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For this assignment, we are tasked with conceptualising and creating a poster that is appropriate for 2019’s Singapore Design Week. Here’s the process of how I developed my poster:

 

Field Trip: National Design Centre

 

With the era of the tailors and the dressmakers in the 1960s, designs focused more on aesthetics. There were a lot of western influences, and Singapore was growing into a regional textile hub. As the years passed, Singapore emerged as an economic powerhouse, and with that, its local design industry began to take shape. There was a demand for new lifestyle choices, leading to the flourish or arts, cultural, and fashion sectors. There was also an increase in architecture practices. Singapore can be seen to be moving towards having more sustainable and functional designs, creating a better lifestyle and a better world for its people. Also, despite prior and current influences in design from other countries, Singapore still holds fast to its traditional textiles and designs, even incorporating it into current styles to create designs that are local and unique.

 

Preliminary Design: Visual Research, Slogan, and Moodboard

1. Visual Research

The poster communicates creativity and playfulness. Most of the elements may be very angular, but they also resemble building blocks that children play with and put together to form buildings. Some of the pyramids and houses amongst the buildings also have eyes and mouths on them, giving the city a whimsical look. Even the creatures created are nothing like that of realistic animals or humans. This adds to that idea of freedom of creativity and the ability to experiment and play. The whole poster is made up of a cluster of smaller images, enticing the viewer to take a closer look and “explore” the little city. A strong colour contrast is used, mainly between shades of blue and yellow, which helps the forms stand out against the background. The title of the poster, “Get Smart”, is placed within speech bubbles, preventing it from blending into clutter behind it. There is another speech bubble with additional information text inside, its orange colour helping to draw attention to it after the viewer reads the title. With the knowledge that this poster is to promote a kids art workshop, I think it had done a great job at bringing out the feelings of creativity, curiosity, and playfulness in a poster despite only working with two main colours.

 

2. Slogan

To come up with a relevant slogan for Singapore Design Week 2019, I read up on The Future of Singapore Design, and picked out key phrases such as “nurture industry-ready talents”, “use design for innovation and growth”, “advance the SG brand though raisin design appreciation on home-ground”, and “emotional connections”, and “supports creative culture and eco-system”.

From there, I began listing down relevant words in hopes of sparking an idea:

nurture, innovate, communicate, speak, envision, identity, construct, creation, reinventing, creativity, flow, community, playground, influence

Me trying to list out relevant words for the slogan.

 

Playing around with the list of words, I came up with a few (horribly cheesy) slogans:

  1. Create & Innovate
  2. Shape the Playground of Tomorrow / The Playground of Expression
  3. Create & Connect
  4. Express & Experiment with Design
  5. Let your Creations Speak

Eventually, the concept I worked on was how, to me, Singapore design week was about individuals from different areas of design coming together as a community to create something as one. Hence, the slogan I choose in the end was,

“Connect. Construct. Create.”

 

3. Moodboards

Moodboard 1: Geometric and Organic

 

For this concept, I wanted to create something that had clean, line shapes and geometric forms to represent the digital age of design. However, I also wanted to use organic forms to tie in the fact that as designers, we are also moving towards creating sustainability within our work.

 

Moodboard 2: Sustainabiliy

 

For this moodboard, I was focusing more on sustainability, hence the organic elements like a tree stump, leaves, and spherical forms. I added in a few geometric elements to show the combination of traditional and digital art styles.

 

Moodboard 3: Layering

For this final moodboard, I wanted to show how current works refer to those from the past, and one way to show that was layering images one on top of another. The end result would be a merging of styles, the images building on one another to create something new as a whole.

 

Drawing thumbnails for layout ideation.

When trying to come up with a layout, I started off with trying to combine elements within a moodboard together to form a poster. From there, I was able to come up with two designs:

 

Design 1 – Let Your Creations Speak

The concept for this was to have a humanoid form with a solid colour in the background with doodles of varying styles layered on top. This was to show artists coming together to create a “living” work that expresses their creativity and identity as a whole. However, the details on the humanoid’s face made it look like a robot, and without the title, it could easily be interpreted as some poster for an engineering event. A way to resolve this would be either to crop the image all the way to its head and focus on the elements there or crop off the head and focus more on the design on the body.

