Lesson video

Hi, I'm Miss 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 today's lesson is, I can review the range of ways designers have been inspired by natural forms in graphic design.

Let's get started.

Our key words for today are: Natural forms, shapes, patterns, and structures found in the natural world, for example, shells, plants, and bones.

Asymmetry, a lack of symmetry, when two sides of something are not identical but still balanced visually.

To start with, we'll have a look at a designer spotlight on natural forms. Why do you think natural forms can be a popular subject in graphic communication? Pause the video while you have a think.

Natural forms are often seen as beautiful, and this provides designers with endless inspiration.

Designers take different approaches to the way that they can respond to natural forms, using different techniques and themes.

I wonder what inspired this image on the left.

Some themes and techniques graphic designers might use include: Inspiration from natural colours, textures, and shapes.

Exploring asymmetry.

Beauty in nature.

Abstract designs informed by natural forms. Symbolism and meaning.

Designs featuring natural forms have appeared across cultures and history.

However, the natural forms chosen often vary and hold different meanings depending on the culture.

Can you think of any natural forms that might have specific meanings? Pause the video while you decide.

In different cultures, natural forms are associated with specific meanings.

For example, an apple in Christianity is a symbol of temptation, knowledge, and sin.

Think of the story of Adam and Eve.

The Koru, a spiral symbol in Maori culture, signifies new life, growth, and peace.

In Chinese culture, a lion, or shihi, is a symbol of strength, bravery, good luck, and protection.

In Mexico, marigolds are believed to guide the spirits of the deceased back to the living world.

The same natural form can hold nuanced alternative meanings for a range of cultures.

For example, the lotus flower in ancient Egypt represents rebirth and the sun.

The flower closes at night, and reopens with daylight.

In Hinduism and Buddhism, in India, it represents purity, enlightenment, and spiritual awakening.

In China, nobility, beauty, and knowledge.

Let's look at the river or water.

Water is a powerful symbol in Lekota art, reflecting its essential role in the Lekota culture and spirituality.

In Gurundji art, water represents life, connection to the land, and cultural heritage.

In Japanese Shintoism, water is a symbol of purification and spiritual cleansing.

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

Natural forms carry the same significance and meanings across all cultures and time periods.

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

The correct answer is false.

Why? Because natural forms have appeared in art and design across time and cultures, often chosen for their varying and specific significance and symbolism within that culture.

Designers exploring the symbolism of natural forms include, William Morris, who used repeated plant motifs to create decorative, symmetrical designs rooted in nature and tradition.

Alyssa De Asis combines natural forms with vibrant colours and stylized characters in her graphic designs and illustrations.

Ernst Haeckel demonstrates how scientific illustrations of nature can influence graphic composition.

Louise Fili's type-focused designs often integrate organic curves and floral details for elegance and clarity.

The diversity of colours, textures, and shapes found in nature can lead to visually striking graphic designs.

Designers can create works which replicate natural forms, abstracted or stylized works informed by natural forms. What natural forms do you think has inspired this work on the left? Pause the video while you have a think.

Laura says, "I think those monstera plants.

The shape, lines and colours are accurate." John says, "The artist has abstracted the lines and colours to make the work more visually appealing." You can see how they've taken the outline and layered it across the image.

Designers can be inspired by a single, specific element like the form, colour, or texture of a natural form in their work.

Aisha is using natural forms as a stimuli, with a focus on balancing the composition.

Designers inspired by specific elements of natural forms include, Marian Bantjes, who uses floral and botanical forms to inspire hand-drawn typography and ornamental graphic motifs, Takashi Murikami, who blends natural form graphics with pop culture in bright, graphic styles.

Victor Moscoso creates poster designs that use flowers, waves, and plants as the basis for vibrant compositions.

Through graphic design, we can abstract and stylize a natural form into something new and innovative.

Think about how this image of rock faces becomes this.

How has this design taken inspiration from the original natural form? Pause the video while you come up with your response.

Designers creating abstracted and stylized works informed by natural forms include: Chaz Bojorquez uses stylized lettering and symbolic natural motifs from Chicano and indigenous iconography in his designs.

Uche Okeke uses stylized depictions of trees, plants, and natural shapes to connect cultural heritage with visual design.

