual Organization

Not directing the audience through a design is misdirecting them

Eye movement:

• The typical eye reads 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 to 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 this spot. 

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 designers objective is to lead the viewer's eye to the important elements or information.

Font Guidelines 

• Use no more than two fonts within a page 
• make sure those two fonts compliment each other 
• avoid all caps unless its necessary
• choose the right font 
• do not overuse fancy and complicated fonts 
• www.typography.com/email/2010_03/index.htm 

Visual Hierarchy

• establishes focal points based on their importance to the message thats being communicated
• establish oder of elements, a visual structure, to help the viewer to absorb the information provided by a design
• ask yourself: what do i want my viewer to look at first? what do i want my viewer to look at second? what do i want my viewer to look at third? etc
• order of visual importance 

The Grid

• Away of organizing content on a page, using any combination of margins, guide lines, rows and columns 
• instituted by modernism 
• can assist the audience by breaking info into manageable chunks and establishing relationships between text and images
• a grid consists of a distinct set of alignment-based relationships that act as guides for distributing elements across a format 
• every design is different; therefore every design will require a different grid structure....one that addresses the particular elements within the design 
• a grid is used to help clarify the message being communicated and to unify the elements 

Cave Paintings | 35,000 years ago

What are cave paintings?
Beautiful, detailed, and colorful representations found on the inside of cave walls and ceilings.
Name several common themes found in cave paintings?
Large animals, tracings of human hands, and abstract patterns
How were these paintings created (tools, pigments)?
by mixing water, plant juice, animal blood, soil, charcoal, and hematite
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.
Lascuax and it was discovered by four tennage boys in 1940.

Why did this cave have to be closed? What was done to satisfy public curiosity?
The paintings were being damaged by the carbon dioxide emitted from the tourists, the French government created Lascoax two to satisfy public curiosity.
Post an example of cave painting(s) from Altamira cave.
In Altamira cave, why do most of the paintings have a red hue?

because of the red clay in the soil
Who discovered this site? How old are the paintings confirmed to be?
Marceline Sanz De Sautuola and his daughter Maria, nearly 19000 years ago.
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.
Chuavet-point arc, discovered in 1994 by Elietee Brunnell Deschamps, Christian Hillaire, and Jean-Marie Chuavet.

What was different about the painting techniques at this site?
The walls were scraped clean of debris, 3d effects were used, and fossilized remains believed to be paintbrushes were found.
What is "speleology"?
The scientific study and exploration of caves
What three reasons do archeologists and historians believe prehistoric man created cave paintings?

To tell a story or recount an event

As an instructional visual aid to help teach about hunting techniques

For magical or religious reasons

Assignment #13 research and inspiration

research
search exquisite corpse:
from wikipedia- Exquisite corpse, also known as exquisite cadaver (from the original French term cadavre exquis) or rotating corpse, is a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled
founded mid 1920s by french surrealists
surrealism is an art form that is about going against reality
inspiration
animalistic
modern
abnormal
exciting
who is the target audience?
yourself
what are you trying to communicate?
surrealism

I like the way the parts line up and go together in a mismatchy sort of way. I also like the color scheme and the way the black and white backgrounds work with the parts.

I like the randomness of the sections and the color scheme.

The Creative Process

the creative process- a series of steps repeated every time you design something

why is this process important?
1. it improves consistency
2. the ability to plan and time your work
3. raise the quality of your work
4. communicate mor effectively and in a more professional manner

the creative process steps
1. research- the audience, the client, the competition, anything you don't know and should or anything that would help.
2. brainstorm/inspiration- coming up with ideas that are unique or innovative while still following current trends. coming up with adjectives to describe how it should look, ask yourself some questions: what kind of message am i trying to communicate, who is my audience, what am i trying to tell them, what kind of color/style will work for this audience.
3. sketching- thumbnails, shows your thoughts and ideas in the moment
4. execute- implementing our ideas and inspiration, pulling all of our thoughts together to start creating your design, don't force an idea
5. critique and revise- take a step back and look at the piece with an objective eye. make sure the design effectively conveys the message to the intended audience.

Photo Composition

Snapshot or photograph?
snapshot- they aren't planned out, to record a moment in time, a quick shot.
photograph- planned, an image taken with care and thought.


Rules of Composition 
rule of thirds- imaginary lines drawn dividing the frame of your camera into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, avoid the center frame, place the focal points where the lines intersect, doesn't have to be exact, place the horizon line at the top or bottom horizontal divider, or fill up your frame
leading lines- not going to happen all the time, use the lines created by the foreground or background to lead the viewer's eye through the photo, lines can draw attention to one or more intended subjects or a single focal point,
point of view- change the way your subject is perceived by changing the camera position, if u want a subject to seem tall make the camera look upwards or you can do the opposite
simplicity- not going to happen all the time, keep you background simple and clear of clutter, the mood and effectiveness of a photo can be altered by what is in the background, a chaotic composition will cause the viewer to look away