Introduction

I would like to start with how I view art: somewhere between the colourful bubble-gum dystopia, and the sharpness and coldness of the chessboard. Finding the right balance is about knowing who the audience is: what their age and interests are. Also, what kind of product are we selling? These are 2 important questions needed to be answered before the art can be created.

The scales of art

1. Bubble-gum dystopia: Silly, curved edges, circles, no lines, many different colours or pastels

2. The chessboard: Serious, sharp edges, straight lines, black and white or only 1 colour 

Most art is somewhere near the middle, with some exceptions.

The rest I include in my portfolio to show my understanding of the styles of art and how they are implemented in different scenarios.

From my experience in finance and accounting related design, I have worked with data or information which looks more like the chessboard style. What I had to do is make it look more artistic and eye-catching. However, I like to think as both styles as artistic, which is why I like to call them as 2 different styles of art, not as one void of art or one full of art, as they both have interesting and useful features.

I like the term 'bubblegum' because it reminds of me the features of this second style of art: round, silly, and colourful. The idea of making something more bubblegum is the same as making it more interesting or colourful or eye-catching. I like to call this the bubble-gum speedometer.

The example of data sorting

An example is given above with some data: A, B, C, D, E and F.

1. Code is at its essence 0s and 1s, so can also be represented as black and white.

2. But, let's say you want to express grey, or an idea which is subtle, not black and white.

3. You could add colours and shapes to express this clearer with some colour. The speedometer can go up a little, just enough to express what is needed and not anything more.

There is always an important balance to be kept between what is on the page and what is empty.

Not all ideas which are for a page are able to be put on the page in an interesting and clear way.

Sometimes a choice needs to be made, otherwise the page will look too cluttered.

The advice of the designer is very important to make sure the page looks perfectly balanced.

For example, the bullets on the left could be less heavy.

Some of the letters on top are touching the letters on the bottom.

The bullets in the middle are more balanced.