Final Project- Poster

This is my final poster.

Here are the layers

Final Project- Essay

The message of my final poster is how it is far better to choose the path of knowledge rather than resign to a fate of willful ignorance. In my personal opinion, the root of all evil in our world and its citizens, the one idea that will deal the final blow that yields the end of humankind should we eventually collapse, is none other than the repugnant idea of intentional, willful ignorance. What wicked demon of a human would rather persist in the dark than see reason, observe the world as it really is? As I see it, he who chooses this path is barely even human, as we, as humans, are made almost precisely for the purpose of observation, of questioning. It is the only action that grants us any progress as a species, and it is the only thing that can ever hope to save us from ourselves, a battle that, especially in the modern world, poses a threat more dangerous than ‘Hell’. We have been granted this time as human beings, which in and of itself is a gift of astronomical proportions in the name of the cosmos: every life that has ever lived, is ever living, and ever will live will never be lived again in the history of eternity. Every life is unique, and every life is a gift. As Carl Sagan said, “Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another.” And to choose to squander this gift by simply taking it without thought, without question, is to spit in the face of the very universe.

The phrase “ignorance is bliss” is an absolute disgrace to our humanity, and those who hold this mindset are the seeds that will sew our destruction. Should the oceans rise without us, should our so small a rock become our eternal tombstone, a reminder of lost potential that the universe itself mourns, it will be willful ignorance that will pull the trigger on our fate.

As someone who is personally near-religiously devoted to science (without the negative impacts of religion, like, for example, willful ignorance), this message is one of utmost importance to me. I am attempting to show people that the things that the average person worries about is so ridiculously meaningless, that most of us only seem to carry about a minute plot of land that is, itself part of only one city, that is part of one district, that is part of one state, that is part of one country, that is part of our seemingly vast earth that is, itself, so unfathomably miniscule in terms of our galaxy, which is among trillions upon trillions of other galaxies. So why, I implore, do we choose to keep our heads in the dirt when above us is laid out the vast expanse of literally everything, when in comparison we know none of. Our knowledge of what happens in our universe is so infinitesimally fractional, despite the fact that exploring and learning about our universe is all we can do to affect it. Carl Sagan once said, “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”

So, in summation, in the most succinct way that it can be phrased: my message is to simply think. Question. Research. Learn. Choose knowledge over ignorance, no matter how tempting the latter may be. My audience should hopefully observe this message through the clear messages that I left, whether it be in text, as with my simply stated phrases through the text on the poster, as well as the image itself, as it can be clearly seen that the blown up image in the top left corner of the image is simply the very small circle on the galaxy in the bottom right hand corner.

I used shape in my poster to clearly depict my message, as the large shape in the bottom right hand corner is clearly discernable as a galaxy, as it is an oblong ellipse that spirals inwards to a glowing core. This is the same for the Earth and moon in the upper right hand corner, which are circles with the texture overlaid upon them (the earth is most certainly circular and spherical, you can suck it, flat-earthers), so it is clearly discernable that they are the Earth and moon. The lines that lead to the blown up view of the smaller circle make it appear as if the image is being blown up to appear as it is. The colors make the image appear as if it is in deep space with the nebula-type of interstellar gasses that make up the cosmic web being seen in the background, and the pale purple and blue of the galaxy appearing almost futuristic or galactic. The earth is blue and green, as the real earth is. In terms of orientation, the galaxy is diagonal so it appears as though it is being observed from an angle, and so that more of it can fit in the view while still appearing massive. A far as images are concerned, I used a galaxy and recreated images of the Earth and moon, to make the images appear as if it is in deep space, something mystical and unexplored. I used the image of the satellite looking down on the galaxy to give a sort of human touch to the idea of space, to show that with thought and knowledge we can even look down upon galaxies themselves; it’s like a portal, an avatar connecting humanity to the knowledge of the universe. I used type to clearly spell out the messages I wished to intend, as well as quotes from renowned thinkers across the ages to clearly relay that this message is important. My software techniques are clearly displayed in this poster, as everything from the galaxy to the stars and the Earth were made by hand in Photoshop, the text then designed in Illustrator. My grid design in this poster is seen in the uniformity of the distance between the text and the sides of the image, as well as distance between the connecting lines in the top right hand corner and the side of the poster. The text also follows the grid, each line being even and level with the others at a constant rate.

