Week 6 - 2D

I was away this week and i wasn't quite sure where to begin with this task on my own so I've asked a few of the other guys in the class and checked out a few of their blogs to help me through. 


This week we were asked to draft a heading design for our exhibition which is called 102 with the tag-line "Art from the Hotlands" 


PRACTICAL

•  Design 01: Design in a style that appeals to a design Industry client 

•  Design 02: Design in a style that appeals to a non-profit arts organization 



Rough sketch of some ideas for tag line "102 Art from the Hotlands"


I very rarely start off with a sketch of an idea for a design and then go from there. I know I should be doing sketches first but i find i change my mind once I start actually playing around with a design and it turns out to be nothing like I originally planned but this (above) it what I started with.



1st rough draft of design in InDesign

And after playing around for a little bit this is one of the designs I came up with.

GROUP Activity 

We all had to go through that same 7 criteria to rate each others designs then get a average score, here are the results.

Warwick:

Accuracy in addressing the brief - 6

Immediate visual appeal – 4.8

Cross generational appeal - 3

Suitability for print – 2.8  

Suitability for web - 4

Monochromatic suitability -

Simplicity – 3.3

Sunita:

Accuracy in addressing the brief – 5.3

Immediate visual appeal - 5

Cross generational appeal – 4.6

Suitability for print – 2.8

Suitability for web – 5.8

Monochromatic suitability – 1.8

Simplicity – 4.3

Rachel:

Accuracy in addressing the brief – 6.3

Immediate visual appeal – 6.5

Cross generational appeal – 6.6

Suitability for print – 8.3

Suitability for web - 9

Monochromatic suitability – 9.1

Simplicity - 9

Josie:

Accuracy in addressing the brief – 3.5

Immediate visual appeal – 3.8

Cross generational appeal – 3.8

Suitability for print - 2

Suitability for web – 4.1

Monochromatic suitability - 1

Simplicity – 3.3

Kath:

Accuracy in addressing the brief – 5.3

Immediate visual appeal – 4.5

Cross generational appeal – 3.6

Suitability for print - 2

Suitability for web – 3.1

Monochromatic suitability – 1.5

Simplicity – 3.3

Maha:

Accuracy in addressing the brief – 5.5

Immediate visual appeal - 4.5

Cross generational appeal – 5.8

Suitability for print – 5.5

Suitability for web – 5.6

Monochromatic suitability – 7.3

Simplicity – 5.5

Mark:

Accuracy in addressing the brief – 6.1

Immediate visual appeal – 5.1

Cross generational appeal – 5.8

Suitability for print – 6.8

Suitability for web – 7.3

Monochromatic suitability - 6

Simplicity – 6.6

Week 5 - 3D

GROUP EXERCISE
In our class this week Maha & Sunita presented their 3D designs to the class which was then open to discussion to challenge their design concept assumptions.


Sunita's Design Concept is to build a traditional Timorese house - in miniature form possibly out of polystyrene. It includes the following features:

• Has doors & windows
• 4 walls
• Flat on top with ornament - usually 4-6 sticks or a bunch or straw sticking out the top
• Its on stilts - sometimes tall & wide or short & stumpy
• 4 sided pyramid roof

Traditional Timorese House

Class discussion - Warwick suggested that if she uses polystyrene for the main structure to use a sharp scalp to cut the polystyrene because if you saw it with a serrated edge it will make an impressive mess. 

Mahas design concept is a lamp and the 2D aspect is the design on the lamp and the 3D is the actual lamp with the design on it. Features include:

• Will be versatile to be in the living room or a bedroom
• Has interchangeable sides which will slide out
• Has 4 sides
• Has a metal frame

I thought this type of design would work quite well with the interchangeable sides

Class discussion - What will it be made out of? Will it be printed? What angle will the side panels be on (vertically straight or on an angle?)

If Maha wanted to have the panels on an angle they could slide out from underneath rather than trying to pull them out on an awkward angle from the top.

She also thought about the designed panels being made out of plastic and if she used lightweight plastic they could bend and pop into place like when placing a photo into an album with photo corners. But then the heat of the light bulb might be too much for the plastic panels. 

PRACTICAL – Design challenge / reflect & refine

30 mins – Choose your most recent 3D design concept from all your current works

•  In your blog make a list of 2 assumptions about your design

•  Challenge both of these assumptions (200 words minimum)

•  Suggest 2 refinements to solve these challenges (200 words minimum)

•  Illustrate your thoughts with sketches / diagrams

My most recent 3D design concept is along the lines of 3 dimensional wall paper. I had the idea that I could create wall paper that almost jumped out at you like artwork would. I've been doing a few sketches and I have been working on a few different designs of silhouetted trees. I haven't done alot of research as to how I will actually construct the design but I was thinking of making a mould and then using plaster so I have 1 flat side which can be adhered to the wall.

