Digital Photography and Imaging: Week 9

 16/6/2025-22/6/2025 (Week 9)

Alicia Lo Yann Wei (0357917)

Digital Photography and Imaging / Bachelor of Mass Communications in Digital Media Production (Hons)

W9: Project 2 / Project 2B: Poster Design  

1.0 INSTRUCTION

2.0 LECTURE

2.1 W9: Digital Surrealism

a) Realism

Realism focuses on everyday life and ordinary subjects. It avoids exaggeration or fantasy, aiming to portray people and situations as they truly are—honest, familiar, and believable.

b) Surrealism

Surrealism bends reality by drawing from dreams and the subconscious. It mixes odd or illogical elements, creating strange, symbolic visuals that challenge logic and expectations.

c) Dadaism

Dadaism was an anti-war art movement that rejected traditional values. Known for its satire and nonsense, it used absurdity to question art and society.

d) Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí was a famous Spanish surrealist known for dreamlike, symbolic imagery. His work explored the subconscious through distorted, imaginative scenes.

e) Digital Surrealism

In the digital age, surrealism thrives as a popular style. Artists now use digital tools to express inner thoughts, dreams, and emotions through symbolic, imaginative visuals.

f) Starting Surrealist Art

Begin by creating dreamlike scenes with unusual combinations of everyday objects. Use symbolism, conceptual photography, and unexpected imagery to bring your ideas to life.

g) Capturing Your Dream

Sketch your concept first—either on paper or digitally. Then, gather reference images that match your idea to help guide composition and detail.

h) Creative Mindset

Ask: “Does this feel real?” Surrealism works best when it looks believable. Don’t fear big ideas—trying something hard helps you learn and grow, even if it’s not perfect.

3.0 EXERCISES

3.1 Task Assigned 

Part 3 – Developing Your Poster

• Begin creating your digital poster by building on the ideas from your initial sketches.
• Use digital photography or photo editing techniques to strengthen your composition and bring your visual concept to life.
• Add textures, filters, or special effects where needed to enhance mood and depth.
• Finish by fine-tuning your colors using adjustment layers to ensure everything looks polished, balanced, and visually cohesive.

3.2 PROGRESSION

PROJECT 2B: POSTER DESIGN 

After finalizing the overall visual design, I proceeded to adapt it to the lock screen templates provided. This required redesigning the layout to ensure the elements fit seamlessly into both the vertical and square formats. I carefully adjusted the composition by resizing, repositioning, and scaling key visual elements to maintain aesthetic balance while following the template requirements.

Vertical Lock Screen Format:

For the vertical lock screen, I imported the overall design and resized the canvas accordingly. To make it more cohesive with the sample templates, I also added a black background layer with an eclipse-shaped area for the "clock," mimicking the visual layout seen in the example. 

Fig 3.2.1 Black Background Added (Vertical)

The font I used for the date and time is Modern No. 20, which I feel closely matches the style used in the reference samples.

Fig 3.2.2 Added Date and Time

I positioned the design elements slightly to the left, allowing space for all the floating elements to appear clearly.

Fig 3.2.3 Repositioned Vertical Lock Screen 

Overall Vertical Lock Screen 

Fig 3.2.4 Vertical Lock Screen Template

Square Lock Screen Format:

For the square template, I applied the same overall design but had to make more precise adjustments due to the limited canvas space. I resized and repositioned individual elements to ensure they fit neatly within the square layout without losing visual harmony. Just like the vertical format, I included the date and time text, aligning them in a way that maintains the design’s integrity while being functional. 

Fig 3.2.5 Black Background Added (Square)

Fig 3.2.6 Added Time 

Overall Square Lock Screen 

Fig 3.2.7 Square Loack Screen Template

Final Outcome for Lock Screen Template Design:

Finally, I added a background behind the two lockscreen layers and placed a semi-transparent black overlay in front to make both lockscreen layers stand out clearly, just like in the reference example.

Fig 3.2.8 Final Outcome of Vertical Lock Screen

Fig 3.2.9 Final Outcome of Square Lock Screen

4.0 FEEDBACK

There's no feedback this week.

5.0 REFLECTION

While working on this piece in Photoshop, I experimented with layering to improve the overall clarity of my design. I placed a background behind both lockscreen layers, then added a semi-transparent black overlay on top. This small adjustment really helped the lockscreens stand out more clearly, just like in the reference example I was following. It was a simple technique, but it made a big visual difference. Through this process, I gained a better understanding of how opacity and layer order can be used to guide the viewer’s attention. It also reminded me how powerful even the basic tools in Photoshop can be when used thoughtfully.