Lesson video

Hi, I'm Ms. Blue and I'm really excited to be learning with you today.

I hope you find our lesson as interesting as I do.

Let's get started.

The outcome of this lesson is, I can review the range of ways designers have been inspired by light and dark in graphic design.

Let's go over our keywords.

Silhouette, a dark shape or outline of something against a lighter background, showing only the outline with no internal detail.

Contrast, the difference between elements, like light and dark or rough and smooth, that makes parts of a design stand out.

Let's start with a designer spotlight on light and dark.

How have light and dark been used in this work to create visual interest and meaning? Pause the video here while you think of your response.

There are many reasons why light and dark are popular themes in graphic communication.

The themes of light and dark can be expressed using many design techniques.

Some of the themes and techniques that use light and dark are high contrast to create impact, to communicate mood and atmosphere, symbolism, to create silhouettes, light installations.

Some designers use light and dark to create mood, atmosphere, and contrast in artworks.

This technique creates impactful designs that are eye-catching.

Using high contrast allows graphic designs, such as logos or advertisements, to visually stand out.

What other ways can light and dark be used in graphic design? Pause the video here while you come up with your response.

What is contrast used for? Is it A, to achieve flat shapes and patterns while block printing, B, to great impactful designs using light and dark, C, to draw with only outlines using charcoal or ink, or D, to mix bright colours together with rare pigments? Pause the video while you come up with your answer.

If you said B, you would be correct.

Contrast is used to create impactful designs using light and dark.

Artists and designers using light and dark include, Bruce Nauman produces minimalist installations using light and dark that interact with physical spaces and environments.

Chila Kumari Singh Burman uses bold shapes in their light installations, including Lotus Laxmi, 2024, to communicate and express cultural identity.

Chris Ofili uses pattern and contrast, engaging with cultural narratives to create strong, impactful designs.

Light and dark can also symbolise different things across different cultures and art movements.

What do you think the light and dark in this design symbolises? Pause the video while you come up with some ideas.

Laura says, "The light and dark here reflect Yin and Yang, a Chinese concept of balance." Jun says, "It's about how opposite forces need each other to exist and remain in balance." The symbolism of light and dark can vary.

For example, in Lakota culture, black symbolises honour, respect, and adulthood, and is linked to natural forces.

White represents life and intellect.

In Hinduism, light signifies knowledge, truth, and divine presence, and dark links to ignorance.

Kifwebe masks of the Songye and Luba peoples use red, white, and black to symbolise the duality and harmony of life.

Do you know any other interpretations? Pause the video while you come up with some ideas.

Graphic designers featuring high contrast in their work include Gyugyi Odon, who combines high contrast with bold iconography in his graphic designs.

David Shrigley uses simple black line drawings and bold monochrome text to deliver humorous and often satirical messages.

Saul Bass creates film posters using stark contrast, simplified shapes, and dramatic use of contrasts.

Mohamed Samir uses bold contrasts through colour and typography in his graphic design work.

Designers use silhouettes to create strong contrast and explore ideas like identity, mystery, and storytelling.

What does this silhouette make you think about? Pause the video while you come up with some responses.

Designers making use of stylized forms and silhouettes in their work include, Luba Lukova creates social justice posters using silhouettes, flat tone, and visual metaphors.

Daisy Patton is a multidisciplinary artist who explores themes like memory, history, identity, loss, and the human body.

Let's decide if this statement is true or false.

Designers only use silhouettes to show detailed features and realistic textures.

Pause the video while you decide on if it's true or false.

The correct answer is false.

Why? Because silhouettes are not normally used to show fine details, but instead focus on the strong shapes and contrasts.

This helps designers to highlight emotions, create mystery, and explore themes like identity and storytelling without relying on realistic features.

Graphic designers can use light and dark as a medium by incorporating light sources or creating light installations of their work.

Can you think of any examples of a light installation? Pause the video here while you come up with some.

Designs that invite viewers to interpret the symbolic use of light and dark include, Lubna Chowdhary explores cultural identity using minimal forms in monochromatic tones.

Christine Ay Tjoe explores the balance between positive and negative space in her work, experimenting with the symbolism of light and dark.