 

Design 2: Express & Experiment with Design

For this design, I used coloured circles to represent artists, and within each of them, there is a form that is different from the others, representing their individual styles and creativity. These dots are connected together by varying lines to show them forming a community. They also look like molecules coming together like in chemistry, creating the feeling of experimentation. The title is a mix of fonts that fit within a diamond frame, but the word “week” trailing downwards may prove to be hard to read. As for the circles, it would be better if their connection had some form of relation. For instance, the designs from two different circles can be combined in a third circle to express them coming together to form something new.

 

Design Explorations

Class critique notes:

The hierarchy of the texts can be seen. The doofles within circles can be more precise and have more relation between one another. Perhaps, they could be images of found items, and the circles around the text can come together to form an amalgamation of organic shapes. Overall, the poster is bottom heavy and has a lot of free space at the top; shift the texts upwards to give them more space. There are a lot of typefaces used, so it’s a bit confusing and messy. Also, use thicker fonts (current ones are a bit too thin). The text doesn’t have to be broken so much and can be arranged in relation to the shapes (e.g: the title within the diamond shape). The images used are a little too vector-y; make them more original / organic.

 

Class critique notes:

The title and the shapes behind are fighting for attention, and the the colours in the shapes make the text hard to read. The brushstroke font isn’t working well with the poster; keep to the theme of organic and geometric coming together. The weight if the poster is too top heavy; there are a lot of free spaces surrounding the edges. Background makes for good contrast, but a perception of depth can be added. The shapes’ movements can be emphasised, their flow leading the viewer’s eyes. TIP: Turn the poster upside-down to get a better idea of how balanced the elements in the poster actually are.

 

Design Refinement and Mock-up

Refinement 1

Geometric forms were added, with the organic blobs layered in a way that they seem to be emerging from / trapped inside those forms. This gives the poster more depth. The title is still hard to read against the shapes behind it, so those can be shifted away / made darker. The arrangement of the text and forms leave quite a few empty spaces; those can be better used. Overall, still quite top heavy.

 

Refinement 2

The title has been brought down to the side and can be read much more clearly, however, the size is a little too small. Also, the geometric forms can be cut down. The organic shapes can also be better arranged to ensure balance between positive and negative spaces (turn it upside down!)

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In this essay, I will be giving a summary on post-modernism and deconstructivism, focusing on their key features, characteristics, social influences, how they relate to other art movements, and some key figures who practiced them.

 

Post-modernism was a reaction to modernism, which is associated with an analytical approach to the function[1]. It encompasses movements such as Futurism, Constructivism, De Stijl and Bauhaus. Built around the concept of simplicity is key, modernism focuses on creating a universal language through the use of geometric shapes, asymmetrical composition, and absence of excessive decorations. It suppressed diversity and complexity and was seen as boring or inhumane and sometimes even hostile. Modernism rejected historical styles and embraced the idea of functionalism[2]. In areas of architecture, such as mass housing projects, historical places were destroyed, allowing for a single urban function to exist in a single area. This resulted in over-simplified spaces which rejects the rich complexity of traditional spaces. The modernist notion of zeitgeist that obliterated the past and wiped out differences in tradition and experience was condemned. History proved to provide a more communicative language allowing architecture to regain the public role which the modernist denied. Thus, this led to the anti-modernist period known as Post-modernism.

 

Post-modernism was created in 1978 and originated from Italy. It reacted to the cleanliness, blandness, functionalism, and utopianism of modernism, and as such, some of its key characteristics are its rejection of the industrial process.[3] It relied on decorative elements and used layered imagery, collages, and photomontage in graphic design. It questions the emphasis that modernists have placed on logic, simplicity, and order and is represented the increasingly fragmented nature of societies in the 80s. It became desirable to break away from Modernism to explore the full complexity of human experience. Post-modernism advocates the merging of fine art and mass culture, highbrow and populist art, incorporating symbolism, and uses visual ideas out of their normal context. Post-Modernism drew its symbolic forms and motifs from Art Deco, Constructivism, De Stijl, Surrealism, Pop Art, Kitsch and Computer imagery. It also revolves around the belief that consumers are more likely to relate to them on a psychological level. A key figure in post-modernism is Piero Fornasett (Milan, 1913-1988), who designed hybrid buildings and products quoting from historic styles and pop culture, juxtaposing historic architectural visuals onto his furniture and interior designs. An example of post-modernism in his product designs would be Chair with backrest in the shape of a Corinthian capital (Figure 1). Despite his designs being dismissed by modernists in the 1950s to 1960s, they found favor and reappraisal with the arrival of Post-Modernism in the 1980s.

