hua-tori
commented
3 years ago 
The following design was the introduction loading screen to a game I frequently play called Brawl Stars. The intro loading screen changes with each new season of the game, so this one was the one from 2 seasons ago but is one of my favorites. One of the main notable things for me in this design is the dominance/hierarchy of it all. Specifically, scale/size is clearly at play. The main focal point is clearly in the center of the screen, with the character Colette being the largest and most central character. However, you can see that there is actually a larger, more forefront character laying slightly offscreen to the right. Yet, the eye is not drawn first to that character despite its scale/size being larger because it is not as bright (value) or as colorful as the characters in the midground. For me, the rhythm and movement of the piece goes center, right to the purple character (EMZ), then left to the sleepy character with a lollipop (Sandy), and then to the chaos that is the battle in the center with a cactus dude (Spike), Frankenstein guy (Frank), and the small guy running away with a barrel on his back (Dynomike). This is based on scale and size, as well as spacing, value, and color. There is limited negative space in this piece since it is so detailed and full of little easter eggs. However, the rhythm and movement are still evident because not everything is fighting for attention, as there is a clear foreground, midground, and background.
by-lynn-priestley
TrentFoster
benmiller314
annaruz
This photo showed up on my Twitter feed this morning as it was retweeted by the University of Pittsburgh Twitter. The artists' intent behind this graphic is to advertise Pitt Honors' 2021 Research Fair. This artwork is informational and argues that viewers should attend the fair at the date and time shown. The designers show dominance in the photo by blurring the background photograph which appears to be a picture from a real research fair. The box with text dominates the graphic by using a solid color box behind yellow text. The artists use both color and style with the classic Pitt blue color filling a square that goes behind the text and in front of the background photograph. They use density well to draw attention to the middle of the graphic where the information about the advertised event is listed. There doesn't seem to be any negative space on the graphic, but I believe that the design is simplistic enough to make the use of only positive space work. The blurring effect on the background photograph appears to give it movement similar to a flowing rhythm. I think it was a wise decision to use a real photograph rather than another solid color in the background, and I think that this piece is effectively designed for its argument.
patrickjmeyer
Gley21
reaial
jackie216
gdelallo
I found this post while scrolling on instagram. I love this account for their awareness and activism, and this graphic obviously illustrates that. I love how the creator was able to illustrate such a powerful argument within such few elements.
Upon reviewing the readings, they made me so happy because it was just reiterating things that I already do, which is such a welcomed feeling after the audio unit. I like the dominance of the board, considering it sums up the entire purpose of the art. As for rhythm, there is not much to see here, but in terms of the negative space, I think it was an interesting choice to shift the man's silhouette to the right, creating an unequal distribution of space and leaving unclaimed space, but it did draw my eye toward the man more and had me evaluating the picture in a way I may have not if he was placed at the center. 
young1m030
paytonareed
This is an Instagram post from Pitt Fuel that came up on my feed. This poster is arguing the correct food groups and ratios to eat according to the intensity of the training. The audience for the poster is Pitt athletes. There is a nice use of negative space, with a clean white background. If the background was another color or pattern, the poster would be too busy, especially with all the text and information, and it would take away from the message of the poster. The dominant features of the poster are the header- due to the darker value blue color and large scale size, and the image of the plate- the largest image on the poster, and the variety of colors (the only color on the poster besides Pitt blue and gold). There is some slight repetitive motion with the layout of the text in bullet points with the bolded food groups. I think that the design overall enhances the argument. The argument has two parts: one to identify the type of training the athlete is part of and what that type of training entails and the other is how to create a balanced diet to accompany the training. I think that this could possibly be split up into two posters to pair down the argument and allow for less text in the design which would have more of an impact on the viewer and be less cluttered. The image of the plate could be larger and more centered, maybe with more information on the foods and not so much on the training. 
