Photography is something that can play a key role within Interaction Design. It can be used singularly or combined with type, patterns and other designs to enhance the meaning behind the piece. The photograph is something that has been around for centuries. It was first invented in the late 1830s, however it didn’t become popular until a period during the 1920s and 1930s and then later during the sixties and seventies, when it then became a key tool in the postmodernism movement.
A photograph can be described as an orderly or pleasing combination of elements in a whole. A tool that photographers would use is the rule of thirds. This is when an 3×3 grid is placed over an image and it acts as a guide for artists as well as photographers. It states that once you have divided your image both vertically and horizontally, the places where they meet are where the designer should place the main focal points of the scene/design. This should then result in a more visual pleasing final composition.
“To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It’s a way of life”
– Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French humanist photographer who is recognised as one of the earliest users of a 35mm film and is considered a master of candid photography. He viewed photography as a way of capturing a decisive moment and was one of the pioneers of street photography. This is a genre of photography which records everyday life in a public place. This allows the photographer to take candid photographs of strangers, sometimes without their knowledge. It is sometimes called candid photography and features chance encounters and random incidents in public places. Cartier-Bresson’s skill within his discipline has given designers today a lot of guides and help for their own photography, specifically in street, but it can also be carried over into other disciplines. One of these is to focus on geometry by looking for frames within the actual frame through lines, curves, shadows etc. This is a way of guiding the viewer around the image and if needs be, is a way to direct their attention to something in particular. Patience is also key. The perfect image won’t come on the first attempt. This is the same for any designer. It is common that the first design will not be the final design, similarly how the first photograph taken may not be the best option. Cartier-Bresson’s last tip for designers today was to always strive for more and that a design is never finished, only left to one side. He said to never idolise your work and let it hold you back. It is key for designers to strive for more as it is the only way to get better images. Even though Bresson’s main disciple was photography, the skills he shows and shares can be used in any art discipline, even in UX/UI design.
Moving into the modern era of design, photography has changed a lot, becoming more advance and images more clear. Manipulation of photography has also grown as more software and programming is developed. This has helped the design industry flourish. Photography allows us to see the world around us, whether it be something from close by or the other end of the world. It can be used for educational purposes or simply to add decoration. Many photographers in today’s society use photography as a way to bring attention to something they believe strongly about.
Chris Jordan, born in 1963, is an American artist, photographer and film producer based in Seattle. His work is used to highlight the troubling scale and impact of mass consumption. Jordan uses his platform to expose the shocking amounts of American consumption through his large-format and long-zoom artwork which is usually quite evocative and meaningful. He meticulously arranges photographs into designs that are recognisable from a distance, but once viewed up close, the actual reality of the piece is clear. Jordan’s most recent project is called ‘Midway’ and it used to highlight the amount of birds that are dying on Midway Island because of plastic ingestion. His photographs are quite jarring in this project where he takes rubbish and plastic and arranges them with the bodies of dead birds and photographs them. Jordan’s willingness to not be afraid of taking a difficult photo to look at is a prime example of how photography is a powerful way to promote a message. A message from Chris Jordan’s TED talk where he explains what he is trying to do with his work “…is to take these numbers, these statistics from the raw language of data, and to translate them into a more universal visual language, that can be felt.”
Dating back to the very first photograph where is was used in a ‘simpler’ manner to how it has developed into a way that people can expressed their views and highlight issues through the lens of a camera, shows how Bresson was right in by always striving for better will lead to better things.
Photography by David Bate (2020)