Corita Kent is known for bold screen prints and activist graphic work, using posters to explore the symbolism of light and dark.

Your task now is to select two or three graphic designers or specific designs and compare them.

Consider these questions.

In what ways are the designs visually similar or different? Think about the theme, technique, symbols, colour, tone, shape, style, composition, and materials.

Are there any connections between them? Pause the video while you work on this task.

You may have said something like Alex.

"Bruce Nauman explores how light installations interact with space and environment, while Chila Kumari Singh Burman uses vibrant lights to bring life and energy to symbols of cultural identity." Aisha says, "Saul Bass was a pioneer of high contrast in graphic design posters, which still looks contemporary many decades later, and Daisy Patton shows how light and dark can create visually impactful portraits and figures." Here's another example of a response.

This person has created a Venn diagram comparing Luba Lukova with Bruce Nauman.

In the first section, they've said, Luba Lukova uses text to add social messages to visual design.

They explore silhouettes of figures and stylized forms, digital graphic design and printmaking, while Bruce Nauman explores repeated text to evoke emotions, light and dark used to interact with spatial environments, light installations.

In common, they both use a strong contrast between light and dark, creating striking, impactful works.

Now let's look at design deconstruction on light and dark.

Graphic designers use various techniques to develop a distinct visual language and communicate in their work.

The principles of design, like balance, contrast, hierarchy, alignment, proximity, unity, and colour.

The elements of art, line, tone, colour, pattern, shape, form, texture.

Text, imagery, and subject.

We can deconstruct these techniques to understand the work more deeply.

Let's test your knowledge now and decide if this statement is true or false.

Designers only use colour and subject matter to communicate meaning in their work.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

If you said false, you'd be correct.

Why? Because while colour and subject are important, designers also use many other techniques, like line, shape, texture, composition, and materials, to share ideas.

By breaking down these elements, we can understand the designs meaning more clearly and deeply.

How are the principles of design used in this work? Pause the video while you come up with some ideas.

To start with, the high contrast between light and dark balances the design.

They've used a limited colour palette of black, orange, and yellow.

Patterns can be found in the buildings.

Symmetry, unity, and proximity in the composition.

The building silhouettes are contrasted with the window lights.

The lightest feature of the design is the power cable, making a focal point.

When light changes to dark in a design, it can create either a hard or soft edge.

How do you think this affects the mood or focus of the design? Pause the video while you decide.

Hard and soft edges help show focus and depth in graphic communication.

Let's look at the difference between hard edges on the left and soft edges in the image on the right.

In the first image, the edges are sharp and clear, while in the second they're blurry and gently blended.

Let's decide now.

Which is the most accurate to explain the difference between a hard edge and a soft edge? Is it A, hard and soft edges are the same, but use different materials, B, hard edges are made of warm colours and soft edges cool, or C, hard edges are sharp, while soft edges are blended, or D, hard edges are used in backgrounds, while soft edges in the front only? Pause the video while you work out the correct answer.

If you said C, you would be correct.

The most accurate way to explain the difference between a hard and soft edge is that hard edges are sharp while soft edges are blended.

What is the effect of this use of hard and soft edges? Pause the video while you decide.

Andeep says, "Using hard and soft edges in this design shows how light moves in the image to make it more three dimensional.

The soft edges glow with luminosity, the hard describe the form of the hand." What is the effect of the use of hard and soft edges in this work? Pause the video while you look at the picture and formulate a response.

Aisha says, "A hard edge around the foreground rooftop contrasts with the soft edges in the background sky.

It makes the city scene appear full of life and activity, while the rooftop is calm and quiet, providing respite." For your next task, you should select one design that explores light and dark and describe it.

Describe what you can see in the design.

Think about the principles of design, like balance, contrast, hierarchy, alignment, proximity, unity, and colour.

The elements of art, line, tone, colour, pattern, shape, form, and texture.

Text imagery and subject.

Think about how the graphic designer has used these techniques to communicate with the audience.

You might record this as an idea shower around an image of a design, write a paragraph, or create an audio or film recording of your ideas.

Pause the video while you work on this task.

You may have said, in this image, a variety of light through hard and soft edges creates balance.