Figure 1. Piero Fornasetti, Chair with backrest in the shape of a Corinthian capital. Image taken from http://www.italianways.com/surreal-chairs-by-piero-fornasetti/

 

Contributing significantly to the acceptance of Post-Modernism as an International Style in the 1980s was memphism, which is an art movement which was founded by Ettore Sottsass in 1981. Memphis is a Milan-based collective of young furniture and product designers led by Sottsass. It was a reaction against minimalism and centered around the idea of radical, funny, and outrageous[4]. Memphis designs were focused on historicism, which borrowed concepts from the past and present, with clashing colours and forms were used as a way to show its rejection towards simple functionalism. Some of its characteristics include bright colour palette inspired from pop art, bold geometric forms from inspired from Art Deco, and Kitsch Styling, as can be seen in Sottsass’ Carlton Shelf (Figure 2). Some of the prevailing features include Laminate and Terrazzo materials, which were usually found on floors, were incorporated into tables and lamps, creating bright, multi-coloured objects with a rejection of typical shapes. For example, instead using a typical rectangular shape for chair legs, circle or triangle legs would be used. As postmodernism started to gain attention, some started to pick on the movement. In addition, the global recess forced designers to be more practical. A new architectural tendency associated with post-structuralist theory and constructivist form reacted against post-modernism, and this group of believers soon went on to start the art movement called deconstructivism.

Figure 2. Sottsass Carlton, Shelf. Image taken from  https://i.pinimg.com/originals/14/7c/36/147c36b2b72b0946d98b3c053c68975e.jpg

 

Originating in France, 1988, deconstructionism derived from concepts of deconstruction by Jacques Derrida in the late 1960s as a method of literary criticism. Derrida believed a text could have multiple interpretations, and therefore could never mean exactly what it says or say what it means[5]. Deconstructivism aimed to extract the meaninglessness of the text by destabilising its intellectual foundation, challenging ideas of rational order to expose hidden meanings. His philosophy translated into a style of architecture and interior design which aimed to challenge ideas of rational order and expose hidden workings, overturning functionalism and rationalism. An example of deconstructivism in architecture is Hadid’s Lois and Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art (Cincinnati, 1997–2003); it is not a traditional museum that isolates and protects the artwork within. Instead the building blends with its urban context through an “urban carpet”; the museum’s entranceway floor seems to emerge from the plane of the street, which, curving slowly upward, eventually becomes the building’s organizing element[6]. The exhibition galleries interlock like a cluster of three-dimensional concrete pieces creating a radical departure from the traditional linear succession of gallery spaces. (Figure 3). Deconstructionism drew references from Russian Constructivism, which believed that art and design should be absorbed into industrial production. It used a geometric, precise, almost mathematical method in their work and consisted of rectangles, squares, and circles as the predominant shapes. Its emphasis was placed on the dominance of machine over nature. The fragmentation and geometric shapes were seen later during the Deconstructivism period. Another art movement that was referenced in deconstructivism is minimalism. In minimalism, artworks were stripped down to their most fundamental elements and essentials. It centered on reduction in expressive media and the value of empty space, exploring with materials, space and lights while avoiding stylistic mannerism. This runs similarly to the lack of a central focal point in objects of deconstructivism. In addition, by stripping an object down to its essentials, its core, pure meaning and content is addressed. Deconstructivism architecture is characterised by shearing and fragmentation, where the architectural form seemingly explodes into loose collections of related fragments. Non-rectilinear shapes were used, which distorts and dislocates conventional architectural structure, destroying the dominance of the right angle and the cube by using the diagonal line and the `slice’ of space. It also manipulated surfaces manipulation via the use of multi-layering planes to suggest multiple interpretations.

