| Abstract: | Three thousand years ago “heart” had created on Chinese hieroglyph. From then on
the design of different heart images can be found frequently in many different cases.
Those places using heart image and the products of heart image more or less show there
is particular regulation exists in the application of those works. Therefore this study
attempts to dig out the design regulation of heart image application.
A literature survey has carried on at first to find out the evolution route of heart
shape and its meaning. It was found that heart gradually used to represent heart.
This study searched heart-design samples though many different ways. One thousand
and twenty samples have collected. The deep investigation in next stage can be separated
to three sections
Focus group method has been used at the first section of investigation. A group of 3
expert members separated all samples to 5 major groups according to their texture,
shape, colour, layout of image and text combination design, and style. Further smaller
items were used to separate samples in each group. Some samples were examined and
introduced at each items.
Except the design of image, the others are all the combinative design of heart image
and text. The latter are 524 pieces (51.37%) of 1020 samples. It is over half numbers.
Therefore the next section investigates the combination design of heart image and texts.
Those 524 samples were separated to 3 groups according to the position of heart
image and texts. Most of them have text surrounding heart (328 samples, 60.59%),
followed by text inside and also outside heart (120 samples, 22.9%), the least is text
inside heart, only 76 samples (14.5%).
The number of samples in which text is major and heart is minor is 320 (61.06%),
followed by both of hear and text are minor (100 samples, 19.08%). There are 95
samples (18.12%) use heart as major and text as minor. The least is both of heart and
text are minor parts, only 9 samples (1.71%).
It also founded that samples which text collocates with heart having positive
emotional meaning is 313 (59.73%), the text is rational description is 211 samples
(40.27%). Most hearts collocate with text is red, 138 samples (26.33%), followed by
purplish-red heart 119 samples (22.13%). Purple heart is the least, only 6 samples
(1.14%)
Red heart is regarded as a symbol of love frequently, it probably is the reason why
red heart has the top frequency applied in designs. However it makes people curious
whether heart shape still keeps the information of love in different colours? None
VII
previous study has found at this topic. Therefore the third section investigation uses
seven single colours including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and their gradient
colours between each pair to make 70 samples with heart shape. All samples have
Munsell codes.
This study observed the people of using heart design and found nearly all of them
are female. Therefore ninety-one female students with design background answered the
questionnaire to choice those samples they thought having love image. The experimental
results show that the average approval of love image for all hearts only 15.9%. Red
heart gets most approval (19.8%) among all single colour hearts. Light magenta (10P 7/8)
inside samples have most agreement in all seven groups of gradient colour samples.
Light magenta (10P 7/8) gradient to red (5R 6/6) surround is the top love image with
69.2% agreement, followed by light magenta gradient to purple surround (40.7%).
Heart shape has love image no matter its colour is, but colour strongly affects the degree
of love it expressed.
This study carried on a deep investigation of heart shape application design. It
never been done in previous study. It was found that there is not significant design rule
at pure image design, but the combination of heart shape and texts has common trend.
Although heart shape greatly used to express love, it also widely applied in the other
cases. The degree of love it links with is dependent on its colour. |
