March 2019

There were 4 posts published in March 2019 (this is page 1 of 1).

Form and Visualisation Assignment 3

Form Making

 

Orthographic Drawings

 

Process

 

Final Model

 

This assignment was a new experience for me. I have never really made a model before, I had always used photoshop to composite fake model instead. It was a really tedious and time-consuming process, however, the results made it all worth it. Being able to hold and feel what I had imagined in my head whilst drawing the sketches was pretty incredible. I also gained a new appreciation for the surfaces of objects. After sanding my model for days and nights, I was impressed by my own efforts on how smooth I could make the finishing hahaha!

Through this assignment, I learnt the difference between scale in two dimensional and three-dimensional objects. When I sketched out my model in for the orthographic drawing the overall size of my model seemed right, but after building the model, with much sanding, the model still seemed rather big for a hairdryer. This made me understand the reason for building a model and the importance of it.

Micro Project 4

Disobedient Objects

 

The Disobedient Object

Our disobedient object is called the “Aka-Pan”. Aka is Japanese for baby and just like an annoying screaming baby, the “Aka-Pan” screams when it’s hot. This is a contradictory twist on the sole purpose of a cooking pan, to transfer heat and be hot.

The “Aka-Pan” comprises of a temperature sensor and buzzer that is connected through the Arduino. When the temperature is hot, the buzzer rings alerting its user that it does not want to be hot and discourages them from cooking. This can also function as a kind of alarm that reminds forgetful users that they left the pan too hot. The Aka-Pana is both disobedient and thoughtful!

You can view our promotional video through the link below:

“Introducing the Aka-Pan”

 

The Process

We first started our journey to create the Aka-Pan with a simpler exercise, using the temperature sensor to light up and control a LED bulb. We followed an online setup and code. Without any issues, the LED worked and the brightness was indeed influenced by the temperature read on the sensor!

Next, we had to swap out the LED bulb for the buzzer instead. This was when it all got messy and the confidence we gained from the first exercise completely vanished. It was really hard to find a matching setup and code that actually worked. We searched thoroughly online for some help with the setup and codes, however, the online sources we found had either really bad quality photos of setups or really complicated codes which we could not understand, let alone manipulate. We wanted to get a consultation with Lei but all the timings had been booked… We then decided to try combining what we learnt previously in class on the buzzer setup and joint it with a set up for the heat sensor we found online. After much troubleshooting and failed attempts it “kinda” worked! The only problem was that it was reading a degree of like 200 plus? Hahaha. We ended up burning our only temperature sensor and had to call it a day. Turns out, we mixed up a few of the negative and positive pins for some of the elements. After going down to Sim Lim Tower and getting more temperature sensors, we re-essembled the setup with the pins in the right directions and it finally worked.

I think we learned a pretty valuable lesson from all this trial and errors, it is not about copying the codes and following the setups we learn in class. We believe that it is necessary to actually understand how and why it works in order to be able to manipulate it to work for other various projects. 

You can view our making video through the link below:

“Behind the Aka-Pan”

 

The Setup

The is our set up for the Arduino board. 

One thing we realised when attaching the pan is that the crocodile clips can’t touch each other, otherwise it messes up the readings. (You learn something new every day.)

Yes, we also made the stove hahaha.

 

The Code

Well one thing we learnt from using an Aurdino is that open source is really important and can really help dire students like us. Hence, here’s the code we used for our project! Feel free to copy it haha!

 

float sinVal;
int toneVal;
unsigned long tepTimer ;
void setup() {
pinMode(8, OUTPUT);
Serial.begin(9600);

}

void loop() {
int val;
double data;
val = analogRead(0);
data = (double)val * (5 / 10.24);
if (data > 16) {
for (int x = 0; x < 180; x++) {
sinVal = (sin(x * (3.1412 / 180)));
toneVal = 300 + (int(sinVal * 150));

tone(8, toneVal);
delay(1);
}
} else {
(data < 16);
noTone(8);
}
if (millis() – tepTimer > 50)
tepTimer = millis();
Serial.print(“temperature: “);
Serial.print(data);
Serial.println(“C”);

}

 

Despite multiple challenges along the way and a few burns from the temperature sensor, this was a really exciting experiment and we can’t wait for the next one!

