Photoshop is a pixel based program. A pixel is a square of colour, that we use to make up images in programs like photoshop. We can control how many pixels are in an image by adjusting the resolution. Most photographs from camera are taken at 72 pixels per inch as you can see below. 

This can cause problems if we wanted to print a photographed image, as printers print at 300, 600 and 1200 dpi (dots per inch) which could leave us with a low quality print. This is also dependant on what the use of the print is for. If the image is very large scale for a billboard or sign, the image can be slightly lower resolution as the audience is to going to be looking at it up close. The pixels will not be as noticeable from a distance and look as though they blend together to create a smooth image. This is the act of Optical Mixing which is the act of placing to diferent colours next to each other very finely to create what looks like a new colour if seen from a distance. The diagram below is good example.

Below you can see me adjusting the PPI (pixels per inch) on this photograph of a cat I took a long time ago to see the differences:

72 pixel per inch

 10 pixel per inch

3 pixel per inch

1 pixel per inch

Although the lower PPI images would be useless in many design solutions, there are many ways we could use this.

Chuck close for example, famous for "re-inventing the portrait" with his image on the left below started to create amazing detailed images out of squares that had been painted appropriately. Although they are not necessarily pixels, they follow the same concept.  Only when you stand back from the painting does it actually make sense.

Pixels can also be used to give an illustration a retro feel. The to images below are made up of less than 100 pixels. The smart positioning and colouring of squares have made these images iconic and have connotations of detailed illustrations of the characters.

Below is a Photoshop shortcut diagram that I found very useful. It helps make working on images faster and easier.

We then began to talk about the diferent colour modes and what they care used for. There is RGB (red, green, blue) that monitors use, and there is CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and key) which printers use.

 The difference between the two is that RGB uses  a mixture of light to create colours whereas CMYK uses inks. Unfortunately this can cause problems when printing a digital image, as RGB can produce a much wider colour variety than CMYK. You can see this in the diagram below of a colour gamut.

In photoshop we can choose from many colours. When we choose a colour that cannot be printed (as it is out of the CMYK colour range) we are given a tiny warning triangle to let us know. If we click on the triangle, it gives automatically changes the colour to the nearest possible colour that can be made CMYK inks.

Colours are represented with a colour code (or hex code) which you can see above (f31e10) and photoshop also shows use the percentage of CMYK and RGB is used to create the colour.

We can also use the colour tool bar that lets us adjust the colour by adjusting the individual colours of RGB which you can see below.

We briefly looked at how we can adjust the colour of images in "adjustments" under the image tab. The most commonly used by photographers is the levels and curves tool, which allows you to adjust the highlight and shadows in an image and make them lighter or darker. This can add some depth to an image and make it more lively and vibrant. The white balance uses the light in you image to give your image either a cool or warm look. This is useful if you have taken the photo in a light that gives your image an unpleasant tint. The white balance can also be adjusted on most DSLR cameras.

During this module I have learnt a number of new techniques which I can use in future. I now know so much more about type than I imagined possible and how it can be manipulated. I would have liked to learn more about composition and layout in this module as it would have been useful for the last brief, although I did find a lot of information about it in the library.

I would have liked to have had our screen printing induction earlier in the module, as I would have liked to screen print my final poster designs for studio brief 5 although it wasn't necessary

I really found the weekly feedback sessions useful as I often find it hard to generate ideas on my own work, and I enjoy seeing the direction others are going in and giving feedback to them. I have definitely become a lot more proud of my work than I used to be. I am keen to show people and see what others think of it.

As poster research I have collected some very influential, memorable and high impact posters. 

The poster below was part of a campaign from "stonewall", a gay, lesbian and bisexual charity. The phrase was so blunt and written in such a block font that it shocked people across the UK. 

The well known poster below was a motivational poster created by the the British government in 1939 a few months before the start of the Second World War. The intentions of the poster were to raise the hopes of the general public. The poster uses an informal sans-serif font with a british red as the background. The

The poster below was created by Shepard Fairey in 2008 to promote Barack Obama in the elections. The colours are slight variations of the U.S. flag colours which symbolise patriotism. Obama is looking upward evoking a sense of "hope" in the future for America. The posters composition fits along with the Fibonacci spiral directing the eye along the word "hope" then to his circular logo, and then to his face. This implies that he is America's hope.

An info-graphic is a visual representation of information or data, such as a chart or diagram. Many informative posters use info graphics to tell information to the audience in an interesting way. Info-graphics are an effective way for the audience to visualise the data and understand it even more.

A key part of a good info graphic, is it's colour scheme. The colours should be vibrant and exciting. I would have liked to have created an info graphic for my image-only poster, unfortunately there aren't any statistics to base my info graphic around. 

Here are some great examples of info graphics I found at http://www.informationisbeautiful.net :

The rule of thirds, is a composition commonly used by photographers to take a visually pleasing  and balanced photo. The rule of thirds involves placing 2 lines across your design vertically and horizontally to split the design equally into 9 separate segments. If for example you are taking a photo of a nice landscape, you would want to take the photo with the horizon on one of the horizontal lines. like so:

This technique can be used in many ways. You can place your subject off centre along one of the lines to create a balanced photo or give a sense of direction. I could use this technique in my design work by fitting text onto, around or inside these lines and boxes.

here are some examples of how I have used it in my poster designs:

Each statement of this poster is in a separate horizontal box. This balances the design, making it not too top or bottom heavy.

With the design below I could have placed the heart rate line along the bottom line, although this would have left too much negative space at the bottom, making the design top heavy and unbalanced. Instead I centre aligned it to the bottom third, with the text centre aligned to the top two thirds.

Century Schoolbook

The Century font family is a collection of typefaces derived from 'Century Roman', a typeface created by 'The American Type Founders' designer Linn Boyd Benton in 1894. During the 19th century there was an increase in thin typefaces due to influences from Italian Typographer 'Bodoni'. These typefaces lacked impact and legibility, and so Theodore Low De Vinne, Publisher of 'Century Magazine', commissioned Benton to create a more legible typeface to be used in the magazine.

In Beatrice Warde's 'The crystal goblet' it is explained that 'form over function' in typography is not only unnecessary, but it is also distracting. Warde stated that 'type well used is invisible as type'. What Warde meant by this statement is that a typeface should fit it's intended purpose, which above all is to communicate an idea, this however cannot be achieved if the reader is being distracted by unnecessary, decorative flamboyancy. 

An excellent example of functionality within typography is Morris Fuller Benton's Century Schoolbook. Benton created this typeface around 1918 with the intention it be the most legible typeface. He utilised research from 'Clark University', that showed that letterforms with contrasting line weight but with lighter strokes. He also took in to account the use of counter-forms to increase readability. To this day Century Schoolbook is still used in most educational publications and even Supreme Court of The United States' documents as it so reliable. This typeface is a perfect example of Warde's 'invisible type', it meets it's purpose to communicate a question or piece of information in a book clearly without any distractions. This reinforces Warde's statement that 'to an extent, all good typography is modernist', that is to say that the functionality of the typeface was considered above all else. 

 The incredible functionality of this type face is displayed through it's ability to be used at a multitude of different scales.To an extent, form and function go hand in hand when it comes to the functionality of Century schoolbook, as it is the form that makes this such a successful and functional typeface.

Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. A sign is made up of the signified and the signifier:

Signified: The initial meaning that is given to the sign.

Signifier: The visual sign, image, icon.

Denotation: The literal meaning of the sign.

Connotation: Implied/associated meaning based on shared understanding within culture.

Iconic signs: signs where the signifier resembles the signified, e.g., a picture, map.

Indexical Signs: signs where the signifier is caused by the signified, e.g., smoke signifies fire.

Symbolic (arbitrary) signs: signs where the relation between signifier and signified is purely conventional and culturally specific, e.g., most words.

Myths: a combination of paradigms and syntagms that make up an oft-told story with elaborate cultural associations.

Codes: a combination of semiotic systems, a supersystem, that function as general maps of meaning, belief systems about oneself and others, which imply views and attitudes about how the world is and/or ought to be. Codes are where semiotics and social structure and values connect.

Colours: Red/white/blue have diferent connotations that we have given to them in our culture. Red can signify: energy, passion, love, power, strength, death. White can signify: purity, simplicity, peace. Blue can signify: peace tranquility, calm, stability, unity. The actual connotation of these colours are made more clear with context. e.g. A horror film poster using red will signify death/blood etc.

Stars: The denotation of the stars is that they are a visual interpretation of the stars in the sky, but the connotation within this context is that they signify the 50 states of america. 

Stripes: The stripes are in reality just strips of colour, although they represent the original colonies of America.

George Washington:

"We take the stars from Heaven, the red from out mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing liberty."

The image above is a McDonald's advert from july 2008. The hand gesture used in the image known as "Hand Horns" is a symbol that was popularised by Dio, an American heavy metal band, that symbolises the rock and roll genre as a whole. The use of this hand gesture, could be due to them trying to associate McDonalds with youth, fun and freedom.The colours used in the image (yellow, red, black) are symbolic of the McDonald's company and are used in all their branding guidelines. The gold/yellow is used as a symbol of quality and value as traditionally the substance, gold, which is the colour gold, is very valuable. The red is a colour that is symbolic of the companies bold, strong nature. The colours combined makes the branding very strong and the logo almost unforgettable. The golden arc "M" is a symbol for the McDonalds franchise too, with other connotations, such as "mmmm", the noise a person makes when they are enjoying food. The black "M" that is behind the yellow "M" is an icon for a drop shadow. This is supposed to connote that light is beaming down on the "M", from above, possibly giving off religious connotations of a heavenly light shinning upon the "M". Subtly associating the company with god and heaven, will make customers want to buy their food. This is giving the audience a positive image about the food served at McDonald's. The actual intentions of the ad are not clear. It may be trying to make McDonald's appeal to a wider audience by associating it with rock and roll. The hand gesture, combined with the colours is an icon used to represent the packaging and french fries served at McDonald's. Subliminal messages can also be seen in this advert. For example the finger nails, combined with the downward yellow arc on the hand is an icon for a smiley face, giving off positive connotations. The white background is used as a symbol for purity, cleanliness, healthiness. These are all attributes that a customer wants their food to be associated with. The bright colours clash with the white background that make the colours seem even more vivid. This connotes that the food is vibrant with taste, fun and excitement. Lastly, The catch-phrase "I'm lovin' it" connotes that there is a vast range of people that love the food. "love" being the optimum word. The word connotes that there are strong positive feelings towards the food at McDonald's, letting the audience know that the food is good. All together the advert has a powerful look that connotes the McDonald's company as a strong, vibrant and healthy company.