DESIGN JOURNAL 1

Bottles, Florence Lee

   

The Inspiration for My Visual Design

     Most of my inspiration come from the daily life or the nature. I am especially interested in exploring lines and shapes from these inspiration, then use different stokes to create value and space to form a design. Sometimes I will concentrate too much on the artistic side, so, I will always make self-critique or ask for friends' critique to make sure the design is not only visually beautiful, but also clearly expressed the message, and leaving audience a lasting impression. 

Magazine Face, Florence Lee, Watercolor on Paper
image source: https://www.instagram.com/florencelee_art/

     Alphabet comes from two Greek words, alpha and beta. It is a set of characters and symbols that represent the sounds and the spoken language. The early writing systems are systems developed from pictures and images such as hieroglyphic writing system. The alphabet is definitely better than the early writing systems, for example, alphabet has a limited range of characters that people can learn and write faster than that of drawing an abstract picture of an image. Using alphabet is more time efficient and more consistent due to the simpler letter shapes and limited number of characters. 

     I am particularly interested in finding out how to communicate successfully through visual design. After practicing drawing and design for a few years, I am eager to learn more about the history of art and design. The coming journals in this blog will record the awareness and improvement of my design skills through the learning of history. 

Florence Lee, Markers on Paper, inspired by an old tree in Utah
image source: https://www.instagram.com/florencelee_art/

Shifting from Traditional Media to Digital Tools

     Reviewing my artowrks, I believe I can master the tradition media such as pencil, pastel and watercolor well, but this cannot satisfy me. I think as a designer, I should not limit myself to only a few media or stick to one style. So, I decided to move on and explore the digital art world from 2015 onwards. I learned Website Design, Photography, Screen Printing, and the Adobe Creative Suite that includes Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Bridge, and Lightroom, etc at college. I also continue to explore the other traditional art media that I am not familiar with such as markers, charcoals, gouache, and ink on my own. The art world is full of fun! 

Zion National Park, Utah
Florence Lee, Photography

     
     For me, knowing the history of design is like enjoying the hiking at beautiful old mountains. I hope you guys like it too.