Getting a Little Touchy-Feely

When looking at an image, we usually look to many different components to see whether or not we like it. We look at the colors, the shapes, the intentionality, the texture. We look at the way it feels to see how it makes you feel.

Texture in an image is an abstract concept to me; how can one feel something three-dimensional when looking at a two-dimensional representation of it? One of the articles that we read said, “Many of the textures that designers manipulate are not physically experienced by the viewer at all, but exist as optical effect and representation” (Lupton), but this did not initially make sense to me. However, this design activity helped me realize that feeling and feeling can coincide when it comes to design.

I was walking around campus and trying to take the advice that I was given in class: look for texture rather than a pleasing image. I found myself at the tennis court where I took an image that I wasn’t too pleased with when looking back at it. I think that if someone is looking for texture, they will be able to find it in any image. This photo was not taken exclusively with texture in mind though.

I found myself trying to apply to rule of thirds to my images, when I really just needed to focus on the texture aspect.

I used this as a jumping point and, as I continued to snap away, I was able to look for objects that struck me as interesting because of the way it jumped out at me rather than creating an aesthetic. Moving forward, I think that understanding this definition of texture will help me have a greater respect for art and design and help me to consider this aspect more in my own pieces.