rmanyeka
aer84
boredhero
This meme/image from /r/BirdsArentReal was found during my daily morning Reddit scroll. In case you aren't already aware, /r/BirdsArentReal is a community dedicated to sharing the belief/meme that birds are all NSA surveillance drones from both a serious and satyrical angle. It is intended as a recruiting and informational tool, as well as a joke for those who already know about the Basic Information Recording Drones. It is informative in that it quickly illustrates that the word "bird" is obviously an acronym for a secret government surveillance program, which is intended to convince the "skeptics who believe that birds are real" that the birds are in fact just drones. In terms of dominance and hierarchy, the B.I.R.D (both the "animal" itself and the explanatory acronym) are the initial eye grab and take up most of the space, drawing your attention to the colorful red chest of the surveillance drone. I believe the design is extremely effective at getting its argument across, or at the very least, getting a good laugh out of everyone. 
anatems1
cmgo412
I found this advertisement for one of IKEA's pillows while scrolling through Reddit. Based on the visual components of the design, I think the post is very effective—it argues that sleep is necessary for your physical wellbeing and that IKEA's pillows would be able to help you get that much-needed rest. Looking closer, I think it could be a play on the saying, "sleep is the best medicine" or even potentially PILLows because the graphic showcases pillows tumbling out from an uncapped supplement bottle. This is communicated through a lot of the details mentioned in the reading, but for starters, I think the ad takes advantage of negative space, as the product is centered clearly in the middle of the poster with space around the edges of the frame, thus drawing your eye to it. The dark blue background also contrasts well with the bright white of the pillows and the label on the medicine bottle. Moreover, the shapes of the objects in the graphic could also play a role in the ad's effectiveness because the container and cap have smooth, rounded edges compared to the more boxy rectangle shapes of the pillows. The text on the bottle says "sleep" in large bold letters to draw attention to it as well. In terms of rhythm, the way in which the pillows are positioned coming out of the bottle conveys a sense of movement that carries the viewer's eyes from the pill bottle to the pillow closest to the foreground and slogan at the bottom of the ad.
gregsexauer
This is a poster for one of my favorite games, Disco Elysium. The use of positive and negative space is interesting here. There are places in which positive space bleeds into negative space, and vice versa. This is due to the "glitchy paint" which overlaps different elements across the piece. In terms of dominance and hierarchy, my eyes are drawn to the text, "what kind of cop are you?" due to the large size of the font. Those who are familiar with the politics of the developers would know that this question has a layer of... irony? to it. My eyes are also drawn to the woman's face towards the top, as there is a religious quality to her portrayal. She seems important, in some way. My eyes are then drawn to the two figures in the center. They are highly detailed, and holding guns. Those guys are probably cops/protagonists. Finally, my eyes are drawn to the logo at the bottom: "Disco Elysium A Detective RPG". So this is a detective role playing game, that will ask me what kind of cop I am (for the record, I am an Art Cop). The rhythm in this piece is pretty chaotic, with many elements placed seemingly at random. The movement is a bit more direct upon further inspection. The "glitchy paint" effect extends vertically, which gives the piece vertical movement. As this is a poster for a piece of media, much of its argument is to convince viewers to consume said media. I think the poster does a good job of this. The question it asks is a question that I feel like not a lot of people have asked themselves (because why would they), but it is also a pretty evocative question. I don't want to say too much here in case anyone hasn't played this game but is planning to play it (which I highly recommend you do if you don't mind reading lots of text and dice rolls), but this poster also does a pretty good job at capturing the mood of Disco Elysium too. 
TBrusilovsky
This is the cover art of a game that I have sitting on my bookshelf from back when buying games as a physical thing was a thing people did. As someone familiar with the genre, it is very obvious that this image is trying to draw parallels to the old Dungeons and Dragons (and other pen and paper) game rulebooks, this is exactly the sort of artistic style that those books used for their covers. This game is actively looking to catch the eye of those people, as that is the target audience that this game was made for.
Beyond that, the cover art is quite striking as well. The eye is immediately drawn to the bright light around the name of the game, and thus the name of the game as well. Below that, the eye moves down to see the 'heroes' are illuminated and drawn in more detail, the light shining behind them as they strike down the dark, vague forms of their monstrous enemies.
Beyond just drawing the eye with the bright color, the title is shown in stark contrast to the image itself, a big dark spot in the center of the brightest part of the art, making it stand out and be very readable. 
kle39
For homework after lesson 9, I'm asking you to find and screenshot (if online) or photograph (if offline) an example of an argument being made through graphic or visual design. Then you'll post it here, along with answers to the questions below.
To be clear:
Once you've found a visual argument, post a picture of it here, and tell us more about the image: