The Image-making process

Time stood still for the past year. So still that it was hard to feel the change of seasons, or notice, how one month rolls into the other or even comprehend, how 2020 turned into 2021. The stillness that I also have experienced in my creative process.

But this all is about to change! I am following a online course on Fundamentals of Graphic design from California Institute of the Arts and the first week has been amazing.

The introduction of the course is about the four pillars of graphic design:

1. Text
2. Colour
3. Image
4. Composition

Mastering them one by one is the plan for becoming a better visual communicator and visual storyteller. Even if this exploration is very far from my professional world of Data Protection and Information Security, taking this exciting journey from the comforts of one's sofa is what amounts to a great adventure in the times of Corona pandemic.

Part 1 - the image-making

Image-making has its techniques - the theory behind the process and a lot of practice. Many graphic design practices involve image-making, a lot of trials and iterations to find that right expression that brings the idea across to the viewer.

Images often work as literal depictions. Let's say I make an image of an apple. It sounds simple, but how that apple is represented can say a lot to the viewer. The technique used to make the image of the apple, the aesthetics of the image - that can say a lot about the apple itself. You can make the apple look healthy and delicious or rotten and disgusting. Or you can establish a contrast between the colour and the image itself to create just enough dissonance in the image to capture the attention of the viewer.

In this instance it becomes important how the image is made. Whether it is just a single line or an elaborate detailed work - the designed image says something about the actual object, about what kind of an apple it is. The designer is adding extra information and communicating that information to the viewer. And this can have a big effect. In this case, it might make the difference between whether you want to eat the apple or not.

The Denotative and Conotative images

When the image represents the thing itself it is called a denotative image. An apple is just an apple. It gets more complicated as you begin to change that denotative or archetypal image and pair that image with other elements. And when designers do that, the apple is no longer just an apple, it can represent or suggest a different idea, different story, different action. That kind of image is called conotative.

Then an apple can become a letter, or a logo, or a technology company. In fact, apple is a fantastic object to work with, to draw, to imagine, to conceptualise. Looking at the Apple's HQ - I got an idea for this Tech-apple, that quite possibly in some near future can be loading into your brain through a VR-machine at a fancy restaurant.

There are many things to consider about an apple as a design object. The role of the designer is to capture the essence of the object and bring out its defining characteristics. It's texture, it's volume, it's colour. The line of an apple, the cropping of it - how far away can you zoom out and still see it as an apple, how close can you get to it and still understand its essence?

The big part of this course is to experiment and challenge our own imagination, to iterate and expand on the previous trials. So I spent the whole week just drawing apples. Would you like to see some more of them?

This is an apple. A minimalistic one. You recognise it from its round shape and a stem with a leaf. That minimal amount of information is enough to recognise an object for what it is. Sometimes in design - Less is More -, and simplicity in a complex world is a good way to capture attention of passers-by.

At other times apple can represent an idea of a bigger and more complex picture. A whole universe can be an apple.

Other times an apple is an object of a campaign and is a statement in on itself. A designer can use known techniques to capture the attention and convey a message with force and conviction by using easily recognised elements of propaganda-style. So even if you until now have not had a strange craving for an apple, this image - a call to action - should definitely spark a thought, that eating an apple a day is good for your health.

Maybe even now, since you are probably working from home, you get a desire to get up and go to the kitchen to get yourself an apple to set your teeth in and feel very good about yourself (absolutely no subliminal messaging here :P).

An Apple can be a part of nature or look quite unnatural. It is all about where your imagination takes you. Children in particular are good at following unconventional creative paths to connect objects in meaning and absurdity, just to see what will happen next.

In fact the word Apple has so many different meanings in many different societies and languages. One thing is clear - apples are important to us.

And it is only fair to say that some people can't live without their personal apples. They completely loose their bearings on reality and get physically ill, if they forget their apple at home.

Other apples are not what they seem. They demand your attention, they need you to stop and make sense of them and recognise the meaning behind the design.

Not all apples have to be pretty. An important part of experimenting is recognising that there is no such thing as ugly. All trials lead to discovery of new techniques and colours, new ideas and opportunities. So even the most unconventional designs deserve their place in the sunshine.

Because they lead you to the discovery of something amazing, that you never before could imagine in your wildest dreams. But IMAGINE you shall!

When the time and place are right, when you are in your perfect mental state, you can just look at the image and imagine that perfect apple - YOUR APPLE - nobody else's, even though it is not even there.

You might like that one special apple, that you have imagined, or you might be a person of plenty, and would rather see the whole bunch of apples.

Because some apples clearly prefer each others company and stick together for comfort and community. They have been cultivated to look alike, smell alike and all together present the homogeneous perfection, that instinctively entice you to put the whole bunch into your shopping cart.

Once you have drawn dozens of apples, you become addicted to the idea of apples, and you want to draw more apples. They can be very realistic looking apples with translucent skin and juicy core.

Or very simple ones, where a few simple lines can convey the same message. In fact, it is the simple images, that capture our human imagination the most. If you don't believe me - think back to the cave paintings. For centuries they have fascinated scientists and general public alike. Because the simple lines, with their omissions and lack of elaborate details leave just enough blank spaces for our imagination to fill in the missing information and make the image our own. Because now, our minds have created the information inside the simple depiction of a hunting scene - and the image becomes a part of us.

But I bet that no matter which style your prefer, both detailed and minimalistic images can make you long for that delicious crunch of a first bite into a cool pale flesh on a hot sunny afternoon, when all your senses are heightened and you can smell the sweetness of fruit, touch the smooth translucent skin and feel the roughens of the leaf.

Some apples have some glamour about them and want their presence known and appreciated. No wonder so many renowned artist as well as unknown creative amateurs devoted they attention to study of this object throughout the times.

Other apples are not much for attention. They are rather delicate and bruise easily. Maybe they even hide an embarrassing secret inside their nutrient rich core? And yet the nature is beautiful and worth admiring in all its forms and stages of life.

This apple is not just a vessel for future insects, but is an efficient factory for a small seed, that in some decades will turn into a strong and tall tree.

The story of an apple can be told in many ways. It is a microcosm in on itself, with millions tiny cells and chemical processes that take place through out its existence as an apple.

An apple is a good source of water as well as other 300 nourishing substances, as it contains nearly all of the vitamins, minerals and trace elements based on calcium, magnesium, sulphur, phosphorus and chlorine that humans need for their metabolic processes. Truly - a “fruit pharmacy” is lurking in and just below the peel.

Before it is transformed into something else, it was an apple for a long time. It's whole identity and purpose in existence was to be an apple, until the moment it is metamorphised into a new state. A state of an apple in millisecond captured by a high-speed camera, when an apple is about to be hit by a shock-wave.

It was an apple before and now it is not an apple, but a million tiny pieces bursting into nothingness. All you have at this moment is an image of transition captured in slow motion.

And yet some moments are preserved in history, like the apple from the tree of wisdom, that is depicted as a symbol of human nature on many stained windows of catholic churches. Or an apple that announced its gravitational force to a man, who observed and dared to imagine the laws of physics hidden in the delicate fruit.

There are many more apples, that I would like to visualise. Maybe you can help me and share some of your ideas about apples and lend me some of your imagination. So that I can grow as a graphic designer and create never before seen apples. Or maybe you will get inspired to pick up a pencil and start drawing and visualising apples or any other objects that tickle your imagination.

The world is full of wonder that is hidden at the tip of your pen. Design away!