Someone was kind enough to take the time to critique Control; an image I made a couple of years ago for Evoke.

mallepa:

This piece, titled “Control”, was designed a couple years ago by 22 year old graphic design student, Kevin Minnis who is currently studying in his third year at Norwich University College of the Arts.

Kevin has always seemed to have a minimalist style, but often his work contains smaller details that subtly add to the depth and complexity of the piece. This piece is no different. The main image of the piece is the hand, the strings that it is manipulating, and the strings that are attached to it. However, there is visibly much more to the piece than that. The image of the hand and strings is very well executed; it has both a vaguely realistic feel and a more artificial, almost brittle, glass-like sort of feel. Having both of these elements overlapping helps contribute to the meaning of the piece. The white/gray colour of the hand against the darker black/red background provides striking contrast. Another small detail I like is the fact that the strings being held by the hand are becoming progressively shorter; it suggests a gradually diminishing level of control.

The background contains several small details. The main thing I notice is that they all–from the small white lines in the top left and right of the piece, to the circles surrounding the hand–point towards the centre, or help create a focus towards the centre where the fist of the hand is positioned. This helps the composition tremendously. The focus put on the hand emphasizes the power it holds; it is the centre of attention, much like any person in a position of power.

The circles and the red (or black depending on how you look at it) shape in the background create an almost clock-like aesthetic, which again contributes to the meaning of the piece. Control is diminishing, time is running out. The triangular-esque shape directly behind the hand descending upon the composition feels as if it is about to take over. It’s coming from the same direction as the strings attached to the hand are coming from, so the implications are strong. Again, control is diminishing, you’re being overthrown.

Normally, I gravitate towards design that features typography, so the fact that I’m featuring something like this is a bit of an anomaly; it only features two brackets, which aren’t even letters!  However, when I derive a strong meaning out of a work of art, my usual preference holds no relevance. I’m not going to to delve into my thoughts regarding the questions this work presents, but I will say that Control is a masterfully executed piece of art, whose details create both aesthetic depth, as well as significant depth of meaning.

Source: http://milktoday.deviantart.com/art/Control-117964249
Kevin’s Website: http://www.milktoday.co.uk/