graphic design 1
spring 06
John Colan, instructor

icon | symbol
series of 10 icons/symbols
 

Choose 10 objects, subjects, actions and through a progression of thumbnail sketches simplify them to their purest form. Conceptualize. Reduce the visual information - translate an action into an abstract visual form. Be inventive. Use as few lines and details as possible. Experiment with different angles, perspective, positive/negative space and abstractions until you discover a strong visual solution.Ê

Use visual resources to research what an object looks like and/or how it might function. Work with tracing paper, draw your ideas. Scan in your sketches and refine in Illustrator.

Using your strongest sketch/solution to create a final black and white graphic for each visual. Consider the scale of the elements in your graphic and how they will be transformed if you reduced or enlarged it.

Uniformity.
It is important to keep all 10 marks visually consistent. Do not focus on one for very long, work on more than one at the same time. Create the graphics as a family of images.

Look at magazines, text books, web sites or computer application toolboxes for examples of visual icons. Consider how or where your graphic marks might be used. Who is your audience?

Keep all of your sketches. Work systematically.