Krause Grouping and Themes

Exercise 1
Grouping and Theme

In this activity we were told to arrange shapes on seven different power point slides. The point of this exercise was to use concepts of grouping in order to convey different themes. For this activity I used the shape tool to draw the various shapes, the formatting palette to change the colors, and Wordart to write the themes.

One theme is anarchy. Synonyms of anarchy include: lawlessness, chaos, disorganization, and disorder. On my slide I drew ten "talk bubbles". I then placed the shapes randomly around the edge of the slide. The array of mismatch colors and placement shows disorganization and chaos. The fact that the shapes are partly off the edge of the slide implies that they are unrestrained, showing lawlessness and disorder.

The next theme is celebration. Synonyms of celebration include: jubilee, honoring, recognition, and party. On this slide I used stars as the shapes to represent honor and recognition. I colored them bright yellow in order to show jubilee. I arranged the stars in a circle, overlapping each other to symbolize the crowdedness of a party.

Another theme is escape. Synonyms include: departure, bolt, getaway, and leave. I used arrows on this slide and put them all in a path leaving the slide. This image clearly represents all the synonyms listed above. I also used the color red on the slide to represent the red light in "Exit" signs.

The next theme is intimidation. Synonyms of intimidation include: coercion, frightening, and threatening. I used the starburst shape because it seemed to best represent a threatening shape. Nine of them are grouped and have coerced the one white shape into a corner. I also used the color red to symbolize anger.

Isolation is the next theme. Synonyms include: withdrawal, segregation, and solitude. I used nine arrows pointing one direction to simulate a group and one lone arrow pointing in the opposite direction to simulate an isolated being. The isolated arrow shows solitude. The group moving away shows segregation, while the arrow moving away from the group shows withdrawal.

Another theme is logic. Synonyms of logic are: coherence, relationship, and sense. I used addition signs because mathematics is known as a logical or sensible field. I filled five with white and four with green. I separated the two colors into separate lines. I did this to show coherence and relationship between the shapes with the same color.

Unity is the next theme. Synonyms include: alliance, harmony, and peace. I used smiley faces to symbolize harmony. I colored them a calm greyish blue to show peace. I then arranged the smiley faces into a circle to represent alliance.

This concept is helpful in designing business cards, posters, websites, etc. Krause says "Visual grouping aids discovery by helping the viewer make useful connections between elements" (41).  In other words, the arrangement of objects on a page can help establish and/or reinforce the meaning being conveyed. Overall I feel that my slides effectively represent each theme.