Week 11-14 – Final Project

 

 

REFLECTION

I’ve really enjoyed this module 🙂 I feel that I’ve not only learnt a lot in terms of skills and techniques, but also gained a deeper love for textiles in general. Going into it at the start of the semester I was already quite excited and the class definitely did not disappoint. I never imagined I’d be able to do some of the things I managed to accomplish, like “mastering” the sewing machine or making a fashion piece amongst other things. Even though it’s come to an end I’m certain that I will continue building up on my knowledge and portfolio. And of course, I can’t thank Galina enough for all the patience and hard work these past 14 weeks and always being so generous and kind no matter what.

Creative Industry Report: George Sowden

George Sowden is a British industrial designer and product developer based in Milan, Italy. He studied architecture in the UK but ventured into product design when he moved to Italy in the 70s and eventually became one of the founders of the postmodern design collective Memphis Group, which had a significant influence on the design aesthetics of the ‘80s.

Memphis introduced radical new concepts for furniture, ceramics, and textiles that challenged the Modernist austerity at that time through their use of unique shapes and proportions, bright colors, and unconventional materials. Eclectic and elegant, Sowden’s designs were focused on objects for the home and everyday life that challenged the standard notions of objects and function. After Memphis broke up in 1988, Sowden continued producing works at his own firm Sowden Design and has since worked with companies such as: Alessi, Pyrex, Swatch, and Tefal.

One of my favourite works from him is his collection with HAY. HAY is a Danish brand which aims to bring Danish furniture design of the fifties and sixties back to the modern day and into contemporary culture.

I was initially drawn to his works because of his understanding of colour and geometric shapes and ability to use these elements to create highly tactile pieces that possess a sense of elegance. From the whimsical and chaotic to the more sleek and minimalist, his products are not limited to scale, function or form. More importantly, they reflect his constant desire and commitment to improve the functions of everyday life through design and use of objects. But what I admire most about George Sowden as a designer is his staying power. With a career spanning almost five decades, he has managed to remain relevant and evolve despite the challenges. As a design student, he serves as a reminder to me to continue to push the boundaries and grow with each project that I embark on.

 

 

References

George J. Sowden | Biography | People | Collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. (2020). Retrieved 17 September 2020, from https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/people/18047289/bio.

George Sowden – Designer – HAY. HAY. (2020). Retrieved 17 September 2020, from https://hay.dk/en/footer/about/designers/details?name=GeorgeSowden.

George Sowden. George Sowden. (2020). Retrieved 17 September 2020, from https://www.georgesowden.com/.

George Sowden talks to Mette Hay about his designs for HAY. HAY. (2020). Retrieved 17 September 2020, from https://hay.dk/en/news/hay-in-the-world-2018/behind-the-brewing-with-george-sowden-and-mette-hay.

Visual Communication I: Project 3

 

REFINING DESIGN

 

Changes

  • Backdrop and layout:

To cater to the objective of an invitation card, I altered by design to fit a landscape orientation. This made the backdrop bigger so I included the moon to make the sky feel less plain. Since meerkats actually live in burrows, I also added some dug out dirt at the bottom of the design to make the house look like it was situated atop a burrow. This made it less awkward and the scene less bare.

  • Shading and texture:

In order to make the design look less flat, I added on texture and shading. I gave the roof a brick texture as well as a gradient, using the moon as its light source. As for the meerkats, I removed their outlines and used shadows instead to make it more realistic. I also took advice from the Project 2 feedback and played with the sizes of the individual meerkats to give the design a greater sense of being squished.

  • Event details:

Because there was now 2 sides to the design, I broke up the original text, with the rhetorical question as the hook at the front of the page. I also added the event details which were previously missing eg. date, time, venue and where to get the tickets.

  • New fonts:

Instead of just using one font for the entire design, I added another two. One for the body text and one for the opening page. I kept the original font for the event title and event details ie the most important texts of the card. This is because they are upper case, so it is able to emphasise the main points of the card. To ensure that they all still looked cohesive, I picked new fonts which were of similar styles to the original.

 

 

MULTI-FOLD STRUCTURE

Concept 1 – Pull-up card

References

Experimentation

Even though I initially found this concept more appealing, I realised that it was a little too complicated to execute well in the given amount of time as there were many different elements to consider when constructing the card.

 

Concept 2 – Pop-up card

References

Experimentation

 

Mock-up

Initial

 

Final