The final version of my zine design was inspired by the annual District Design Dialogue event at Holland Village that I visited during Singapore Design Week. My concept was changing along the way, from capturing the atmosphere at Holland Village during day and night to celebrating design in an international neighborhood.
FINAL ZINE
The final zine will lead the visitor through the house tour full of interactive artworks, drinks, and music.
I tested printed another few types of paper as the Marble White 120gsm paper is a bit too thick for the zine.
FEEDBACK AND REFLECTION
I received constructive feedback from my classmates and professor. I am glad that my classmates like the choice of colours and found the cover page eye-catching, however, maybe the symbolic object I chose could be more relatable, and easier for the reader to understand the narrative. Also, there are still flaws in printing, as the last page is not perfectly aligned. I will work carefully on the software and also check on the printing to make sure the outcome has the best quality. Some also suggested that the font could be easier to understand. Overall, I had found doing this project, attaining the event, trying a quite different graphics style this time. I am from a product design background which emphasizes practicality. Sometimes, I found it hard to break the constraints. I am grateful that my professor pushed my limited and answer my doubts patiently. I will step out of my comfort zone and explore more about graphic design in the future.
The first draft of the zine was printed out on the normal paper. The theme is celebrating design at HV neighborhood based on the new research and observation at the annual event at Holland Village during the Singapore Design Week.
However, the first draft is lacking in the “celebrating design elements”. Also, it seems to be a zine for children instead of design lovers. Moreover, the design style is not consistent, and the pages seem to be stand-alone posters. Thus, I worked on the narrative and style for the second draft.
SECOND DRAFT OF MY ZINE
Photos OF #DDDSG
I started to filter the photos that I took at the event to find the focus of my zine. I decided to pay more attention to one of the houses that opened for the exhibition. That house was opened for EYEYAH!, which showcased works including t-shirts, painting, and installations of over 30 artists. At the second floor, there is one room where the visitor could use the VR googles to find the logo of the exhibition around the room. I was able to capture a moment that a little girl was playing with it.
I decided to use the VR google in my zine cover to make it fun and eye-catching.
I also used the elements and colours on the street for the zine design.
Further, another room in this house has walls of artworks done by artist and the visitors are free to draw and write on the wall. It gave me inspiration for the style of my zine design.
The pattern is created for the location Chip Bee Garden. I used the elements from the chip, bee, and garden (flower).
TEST PRINT
I test printed the first four pages on different papers with different printers.
The Marble White 120gsm paper seems to be the ideal paper out of all. It gives the metallic effect which matches the theme of the zine design.
Feedback
The title of the cover page is not interesting enough to match the zine design. I might think of a new one instead of putting the name of the location. Also, I will explore more different handwriting title font to get the one that matches the text font. Moreover, the style will be spread into the rest of the pages. Lastly, adjust the composition to achieve the visual hierarchy.
I visited the District Design Dialogue event at Holland Village. It is a gathering of residents, merchants, and vendors from the creative industry. The private properties along Jalan Kelabu Asap are transformed into space for installations, workshops, exhibitions, food and retails from 10th to 18th March 2018. It is an exchange between local and international communities, also for visitors to experience art and design.
Jalan Kelabu Asap is closed and transformed into a walking street with DJ music. The street is full of residents, vendors, and visitors.
The private properties are decorated and opened to the public, and some houses became exhibitions for artist and designers.
Therefore, I decided to focus on the celebration of art and design at the Holland Village neighbourhood.
I had trips to Holland Village during the day and night. I planned to create the atmosphere of Holland Village using abstract forms. However, I only capture the general ideas of Hollan Village which are known by the majority, and uninteresting. Thus, I decided to explore the street party event at Holland Village and find out the unique side of Holland Village.
Create typographic portraits by using your name to describe your future jobs.
MY NAMES AND JOBS
Mindmap
I started this project with mind mapping with the job titles and the possible ways to represent the job. The chosen jods are listed below:
MY NAME IS BD AND I AM A PRODUCT DESIGNER
MY NAME IS BELLA AND I AM A MALA RESTAURANT OWNER
MY NAME IS BELLA AND I AM A VISUAL MERCHANDISER
MY NAME IS BELLA AND I AM A BARTENDER
MY NAME IS BD AND I AM A PRODUCT DESIGNER
Overview
Product design, in my own words, is the process of problem-solving. There are a lot of steps involved in the process such as market research, ideation, prototyping, manufacturing, marketing and etc. Graphic design is also important to promote the product, for instance, product posters and packing. Therefore, I decided to incorporate my name into the ‘product design poster’.
I started my research by looking at different product design presentation style. Some are pen or pencil sketches with marker rendering and some are purely digital rendering.
