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Elena Timotin Thesis Antreprenoriat
Elena Timotin Thesis Antreprenoriat
Elena Timotin Thesis Antreprenoriat
01
Introduction
Concept of Design
Design and Art
Basic Principles of Perception
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Basic Principles of Perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Concept of Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Color perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Shape perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Types of Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Perception of space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Profession of Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Perception of motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Pros and Cons of the Profession . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Perceptual Constancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Personal and Professional Features of Designer . . 15 Illusion of perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Designer and his Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Stereotypes of Perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Design and Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Self-Evaluation Quiz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Category of Beauty in Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Usability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Principles of good design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
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Introduction
«I want to be a designer!» it’s most likely that this So far, there are a lot of different areas of de-
idea has led you to the threshold of STEP Com- sign, which you have to learn yet. Any one of di-
puter Academy. rections is fascinating in their own way and each
If this is true, ask yourself, «Why?» or «For of them requires specific knowledge.
what?» As a rule, the answers come to three short, After study you are likely to choose one work-
but accurate options: ing direction or several adjacent directions of your
professional activity. Also you will deepen your
1. It’s interesting knowledge and improve skills in a narrow field of
2. It’s fashionable chosen profession. However, nothing will prevent
3. It’s profitable you from being a universal specialist (except for
your own laziness and extinct enthusiasm).
All options are likely correct than incorrect. Regardless of whether you dream to become
Even though it takes some time to make it profit- an interior designer, want to design graphics for
able and also it may not happen, and the fashion computer games or to be engaged in web design,
in the area of professions varies slightly less than and no matter what will be your job and where
in clothing, there is no doubt that the work of a will you work at the end of your study, you are
designer is interesting. still going to do the design in some of its mani-
festations.
Introduction
Introduction
Theory of Design
A course «Theory of Design» that you are go-
ing to learn now is dedicated to basic design prin-
ciples and laws, which will be applicable in any
area and any design-related profession. It is de-
sirable to learn and start application of these laws
and principles as early as possible. That’s why this
course is at the very beginning of study, as soon
as you have received minimum necessary skills of
work in graphic editors, and already know how to
create a design, but you may not yet fully realize
what is worthy to create and why.
In the first lesson of the «Design Theory»
course we will try to have a good look at such
questions as what «a design» is and where it came
from; definitely touch on the topic of different
design areas; briefly describe specific features of
working in each of them and start a discussion of
what is «right» and «wrong» in design, prelimi-
nary taking a look at the laws and characteristics
of visual perception.
Introduction
Introduction
Theory of Design
The beautiful is as useful as the use-
ful. Perhaps, even more useful.
Victor Hugo
Concept of Design
Today the word «design» is insanely popular and is In 1964 this definition was announced at the
used in many different phrases, which are applied international seminar on design education in Bru-
to a variety of objects of real and virtual worlds. ges and it is often found in various literary sources.
Interior design, book design, logo design, hairstyle
and nail design, etc. There is even such a concept There are shorter definitions:
as a human design*. Despite the difference in appli- Design is an engineering of an aesthetically
cations, design has only one essence. By tradition, organized form of practically useful objects.
we give a boring formal definition:
Or even simpler:
Design is a creative activity, the aim of which Design is a creation of something beautiful
is to determine the formal features of the indus- and useful at the same time.
trial products. Also these features include the
external product features, but mainly structur-
al and functional relationships, which convert
product into a single unit, both from the con-
sumer’s and manufacturer’s points of view.
* Who does not believe — check here: http://design-cheloveka.com/. Although they
are certainly some scammers. :)
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
And vice versa: Design object is what is projected.
Design is a creation of useful that is beauti- Design subject is the one for whom it is pro-
ful at the same time. jected.
