Hieroglyphics and the Egyptians 3,000 BC

In the sixth century BC, what three civilizations invaded Egypt? Persians, greeks, romans
Post an example of the inside wall(s) of an Ancient Egyptian temple.

What was discovered on the inside of the temples?Carved and painted images
Scholars believe that Ancient Egyptians were inspired and influenced by which written language?By the concept of expressing words in writing
What is the difference between logographic and alphabetic elements?Logograms- visual symbols represting ideas or objects
Alphabetic- came later as the language turned into demotic
The term Hieroglyphic derived from what two Greek words?Hiero means sacred. Glyphic means engraving or writing
What is a scribe? Recording and communicating information about religion and government
Who else was trained to read and write? Why?Students and military leaders so they could communicate with others
Post an example of hieroglyphics on papyrus.

What is papyrus and how was it made?Substrate made from reeds native to Egypt
What is a substrate?Something that is covering something so that it doesn't get ruined
What were the Books of the Dead?Books that the commisioners wrote before they died to help them into the afterlife
How did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics become a forgotten language?Those who could still read it didn't pass it on and soon died
Post an example of the Rosetta Stone.

What is the Rosetta Stone? Where was it discovered?A slab of stone that had engravings on it. It was discovered in Rosetta
What three languages are included on the stone?Egyptian hieroglyphics, demotic, and greek
Why couldn't the text on the Stone be deciphered?A chunk of the stone was missing
Who finally deciphered the text? What was his breakthrough?Jean Francois Champollion. Matching up the hieroglyphics
Why does the interpretation of the Rosetta Stone have such significance?
We now know a lot about Egytian hieroglyphics and the languages

Cuneiform and the Sumerians 3,000 BC

The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? What does that mean?
They were one of the earliest nomadic civilians who migrated to Sumer, now known as Southern Iraq in 3500 BC
Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization?
It is where cuniform, the first written language was discovered
What could the Sumerians practice year round because of the regions climate?
Agriculture
Post an example of early Cuneiform (Sumerian pictograph).

Why was Cuneiform created?
To help track the business transactions
What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface?
Tablets. First, wet the clay. Then form it into flat surfaces. Then  use a wedge shaped stylus to make indintions in the clay. You had to lay the clay into the sun to let it dry.
What did Cuneiform begin as a series of?
Pictographs
Post an example of evolved Cuneiform (wedge-shaped).

After it evolved over time, what shape did the characters of Cuneiform evolve into?
Wedge-shaped
Post an example of Akkadian Cuneiform.

After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language?
The akkadians adopted it and started to use it
What is a pictograph?
A pictorial representation
Why did the creation of Cuneiform allow the Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture?
It allowed them to be able to communicate with one another and to be able to manage business

Visual Organization

Not directing the audience through a design is misdirecting them!

Eye Movement-

• The typical eye moves left to right and top to bottom
• Controlling eye movement within a composition is a matter of directing the natural scanning tendency of the viewer's eye
• The eye tends to gravitate to the areas of complexity first. In pictures of people, the eye is always attracted to the face and particularly the eye
• Light areas of a composition will attract the eye when adjacent to a dark area
• Diagnol lines or edges will guide eye movement also 

Optical Center- 

• The spot where the viewers eye tends to enter the page. Optical center is slightly above mathematical (or exact) center and just to the left
• It takes a very compelling element to pull your eyes away from this spot 

Z Pattern- 

• Our visual pattern makes a sweep of the page, generally in the shape of a "Z"
• Effective page design maps a viewers eye throughout the information. The designers objective is to lead the viewers eye to the important elements or information 

Fonts-

• Use no more than two fonts on a page 
• Make sure that they compliment each other
• Avoid all uppercase letters unless its absolutely necessary  
• Choose the right font, make sure that the font can work with the tone or theme
• Don't overuse fancy or complicated fonts, Scripts and calligraphy cant be used for body text

Visual Hierarchy
Visual hierarchy will establish focal points based on their importance to the message that's being communicated. 
A crucial part of the design process is to establish an order of elements, a visual structure, to help the viewer absorb the information provided by a design. 
What do you want your viewer to look at first? 

The Grid-
Organizing content on a page, using a combo of margins, guide lines, rows and columns
Can assist the audience by breaking info into managable chunks and establishing relationships between text and images. 
A grid consists of a distinct set of alignment based relationships that act as guides for distributing elements across a format.
Every design is different, every design will require a different grid structure...one that addresses a particular elements within the design.
Grid is used to help clarify the message being communicated and to unify the elements
 
 
 

Cave Paintings - 35,000 years ago

What are cave paintings?
Beautiful, detailed, and colorful representations found on the inside of cave walls and ceilings
Name several common themes found in cave paintings?
 Large animals such as bison, horses, and deer
Tracings of human hands
Abstract paintings
How were these paintings created (tools, pigments)?
 Made from mixing water, plant juice, animal blood, soil, charcoal, and hematite, a form of iron oxide. Brushes were put together from sticks, stones, leaves, and animal hair
What is the most famous cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?
Lascaux is the most famous cave painting site. It was discovered in 1940 by four teenage boys on accident. Cave paintings are about 16,000 years old
Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave.
 








