research

There are 16 posts tagged research (this is page 2 of 2).

Zine for Kampong Glam (Part 1 – Early Research)

So the brief of the project is to design and do up a brief based on an assigned location

After getting the brief for the project, I was pretty thrilled with the project as I get to do one of my favourite pass times – exploring. I also thought that I could do photography. Then we got to know that we cannot focus too much on the photography side, but that is fine too.

After a random draw lots from my group, I got assigned Kampong Glam as a location for the Zine. Despite going there before and quite often, I would start the project with some research.

Where is Kampong Glam?

It is the area of shophouses between Bugis and Lavender MRT stations. It’s not hard to spot as it is the only shophouses in the area surrounded by high rise buildings.

Research of Kampong Glam

Before going to the site itself, I would definitely want to know more about the place first.

The History

Kampong Glam (originally spelt “Campong Gelam” when it was named around 1830) is one of 10 subzones of the Rochor area located in the central region. The road names in Kampong Glam such as Bussorah, Muscat and Kandahar streets – named after places in the Muslim world.

Kampong Glam was land set aside for the Sultan and 600 family members after he signed the treaty to the East India Company. The Sultan also instructed the Temenggong, a governor to the Sultan, to build his palace there.

Aside from the royal family, there were many other ethnicities living there too, such as the Bugis, Arabs, Boyanese, Javanese and Muslim immigrants. All these different groups set up their own mini-kampungs, which created Kampong Bugis, Kampong Melaka & Kampong Java.

Temenggong’s Palace now the Malay Heritage Centre (https://thoughtmoments.me/tag/kampong-glam/)

Further research

Many would think that Kampung Glam is just a place full of hipster cafes, boutiques and filled with Arab and Malay influence. So knowing this, I would try to avoid doing up something based on that,  … but what?

I started asking what people know about Kampong Glam, aside from the mentioned above.

The trades of Kampong Glam

Before it is known for its hipster cafes and graffiti walls, Kampong Glam is known for its different trades. From the old days, many cultures live amongst each other bringing in culture and items for trade to make a living.

Some of the trades that are frequently mentioned in my research include fabrics, carpets, and fragrances. Some of the shops that you see at Kampong Glam now has been there for a long time.

Other crafts are also available, such as rattan and cane furniture, and also other intricate handicrafts.

The architecture

Through my research, I also found out that Kampong Glam has been gazetted into a conservation area in 1989, where the buildings in the area have to stick to certain guidelines, like retaining and restoring the exterior of the buildings.

Meaning to say, the buildings that you see today at Kampong Glam could have possibly looked like that ever since it was built! With the exception of the colours and modern pipes of course.

And the shophouses all come in 4 different types of shophouses:

Sources:

Image Making Through Type (Part 3 – Art Direction and Colour Scheme)

With further remarks from peers and others based on my first drafts, further changes are made, mainly in the art direction and the colour scheme.

The Interior Designer

Art Direction

For the art direction, I plan to follow as closely to a real floor plan as possible to make it look like it is real. The thick borders on the outside, followed by a thinner inner wall and also the really thin furniture and doors. I also will try to stick to the style used for the windows and doors.

Colour Scheme

I will make the design black and white as most of the floor plans I found are in black and white. I have decided to not go for the blueprint design as I was told that that direction is overused.

The Confectioner

Art Direction

Illustration by Julian Burford (http://www.julianburford.com/client/)

Illustration by Mackenzie Child (https://www.mackenziechild.me/)

Since this will be the more colourful works among the 4, I have decided to go for something more fun and friendly, so I will be doing illustration based. As seen above, it looks very quirky with thick outlines, and details include the highlight and shades in close colours. I will also try my best to get as many details into the illustrations as possible to make it look more interesting.

Colour Scheme

This colour scheme is most important as it involves a lot of colours. So I had to look at the different individual sections of the type for colours, but I have decided to stick to the pastel colour scheme as it will appear most friendly and pleasing for the candy-like theme.

The Radiographer

Art Direction

The art direction for this is pretty straightforward – the x-ray. Again, I try to stick as closely as possible to the original x-ray so that it is clearly represented. As mentioned in the previous post, the x-ray concept has 2 layers – the inner and outer layer. The outer layer is more faded as compared the inner layer that is much brighter, almost neon-like.

Colour Scheme

For the colour scheme, I will stick to the blue-ish colours of the x-ray. The thicker areas would appear whiter while the outer layer will be more faded and dark. Anything that I would want to stand-out would be among the brightest.

The Contractor

Art Direction

I would want to attempt a flat illustration style for this, as compared to The Confectioner, which is more detailed. At the same time, flat illustration should try to capture as much detail as possible.

Colour Scheme

Black and yellow used on a toy crane (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Caterpillar/pages/1656735031)

Yellow and black used on a construction website (https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/excavator)

For the colour scheme, I thought of using the black and yellows as they are common colours used in construction sites. It is also contrasting and striking.

