VISCOM Semester 2- Project one- Post B: Finished pages

1. How does image selection, overall layout design & binding materials impact the viewers interpretation (connotations)?
2. What has the process of gathering visual evidence taught you about these object(s)?

So- The last page that you will see above is for the object CARDS. I had to incorporate cards, we are talking about a magic act after all! This has to be my favorite layout of all. There is a great incorporation of flat photos as well as the actual object. Since cards are flat to begin with, they offer a great texture on a two dimensional surface while still holding true to their own scale and actual coloration. My idea of an overlapped collage works very well on this particular page, I think, because cards are rarely seen as one object by itself on any field. They are always overlapped one way or another, either in your hand on in a pile on the table. Playing cards are such a versatile object, the were a lot of fun to take pictures of. 

The third page you will see is for ROPE. Rope is used in most magic acts by the magician to either bind himself or his assistant. I regret not having any actual rope, or money to buy some, in order to include it into my layout but I believe my images are decent enough to draw from and to reference. I enjoy the colors in this layout, they work nice together in my opinion. Had I had a length of rope, I may have been able to capture several more photos as well, but I think it's good seeing a detailed image, as well as a loose strip and a set of bound wrists. 

Lastly, the second image above, is a page I set for TIGER. Tigers of course add drama and the potential for danger to any act. I included a scrap of faux fur to this layout for both textural and aesthetic appeal. I maimed a stuffed cat toy (picture included) to get the fabric, no real tiger or cat was harmed in the making of this book. 

OVERALL- I ended up finding this gorgeous old photo album that was already in the shape of my pages, so that was PERFECT for my cover, it looks like it would be a magic book anyway :). The album is set as a 3 hole punch binder. I figured this was good because it would allow me to add pages later (Pages of either more images of current spreads, articles about magic I may stumble upon, etc.), AND as another concept, magic acts never fall in the same order twice. This allows a bit of interaction on the readers part. You can take the tiger and make it follow the card trick, or put the hat with the rabbit, whatever your heart desires. 

VISCOM Semester 2- Project one- Post A: Magic Act

I chose Magic Act as my topic for the first stage of the latest vis com project. 

I have always been fascinated by magic and magicians, Houdini has always been one of my heros. At first the topic was going to be Magic Mishaps but I felt that that was quite a bit limiting and have thus decided to broaden my topic a bit by renaming it Magic Act. 

My ten words include: Magician, Assistant, Rope, Bunny, Handcuffs, Top Hat, Cards, Blades, Tiger, Gloves, and Smoke. I know that's 11, but I figured having one more word than was necessary would serve me well, should I be unable to find 5 images for each. :) 

Some of my found imagery can be seen in this post, When I scan in the images I have found in my magazines and books I will add them.