This design is unique because it relays a message that is not being attempted by anyone else in the class, for the obvious answer. In addition to this, the idea of my message pertains to very different content matter than that of the rest of the class, as well as, in general, pertaining to a subject matter not frequently talked about in conversation or in general. You do not typically go to assemblies advocating for knowledge over ignorance. However, it can be argued that the principle idea of school in general is to relay this message, but I, for one, as a student of such schools, can assure you that the way in which our schools are arranged- set up- appear as if they were were made to beat the very thirst for knowledge out of us. But I digress. The message I am attempting to relay to people is one of knowledge instead of willful ignorance, which is a message not typically seen amongst the posters advocating for anti-bullying and promoting socialization.

The focal point of this design seems to be the glowing core of the galaxy, as it is the biggest source of contrast, appearing as a massive glowing sphere in the heart of the galaxy. From this point, your eye leads you around the spiral of the galaxy, which then directs you up the line of the diagram to the blown up image of the moon and Earth. From there you simply read the words as they appear. The spiral of the galaxy leads you around and down its path, and the line of the diagram leads you there. I used negative space as literal space in the background of the image, and the positive space is anything that's filled up in front of it, from the galaxy to the text. The latter of these are bright colors that create contrast from the darkness of the background (that still has twinges of color in the form of interstellar gas).

My grid design in this poster is seen in the uniformity of the distance between the text and the sides of the image, as well as distance between the connecting lines in the top right hand corner and the side of the poster. The text also follows the grid, each line being even and level with the others at a constant rate.

In making this poster I discovered many numbers of photoshop tools that I had previously never imagined to exist, most discovered in my quest to create the planets (which I had had experience with creating in the past, however for this project I mixed up the steps a little to create variety and teach myself something new) as well as the galaxy, which was an entirely new endeavor that I had had no previous experience in undertaking. I perfected a technique I was previously rather uncertain of- using adjustment layers and masks to create lighting effects. I believe that I executed the proper example of the use of this technique in my satellite that looks on as the galaxy turns, and I hope to use this technique in the future.

Frankenstein Monster Project- Maynard

This is my Frankenstein Monster Project, which is a compilation of various animal parts pasted onto a template portrait of Maynard James Keenan, chosen because no other pictures found seemed to fulfill the requirements I felt were necessary. Added onto this picture and blended are ram's horns, a third eye, a crocodile eye, a chameleon eye, fox ears, an eagle's beak, and reptilian scales. The background is a theater crowd. To make these effects I utilized a myriad of adjustment layers and masks. Following are screenshots of all of my layers, with all of the folders expanded.

Final Project- Poster

For my final project I am going to attempt to create a poster that relays the idea of choosing knowledge over ignorance, as well as possibly some "think for yourself" type of themes. My color scheme is not entirely decided yet, but I assume it will be something along the lines of my square type shape, in which different iterations of the colors red, orange, blue, and green are utilized. The font will probably switch back and forth depending on what is being written; for example, should a sentence be deemed important and about a certain subject, like, for example, the standard model of particle physics, the font could be old-fashioned with some of the letters being the greek abbreviations for the different particles in the model. Some images I could use could be things related to science, like a galaxy, the standard model of particle physics, and chemical abbreviations from the periodic table of elements.

Package Project- Avatar

This project was hoping to achieve the goal of designing some form of box or package of some form that was designed in the manor of visually depicting a word. The word chosen, in my case, was "Avatar", which in Hinduism means "a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; in incarnate divine teacher." After much more careful research- on wikipedia, mind you- it has been revealed to me that the most used or seen avatars in Hindu stories are those (usually ten, sometimes nine) of Vishnu, the Divine Preserver of life. At times where his holy assistance was required, Vishnu would consign to the world an avatar of his own person, taking different and alien forms depending on the need. For example, when the Manu (it's sorta the Jesus of Hinduism, he's like the first man or something) was in danger of the deluge, Vishnu set his avatar Matsya (who took the form of a fish) to save the Manu.
In any sense, this parcel, taking the form of a pyramid-like shape, is decorated on its exterior with different avatars of Vishnu. The color scheme is a rectangle, consisting of orange, red, blue, and green (there are shades in-between also shown). This top image depicts the box as seen when folded up, in a casual view.





This image here depicts the shape as seen from above, where it can be noticed that, across the hands that hold the pyramid together, are inscribed the seven symbols of the Chakras of the human soul- more on that later.

This image shows the bottom of the pyramid, in which the word "Avatar" is spelled out in a font resembling sanskrit. Also seen is a piece of art depicting Brahma, with all of the other avatars, including the Trimurti.

This image depicts the inside of the box. Seen is a similar color pattern as the outside of the box, but inside is, rather than the external representations of a God, the seven chakras of the human soul. Each chakra represents a different feeling or sense, and while separate they are different pieces, together they form the human soul. Also included are two doors seen in the middle of the box, depicting Brahma- the creator in Hinduism.