 

Image Making Through Type (Part 2 – First Attempt)

So I have to narrow down to 4 different jobs to proceed on with the project:

  1. Interior Designer
  2. Confectioner
  3. Radiographer
  4. Contractor

The Interior Designer

The first job that I decided to proceed with is an architect. So I started to look at what are the factors and elements that I could use for the design.

Blueprints & Floorplans

The first thing that comes to mind would be that architects use blueprints in their work. Sometimes it shows the side views of the structure or like a perspective view. In other times it shows the interior floorplan of the structure.

But if to decide between the floorplan or the blueprint designs, I think it would be better to use the floorplan design because it is more flexible in a sense that the floorplan can make out more shapes than a vertical structure/a side view of a building.

Interior Designer tools

Another way to attempt based on the interior designer is through the tools used by an architect. They have different tools used to form different shapes and to create different drawings.

Architect tools – such as the t-rule, compass, protractor (https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/144324-vector-architect-tools)

The tools are already in odd shapes, which can be used to form the different letters of my name already.

First draft

First draft for The Interior Designer

I tried to implement the concept of a floorplan into the letters. Still exploring the different forms, whether or not to make it angular or has more curvature.

Comments from peers & lecturer:

  • Floorplan design has been used too much by seniors, especially by using blueprints. So I have to stick to more of the interior design floor plan concept, which includes more of the interior contents of the structure so as to differentiate it from previous samples.

The Confectioner

I thought of food, but the idea of using food as a chef cooking has already been taken and used. So I branched out from food to candy.

Types of candy

I guess the first step is to find out what sort of candy there is, and from there I can pick out the elements and work with them.

Patterns & Textures from candy

From the types of candy, I can try and pick out the different patterns formed and the textures from the different candy.

Bubblegum texture, can consider the art style too! (https://www.emaze.com/@AWRCLIRT/untitled)

And the list of textures goes on, but the idea is to maybe form the basic structure with the candy and at the same time have the textures in mind and implement them into the design.

First draft

First draft for The Confectioner

So I tried to join all 4 letters of my name to show that the design is interconnected rather than separate units and I tried to make it seamless and flowy as if it is made from one line.

I implemented the different textures and patterns of confectioneries, starting from bubbly bubblegum on the “S” connecting to droopy and nutty chocolate for the “Y’, glossy doughnut with rainbow sprinkles for the “A”, and candy cane patterns and churros texture for the “M”

Comments from peers & lecturer:

  • I have to make sure that the connection is obvious and it flows seamlessly through all 4 letters
  • Try to get as many details on the texture to make it more realistic
  • Colours have to be attractive (Pastel? Cannot use dark colours)

The Radiographer

I thought of doing something based on the human body but seems a bit too normal or complicated. So I decided to stick to the human form but more of x-ray style.

X-ray design

The idea of the x-ray is like thin neon lights but shows a faint outer layer while showing the inner object.

Body parts internal structure study

Another step to do is to look at how the internal structure of the body looks like so that it would look more realistic.

A possible concept that I thought of when doing this is that the inner layer could be just the type, while the outer layer shows something else. Or the outer layer could be the type, while the internal is showing something different.

First draft

First draft for The Radiographer

For my attempt at this layout, I tried to implement the x-ray studies into the letters so that it looks like real bones and tissue in the x-ray. I also tried to make the outer layer of the letters look a bit different from the inner layers.

Comments from peers & lecturer

  • I could include bone fractures

Funny or dangerous objects inside the x-ray scans. See if I would want to convey a more serious tone or humorous tone

The Contractor

I wanted to do more of using real objects for this since I have already tried other styles for the other.

Contractor tools

So elements that I could pick up from the job of a technician is the tools that they use.

So the idea is to create the letters using the different tools of a technician.

First draft

First draft for The Contractor

I tried to implement the tools into the formation of the letters, and I used wires to in a way join the letters together and also to form more of the curvy letters.

Comments from peers & lecturer:

  • The approach is too direct in a sense that the tools are used directly as the shape forms – like pareidolia
  • Lack of manipulation should have more
  • Combination of different equipment to form each letter, rather than using just one tool to form a letter.

Image Making Through Type (Part 1 – Research)

For our first project, we are to create type of our own name or initials to describe a job. So I thought of starting the project by looking at some examples of what the outcome could be.

Some examples:

Type formed by lemon slices. (http://www.fubiz.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Creative-Typography-by-Danielle-Evans-7.png)

The word “olive” formed by elements of the fruit (http://k7mcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/exhibitions1.jpg)

The word “French” formed by coffee powder (http://jp22.r0tt.com/l_d0d31990-6084-11e3-b385-c37293e00022.jpg)

Basically, we are to create a type of our name by using elements from a job. Like using the tools of an artist (paintbrush, palette, etc) to form my name as an artist. Or use the equipment of a doctor (stethoscope, thermometer, etc) to form my initials as a doctor.

