Skip to main content

Ukiyo-e & The Pen Tool “Yo”




The Art Nouveau movement was the era of lines. If there has ever been a diagram in a textbook to be studied, it can be traced back to the early essences of Art Nouveau 1800’s Ukiyo-e movement. These smooth calligraphic linework, lead to a lot of simplification to create decorative patterns as well as recognizable shapes.  Flowy and twisty lines became the simple base of design that today gives us not only admired work but, tools such as illustrators Pen tool to keep this movement alive. 
The Japanese used simple lines that presented “suggestive impressions rather than detailed depictions” Here, they allowed their illustrations to be interpreted with creativity, while still relaying their message. “Uki” translates to sadness and “yo” for life relating to the concept that life was a “transitory illusion”. Knowing this, the term then evolved to represent the earth’s highlights. 
Adobe Illustrator is a staple in the graphic design world. Half a century back, these flat 2D illustrations were the start of cartoons and animation. The Ukiyo-e era associated with Art Nouveau lead to the development of illustrators pen tool. 
Today, when art and animation can be in every dimension. The feeling of a 2D graphic encased in rich flowing lines represents perfections or imperfections of the world or image. Here feelings are associated with every detail specifically yet, not detailed. For me, I know when I trace images, I can utilize lines strictly and Bezier curves to my advantage. As a person without a steady hand, I rely on the lines I create in Illustrator to be the accurate reflection of my ideas. 
Art Nouveau gave new insight into ways the world created and viewed the visual world around them. Today, 2D flat imagery creates a feeling of subjective criticism to each work. Each image is created imperfectly perfect. Here we see what the artists sees which brings the world to understand what people focus attention on when they observe the world around them. 




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Supergraphics of Tampa Bay

Post-Modernism was an era beginning in the 1970s that allowed artists to find their passion and pursue it. The movement itself fi represented in many different mediums and is recognizable as the highlighted graphic design used today.  One design ideology of this movement was that style was content. Adhering to this ideology, developed the supergraphic which is an extremely sized pictograph that integrates itself to the environment. Immediately recognizable by bold geometric shapes and colors supergraphics have become social media staples and focus points of many places.  Tampa bays is home to many innovative and trendy dining options. As an up and coming city, it prides itself on the number of photo spots the city has to offer. Many of these places utilize supergraphics to get their image posted on social media to build buzz. For example, the recently renovated Channel side is now home to Sparkman’s Wharf. Here, renovated shipping containers with supergraphics affix...

Business Cards/Logo Designs

Here are five business cards with different individual logos. They represent the five positive attributes of being a team player, caring, adaptable, motivated,  devoted/trustworthy.

New Objectivity: Did Peter Behrens Help or Hurt Human Interaction?

Peter Behrens was the father of corporate identity. Based on research into his work, he created the idea that “form follows function- and it can be beautiful too.” Today our world is not in awe of revelation, we expect it. When a pain-point occurs in our lives, we as people find ways to alieve it. Behrens gave us this industrial framework to create beauty while fulfilling our needs. However, has his standardization and neutrality into the graphic design world brought the world closer together? Or has finding aesthetically pleasing and simplifying solutions reduced the number of channels people have had to undertake thus, hurting the basic human need of interaction.  Peter Behrens was a German artist, architect, and designer who some might say is the “father of industrial design”. He designed and manufactured everyday products such as tea kettles, streetlights, clocks, and more. What differentiated his designs from any others were the simplicity of the designs that standa...