Mini-Art 4: Feature Story Layout vs. Ad

Full-size image here

The image above is taken from National Geographic, the February 2012 issue. It was one of the main images for a feature story on a piece of artwork that sold at auction for $21,850 and is now thought to be a $100 million dollar authentic Leonardo Da Vinci pencil sketch that has been lost for centuries. What you are looking at is the left side of the magazine, and the right page was all text.

The main focus of this article was to determine whether this long lost picture was actually designed by Leonardo Da Vinci, and one of the most telling signs of the master's work is in the mouths of the women he painted. First let's look at the space, and how there is a significant amount of negative space, with more space at the top than the bottom. However, the left and right margins are the side widths. I believe that the reason for this disproportionate spacing at the top and bottom is to create movement in the picture. The space automatically draws the eye downwards, and creates movement down the page.

The size and lines of the images on the page are important as well: the focal point of the whole page is the middle mouth (Mona Lisa's), but really the layout is comprised of a myriad of horizontal, geometric lines, and shapes, whereas the mouths are more organic. The lines outline the specific part of the painting the designer wants us to focus on: the mouth -- since this is one of the main techniques that the experts used to authenticate the picture. The rectangles that outline the mouths are large, creating a boundary, a specific spot for our eyes to focus on. Inside the larger rectangle, there are smaller rectangles with the full painting image inside, but this does not distract from the main focal point, instead creates a contrast between the light colors of the faces and the darker full image.

Going back to the focal point: the center image is the focal point, and I believe this for many reasons. First, it is the largest and takes up the entire rectangle whereas the others do not, and it is one of the most famous mouths in the world: the Mona Lisa's. The pale mouths contrast with the black background and touches upon the element of value. There is equal amounts of dark and light, but enough to create a contrasting, feel to the whole image.

It is hard to spot the pattern in the layout, but there is a subtle one as seen with repeat of the larger rectangle with the smaller rectangle in the lower right corner, and italicized font beneath the image. This repeating pattern gives the layout a sense of rhythm. Overall the image does not required added texture because the high resolution images have the natural cracks that are in the paintings, giving a natural texture to the pictures.

Another place we see distinct lines is at the bottom of the page, in the text, which is aligned to the left, but it is clear that someone had to dictate where the breaks in the text were. By creating the breaks in the text, prevented "justified rivers" as pointed out on page 42 of White Space is Not Your Enemy (Golombisky and Hagen 2010).

The layout also has perspective through its contrasting light and dark colors, as well as a unifying theme of simplicity. Simple images, only two different font types (the second being at the very bottom, the fine print), one color with only two styles: normal and italicized.

Full-size image here

From the same magazine, on the last page I found this ad. It attracted me mainly for its obvious elements of movement and distinguished horizon line and focal point. First, there is a lot of space in this ad. The pictures gives a feeling of being outside on a warm, spring day. The lines and shapes are organic, even the font is rounded, giving what I sense is a feeling of being home, and less formal than the Rolex ad in the beginning of the magazine. The rounded font gives the ad a personal feel -- to me at least. The only pattern that I see is the color red that is consistent in the font and at the bottom, though looking at the smaller icon, it seems that the reds are two different shades. The ad also had great texture: the grass, the dog's fur, but none so much as the detail in the bees that are really up close. They have that 3D feel that the text was talking about, despite it being a picture.

At this point many of the terms start to intertwine with one another. In terms of value, there are significant color differences between the dog and the bees. The dog is lighter in color, but stands out more, making it the focal point, and the bees are a muted color so as not to clash with the star of the ad. The dog, aka the focal point, is the catalyst for all the movement in the ad: he is running left to right, which in Krause's text, he said was a feeling of quick movement (pgs. 108-109). The dog is the main movement in the picture, but at the same time the bees look like they're moving in a small, confined space, so the whole ad has very high energy, and tension of the dog moving rapidly towards the unsuspecting bees. The dog's size is also significant because it creates contrast between the foreground and the background. The bees are close, the dog is far, but moving in quickly. Even with the lighter colored dog, the image maintains its balance and your eye doesn't have to search for its focal point.

The horizon line gives the image perspective and makes the viewer feel like they have a front row seat to this ad. The horizon line is lower and we feel closer. Overall there isn't really any specific rhythm that I could spot, maybe the red in the text and at the bottom, as well as the green grass and the green leaves ... but other than that none other. And finally, the whole ad is very unified. It feels warm, has a sense of this dog possibly be YOUR dog, it's personal, and the words juxtapose the image of a playful pup having fun. Is that dog really going to go towards those bees? Hopefully not!

I apologize for the length!!