User blog:Zookeep82/EDLD 5366


 * 1) Describe your first impression of these ancient works in respect to design
 * 1) Identify examples of each of the four principles of design
 * 1) What techniques did the authors/artists employ to help us understand the importance of those manuscripts/books?

The Diamond Sutra

1. My first impressions is that it is an extremely detailed piece of artwork that is very old. It is so well preserved and absolutely beautiful.

2. Contrast - There is little contrast due to the document being so old. The paper has yellowed with age so that the black characters do not contrast to the yellow background. There is a constrast between the Chinese characters and the artwork on the right hand side.

Repetition - There are several Chinese characters that are repeated. I am sure if I read ancient Mandarian that it would make sense. There are also several repeating artwork pieces like the monks for example.

Alignment - The artwork is centered around Buddha with a mostly horizontal alignment. The pieces is very busy and old to allow for any much more interpretation.

Proximity - The character for the language are extremely close in proximity but I believe that is typically of Chinese writing. The artwork has everything very close together almost overlapping in theme.

3. The artwork is showing a religious theme centered around a prominent Buddha. There are also several other religious symbols and monks. The other symbols are in the background so that Buddha is shown in the foreground.