Research : Notan Design

Following up to the lecture we had about positive and negative spaces and we had to come up with out version of the expanded square, I have done some research regarding this as we had to present our final work of symmetrical and asymmetrical squares, and that I felt I didn't do a good job at mine and wasn't on the right track.. I came across a book on Notan Design (notan the dark-light principle of design).

Nōtan is a Japanese design concept involving the play and placement of light and dark as they are placed next to the other in art and imagery.

This use of light and dark translates shape and form into flat shapes on a two-dimensional surface. Nōtan is traditionally presented in paint, ink, or cut paper, but it is relevant to a host of modern day image-making techniques, such as lithography in printmaking, and rotoscoping in animation.

source  : wikipedia

Here are a few images I've found interesting about Notan Design and think it would be of good help when it comes to me doing mine. (Click on image for source)

A video on Notan Design :

I think I know where went wrong with mine, the mistake I made was not placing the cut-outs next to each other to create the whole effect and understanding Notan / the lecture on expanding the square. What I did was more to stencilling and I think they're two completely different things?

So yeah, the external understanding of this is :

1. Good design has a balance of light and dark.
2. Using the Notan concept of light and dark enhances design.
3. Craftsmanship is essential to good design.

I think learning these basics would eventually lead to us learning about print making (yay!) and I'm looking forward to that.