Althea McNish creates bold, vibrant natural motifs influenced by, and abstracted from, Caribbean landscapes.

Graphic designers can use natural forms to comment on important issues in society, such as climate change.

This can be part of a social action project.

Designers can use natural forms to address important issues in the world.

Samaura Taylor offers a critical, reflective view on nature, using natural imagery to explore ecology and eco-feminist art.

Dakota Mace integrates ancestral visual languages with contemporary graphic design through plants and landscapes, highlighting the differences between traditional and contemporary cultures.

Other themes and techniques artists might use are: Themes of decay and the ethereal.

Social action works and climate change.

Logos or adverts evoking nature.

Trade, exploitation and colonialism.

Highly accurate replication of natural forms. Let's test your knowledge.

Which of the following designs are not likely to have been inspired by natural forms? Is it A, B, C, or D? Study the images below, and pause the video while you come up with your answer.

If you said B, you would be correct.

Clearly, B is a picture of hamburgers, fast food.

This is not directly inspired by natural forms. Now let's move on to your next task.

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 subject, colour, tone, shape, style, composition, and materials.

What themes, symbols or ideas do the designs explore? Are there any connections between them? Pause the video while you work on this task.

You may have said something like Alex.

"William Morris creates ornate, decorative designs based on natural forms, and the colour palettes he uses are more realistic when compared to Victor Moscoso, who uses vibrant colours and posters inspired by nature." That's an interesting comparison.

Izzy says, "Marian Bantjes uses flowers and botanical forms as the basis for hand-drawn script typography, while Louise Fili uses similar nature-inspired decorative lines as flourishes in their designs." That's a great comparison, showing how they're both quite similar in the way that they use natural forms. Now let's move on to design deconstruction, looking at natural forms. Look at this incredible depiction of a tropical leaf.

I love the use of colours.

What is the first thing you notice about this design? Pause the video while you come up with your response.

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

They look at the principles of design, thinking about balance, contrast, hierarchy, alignment, proximity, unity, and colour, the elements of art, line, tone, colour, pattern, shape, form, and, texture, text, imagery, and subject.

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

Let's test your knowledge.

Which one of the following is not a common way designers communicate in their work? Is it A, choosing a subject or image that tells a story? B, selecting materials or techniques that support their message? C, recording their personal life in a diary? Or D, using texture, colour, and shape to create a mood? Pause the video while you come up with the correct answer.

If you said C, you would be correct.

An artist recording their personal life in a diary is not a common way to communicate in their work.

Let's decide how the elements of design are used in this piece of work.

Firstly, contrast is created through the combination of colours and tones.

It has a vibrant colour palette, with a warm yellow background that catches the eye.

You can see they've used tones of fresh, green, yellow, orange, pink, darker green, and lighter yellow.

The picture includes natural and flowing lines found in natural forms. There's a sense of unity created by placing each leaf in a balanced composition.

Shapes and forms are carefully rendered.

Proximity and layering of each leaf creates a sense of visual hierarchy.

Natural forms often use flowing, asymmetrical elements that contrast with geometric rigidity, enabling dynamic compositions.

Think about the organic shapes in this example on the left.

It almost resembles water, under the sea, or reptilian skin.

This asymmetrical image has been edited to explore symmetry.

You can see how in the first depiction, it's asymmetrical, whereas in the second, there's one line of symmetry.

In the third, there are two lines of symmetry.

What is the effect of symmetry in this natural form design? Pause the video while you have a think.

Why might artists manipulate asymmetry and symmetry in their natural forms designs? Pause the video while you come up with your response.

Sophia says, "I could use asymmetry to move the viewer's eye across the composition." Jacob says, "Symmetry can be used as a decorative pattern on posters, wallpaper, and logos." Asymmetry can make a design feel more natural as a lot of natural forms are not perfectly symmetrical.

That's a good point.

Let's test your knowledge again.

Which is the most likely reason designers use asymmetry in their designs inspired by natural forms? Is it A, to confuse the viewer and hide the subject? B, to follow strict mathematical rules in their composition? C, to make the artwork look perfect and mechanical? Or D, to reflect the irregular, organic forms found in nature? Pause the video while you decide on your answer.

If you said D, you would be correct.