In order to completely depart away from Anything can be a design object (an iron, a
boring book terms let’s make a quotation of Paul car, a book, an advertising leaflet), including any
Rand, who was a famous graphic designer: graphic element of the virtual world (a button,
«Design is an introduction of values and an icon, a banner), as well as the text informa-
meanings, enlightenment, simplification, clar- tion. There were such cases when the design object
ification, conversion, refinement, exaggeration, could be a building, a neighborhood or even a
convincement and, perhaps, even fun». city. So an object can be arbitrarily large or small;
it may be undivided and may consist of wealth of
It is difficult not to agree, especially with the details, whereas each of them is a design object.
last statement. Subject of design is almost always a man.
However, the «fun» comes only within certain Everything that is produced and manufactured
limits, as the design is never developed without a directly or indirectly serves a human only, even if
reason. Its essence is not a process, but a well-de-
fined result. In other words, a developer should Paul Rand — is one of the most famous graphic designers of the XX
clearly understand what and for whom is he/she century.
Initially he became famous in the 30s, when he began to create covers
doing that. That is why let us remember two more for then-popular magazines. At first, he worked for free.
concepts without which design is not the design: Since the 1950s he started to cooperate with large companies. He is
OBJECTS and SUBJECTS of the design. the author of logos for such companies as ABC, IBM, UPS and other
well-known brands.
In 1986, Steve Jobs addressed Rand with a request of creation of a
logo for his company named NeXT. Steve came up with an offer to
develop several options and show him. The designer’s reaction was
the following «No. I solve your problem and you pay me for it. If you
need options, than you should refer to another person».
Steve Jobs paid Random 100 000 dollars for the NEXT Logo creation, and it should be mentioned that it
was not too complicated apparently and «did not impress» many people. However, Jobs was absolutely
pleased with the result and called Rand as «the greatest living designer».
Rand wrote several books on design relevant to the present day.
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
it comes, for example, on the animal feed. Faunal
forms are full design subjects in very rare cases,
although it happens, for example, in Europe now
they are being built special bridges and tunnels for
migrating or just restless animals, on which they
can safely cross the highway. But ... even in this
case we can see a self-regard of the one, because
little animals can cause accidents running out
onto the road.
While developing the design of objects, filling
them with beauty and meaning, one does a great
favor oneself. If you try to answer the question
whether it is possible to do without a design today,
you will certainly come to the conclusion that a
one never did without it. From the dawn of time
he/she strived to organize an environment around
him/her in such a way that it would be convenient
and pleasing the eye, surrounded oneself with
objects, which were useful in everyday life, and
tried to give them an aesthetic form. Today al-
ready broad concept of design is filled with new
areas and directions, globalized and popularized.
Harmony and rationalism, which are typical for
wildlife, are being introduced in all spheres of life
of a modern man.
And that is great.
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
Types of Design
Multifacetedness of the design concept creates precise areas (a design of fashion, furniture, sites,
a complex structure of different and sometimes and so on). You have to complement each direc-
very closely interrelated areas. In this lesson we tion with these areas independently, and to discuss
will not discuss such fashionable areas as a design this with your teacher.
of processes and a sound design (and a number of
directions, which you have possibly never heard).
We will focus our attention on the areas, which
are related to visual design. Let‘s present them in
the form of a scheme (see illustration on the next
page).
As you can see, some of the design areas are
closely interconnected and we can hardly separate
them. For example, both an advertising design and
a virtual environment design involve the use of
graphics, anyway. In a sense, all the design areas
have relevance to each other, but in order to get
better oriented, we will keep this scheme in mind.
Any of the stated directions includes a number of
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
LANDSCAPE DESIGN
EXTERIOR BUILDING
DESIGN
WEB DESIGN
INTERIOR DESIGN
IDENTITY
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
«Kitty, I have wanted to ask you as
the artist of the artist: you know
how to draw?»