1st Assumption
The first assumption is that the design will be in 1 piece.

2nd Assumption
That it will be a mould and then using plaster

Challenging 1st Assumption
I was actually pretty set on this design being 1 single piece but when i was drifting off to sleep the other day (which seems to be when my brain decides to go outside the square) I thought I want it to be a piece of artwork as well and what better way to show off a piece of artwork than in a frame. I had the idea that i could actually break my tree design up into pieces and frame the smaller pieces of the tree but when hung on the wall the whole picture of the tree comes into view..... No idea where that came from but I started to think more about it and if it could be of any practical use as well. I've seem these tree sculptures that are used as jewellery hangers so maybe that could be an option as well.


First sketch of tree design and half asleep sketch of idea of framed pieces of tree design



Jewellery Tree

 Challenging 2nd Assumption
My second assumption is that I will be making my 3D tree using a mould of my design.
There are quite a few different materials i could use for my design. I could use wood..

This is a wall mounted wood sculpture made of oak.

The artists name is Ruben Guajardo http://www.artisticwoodworking.com/ and he makes some beautiful abstract wood sculptures and carvings.

Or i could use wire..

Wire Tree Wall Sculpture  - Omer Huremovic

There are many materials I could use for my design but i think the biggest issue will be using a material that I not only have access to and can use but also use a material that i am able to able to split up into separate frames. I could still use the plaster mould but i would have to make several different moulds to make the whole tree and I'm not sure if i have the skills or time to do that.

2 Refinements
After challenging my assumptions my 2 biggest challenges to over come are...
1. Which materials to use &....
2. Splitting the tree up into separate and differently sized frames

I think the best way to refine my assumptions is to do a few prototypes to see which ones will work best.....

I've had a very fun week playing around with a few different materials for my prototype to see what i can use for my design and they were all quite time consuming because of how intricate my design is.... which in turn probably should have been one of my assumptions. Anyway, below is my rough draft of my design. So you can see how it would be a little difficult to make a mould out of that.

1st rough draft of my design

I made several stencils of my design and made cut outs using plastic corflute (which i ended up making my prototype out of). This was very difficult to use to create nice soft curves and will be even more difficult to cut into pieces of the tree. So I've decided that i will refine my design by using Balsa wood. It is used in alot of model plan designs and is apparently very easy to cut. I also think this will be easier to separate into different sections as it will have a cleaner cut line.

Week 5 - 2D

GROUP EXERCISE
This week in our group exercise it was all about challenging assumptions... We were given the below handout to read and challenge the assumptions that arise..

Have you ever been in Los Angeles freeway traffic? We were once in bumper‐to‐bumper traffic, trying  

to get to the airport at 10:30 at night. I didn't know that there were traffic jams until late in the evening.  

In any case, if you have had a similar experience, you can relate to the following problem, which will  

show us how challenging assumptions leads to more creative solutions.  

 Mike had an audition for a movie role at eight the next morning. But it was in Hollywood, and he lived  

on the other side of Los Angeles. He was notified of the audition late, and now it was one in the morning.  

This was a problem, because it could take as much as four hours to get through the morning traffic, and  

he needed time to shower and get ready. He would have to get up by a little after three that morning.  

 He thought about this. Just two hours of sleep, followed by hours on the freeway ‐ this might affect his  

performance. This would be his first important role if he was hired, so his mind started scrambling for  

solutions. Taking the bus might be faster than driving his van, but he didn't know the bus schedules, and  

it was too late to find out. He looked at a map of the city, hoping for a better route, and he might have  

found one, but it seemed dangerous to guess about routes he wasn't familiar with at this point.  

 He suddenly recalled a problem solving technique his friend Steve had told him about, and decided to  

try it. He did the assumption‐challenging exercise, starting with a pen and piece of paper and writing a  

list of assumptions.   

 1. What would be on your list of assumptions ‐ if you were Mike?  

2. Challenge each item in the list and find a solution to Mike’s problem

As a group we discussed the assumptions... 

He's driving on the highway

Its 1am

It can take 4 hrs in morning traffic

He needs more than 2 hours sleep

The Audition is at 8am

After discussing Mike's problem we came to the realization that he's driving at 1am therefore there wont be any traffic and he should get there earlier than expected and have plenty of time to sleep for at least 2 hours get ready and make it to the audition on time. 