And seen in this final image is the open doors of the interior, which now depict Shiva, the destroyer in Hinduism. Shiva is well known for her cosmic dance that brings about and destroys all. There's some symbolism here, I just know it.

Bag/Box Paper Folding Project- Avatar

The word that I have (semi-arbritrarily) chosen for the bag/box folding project is the word avatar- in Hinduism it means "a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; in incarnate divine teacher."

Typography Poster- Lateralus

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents."

~Howard Phillips Lovecraft

This is the typography poster that was supposed to fulfill the requirement of creating a poster chiefly with words that were meant to relay a certain message. The color scheme I used was one of a rectangle, containing red, blue, green, and orange/yellow. The fonts used were Times and Systema Encephale.
This piece, simply dubbed "Lateralus", compiles all lyrics from every song of the cerebral celebration of our humanity. The purpose of the poster was to relay a message of "drawing way outside the lines," as Maynard James Keenan sings in the title track, "Lateralus". One purpose of the message is to notice the difference between the image up close and the image from a distance. When observed up close, one will notice that the poster is made up of interconnecting (but not perfectly aligned) puzzle pieces of text. While this fact in and of itself is a reference to the renowned quote "I know the pieces fit" from the single Schism off of the album, it is also, after one gives careful thought, apparent that pieces fitting together is very reminiscent of the human mind itself. There are many separate parts of the human mind, from the compelling frontal lobe to the minuscule pineal gland. This is done for both the showcasing of knowledge of relaying scientific principles of art, as well as relating the speculated origin of the name of the album, Lateralus. The name, as one can easily perceive, is not one common to the tongue of any average person, as it is not part of proper english, so the question is, what is the word?. Naturally, where this mystery there are always those who attempt to solve it. After gathering sources and information, I have come to the conclusion that I believe the name Lateralus is a combination of the name for the part of the brain, the lateral cerebral sulcus. Later- from lateral, -al from cerebral, and -us from sulcus (this idea is not my own, it is a compromise between opposing fan theories). Now the question is, what does the lateral cerebral sulcus do? In short, it is the barrier (or, as some believe, the bridge) between the frontal lobe, which is responsible for processing our sensory information, and temporal lobe, which is responsible for retaining information, or processing our sensory information into derived meanings. So, the lateral sulcus is literally the bridge between our reality and our perception. These are two parts of the brain that aid each other in a certain task of perceiving our reality. This is relayed through the piece in that, when viewed closely, there are specific alternations of text and shapes that seem almost random, but when a step back is taken and the piece is viewed from a distance, everything comes together and forms a shape, an image, a story. How is this not precisely analogous to our mind, to our very humanity?

Another way of relaying the message of the album (something whimsical, celebratory, cerebral) was through scattering the numbers of the fibonacci sequence across the piece, and including multiple examples of spirals. As is known, the fibonacci sequence is a sequence of numbers beginning with 0 and 1 that increases by adding together the past two numbers in the sequence. This is a profound mathematical concept that is seen everywhere in our universe, as when the sequence is graphed it forms an infinite spiral. In Lateralus, there are many examples of this sequence, from the time signatures of the guitar riff in the intro of Lateralus to the time signatures of the drum beat throughout the entire album (the drummer Danny Carey is a follower of sacred geometry and was thus able to graph out the spirals and drum out the sequence). The one profound way that the band uses the spiral is when lyricist and singer Maynard James Keenan uses the spiral as an archetype of human will and perception (a technique very reminiscent of Jungian psychology, which the band has shown hints of following in earlier albums), and uses the metaphor of the spiral being infinite to imply that human beauty and intelligence is boundless. To relay this as it is in the album, numbers of the fibonacci sequence were, in relative vertical order, scattered about the piece. This leads the eye around the piece once the pattern is noticed, and the discovering of the pattern itself is a rewarding feeling of conquering a mysterious aspect to the piece itself. This was also done through the means of multiple iterations of the spiral across the piece, including in the bottom right hand corner where one is shown being made up of the word "Lateralus", as well as in the top right hand corner and other places where the word "spiral out" has been distorted to form a spiral. 

The resulting imagery is one of constant mystery; there is always some puzzle left to uncover no matter how well one deciphers the piece. At a close glance one will notice the piece is made up of words, and, upon closer inspection and reading of said words, the pieces will seem to come together as one reads. There are multiple pieces to the puzzle that do not include specific words, but also half-ending spirals and numbers. However, if one were to take a step back, one would notice that the entire piece comes together to form one specific image, and the pieces may just come together.