Ostap Bender
Movie «The Twelve Chairs»
Profession of Designer
For the very beginning it is important to realize the loadbearing wall of the building, in order to
that a diploma of an art school and Photoshop place an aquarium in it?
knowledge is not a reason to identify oneself as a Although a designer is usually a part of a
designer. Designer is a «one-person band». De- whole group of builders that includes specialists
pending on the working area he/she needs not from different areas, knowledge of the develop-
only the artistic skills and an ability to distinguish ment subject will keep out of the further errors at
a harmony from a chaos, but also a hefty baggage the draft stage.
of knowledge from different areas, which are re- It should be understood that design is a com-
mote from the art. plex concept. It can be called qualitative only if
A lack of such knowledge can lead to very un- there is a convenience and an ease of use in ad-
pleasant consequences. And if the effects are only dition to a beautiful picture. Absence of even one
limited to the loss of profit in web design (that is of these components is unacceptable. If you drew
also very serious), the lack of knowledge can lead an unusually beautiful sketch of the main page,
to much more serious problems in the interior where it was quite difficult to find the navigation
design engineering. You may have heard a story controls because of the abundance of flourishes,
about how strongly did a young girl, who was a you could certainly frame your picture and hung
designer, recommend to cut a huge hole through it on the wall; your masterpiece was hardly useful
for the network. Therefore, an external beauty is
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
not a sign of a good design yet, but a good design to provide you with important drawing skills, at
never gets along without beauty. least to the extent that is required for a designer,
Very often, those who are taking the first steps not for an artist.
in design have the following question: whether a But you should not forget that an ability to
designer is to be able to draw? And, of course, this draw does not make you a designer and you have
question is important for those, who do not know a lot to learn before identifying yourself in such a
how to draw. And if in the field of graphic design way.
an answer for this question should clearly be «yes,
he/she is to be able to draw», for a web designer, for
example, this skill is more likely to be a bonus. An-
yway, the ability to hold a pencil in your hand will
not harm. In many cases, it will be necessary to
be able to convey a true perspective and distribute
the effects of light and shade in a proper manner.
No one will require you to be a proficient in
academic drawing, but you might be asked to out-
line a site sketch or an icon for it on paper, and a
crooked drawing may adversely affect a respect to
you as a professional.
Sketching is an important step in the design
engineering, and it finishes much faster, if you can
draw by hand. For this reason employers state an
ability of a designer to draw by hand among other
requirements for candidates to a designer position,
and for this exact reason at STEP Computer Acad-
emy you study the course of Drawing that aims
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
Pros and Cons of
the Profession • Interesting job. Participation in various pro-
jects, which may relate to completely different
At the moment you are at the beginning of an ex- areas and tasks, will not certainly let you get
citing way, and you have time to think how good bored and suffer from the monotony of work.
it is for you in order to avoid a situation when one • Ability to work remotely aremotely at flexible
morning you came on the uncomfortable idea that hours. You can work at home, at night, having
things are all wrong. So let’s talk about pros and your pajamas on, without need to leave your
cons of the designer’s occupation in advance. bed.
Let’s start with the pros:
Let’s look at the cons:
• Creative self-expression. Of course, it is quite
limited by various requirements and trends, • Possible crisis of the creative expression. As
but it is still necessary. a result you do not want to and cannot do
• Huge variety of directions and specializa- something. You need a source of inspiration,
tions; plus you have an opportunity to realize without which you may simply left without
your potential in several or in all design areas an order.
in case of high efficiency and unquenchable
enthusiasm.
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
• A designer is often required to be able to do
everything at once. And if you are not able to
do that, then sorry.
• Continuous learning and increase of knowl-
edge. Computer graphics and design are con-
stantly evolving, and it is necessary to moni-
tor both the new trends in style and the new
features of the computer programs and tech-
nologies. Different non-conventional and in-
teresting projects often require to «delve» into
a core of problem and to acquire knowledge,
without which you will not solve the problem
efficiently.
• Irregular working hours. It operates in both
directions. Sometimes you will freely dispose
your time and work in comfortable hours;
but in other cases you will have to work day
and night, seven days a week in order to meet
deadlines of the project.
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
— Will you join my staff?
— What is the job?
— A creator.
— Does it mean a maker?
Personal and Professional — We do not need any makers. We
need a creator, Vava, a creator.