PRACTICAL
In our practical 2D design class we were asked to choose our most recent design concept from all our current works and do the following:

• List 2 assumptions about our design
• Challenge both of these assumptions
• Suggest 2 refinements to solve these challenges
• Illustrate our thoughts with sketches/ diagrams

I have been working on a few different designs for wall paper. I'm working with alot of tree designs. Below are a few ideas that have given me some inspiration...

I like the flowing feeling of this design

This is a great size, I'd also like to cover a substantial section of the wall

I love the texture of the bark created in this design.

1st Assumption - I'm assuming i'll be able to print my design onto wall paper
2nd Assumption - I'm assuming it will be a single design (not repeated)


Challenging 1st assumption...
Once i started to do some research on printing wallpaper i realized that there are endless options when designing your own custom made wallpaper. It just blew me away to be honest and was quite overwhelming. 
http://www.artistichomeowner.com/Custom-Wall-Murals-s/35.htm
This website will actually print your design onto wallpaper for you and it can even just be a photograph. I could even just cut out a stencil of my design and print that directly onto the wall like a mural.

Week 4 - 3D

GROUP EXERCISE
This week in 3D it was all about Experimentation: Exploring & Challenging. From last weeks practical on a eco friendly form of transport we were asked to choose the 2 best designs from the group.

Class White Board

We chose Josie's idea for a 2 seated segway type vehicle & Maha's design for an attachable seat for children.
We discussed both designs and explored ideas for each.

Class White Board

While we were at it we also came up with some great name's & slogan's for our designs

Class White Board

PRACTICAL
For our Practical 3D lesson we were asked to choose our favourite 3D design and through a combination of research and creative thinking explore the possibilities of concept experimentation, variation & evaluation.
I haven't designed alot of 3D concepts at this stage so I choose my shoulder bag design from our class a few weeks ago

My shoulder bag design

2 Experiments

The 2 experiments i thought of that i'd like to explore would be to have access to the inside of the bag from a zip straight across the top rather than the button flap or to have just a single clip at the top of the bag to open & close

Experiment 1 - zip across the top

Experiment 2 - Single clip on top

Pros & Cons

The pro's of the zip include practicality in keeping anything from falling out of the bag & easy & quick access to the inside of the bag. Con's of the zip - its unattractive and unflattering 

Pros of the single clip include its simple & looks great & would also allow easy access to the inside of the bag. Cons of the single clip - small items in the bag could come out the sides

Choosing & Refusing

I really like the idea of the single clip and i think i could still incorporate my design of the button and keep that same style but just have a single one on top. I'm rejecting the idea of the zip because its over used and not the most attractive feature on a bag and doesn't really go with the style i'm trying to create. 

Week 4 - 2D

GROUP EXERCISE
This week in class it was all about Exploring & Challenging ideas.
As a group we voted on the 2 best designs that we'd come up with in last weeks practical.
The designs we'd come up with included....

• Mini art
• T-shirt design
• Music CD cover
• Magazine cover
• Screen print for lamp
• Typography & fonts
• Logo & branding

We all voted and we decided on a T-Shirt design & Screen print for lamp.

T-Shirt Design Exploration
Big or small design?
Design to go on the front, back or sides?
What is it for?
Who is it for? Young/old? Gender?
Is it selling anything?
Is it an image? Shape? Text? Graphic?
Colour?
Culturally appropriate?

After our brainstorming session and going back & forth with different ideas and eliminating certain ideas we came up with the following..
It was to be a t-shirt for a young female (18-30), the t-shirt is going to be dark grey with a black design which is printed and Warwick came up with the idea to use our brainstorming process on the whiteboard as the actual design. I think this idea would work really well - its different and creative and other designers would love it as they can relate to the process. We obviously wouldnt use exactly what was on the board we'd jazz it up a bit to look good, maybe add in a sketch of a brain or other sketches of our process.

Challenging the T-Shirt design...
Things that could go wrong...

• Black print could be too dark for the dark grey shirt.. Solution.. Make the t-shirt slightly lighter grey
• May not appeal to female audience.. Solution... Make the brainstorming process appeal to females eg include things that females like etc. 

Below are a few other grey t-shirts that i like the style of which would be great with our design printed on them..

This is the exact grey I had in mind for our shirt

Having the design on the side is a great feature

I really like the flowing style of this shirt

Below is a You Tube link on how to screen print your own t-shirts. This is actually a really great little clip. Its light & funny but it goes through all of the steps clearly & concisely.

