Zebra

I found this piece on a graphic design website called

www.abduzeedo.com. It was part of a blog page on the website that was for daily inspirations. Individuals post designs on this blog that give them some sort of graphic design inspiration. There were many interesting designs that I looked through, but this design in particular stood out to me I think most in particular because of how type was so well incorporated into the design and even begins to transform into something more then just text on a page.

At first glance some design elements in this piece can be overlooked. Initially, a close up image of a zebra is recognizable. As the design is more closely examined, the whole design is composed of black type on a white background. This added element of design adds a lot to the overall piece as opposed to if this design was merely made up of solid black lines. The use of type as a design element gives this design nice rhythm throughout as the type creates lines that carries the eye throughout the entire design which in turn also unifies the design as a whole. Also, the choice to make the design more of a close-up of a zebra instead of the whole animal creates a visually interesting composition. The repetition of the word zebra helps to emphasis the fact the design is of a zebra which makes the design of the zebra that much stronger.

I found this piece in a book I had titled Graphic Design the New Basics. This piece was chosen to be used in the book to demonstrate how lines and patterns are used to create texture and emphasis. The texture in this piece is created by the use of mark making over the surface which creates a pattern which in turn creates a sense of texture. The texture created in this piece helps to emphasis the main objective of the image. The tense and chaotic feeling that is produced from the mark making emphasises the feeling of anxiety. And although the first letter of the word anxiety is absent, the feeling that is conveyed helps one to conclude the intended word and meaning.
The designer was very successful in the way that they used texture to help to explain the piece and not confuse or distract the viewer. The texture helps support the main image and further the visual concept. I think this piece is visually interesting because although there is only one type of mark making utilized in the design, it has a more complex feeling. The type and the image play off each other and both visually display a strong emotion. The intended emotion I feel is very successfully conveyed.