Features of Designer B. Pelevin «The P Generation»
A qualitative design may be created by high-qual- the fact that in a result the very first «hasty»
ity designers only. Therefore, you should periodi- version will be adopted.
cally check yourself for all of the following charac- 3. Pedantry. A good design differs with carefully
teristics, and if someone of the positive qualities is worked-out details.
missing, you should start working on it diligently. 4. Communication skills. . Very often, you have
Thus, let’s name the following personal fea- to prove or explain something to someone,
tures: so it is just necessary to know how to find
right arguments and present them properly.
1. Assiduity. . Let’s start by saying that the com- This may also include the ability to listen and
puter graphics, without which the designer hear a customer, because for a designer it is
cannot do, requires a lot of patience and hard important to understand the real needs of the
work at the stage of its investigation. You al- customer, be able to separate them from the
ready know this firsthand. verbal «garbage», go into the problem and find
2. Diligence. It is necessary to be comfortable its optimal solution.
with endless reworks and «modifications» of
one and the same layout, and requests «to play
fonts» and «to apply creativity». And do not
be surprised by and certainly indignant at
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
5. The ability to be comfortable with the crit- 3. An impressive background not only in your
icism and adequate in general. An artist is specialization, but also in related areas of de-
allowed to behave bizarrely, but a designer, sign, an interest in the design and art histo-
especially a beginner, cannot afford oneself ry. And it also would not hurt to understand
that luxury. marketing, economics and psychology.
6. Responsibility. Well, it’s just in case, so that 4. A strong interest in profession, causing a
it won’t be forgotten. strong desire to ride a ground-swell, track
trends and explore new technologies.
Let us turn to professional qualities:
It is important to have all the above mentioned
1. Creativity. There is such a ridiculously fash- features, as the profession specificity does not al-
ionable word combination as «a creative idea» low you to work «half-heartedly». In the world of
and a feature that is derived from it and is design everything changes very quickly and that
called «creativity». It means an ability to in- is why we must be flexible and capable to change
vent something new that can cause a surprise together with it timely.
or even a sense of delight.
2. Impeccable command of instrument. This
refers not only to the excellent knowledge of
the computer graphics programs that allows
us to achieve the results in the fastest and the
most optimal way; it is equally important to
know how to use the tools and technologies,
and for this you need to understand the design
principles and modern trends, and to develop
a subtle sense of style and aesthetics.
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
Designer and his Clients
Having looked at the matter what a design is and Unfortunately, the most of customers believe
who a designer is, it is possible to talk about such that a designer is only a «tool» by means of which
an important point, as the relationship between he can implement his own artistic ideas. Such cli-
the customer and the designer, because the result ents little know that you might have studied this
will be mutually beneficial only if the relationship specialty for a long time and understand some-
between these two will be mutually friendly. thing in your work. That is, the client, being a
The customer should completely trust in the highly cultured person with a sharp-developed
designer as a professional, and the designer should sense of beauty, might express its dissatisfaction
be deferential to the extravagant requests and with what he/she saw in the result, even if the re-
crazy ideas, which the customer has already, and sult was rational from all sides and tolerable from
which would be implemented by him/her «if only the design point of view.
he/she knew Photoshop». For example, he/she may not like that you
Difficulties in this kind of relationships usual- have forgotten to introduce «that merry spinning
ly arise for one simple reason. Although there is a thing like those have» into a design of website for
standard set of laws and conditions, which govern his company. And he/she does not care that «a
the working efficiency, a design product is always spinning thing» will be non-operational for a half
taken very subjectively. of users, and some will simply be annoying with
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
it, because they did not come to the site to look as
something was spinning somewhere, but for the
very specific information.
For a designer it is important to be able to
combine the right proportions of the customer’s
desires and your professional opinion, based on
the requirements and trends of modern design.
In order to do this you have to find out the client’s
goals and deeply think about the aims of the object
that is being designed.
Usually a customer strives to make money
(less frequently — to make the world better). And
he/she expects that by means of your design he/she
will quickly earn them (or the world will be bet-
ter). The purpose of the development object is to
serve faithfully and loyally to those, who will use
it. Therefore, we must try to convey to the client an
idea that the achievement of his goal is contingent
upon careful attention to the desires of others, not
just his will. Accordingly, a designer oneself has
no right to immerse into an unusually attractive
world of his own imaginations, forgetting all about
everything.