Why did this cave have to be closed? What was done to satisfy public curiosity?
It was closed in 1963 because the paintings were being damaged by the carbon dioxide emitted from the tourists. French government created Lascaux 2 that is a man made replica made to look like the original
Post an example of cave painting(s) from Altamira cave.

 






In Altamira cave, why do most of the paintings have a red hue?
It is caused by the red clay in the soil
Who discovered this site? How old are the paintings confirmed to be?
 Discovered bu Marceline Sanz De Sautoula and his daughter Maria. It was confirmed to be painted about 19,000 years ago
What is the oldest known cave painting site? When was it discovered and by whom?
Post an example of cave painting(s) from this cave. 

Chauvet- Point Arc which was discovered in the year 1994. Discovered by three speleologists, Eliette Brunell Deschamps, Christian Hillaire, and Jean- Marie Chauvet
What was different about the painting techniques at this site?
Walls were scraped clear of debris and a 3D effect was created by etching around the edges. Found fossilized remains and items such as sticks and small stones which appear to have been fashioned into paint brushes
What is "speleology"?
Speleology is tge study of caves and other karst figures, their makeup, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form and change over time
What three reasons do archeologists and historians believe prehistoric man created cave paintings?
To tell a story or recount an event that already happened, as an instructional visual aid to help teach about hunting techniques, created for magical or religious reasons that if an image or desired event were painted it might come true

Assignment #13 Research and Inspiration

Research-

 Wikipedia says that the exquisite corpse, also known as exquisite cadaver (from the original French term cadavre exquis) or rotating corpse, is a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule  or by being allowed to see the end of what the previous person contributed.
 Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members.

Brainstorm-

We are trying to make a crazy body by using a bunch of different types of body types and adding them onto one person. The audience is going to be for ourselves and for the rest of the class. The color/style that will work for this design will be fun and not very serious. Since it is for us, we will try to make it interesting.  The first image on the right is showing an example of an exquisite corpse. It has a way different type of head than it does for the body and then for the legs and feet. I like how it turned out because it really has a big variety of the different sections of the image.I also really like this design because it really shows the differences again. The head is like a normal head but the body is made out of inanimate objects which makes the image more interesting and different than others. I really think that this is a good example of the design, but I think that the body could be a little more different than the legs and the feet.

The Creative Process

A series of steps you repeat every time you need to design something.

Why is it important?
1. Improves consistency
2. Ability to plan and time your work
3. Raises the quality of your work
4. Communicate more effectively in a more professional way

Steps of the Creative Process-
Research-
Research the client and the competition. Get online, look in magazines, listen to music, pay attention to the world around you...whatever you need to do to get inspired.

Brainstorm/Inspiration-
Striving to be unique and innovative while still following the current trends, ensures a fresh and creative approach. Who is my client? What kind of message am I trying to communicate? What am I trying to tell my audience? What kind of color/style will work for this audience?

Sketch-
Sketch to get your thought out to work through ideas.

Execute-
Implement your ideas. Combine type and imagery into a well developed composition. Utilize design principles and visual organization guide lines to help. Try techniques, explore possible options, and analyze the outcome. If you get stuck, walk away and clear your head. If the piece doesn't look like you imagined, and it isn't working, try another idea. Forcing an idea won't look good.

Critique & Revise-
Make sure the design effectively conveys the message to the intended audience. If it doesn't, go back and tweak the composition until it does. Asking others their opinion will  help with this process.

Photo Composition

Snapshots- a quick shot, often spontaneous, taken to record a moment in time
Photographs- an image taken with care and thought

Rule of Thirds- imaginary lines drawn dividing frame of camera into thirds both horizontally and vertically

• Place the important part off center where the lines intersect
• When working with horizon lines, but them at the top or bottom horizontal divider
• Or, fill up the frame with the subject for a close up image

Leading Lines- use the lines created within the foreground a background of the composition to lead the viewers eye through the photo
Lines can also draw attention to one or more intended subjects or a single focal point
Point of View- change the way your subject is perceived by changing the camera position
If you are photographing a subject that you want to seem very tall, compose the shot so that the camera is looking upwards

Simplicity- keep your background simple and clear of clutter
The mood and effectiveness of a photo can be altered by what is in the background
A chaotic composition will cause the viewer to look away