- jackiezhang3
Photoshop Project Final Version
Audience/Purpose: describe the intended audience of your photo edited image(s); what are you trying to communicate to this audience?
The purpose of my photo edited image is to showcase how one’s physical environment can affect one’s mood. By displaying the transition of the same living room but with one side cluttered and one side clean, I am communicating the impact that cleanliness can have on mood and mental health. Through the juxtaposition of the two living rooms, viewers are able to identify with one of the two sides and reflect on their organization habits. The intended audience of my photo edited image is anyone who struggles with keeping a clean home due to lack of time, energy, or motivation. Primarily, I hypothesize that female highschool and college students ages 15-22 who have yet to develop healthy organization habits will find the image most relevant and helpful. This demographic generally accumulates lots of clothing, shoes, and lifestyle goods that tend to become clutter in their living spaces. From my personal experience as someone in this demographic, it is extremely difficult to find the energy and motivation to keep my space neat and tidy. As a result, my mental state is often reflected in my physical space; cloudy and unorganized. The mood that I feel when my space is messy and chaotic is reflected in the dark and gloomy atmosphere of the left side of the image. By contrasting the negative mood to the clean and positive mood on the right side, I hope to inspire young women to take action and prioritize their mental health by keeping a clean and organized living space.
Image(s): how do features of the image(s) effectively convey the message to your audience?
I wanted to cater this visual experience to young women by strategically choosing the pieces of clutter seen in the image. If the audience can resonate with the clutter items, then they are more likely to engage with the image and reflect on the clutter in their own homes. My background image is a couch because I have observed the couch and chairs in my own home as the main host of clutter. By sourcing images of common items that are often overseen such as an innocent mug on the coffee table or a jacket resting on the arm of the couch, I am aiming to highlight the power of small actions that can amount to big damage. These images I have cut out and strategically placed in the living room reflect not only items of clutter themselves, but also the actions associated with a lack of discipline and routine. One coffee mug left behind on the coffee table may not be a big deal in the moment, but as time passes, you are less and less inclined to go back and retrieve the mug and place it in its rightful place. Over time, the seemingly trivial actions in our day can amount to a big mess that we are unwilling to face; and the more we add to the clutter the less motivation we have to tackle the mess.
Process: what did you do to create the photo edited image(s) in this project?
I first browsed through hundreds of living room pictures on Unsplash to find the perfect setting for my juxtaposition. I envisioned a very specific angle of a couch that could smoothly transition from one mood to another. Once I found my background, I then sourced Unsplash for images of clutter that were relevant to the lifestyles of my target audience. After creating several layers on Photoshop with each of the items I wanted to incorporate into my background, I rasterized my images and used the quick selection tool to copy my selections. I then deleted the rest of the images, leaving just the clutter. For most of the items of clutter, I used the resize and warp tools to create a more realistic blend into my background. The quick selection tool was unable to perfectly cut out the images, so then I used the eraser tool to carve out more precise outlines of the objects. Finally, I finished each item of clutter with the brush tool to smooth out the sharp contrasts as well as the dodge and burn tools to blend them into the background. After scaling and positioning all of my objects, I then created a layer of black to white gradient to mask over my background to create a shift of moods between the two sides. I then used the healing spot tool to remove the cat in the original background, because I received feedback that it was distracting from the overall image. Lastly, I used the burn tool to further emphasize the dark transition of the background and to create a more smooth transition, which was also feedback given to me from my draft.
Learning: what did you learn from working on this project–for example, about Photoshop, about design, about communication, about yourself?
This project was a very personal experience for me because the issues it highlights are extremely relevant in my own life. As a full time college student who works part time and often overcommits herself to extracurricular activities, I constantly find my physical living space to be cluttered and messy. As much as I try to maintain a clean and organized living space, my small but cumulative habits constantly add to my never ending to-do list of cleaning. At first, I was simply looking for pieces of clutter; but through my search I was able to discover the actions in my own life associated with each piece of clutter. Instead of seeing a jacket on the couch, I now see the jacket as a result of my lack of discipline to hang up my jacket when it is not in use. In a technical aspect, I found the project to be very educational as I learned very important basic Photoshop skills such as using the quick selection tool and gradient tool. I feel stronger in my Photoshop abilities after this project and I am more comfortable with navigating layers and using the keyboard shortcuts.
Next: what will you do the same/differently on the next project?
In my next project, I hope to continue to explore the themes of motivation through seemingly small and insignificant actions in our lives. As someone who battles finding motivation on a daily basis, I know that my message will help me understand myself, as well as help others in the same situation as me.