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
Design and Art
Whereas art is an extremely wide concept, let’s tion. They can also create their own works of art
decide what exactly we mean by this word in the at off-work time, and in this case they should be
context of our lesson before we start. called artists.
So, we do not consider art as a high degree of All attempts to consolidate these two concepts
skill in any profession. We’ll talk about art as a together break on a number of laws and regula-
process or a result of the inner world expression tions, which were adopted in design. Therefore,
in an artistic image. Now let’s start. the following statement is considered to be correct:
Is the design a field of art? I’d like to answer in everything that constitutes a pure art is not a
the affirmation. The line between art and design design already; everything that constitutes a
is really quite delicate, but, nevertheless, it is very design is not a pure art.
clear and continuous.
A famous designer, artist and architect
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris Le Corbusier
called the art as «an unselfish passion elevating
the soul». Design is also capable to elevate, but if
it is unselfish?
Sometimes designers are inspired by the
works of art before undertaking the order execu-
A way of learning and reflection of the world A way of adaptation to the world around us
around us
The purpose is a self-expression of the artist and Aims to create a utilitarian product
emotions of the contemplator
Inspires Motivates
Transcendent, irrational, not based on experience It is always limited and rational, based on the pre-
vious experience
Portrays the world «as it is» in its imperfection Arranges and organizes chaos
and chaos
These books contain a data base that is necessary for every fledgling designer, striving for the acme
of skill in his field.
1. Color perception.
2. Shape perception.
3. Space perception.
4. Perception of motion.
* In psychology it is called a gestalt; but we will try not to dive so deep and go in for
overcomplicated terms and concepts more rarely
* You should know that from the school courses of physics and biology (anatomy).
Even graphics of old primitive two-dimensional computer games (for example, about Chip and Dale) does not dispense with hints of spatial
perception. Because of interposition we understand, which objects are closer to us in the image and which of them are more distant.
Reference.
Reference: http://ageofgeeks.com/games/nashi-pervye-igry/attachment/old-games/
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
6. Relative movement. During movement we
feel that the surrounding stationary objects
move with respect to us in the opposite direc-
tion of our movement. This effect is applicable
well in the process of the animation creation.
7. Linear perspective. We see a visible conver-
gence of parallel lines as a hint for distance
determination.
8. Relative brightness. Objects, which are lo-
cated in proximity to us, reflect more light
for our eyes. Therefore, between two identical
objects the one, which is less bright, appears
more distant.
The cat’s movements are not in doubt, as the trajectory of its subsequent flight.
Reference: http://comixzone.do.am/publ/komiksy/tom_i_dzherri/tom_i_dzherri_piknik/3-1-0-28
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
Perceptual Constancy
So our brain has perceived some shape. The
next step is identification of this shape with the
previously seen image. It would seem an easy mat-
ter. However, we often observe the same object
from different angles and in varying illumination.
For example, a rectangular table top often seems
to be a trapezoid for our eyes by virtue of fore-
shortenings. However, the object is recognized as
a rectangle.
It happens in the same way to the size and
color of objects. A train that comes into sight in
the distance appears us of a child’s toy size, how-
ever, the brain is well aware of the actual size of
the train set and we are not surprised at all, when
a quite large object rolls to the platform. Bright
yellow wall of the room in the twilight seems grey,
but we still perceive it as yellow.
In the picture we see a lot of trapezoidal shapes, but they are perceived as rectangular ones, and the wall containing many shades of
vinous seems to be monochromatic.
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
It happens due to the constancy (or invaria-
bility) of our perception. Constancy explains some
of the well-known illusions. Let’s talk about them.
It is hard to believe that the colors of A and B squares are equal, however, they are so.
Self-Evaluation Quiz
Introduction
Theory of Design
Yekaterina Khomich
DESIGN THEORY
LESSON 1. INTRODUCTION
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