Reading Response #3 to Artful Design • Chapter 3: “Visual Design”
Sami Wurm
Oct. 13th, 2022
Music 256A / CS476a, Stanford University
Reading Response: Designing Visuals
From this week’s reading, I’d like to respond to Artful Design Principle 3.17, which states:
Principle 3.17: A Model For Multi-Modal Design
Function gives rise to Forms, Actions, and Motion, which imbue Personality and Elements, which make up a System that contains Narrative & Meaning to Humans like you and me.
The process of using this model for design requires one to implement all of the other (numerous) principles in chapter 3. Most importantly to me, 3.1, 3.3, and 3.15. These principles tell us to Design sound, graphics, and interaction together; Imbue personality; and Iterate! As visual design is the area of design that I am least familiar with/confident in, these principles are very useful to me.
First of all, the process of iterating simply includes going through this multi-modal process again and again, playing with function as we see how that leads to form, and understanding how form leads to more and more function. Without going through this loop multiple times, it is hard to create something that is truly meaningful and executes in such a way that its meaning is clearly portrayed. Also, doing many iterations allows for so much more acceptance of mistakes. I have noticed in my own CS projects and in my music, if I know I’m ‘just playing around,’ or going through a process that I will do many times (for example, doing many vocal takes for the same line of a song), I will be more likely to take risks and perhaps stumble upon something that is truly great.
Second of all, the idea that design, sound, and interaction must work together seems to be paramount in making something fun, or in any way real to users. Our real-world, live-time experiences happen all at once, so it makes sense that our digital experiences should as well. This reminds me of the problems that we face in VR, for example, when people get ill when their visual and audio perceptions don’t match up. It is so easy for humans to detect something that feels off-putting or unsettling. Especially for the kind of tech/music experiences that I want to make, I want my users to feel natural as human & tech unite.
I think that when considering how I want to make my design feel, more than simply natural, the concept of imbuing personality is the most important. I really like the listing of expressive verbs on page 135!! As our culture typically locks into ~3 feelings (happy, sad, angry), it is helpful to remind myself of the wide range of expressions and emotions that I can strive to inspire with my creations. Some of my favorite expressive verbs include: Glow! Ooze! Scuttle! Sparkle! Waddle! Undulate!
I thoroughly enjoyed the projects displayed in this chapter, especially The Song That Never Ends, The Infinite Cat Project, and Converge. I think the beauty of these projects is that all aspects of their form are connected, they are all telling a meaningful/relatable human story, and they are all filled to the brim with unique personality and zest! They are exciting to interact with and easily understandable/easily experienced. I will definitely keep all of these projects in mind, as well as these principles, and ‘steal like an artist’ (principle 3.16, page 121) as I enter the world of visual design and start to discover who I am as a visual artist. I will also try to start making mood/vision-boards more visually and keep track of arts like these that inspire me (like the ones below by Keith Haring!). :)