PRACTICAL
This week in our Practical 2D lesson we were asked to choose our favourite design concept from all of our current works and explore the possibilities of concept experimentation .
My favourite design is a business card I designed for myself in a previous class.

2 Experiments
I thought of a few different directions i could go with my original design without changing it so much that it become a completely different design. I could change the colour of my background (which originally was an off white) and i could also change the actual layout of my design. Currently it is a 4 sided business card which folds out - i could look at the possibility of making this a standard 2 sided business card

Pros & Cons
Pros include it being cost effective in printing (as the design & text is all black) & simplicity in my design. But then again the simplicity of it could also come under cons for my design. Also having a 4 sided business card could be unnecessary and classed as a con for my design

Choosing & Refusing
After considering the different directions i could go with my design i decided to keep the original of white background because it keeps in the theme of my design. And i refused the 4 sided style because i thought it might be impractical and served no real purpose.

I am still looking for a copy of my design (which is obviously saved somewhere very very safe) but below is a business card which is a very similar colour scheme to what my design is....

This design is a similar colour scheme to my design

Week 3 - 3D

GROUP EXERCISE
Today we were assigned to work in a group and generate some ideas for a design for an eco friendly mode of transport. We were asked to follow the ideas of The Laws of Simplicity and work as a group to come up with a design, concept & name.

In trying to come up with a eco friendly mode of transport we thought of all the things that came into our head when we thought of 'ECO TRANSPORT'.... We came up with:

• Electric
• Small
• Bicycle
• Skates
• Roller Shoes
• Segway
• Solar Power
• Kangaroo Boots

In the end we liked the idea of a solar powered segway type mode of transport. Below is a video on how a segway works....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sztUuNNBxbcyoutube.com/watch?v=sztUuNNBxbc

The name was the most difficult idea to come up with. We came up with a few names like 'Ecoway', 'Green Way'. It was hard because we wanted to come up with something that wasnt over used like "ECO" (which seems to be extremely over used) but we had to let people know that it was a green way to travel without sounding cliche.

This is a sketch of my design....

Week 3 - 2D

GROUP EXERCISE
This week in class we were given the task to choose two words at random as a group and come up with a design concept.

•      Choose at random 2 words
•     Think about the words
•      Do a rough mind map of each word
•      Combine ideas
•      Each person creates two 2D Designs

The 2 words we came up with were SPACESHIP & MONEY

Mind Map

<! Ideas

Spaceship with queens head on it

Spaceship made out of coins

Coins in the shape of a spaceship

UFO’s in the shape of notes

Gold & silver spaceships

Spaceships flown by money

Spaceships flying to the money (moon)

Spaceships the size of a coin

Coins stacked up to the size of a spaceship

Spaceships run on money not fuel

Flying money

http://picture-book.com/content/rocket-man

The two ideas I have chosen to use in my designs are:

Spaceships the size of a coin & Coins stacked up to the size of a spaceship

PRACTICAL - Design Options
Today in class we were given time to come up with a rough draft of 3 design concepts for our exhibition. I've found it a bit difficult coming up with a design concept for the exhibition. I'm having the most difficulty coming up with a 3D design concept to link to a 2D design but after thinking about it over the last couple of weeks i've come out with a few draft ideas. I work in Real Estate and I liked the idea of designing a creative house plan. I deal with alot of house & land packages and floor plans every day and it's given me a bit of inspiration to perhaps design a 2D plan such as a floor plan or blueprint and build a minature model design as the 3D concept from the 2D floor plan. I'd design the interior as well as the exterior using CAD software as my media. I'd like to go into alot of detail and design a very creative interior that offers something a little different. From here I could design this with the intention of using it as a house & land package and design brochures, flyers etc with the intent for marketing it for sale.

I found some fantastic websites to help me along the way...
http://www.smallblueprinter.com/sbp.html
This website basically allows me to design my own floor plan which also converts it into an isometric view & 3D walk through. I can add windows, doors & even paint the walls. It is a bit limiting for what i eventually want to do but it gives me a great starting point in a design layout..
I had a play around on smallblueprinter.com and came up with a few different designs. Unfortunately i closed without saving my settings and lost my designs but i will have another attempt tomorrow and not stuff it up this time.
I also found this website which helps you design your own home.. interior & exterior
http://www.cianodesign.net/design-your-dream-house/

This website also gives you related sites that lead to anything from kitchen & bathroom designs to landscape & architectural designs.