Digital Photography and Imaging - Week 1

 24.09.2025 (Week 1) 

Farida Joice Jayanti (0368061)

Digital Photography and Imaging / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

    For the first week of our class, we were briefed on the weekly tasks and projects we would be creating for the semester. We were also instructed to set up our e-portfolio (hence, this page was made) and our own Pinterest board dedicated to this class, which would consist of the design artworks we find interesting. This is the link to my Pinterest board. 

    For this week's practical, we are tasked with listing down three of our favorite graphic design works from Pinterest. There were actually more than three that I liked, but I ultimately chose the three below: 

Fig 1.1 My three favorite design works I found on Pinterest (24.09.2025)

    

DESIGN WORK #1

    The first design work I chose is a fanmade poster of Jennie's most recent solo album, Ruby. It includes the track titles along with some of her personal pictures featuring the artists from her album. In terms of visual hierarchy, the design feels creative and thoughtful. Jennie’s image is subtly blended into the background, and the other elements are placed on top of it, layering everything in a way that keeps her as the focal point but still lets everything else stand out. It’s like the details are all floating around her, but she’s still the star of the show.

    The vertical symmetry feels balanced, and there’s just enough space to keep it from feeling overcrowded. The grainy, retro effect adds a nice moody touch, which fits the vibe of the album perfectly. I love the red. It’s a perfect match for Ruby and complements Jennie’s skin tone so well. The contrast with the black background makes her pop, so your eyes naturally go straight to her. Then, the little accents of blue and green add a playful edge, almost like a visual "surprise" against all the warm red tones. The stars around her give this "extraterrestrial queen" energy, which is fun, especially with the hand mirrors and featured artists positioned above her head. It almost looks like a crown or headpiece, and it adds to the mysterious, ethereal feel. Honestly, I feel like the composition follows a "C" shape (though I might be wrong)—either way, it has this natural flow to it. Overall, for me, it’s bold, striking, mysterious, quirky, and a little otherworldly. It just works, and I can’t stop looking at it.

DESIGN WORK #2

    This design work is based on two of Robert Pattinson’s pictorials for GQ’s March 2022 cover, and it feels like a perfect visual reflection of the article The Metamorphosis of Robert Pattinson. If you check the link though, it’s described as “Robert Pattinson on His 'Nihilistic' Batman and the Character’s Real Origin Story | British GQ,” which makes the Batman connection pretty clear. The bat imprint on his forehead in the design is a subtle but clever nod to his role as Batman, and I think it ties into the whole transformation theme the article explores really well. 

    The design shows a real duality, which fits well with the article’s theme of transformation and identity. The cool-tone image reflects this controlled, stoic persona of Batman—there’s tension, like he's in the middle of a battle, internally or externally. The warm-tone image is more laid-back and approachable, but with that slight ‘wild’ touch from the grills—maybe even a bit unhinged. That contrast is what stands out to me, because it highlights how Pattinson brings these two sides of the character to life."

    The color composition here is honestly one of my favorite things. The palette, to me, is vibrant. It has this almost retro vibe with the bright blues, greens, and yellows popping against the more muted background tones. It’s nostalgic, but at the same time, still feels fresh and modern. The way the two images overlap creates a dynamic, almost split-personality effect, with the cool and warm tones contrasting against each other. It really highlights the dual nature of Robert Pattinson—on one side, the brooding, darker Batman persona, and on the other, the lighter, more human side of him. It’s a nice visual metaphor for the article’s exploration of his transformation. 

    Technically speaking, the image feels more like a portrait, not exactly a close-up, but a face-to-shoulder shot. The rule of thirds doesn’t quite apply here since the images overlap, creating a bit of ambiguity. It feels less like it has a clear start or end, almost like a maze, which makes the flow unpredictable and compact. Those flowing cutout lines don’t have a defined beginning or end, but they give the image a natural movement that guides your eyes across the entire composition. That being said, I can’t claim that it doesn't have a focal point. There’s something about how the eyes are placed that feels intentional. One set sits right in the center, pulling you in, while the other adds a subtle shift—it’s balanced, but in a way that feels a bit more fluid and dynamic. My eyes naturally keep coming back to his gaze. He’s looking directly at us, which gives the design a striking presence even though technically, it doesn't follow traditional focal point rules (or maybe I just haven't learned or known enough to say for sure). 

    The text “Who is Robert Pattinson?” is placed cleverly, especially with the inverted color effect between the top and bottom layers. The top has white text on a cool-toned image, while the bottom layer has black text on a warm-toned image, giving it almost a color inversion feel. It’s subtle but adds a nice layer of depth. In the top image, Robert has black hair, while in the bottom layer, he’s got lighter blonde hair, visible through the flowy cut-out lines. And the fact that you can almost see two sets of eyes makes the design feel surreal, but in a way that still feels natural. In fact, despite being almost monster-like, he still looks handsome, which is funny because the article opens with, "He is exceptionally handsome."

DESIGN WORK #3

    I think this design work visually looks simpler than the two designs above due to the amount of white space it has, whereas the second design I chose, although technically the simplest in its craftsmanship, looked more compact. I like the small quote written there taken from Ellen Everett’s I Saw You as a Flower: A Poetry Collection. There is something so pretty about the meaning, and I think the composition itself expresses the meaning and vibe quite well. It captures the wild beauty of the couple dancing together to their hearts’ desire, akin to the colorful flowers—wild and beautiful—surrounding them that made it look lively against their monochromatic selves. To me, this is somehow a metaphor to how human life can feel monochrome in itself, yet love can bring so much color and vibrancy. And I really do think the composition expresses that beauty well. 

    Then, we also have the yellow watering can and the droplets of water on the top left corner of the design. I think the yellow watering can represents the sun from the line “and drenched in sun”, hence the droplets of water poured on the flowers and the dancing couple. The water nurturing the flowers feels like a metaphor on how the flowers are cultivated and grown deliberately and with care (with each of our own hands, represented by the monochrome hand), much like how the sun nurtures life, and the blooming nature of love. I like how the bottom half of the design has more visual weight than the upper half. Plus, the contrast between the vibrant colors and the monochrome elements adds so much intention to the composition. It’s visually striking, and honestly, I think it’s crafted beautifully to represent the meaning of the quote. Also, it kind of feels like it follows a golden ratio or spiral composition (but I might be wrong)—hence the objectively nice sense of balance and flow. Overall, it’s just pleasing to look at (for me) and I can feel the scent of love emanating through the design.

    For next week's class, we were instructed to bring materials required for making physical compositions using old magazines, boxes, fabric, or other scraps we can find. I think it will be a fun and interesting learning experience. Personally, it's always more efficient to learn through hands-on experience.