Figure 3. Zaha Hadid, Lois and Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art. Image taken from https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/572c/e40a/e58e/ce74/ca00/0092/medium_jpg/956_CAC_RH_1303-61_hi_res.jpg?1462559749

 

In conclusion, post-modernism rejected the industrial process in movements like functionalism and modernism, using motifs to relate to consumers on a psychological level. Following that was deconstructivism, which aimed to provoke shock, uncertainty, disruption, distortion by challenging and putting juxtaposed elements together to contradict each other in order to challenge traditional ideas of harmony, continuity, and stability, rejecting the idea of the perfection and ornamentation.

 

[1] Aylesworth, Gary. “Postmodernism.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. September 30, 2005. Accessed November 10, 2018. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/postmodernism/.

[2] “Modern Architecture.” The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed. October 25, 2018. Accessed November 10, 2018. https://www.encyclopedia.com/literature-and-arts/art-and-architecture/architecture/modern-architecture.

[3] Harrison, Sylvia. 2001. Pop art and the origins of post-modernism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511497681.

[4] “Memphis Group.” Wikipedia. November 06, 2018. Accessed November 10, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Group.

[5] Lawlor, Leonard. “Jacques Derrida.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. April 16, 2018. Accessed November 10, 2018. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/derrida/.

[6] Fiederer, Luke. “AD Classics: Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art / Zaha Hadid Architects.” ArchDaily. May 07, 2016. Accessed November 10, 2018. https://www.archdaily.com/786968/ad-classics-rosenthal-center-for-contemporary-art-zaha-hadid-architects-usa.

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Some time around the period where a caveman wiped his hands on a wall, looked at it, and went, “woah, I can draw stuff on this,” and proceeded to draw all his little hunting trips in his cave-journal.

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/02/17/article-0-08570FEC000005DC-72_468x312.jpg

https://i0.wp.com/earthmysterynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/remarkable-cave-pantines.jpeg?resize=384%2C450

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At first glance, Tiong Bahru has a neighborhood like any other in Singapore. At a glance.

Upon closer inspection of its facade, a whole new assortment of visuals and perspectives open up to you. I found my eyes drawn to every crack in the sidewalks, every vein on leaves, and every scratch on rusted metals.

Showcasing these textures is thus the main aim of my zine’s de-zine.

 

For the cover page, two images were used; a location shot and a close up on a rusted metal plate. To emphasise the theme of textures, I teared paper and photoshopped the texture to fit jagged outline.

 

 

As for pages in between, each spread was used to show textures of different materials; plants, metals, and concrete. Each segment also has a colour theme to give the zine a more vibrant look (green, yellow, and blue respectively). The texture images take up almost the entire page, leaving a thin border around the. A layer of a stained piece of black paper was added beneath them, which helped better frame the images. Asymmetry was applied to emphasise the hierarchy of images. For instance, for the plant textures segment, eyes will first land on the left image, then to the grassy part of the image on the right, and finally down to the text.

 

 

I also tried playing with diagonals while arranging the images. For example, the stem along the leaf cuts across the image from top left to bottom right, and through the gutter in between, links to the next image where the direction of the lines on the pavement reflect that diagonal. Though a reflection, it is also off center, giving that off-balance look.

As for the metals spread, I went for a complete diagonal split across the two pages. Instead of just having two images with a crisp line down the center dividing the two, I added an image of rusted chains in between to segment them.

 

 

For the concretes, I used a symmetrical layout. The image on the left page is of a tennis court corner, and to reflect it on the other page, I tore another piece of paper to create the shape. I then masked a cracked stone texture to fit within that frame, and for contrast, added a plain pavement texture underneath it, keeping to the segment’s theme.

 

 

Finally, for the back cover, I used the same layout as the cover, reflecting the metal texture and using a new image showing a different angle of the building. The map of the location is also added, using the same circle background as the title’s. And with the social media handles added at the bottom of the page, the zine is done!