Liv Varney Study of how Ornamental Design (Exhibit piece, not finished.)

 While looking through the past couple of chapters I noticed how there was a distinct transition from decorative text, line and composition to how it is progressively perfected to be immaculate, cleaner and more visually pleasing. I started by using William Morris's "The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer" as an example. I chose this as a starting point because it is a prime example of how important and well conducted ornamental design was in the 1800's. If you look closely to the book jacket and outer cover there are symmetrical lines that reach each corner. The inner page of the document is also full of all sorts of thick and thin lines that were once known as a language to people. Morris successfully created a beautiful folio while using the Chaucer type face as well.

The "Grammar of Ornament" document is very symmetrical. Owen Jones created this while being able to mimmick some of the patterns design elements that the Egyptians and Elizabethans used. His use of the ancient patterns allows this piece to radiate with a very historic feel. It is very interesting to see that in all twenty four of the panels there are different patterns in each but they all relate very successfully. He also used a very ancient perhaps gothic color scheme, especially in the bottom 9 panels, (the dark red and black).

In the "Penny Black Postage Stamp" the stamp seems to be very symmetrical. While not including the woman's left profile, you can notice that there is an ornamental border that flows around all of the corners of the stamp. The way that the text "Postage" and  "One Penny" are formatted it allows easy readability so that people can buy and use the stamps. Although the woman's profile is not entirely symmetrical compared to the way the the border and the text are formatted. It has a very strong relationship with the text that rests above it and below it. Also, the two crest-like ornaments in the top corners complement the woman's profile as well. The stamp has a very ancient gothic and ornamental feel to it. It is so beautiful and is filled with several different textures.