Soft glowing light contrasts with the hard rooftop edge.

The dark tone rooftop creates framing in the composition, drawing our focus into two areas.

As a contrasting colour palette as shown, the figure with a light circle shape on their top draws attention.

Darker areas like sky and silhouettes in the top and middle of the image are muted.

Here's another interpretation.

Looking at this picture, the person said soft edges aren't used, but a selective use of hard edge creates the illusion of light and depth.

Strong contrast between the surrounding border and light on the forms. Lines are descriptive to show different textures.

Minimal layers, lines, and shapes are used.

Design is balanced and aligned in the centre of the composition.

The colour palette below evokes night of a streetlight.

Finally, let's have a look at personal connection in design of light and dark.

How can looking at a designer's work help us to develop our own work? You can see how looking at this larger artwork has inspired a student's own composition.

Aisha says, "Designs that explore light and dark through similar themes can develop my ideas more than just similar techniques or imagery." Sofia says, "I can look at techniques used to show light and dark and try to apply them to my theme." While Alex says, "Similar use of light or dark imagery can inspire, even if the concept is different." Now let's fill the gap.

We can look at other designers' work to gain inspiration through techniques, blank, and themes, helping to develop and enrich their own creative ideas.

Pause the video while you fill in the correct word.

The correct word is imagery.

We can look at other designers' work to gain inspiration through techniques, imagery, and themes, helping to develop and enrich their own creative ideas.

We can establish a personal connection to a design by interpreting how the use of light and dark in an artwork can signify deeper meanings or a theme.

We can often find connections to our own work through deconstructing both the themes and techniques used in a design.

How do you think light and dark is used in this work to communicate a deeper meaning? Do you think everyone would come up with the same meaning? Pause the video here while you formulate a response to both of these questions.

Lucas says, "This work inspires my theme of time and place, visually showing how silhouettes can simplify complex scenes." Sam says, "My theme is religions and faiths.

I'll use the idea of using high contrast to place emphasis on key features." While Izzy says, "I wanted to look at identity and narrative and will use imagery from my family's photo albums to develop immersive stories." Can you think of any other theme interpretations? Pause the video while you come up with some.

Let's decide if this statement is true or false.

We all interpret and understand designs in the same way because how design inspires us is uniform.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

If you said false, you would be correct.

Why? Because everyone brings their own experiences, feelings, and ideas when looking at images, so we all interpret them differently.

That's what makes art powerful, it can mean something unique to each person.

You'll final task is to select one design that explores light and dark and use the question below to consider your personal connection.

Think about what themes, symbols, or ideas this work explores.

Are there any symbols, imagery, or connections between them that help create a narrative or show meaning? Which techniques, processes, or creative decisions in this work inspire you and how might use them in your own work? You might record this as an idea shower around an image of a design, write it as a paragraph, or create an audio or film recording of your ideas.

Pause the video while you work on this task.

You may have come up with something like this interpretation.

On the theme of identity and narrative, the central image in this work is of a horseback figure on top of a mountain.

The use of dark tones and silhouettes frame the foreground of the work and visually separate the composition into layers.

This creates the idea of an immersive world or narrative around this character.

For my work, I will use portraits and figures from my family photo albums to create contrast through silhouettes, landscapes, and striking visual imagery.

Here's another interpretation to consider.

On the theme of isolation and connection, this work uses a cityscape background and a rooftop with a figure in the foreground.

The high-contrast light and dark, hard and soft edges draw our attention into the glow of the city life, which creates the feeling of busyness.

I'm not sure if it's inviting as the light becomes overwhelming, I will create designs which contrast people and places through light and dark.

I want to create a sense of distance and separation, so will exaggerate these qualities.

To summarise, designers can use light and dark to create mood, atmosphere, and contrast in graphic design.

We can find symbolic meanings of light and darkness across different cultures and art and design movements.

Designers can experiment with using light and shadow to define form, space, and focus in their own designs with things like silhouettes and light installations.

When light changes to dark in design, it can either create a hard or soft edge which can alter the way light and dark affects the mood of the work.

Thank you so much for listening and paying attention in this lesson.

See you next time.