Good vs Bad Design

Good vs Bad Design

For my good and bad design evaluation I was having a hard time deciding what exactly I wanted to compare. After scouring pinterest for hours I found one of the most beautiful packaging designs I have ever laid my eyes on, a, if you can believe it, honey container from the company BeeLoved. As you can see below, it is a true masterpiece. After deciding on my good design, it was harder than expected to find a poorly designed honey container to compare with. Although I don't think the "bad" design I chose is absolutely atrocious, there are a few things that are less pleasing than my exceptionally well designed honey container. Let me compare using the principles of Gestalt.

First off, when visiting the Law of Similarity, the BeeLoved container out performs almost anything else on the market. The shape itself is mimicking a beehive, which has thousands of recurring shapes and patterns. It is visually appealing not only because of it's reminiscence of a beehive but because it has a very organic feeling to it, which is what many honey shoppers are looking for, something natural. It also has the actual honeycomb hexagons in what appears to be the center of the bottle, giving it additional appeal, in regards to the law of similarity.
The Law of Proximity is also applicable because of, once again, the texture on the outside of the bottle that wraps all the way around and the honeycomb shape grouped in the middle of the bottle.
 The Law of Pragnanz is even visible in this design, because even though it is an extremely intricate container, we are still able to make out the shapes of the honeycomb and the beehive, as well as the shapes that make up the hive itself, i.e. triangles, squares, etc.
The Law of closure is also at work here. The design could be interpreted as just a jagged bottle, but because we know what the shape of a beehive looks like, we are able to bring all the elements together and realize that the shape is meant to be a reproduction of a hive.
Some other notable details with the bottle are the way light refracts from its surface is able to give it loads of depth and interest. It also looks like black highlights were added to create an even greater sense of depth and contrast. The use of clear plastic was a marvelous idea because the honey is fully visible and the viewer is able to interpret what the product is easier and better connect with the product. A absolutely stunning design. Plus, it is so well designed, a label isn't even required because whoever sees this bottle will instantly know it is honey!
For the Ballard Bee Company's bottle, there isn't much going on. It has black text on a white background, how original. I don't hate the design, but I feel like with all the other exceptional idea other companies have, it kind of stand out as the boring brand. That may be appealing to some, but for me, seeing the label makes me feel like the honey is boring and not very special. She shape of the bottle is interesting, but nothing worth throwing a party over, like the BeeLoved bottle... The shape of the Ballard is reminiscent of medicine. There are few Gestalt principles being utilized, perhaps similarity because of the all black text and background. In general, a lackluster design for something that should be creative and eye catching.

 To please your eyes a bit more, some additional pictures of BeeLoved honey.

Gestalt Principles in Architecture

For this project I went to the Holland building. The first thing that's recognizable throughout the whole exterior of the building is the fact that the laws of similarity and proximity are everywhere. The huge vertical pillars and vertical lines in the windows as well as the the horizontal lines in the  facade and a few other windows are abundant and all grouped together very well.

For the law of continuity I saw the stairs being a great example. There is a lot going on with them but when you really think about what you look at, my eyes, anyway, follow the railing smoothly up the floors. It flows almost organically.

I was having difficulties figuring out what to post for the law of closure. But when going up to the second to top floor I saw it perfectly reflected in the glass on the wall. The windows straight ahead are perfectly reflected to the glass on the left side, making the windows go on seamlessly. In reality, they already to continue to the left side of the building, but the fact that the glass does it itself is very mystifying.

The last law is the law of pragnanz.I was searching the building and finally found a great example on the top floor. Where the lamps are plugged to the floor on the study tables there are these very cool, almost spine-ish, looking cylinders surrounding the wires. I thought it perfectly demonstrated this law because we are able to make recognizable shapes out of this complex system, even relate it to a body part because of the structure, the spine.

Contrast, Balance, Harmony

I must give credit where credit is due. The photographer of these incredible images is Katerina Plotnikova. Ever since I first saw her work I have oogled at the beauty of it constantly. These images in particular are some of my favorites, though nearly all are uniquely wondrous. For the purpose of these blog post I will comment on the Contrast, Balance, Harmony within them.

Contrast:
   All these images in particular scream contrast. There is contrast in the colors, the lights and darks (lighting), and even the mood. the last picture, in particular has the dark background with the stark white dress the girl is wearing in the foreground, making her stand out. There is also a sense of contrast because of the raw wilderness of the scene with the beauty and peacefulness of the girl.

Harmony:
   Even though there is such stark difference between the woman in these images and the areas they are being photographed, there is still a great sense of harmony within them. Each woman seems perfectly comfortable and at peace where they sit, stand, and lay. This is one of the reasons I find Katerina Plotnikova an incredible photographer, because she is able to capture these images and make them feel so natural and unworldly. Even though there is a raging river behind the girl in the last picture, her persona screams relaxation and tranquility.

Balance:
    As far as balance is concerned, all of these images are achieving it. Not one feels chaotic or uncomfortable. They are all executed with the perfect of care to make the viewer feel euphoric and, well, balanced.