Painting – Kroner Design

As a visual communications designer and artist I am interested in the relationship between design and fine arts.

On a recent trip to Italy to study painting and sculpture, I was struck by how much the frescos of the 13th century painter Piero della Francesca and the paintings of Caravaggio relate to the work I do as a designer of marketing communications. I know you’re thinking “too much vino rosso for Paulo,” but hear me out.

These guys were hired guns, charged with communicating (non-verbally I might add) the content of some well-heeled and very influential clients (the Catholic church) who had a specific story to tell about their product (Catholicism) to their target markets (church-going folks). And to do so in some really large spaces, and at times, difficult working conditions.

I admire their work for many reasons, one of which is the strength of the design.

2D or not 2D?

Graphic designers, painters, and others who create on paper or canvas, are said to work in a 2-dimensional world. I’ve never really agreed with that limited view of my craft.

A brochure, a magazine or even an event invitation are all 3-dimensional forms that require the viewer to interact with the piece. They are a sculptural construction that require the same consideration of space and flow as one would expect from a 3D form.

I also think of painting as a 3D form, possibly 4D (if there is such as thing) when you take into consideration the dimensional effects color has on how you view the forms created.

Paint is a solid material that is moved about a canvas in much the same way clay is applied when making a sculpture. The dimensional application of the paint, or mark making, can really influence how one “reads” the painting… how the eye travels across the canvas. Think of the thick application of paint on a Van Gogh painting and the way the sculptural quality of the paint guides your eye around the canvas. Or the brush strokes on a Cezanne masterpiece.

Line, shape, color, texture are the tools 2-dimensional designers/artists work with to create the visual hierarchy, eye tracking, and an emotional connection that transforms a flat surface into a work of art.

-PK

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