 

 

A group effort with:

En Qi

Graphic Form Project 1 CPJ

Image Making Through Type

 

Brief

Create typographic portraits by using your whole name, part of your name, your nickname or your initials to describe your future job. Each solution must consider: choice of typeface, style, size, weight, use of upper and lower case characters as well as space in between the letters. Additionally, the future job had to be something relatively imaginative and wacky.

 

Ideation

There are endless potentialities when it comes to imagining wacky jobs and funky future careers. However, it is not easy to visualise all these jobs. To me, I believed that it was important to choose jobs that had significant elements that aided the creation of a visual interpretation. Additionally, the representative visual should not be too obvious and direct which would take the fun out of the project.

After brainstorming, discussions with friends and scrolling endlessly on the internet for inspiration and ideas, here’s the list of possible wacky jobs I came up with:

Disco Repairman
Vending Machine Operator
Shredded Cheese Authority
Waterslide Tester
Paradise Island Caretaker
Scarecrow Lifeguard
Bread Scientist
Dumpster Diver
Fortune Cookie Writer
Cheese Grafitti Artist
Satan’s Secretary

With further discussion with Shirly and my consultation group, we narrowed down the more possible and interesting options that I should continue working on. The four options were:

Paradise Island Caretaker
Disco Repairman
Fortune Cookie Writer
Satan’s Secretary

 

 

Job 1

Island Paradise Caretaker

 

Moodboard

The visuals of an island and paradise were easy to interpret and visualise, a beach, palm trees and blue waters. However, it was the caretaker part that had me cracking my brains. What exactly does a caretaker do?

After more in-depth research and conversations with fellow peers, I found out that the job scope of a caretaker was one who deals with the cleaning, repairs and the overall protection of the area they are in charge of. I decided to focus on the “cleaning” aspect of a caretaker. To represent it, I used the texture of a sponge and the element of bubbles.

 

Sketches

 

Development

The visuals of an island and paradise were easy to interpret and visualise, a beach, palm trees and blue waters. However, it was the caretaker part that had me cracking my brains. What exactly does a caretaker do?

After more in-depth research and conversations with fellow peers, I found out that the job scope of a caretaker was one who deals with the cleaning, repairs and the overall protection of the area they are in charge of. I decided to focus on the “cleaning” aspect of a caretaker. To represent it, I used the texture of a sponge and the element of bubbles.

I started off choosing a typeface that was more lively, fun and organic to replicate the curves and irregularity of that of an island. The handwriting bubble font I chose was called “bubblegum”. In order to make the text more dynamic and spontaneous, I played with the orientation and positioning of the alphabets. The alphabets were to be the visual representation of paradise islands. I realised the textures of island sand and a sponge was pretty similar, hence to incorporate the aspect of a caretaker I switched up the texture of sand for some sponge texture. Boats, bubbles and island “fun” details were added to make a more elaborate design.

 

 

Job 2

Fortune Cookie Writer

 

Moodboard

For the fortune cookie writer design, I used the fortune cookie itself as the main texture and shape of the type.

 

Sketches

 

Development

After more in-depth research and conversations with fellow peers, I found out that the job scope of a caretaker was one who deals with the cleaning, repairs and the overall protection of the area they are in charge of. I decided to focus on the “cleaning” aspect of a caretaker. To represent it, I used the texture of a sponge and the element of bubbles.