The most likely reason designers use asymmetry in their designs inspired by natural forms is to reflect the irregular organic forms found in nature.

Your next task is to select one design and deconstruct it.

Describe what you can see in the design, the principles of design, balance, contrast, hierarchy, alignment, proximity, unity, and colour, the elements of art, line, tone, colour, pattern, shape, form, texture, text, imagery, and subject.

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

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.

In this depiction of two herons, the forms in the foreground are rendered in more detail, with clear line work and texture, while background is blurred, creating a visual hierarchy.

The main imagery is a mirrored pair of birds.

Proximity between birds creates a focal point in the composition.

Cool blues and a rich autumn colour palette create contrast and balance.

The composition plays with symmetrical and asymmetrical features, creating unity.

Each person notices different elements in a design and interprets design with varied ideas.

The next slide shows an alternative way to understand this work.

Let's have a look.

Here the person has said that the use of symmetry could be clearer.

Short lines in the feathers and leaves contrast the textures in the backdrop.

Herons representing wisdom, stillness, and patience.

The contrasting blues and orange colours draw my attention.

The textures in the background are not distinct.

Too much negative space.

Let's have a look at personal connection in design, looking at natural forms. How can looking at another graphic designer's work help us to develop our own work? You can see how this person has taken inspiration from this mural on the wall in order to inform their own artwork.

Andeep says, "Designs of similar themes can develop my ideas more than techniques or imagery." Sam replies, "I'll look at techniques and processes, and try to apply this to my own theme." Work that has similar imagery or natural forms will be helpful, even if the theme is different.

Let's check your understanding.

When looking at a design for inspiration, which of the following is a useful way to respond to it? Is it A, ignore the meaning and just choose random parts to copy? B, only pay attention to the colours and nothing else? C, take ideas from the theme technique, imagery, or a mix of them? Or D, try to copy the whole artwork exactly as it looks? Pause the video here while you decide on your answer.

If you said C, you would be correct.

When looking at a design for inspiration, a useful way to respond is to take ideas from the theme, technique, imagery, or a mix of them.

There are a number of things which can cause us to have a personal connection with a design, such as the techniques used or themes explored.

We can identify and interpret how natural forms create deeper meaning in a design to examine our personal connection to the themes of the work.

We can often find links to our own themes through looking carefully at the works.

What meanings do you interpret from the natural forms represented in this work? Pause the video while you formulate your response.

Lucas says, "This work inspires my theme of growth and decay.

The dark tones and lines remind me of roots and branches." Laura says, "My theme is religion.

I could use natural forms which relate to narratives in different faiths and depictions of paradise." Aisha says, "I wanted to look at natural forms from my grandparents' garden as part of my theme of memory." Can you think of any other thematic interpretations? Pause the video while you come up with your answer.

Your final task is to select one design and use the questions below to consider your personal connection.

Think about what themes, symbols, or ideas does this work explore? Are there any symbols, imagery, or connections between them that help create a narrative or show meaning? Which techniques, processes, or creative designs in this design inspire you and how might you 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 said, in the theme of reflections, "This links clearly to my theme of reflections as the birds are facing each other.

I like how this makes me think about the idea of reflecting on your own life and choices.

I wanted to explore this idea in my work and will take photos of natural forms in different lighting.

I can then edit the photos to create a composition like this one before developing a mixed-media graphic design piece." Here's another example, on the theme of exploration and adventure.

"For me, this graphic design reminds me of the textures found in different landscapes and places we explore.

Each layer of the mountain and hillside are varied, symbolising how the path might be unfamiliar, but can lead to discoveries.

I'm also drawn to the delicate line work and circular sun.

This creates space and distance in the composition, and makes the image feel more complete.

I will create a design using a similar technique but using different textures for mountains and hills." To summarise, natural forms are often seen as beautiful, and this provides designers with endless inspiration.

Designs featuring natural forms appear across cultures and history, often with each culture assigning its own meanings to forms. The diversity of colours, textures, and shapes found in nature can lead to visually striking graphic designs.

Designers can create work which replicates natural forms or abstract natural form imagery.

Designers can use natural forms to comment on important issues in society, such as climate change.

Natural forms often use flowing, asymmetrical elements that contrast geometric rigidity, enabling dynamic compositions.

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

See you next time.