Dyson Fan http://www.g-mark.org/award/describe/36333?token=oDzi8yCdWSSketch
I sketched out some composition and decided to use 3D software to deconstruct my initial, BD. Further, I chose the font based on my experience in learning product design for three years. Century Gothic is frequently used in product design as it is clean and sleek. I referred to the design language of Dyson, a well-recognized household appliances brand for my 3D alphabet model.
Process
3D Model in Rhino3D Model in KeyshotTest Print
In the 3D model, components like buttons, and ventilation were added to the alphabet to make it seems like an electronic product. I used Keyshot, a 3D rendering software to add realistic material effects to the alphabet. Further, I went through a few run of test print to adjust the colour, lighting and choosing the right paper.
My initial idea was to use special paper and printing technique to show the different views of the 3D alphabet. However, I was told that this kind of print is only available in a few printing factories in Singapore, and it will be very costly. Thus, I changed my composition to four sets of BD in the different colours, like how products are available in a range of colours in the series.
Final Artwork
MY NAME IS BELLA AND I AM A MALA RESTAURANT OWNER
Overview
#ispotthealphabets
To own a Mala hotpot restaurant is one of my dream jobs, since Mala hotpot is my favorite food, and it was from my hometown Sichuan in China. Initially, I was thinking of using the raw ingredients in mala to form my name (like some food commercial like to do in the advertisement). However, I found a more interesting concept after the lesson about Pareidolia and doing the in-class assignment, I Spot the Alphabets. Therefore, I started doing experiments to find the food that is able to represent my name.
Research
Sketch and NotesOne of the Test ShotsCommercial Mala photo https://i.pinimg.com/564x/56/2b/1a/562b1a4adc1d1410674ee0bb095b1c0a–chinese-eggplant-chinese-food-recipes.jpg
I had some test shots and researching on how to take good photos of food. There are a few videos available on youtube about food commercial photo shoot techniques and tricks. Also, I consulted some of my friends who has photography background for suggestions. The style is this concept is commercial food photo to show that I am the owner of the restaurant instead of the chief or just food lover.
Process
DIY Photo Studio
I set up a DIY studio on my table in my room with white paper and a 12 dollars portable table lamp. I bought mala hotpot from my hall restaurant and also bought some other raw ingredients such as chili and Chinese parsley that are normally used to decorate the food. The hotpot restaurant agreed to lend me a small stainless steel pot.
After setting up the lighting and pot, I started to arrange the food layer by layer to make sure the ‘alphabet ingredients’ stands out from the ‘background ingredients’. I brushed extra oil on the ‘alphabet ingredients’ to emphasize the contrast. Here I used mushroom, prawn, and crab sticks to represent the name of my alphabet. Some ingredients are raw and brushed with oil. It is because some ingredients have better shapes when they are raw, such as, crab sticks and dry chili.
Editing in Photoshop
I increased the saturation of the ‘alphabet ingredients’ to maximize the contrast. Also, the steam effect was edited in the photo to create the focal point, and avoid the artwork to be too pictorial.
Test Print
Lastly, I test print the artwork and adjusted the saturation, and capacity of the steam to achieve the ideal effect on paper.
Final Artwork
MY NAME IS BELLA AND I AM A VISUAL MERCHANDISER
Overview
Visual Merchandiser is the job that I will probably pursue in the future. Visual merchandiser’s role is to design the layout and display of the store in order to improve the customer’s shopping experience and increase the sells. Thus, my concept for this job is to incorporate my name into the window display.
Research
Window Display Colour Theme https://i.pinimg.com/564x/54/52/08/545208062e5547b7c3e5b3d7405c7e1b.jpgInspiration for Composition https://i.pinimg.com/564x/b4/9c/71/b49c7160d54bb6a281ded5bd9220791d.jpgSketch
The window display is a three-dimensional space. It often has a different theme according to the season and festivals. Therefore, I decided to have a Valentine’s Day theme for my window display.
Process
For this concept, I used both traditional media and digital media. First, I used paper to constructed the display and used my table lamp to create the lighting.
Paper ModelThe Original PhotoEditing the Window Reflections in Photoshop
Working in the bar and have knowledge of different drinks is one of the dreams. Initially, I planned to have different alcohol bottles to have the label of my name. However, it seems to be pictorial after the consultation with my professor. Therefore, I decided to use the flow of liquid to create my name.
Research
Bar https://www.pinterest.com/pin/490118371941500030/Sketch
I researched the photo if bars to determine the colour scheme of my artwork. I used the dark background as people normally visite bar at night, and most of the bartender wear the dark uniform. Then, I sketched out the composition to prepare for my final artwork.
Process
Sketch
This artwork was done digitally using Wacom. I create the glass, bottle, and drew my name. Then create different layers to achieve the liquid effect.