I started off choosing a typeface that was more lively, fun and organic to replicate the curves and irregularity of that of an island. The handwriting bubble font I chose was called “bubblegum”. In order to make the text more dynamic and spontaneous, I played with the orientation and positioning of the alphabets. The alphabets were to be the visual representation of paradise islands. I realised the textures of island sand and a sponge was pretty similar, hence to incorporate the aspect of a caretaker I switched up the texture of sand for some sponge texture. Boats, bubbles and island “fun” details were added to make a more intricate design.

For this fortune cookie writer design, I used the fortune cookie itself as the main texture and shape of the type.

To start, I decided to look for an English typeface that had Chinese characteristics or elements. The font that I chose is called “Shojumaru”. This typeface was perfect for my design. It not only depicted the Chinese elements I was looking for but also had a style that allowed me to integrate the message of a fortune cookie into the type itself.

However, after creating the basic fortune cookie typeface, it seemed rather plain and literal, lacking the aspect of a “writer”. Thus, I took to the internet in search of elements that could represent a “writer”. That’s when the idea of using the features of a typewriter came to me. By taking the part where the typewriter churns out paper and placing it before the fortune cookie note, it created a scene where the note was being written and printed out of each of the cookie.

Initially, I tried using Chinese characters on the fortune notes of the cookies. Unfortunately, the intricacy of the Chinese characters seemed to take away the attention of the whole fortune cookie font, hence, I switched it up for some scribbled handwriting instead.

 

 

Job 3

Disco Repairman

 

Moodboard

To symbolise a disco repairman, the two main features I used in my design are the disco ball and elements of a broken machine that needs to be repaired, such as frayed wires and spoilt gears.

 

Sketches

Development

I used a sans serif typeface called “Chunky Funks”, a regular block-ish font that fits the tiled mirrors of a disco ball. Recreating the reflective mirror texture was really a challenge as I wanted the disco ball to look relatively three-dimensional although they were in a flat design. At first, I tried using an outline to illustrate the tiles but it looked cartoonish and really flat. I recalled the illustrator workshop we had in class and I attempted to use the grain effect we learnt to give the tiles texture, highlights and shadows. This made the tiles look way more real and “reflective”.

I tried playing with the hierarchy of the alphabets using scale and position to imitate the effect of the disco type being in three-dimensional space. Lastly, to give the true effect of disco, I added the lighting effects!

 

 

Job 4

Satan’s Secretary

 

Moodboard

For this design, I wanted to create a comical looking representation of Satan as I felt that my chosen career, Satan’s Secretary, was poking fun at him. To represent Satan I felt that it was crucial to include the colour red and as a representation of a secretary, it was long nails. 

 

Sketches

Using fingers to form a text was really difficult and I had to sketch it out multiple times before the fingers finally looked “correct”. 

 

Development

I started with the base using a cursive typeface called “BellaFree” and added on the details and textures of a finger. I first did this in illustrator, however, the vector graphic effect made it a little too “cute” so I switched over to Photoshop to use a sharper pressure brush that would make the type “fiercer” and more organic like a finger. The pressure brush also helped to create more definition and realistic finger wrinkles.

For the background, I decided to use the “eternal flames of hell”. Basically just fires to represent Satan and his home, hell. 

 

Conclusion

This was a really exciting project where I was able to use my full imagination to create both a new typeface design and a “never-before-discovered career”. It stretched my ability to think out of the box by learning to adapt textures into type. This assignment was also a good way to introduce type as it got us to understand the elements and features of different styles of typography as well as the emotion a specific type can depict.

The biggest challenge I faced in this project was probably coming up with the elements that could symbolise the jobs. It was also really challenging compositing the various elements together such that they would tell a cohesive story and portray the wacky job I had chosen. However, I believe challenges are meant to help us grow and learn, without the feeling of frustration and desperation we will never learn to adapt and move forward. Form the class presentation, I also noticed multiple of my classmates were using different techniques to create three-dimensional type and that is something I had not thought of doing. If given the chance, I think I would have wanted to explore more on techniques and try out more different youtube tutorials. I believe it is through such assignments that we get to explore and try out new things.