Pareidolia

Another way we are to look at this project and to help up with it is through a new term we learned in class: pareidolia. It is a condition where one perceives a pattern in random things. Like how we see objects formed by the clouds or the trees.

Examples of pareidolia:

A bag with a “sad face” formed by the handles. (https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/pareidolia-faces-everyday-objects-25-58fdbe4e81056__605.jpg)

Washing machine with a red cloth coming out forming a face, and a detached seatbelt looking like a face with the seatbelt strap being its tongue. (https://sadanduseless.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/face4.jpg)

But to relate pareidolia with the project, instead of seeing faces in items, we would have to look for letters and type in objects.

Some examples of pareidolia alphabets would be:

If seen through furniture (http://www.foerstel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/9201.jpg)

Alphabets formed by the different body parts (http://www.foerstel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/9203.jpg)

Project Ego – Research

We have reached the last project for Foundation 2D. For this project, we are to create 12 image compositions (4 sets of 3), where one image representing yourself adds with another image that represents a situation which will then form another image.

Me + Situation = Imagined outcome

For this project also, we are finally allowed to use colour. With that said, we have to show our understanding of the use of colours and the colour theory in our compositions.

Colour Research

Different colours play a part in giving different meanings in design. It can be used as a symbol to represent different emotion in art.

  • Red – used to represent danger, anger and violence. It can also be used to represent love and passion.
  • Orange – used to represent creativity, passion, energy & endurance
  • Yellow – Life, energy, hope, wisdom, happiness
  • Green – Growth, health, envy, inexperience
  • Blue – Calming, freshness, purity, hygiene
  • Purple – Royalty, wealth, power
  • Black – Death, mourning, witchcraft, evil, fear
  • Grey – Boredom, decay, old age
  • White – Peace, purity, goodness

Knowing all these, I will implement the colours into this assignment to represent the different emotions that are represented in each artwork (square).

Artist Reference

So we are to look for 3 artists with styles that we could use in our works and pick one from the 3 that we would like to use as a reference.

I was planning to do digital collages for my works as I feel like trying that out and it would be interesting to see how it is used to represent the different elements in each composition.

Man Ray

The first digital collage artist that I found in Man Ray. I find that his works are mainly real images, somehow overlapped or manipulated with another image, creating a really interesting composition. Some of his works look like it is a double exposed photo.

Max Ernst by Man Ray (1934). Image from https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/423056958727760690/

Eventhough I think that his style looks great, I think it would be too much of an effort to recreate it into my compositions.

John Stezaker

I really think John Stezaker’s works are unique to himself. Most of his works are a composition of two or more portraits or faces and combined seamlessly into one face or portrait.

Marriage L by John Stezaker (2007). Image from http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/john_stezaker.htm

Marriage VIII by John Stezaker (2006). Image from http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/john_stezaker.htm

As much as I think his works look great and unique to his own, I think it will be hard to express other elements in the composition that does not involve portraits or faces.

Hannah Hoch

The last of the digital collage artists that I came across is Hannah Hoch. Her style of collage is mainly combining different cut-outs of images and creating another image from them or just creating a composition from it with each cut-out representing an element in the composition.

Flight by Hannah Hoch (1931). Image from https://www.artsy.net/artwork/hannah-hoch-flucht-flight

Hannah Hoch will be the artist reference that I will be using for my works because I feel that it is an interesting way to represent the elements in each composition and the overall look and feel gives a unique look to it.

References

Project 1: Research & Process

The first object that comes to mind when choosing for the assignment is my camera as it is my hobby and something I have picked up recently. It is something that I would go to if i needed some thing to do to get away from work or to fill in my free time.

For location, instantly the first thing that came to mind when thinking of a place that is significant to me is my polytechnic – Temasek Polytechnic. Just like the camera, my polytechnic is a place that I will forever remember and will always go back to, even years after graduation. It has become a second home for 3 years, and will always be.

It would be great to feature the item and the location that both helped to create and sculpt the person I am today.

Inspirations

I never knew Nan Goldin until I saw her name in her brief. When I first saw her images, I would think that the photos looks a little over exposed, and like someone used the flash too directly at the subject. But when I looked at it again, it actually makes the photo look interesting and artistic. The flash actually creates a focus on the subject, creates shadows on the others elements in the background.

I have always inspired to create similar works to Natsumi Hayashiara. I first got to know her from a colleague during my National Service, who was inspired by her as well. I really think her photos are really interesting in a way that she tries to fit the concept of her floating in photos into her daily lifestyle. It creates a boring mundane chore look really amazing and unique, making you think and look twice at her photos.