Final Compilation

Task 1 - Exploration (link)

Task 2 - Visual Analysis & Ideation (link)

Task 3 - Development & Design (link)

Design

Fig. 1: Alternative Movie Poster: Knock at the Cabin_Jelita Joice Maharani_Task 3

For my finalized design, I wanted to create a feeling tension and unease that matches the plot of the movie, Knock at the Cabin. I chose red tones for the characters to make them stand out and show strong emotions, while the glowing cabin acts as a focal point of the design. I chose red because it is the color that mostly represents danger and threat, while I also wanted to highlight the cabin white to represent innocence before doom follows them. The hand-drawn title follows the curve of the path towards the cabin, giving it an unbalanced, unsettling look, and the typewriter-style font for the director's name adds a cinematic contrast, since this is also inspired by a movie poster.

The purpose of the design is to grab the viewer's attention, just as the Knock at the Cabin movie poster did to me. I wanted to show the unsettling and eerie mood of the story visually by focusing on the facial expressions, lighting, and color symbolism without having to communicate it with words. The cabin, as the focal point, would be a starting point for the viewer's eyes to move through the design.

I used several design principles to make the poster come together. The Contrast is clear between the red characters and the glowing cabin. The Emphasis would be the glowing cabin, guiding the viewer's eyes towards the characters through its reflected highlights. It follows Rule of Thirds as each character occupies each corner, giving it balance in through visual value, even if the design has an Asymmetrical balance. There is Unity and Harmony as the colors schemes, lighting, facial expressions, and typography of the title brought the whole elements together in a unified unsettling mood. Movement is also evident in the pathway towards the cabin, that is also filled with the Typography of the title, which gives off a jittery, uneasy feeling.

Overall, I aimed to make the poster as visually striking as it can, in my own capabilities, and meaningful in a way that viewer's could immediately sense that there something bad that is bound to happen upon the cabin.

Reflection

Before taking this module, I never realized there are structures in art and design in general. I've heard a little bit about principles of design but I was never able to understand it. Throughout this course, I learnt a lot and was able to understand why and how important design principles are in trying to define a design, for interpretation, communication, and expression. I love that I could interpret a design by analyzing the visual aspect and creating my own narrative of the supposed message that the artist is trying to convey. I think having a discussion surrounding the design, and what it could mean to others is also a fascinating and eye opening experience. In a way, it's one of the few things that I would very much not mind talking about as a very introverted person. But while I do enjoy the deep thinking process in making interpretations of a design, I'm not a somewhat creative person. I struggled a little bit with trying to create my own design that reflects the message of the original design, as it is a part of the task in this course. I was completely blank when figuring out how I wanted to proceed with the project. I love sketching, but further developing it is something that I rarely do, which was a 'me' problem. So for the first time in my life, I have to actually complete a digital sketch (which I honestly don't have skills for). I honestly have no idea why I decided to complete the project in digital, but I was committed to it.

That being said, I think I am quite fine with making art digitally now. I was quite worried that I would be doing very badly in this, but with the help of Youtube tutorials, Pinterest references and consultation with my sisters about the artwork, I was able to pull it off. I never knew how complicated it is to make digital art, not that I was undermining it in the first place. I have always preferred traditional art over digital as I'm not used to the medium used. But after this project, I think I'm going to start to draw digital art. It's still not a fun thing to do for me, but it is very satisfying what the results could be. As someone who enjoys seeing and appreciating beautiful things, I am quite eager to create one and be proud of it for once in a while. For a time, I have been dying to create my own fan arts or book covers for my non-existent books. And now, I have the ability to create the best one that I can for the time being and be satisfied with it. And with the knowledge of design principles on my side, I can now figure out how to approach a design project and make it visually appealing, while also conveying it's message in a symbolic way.