On the Border

For this exercise, I took a picture from Italy, cropped it into a square, and then added different borders. I used glogster to put all of the pictures together to compare each of them. I used the first four borders from glogster and the last two I used Picnik.
Here is the original picture:

Here is the picture with different borders:

 

Border #1 (top left): I choose this black border because I really think it focuses on the picture. Since the border is a heavy black color, I think it make the variety of colors in this picture stick out. It doesn't take away from the picture in anyway.

Border #2 (top right): This border, although it is hard to see, has a pattern similar to the one found on page 197 in the middle. It is a light pink and I think it gives off the bright colored theme in this picture. 

Border #3 (middle left): This border is a thin white line. I wanted to use this one because I really think that the picture itself without a border is beautiful. With adding this white border, it doesn't take attention away from the photo and actually makes me pay more attention to the elements in the image.

Border #4 (middle right): I choose this border because I wanted to "pull out" a color from inside the picture. This border matches the houses found in the very middle of the picture. I think this border gives off the theme of this picture belonging to a community.

Border #5 (bottom left): I wanted to test the thin black lines as a border as well for this picture. This border is simple and does not take away from the photo. I think this border adds structure to the picture and adds a "professional" look. I think this border makes the viewer look directly at the picture because it adds a clear ending to all aspects of the picture.

Border #6 (bottom right): This is a border I found on Picnik.com. It is called the "mirror" border because if you can see, it is like a blurred mirror of the parts of the picture it is laying over. I think that it adds a bit of popping up of the border, but it allows the viewer to focus fully on the picture. Furthermore, the border keeps with the colors of the picture.

In all of these borders, I wanted to keep with the theme and the colors within the picture. I learned from Krause (2004), "Edge treatments can be used to reflect and enforce the mood of an image- moods ranging from passive to frenetic, from ornate to industrial" (p. 196). I really think that these borders keep with the theme and reflect on the colors and beauty of all aspects of the picture. I always just put borders on pictures to add something extra, but it is important for me to focus from now on to use a border that keeps with the theme and colors within the picture.

Krause, J. (2004). Design Basics Index: A Graphic Designer’s Guide to Designing Effective Compositions, Selecting Dynamic Components & Developing Creative Concepts. HOW Design Books: Cincinnati, OH.