Throughout the process of creating six unique graphics for this first project, I learned the power that simple gestalt principles hold within artwork. For example, some principles I employed into my pieces were [in order of the story], contrast through proximity, continuation, grouping, repetition, and figure/ground compositions that tie two of the pieces together. I specifically learned to utilize these principles in a way that is confident, efficient, but not too overthought.
The easiest part of the project for me was including a myriad of gestalt principles, sometimes repeating a principle in different ways, in each respective panel. On the other hand, the direction I wanted to take in conveying my story was the challenging part, as I was constantly bouncing back and forth between ideas as the project evolved.
Furthermore, after self-analysis I do believe my submission could be improved with minor spatial adjustments. For instance, while I edited diligently to avoid any tangent lines, I feel it was hard to avoid certain edges being close together that almost touch, however I was mindful of my margins.
I personally believe this is a great first project and have nothing to give that would improve the nature of the assignment. Perhaps instead of nursery rhymes, students could take on the challenge of creating a unique story for the class to critique.
In the future, whether it be projects in this course or even internships after this course, I will be looking to create and be able to identify gestalt principles within my own work and consider being effective over being content-heavy.
The Smashing Magazine article was my main inspiration to begin this project with an adequate understanding of gestalt and its application to contemporary examples. I felt that this article summarized each principle concisely, yet comprehensively, and shortly after my first peruse, I began my initial sketches.