Design Presentation (PowerPoint)

2024 | 295 Fundamentals of Digital Design

For this project I wrote and designed a presentation on focal points. In my presentation I discussed the definition of focal points in design, some methods of creating focal points, their history and application, and finally, some examples of focal points in design.

  • Project Goals

    Teach about a principle of design (focal point).

  • Target Audience

    Students studying Web and Digital Design at university.

  • Tools Used

    PowerPoint and Notability

  • Problem-Solving Approach

    Do research on the definition, origin, and examples of focal points and collect photos for presentation. Write an outline of the slides and execute them in Google Slides. Write script for each slide for presentation.

I used this assignment to explore one of the principles of design (focal points) and how it is incorporated in both the media I know and love and the media I am unfamiliar with. My favorite part of creating this presentation was breaking down examples of artwork I’ve always loved (Artemisia Gentileschi’s captivating piece, Judith Decapitating Holofernes, and Van Gogh’s beautiful painting, Wheat Fields with Cypresses). When I put these works, as well as Andrea Ucini’s impactful art, beside a web page, I was able to grasp the presence of the principles of design in modern interfaces
in a new way.

To view the full presentation with narrative presentation notes as a PDF please click here.

Hello. Today I will be discussing what a focal point is, the term’s history, how it is applied to digital design, and its uses. (slide 1/14)
The term “focal point” has a general meaning and a meaning within the context of art and design. Generally, the focal point is where all elements converge to create a center of activity or attention (Harvest Print & Marketing Solutions, 2019). This d
A focal point establishes dominance over every other element on the page (Bradley, 2015). It draws the eye of the viewer towards itself. This effect can be done in many ways. Some of these ways are shown here. If a focal point uses size to its advant
In this example, the bright circle is the focal point. By just glancing at it this image, you can tell this is true because the circle is what your eyes are drawn to first. It almost looks like it weighs more. This phenomena is actually called visual
It is unclear when the term “focal point” adopted the meaning it has in art and design today. The first record of its use is by the philosopher, William Molyneux, in his writings in the 1600s (Oxford English Dictionary, 2016). Although the term, with
In digital design we focus on sending messages and telling stories. Rather than telling a story through words, we communicate mostly with art. Sometimes there is text in digital design, but it must be designed with the same precision as any other asp
As we’ve covered, the focal point starts our story. We’ve also covered the questions we ask ourselves to decide what our focal point should be. Just as important, however, is what questions our focal point will make our audience ask themselves. As th
Sometimes the best way to learn about art is to go back to the classics. What is the most important aspect or the aspect that starts the story in this image? It is the beheading, and it is more than just the brutality of the image that draws us to
Let's look at a piece that appears to lack any straight lines. In Wheat Fields with Cypresses, Vincent van Gogh creates a focal point in a very different way than Artemisia Gentileschi. Van Gogh paints with obvious paint strokes and shows the world
Here we have a piece of digital art which demonstrates the use of story telling through focal points in digital design. Despite the person being the smallest element of the piece, our eyes are drawn to it first. Why is this? For one, humans are alw
The final example we will look at is a web page. This page is a great example of how to incorporate text into digital design while maintaining the importance of a focal point. In this example we can apply the inverted pyramid of writing guide. We can
In summary, a focal point in art and design is what we want out audience to focus on. It is also known as “emphasis” As a general term, it is where all elements converge to make a point of focus. The application of the term to art and design was not
questions slide (slide 13/14)
references slide (slide 14/14)
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