PROJECT 1: image making through type

concept

To convey 4 ideal jobs via typography. Initially, I wanted to use flower as the central theme but I did not manage to carry it throughout because the bouquets were too distracting for the type to be visible. Hence I split the 4 compositions into 2 styles x 2 styles, 2 of which portrayed a darker message while the other 2 portrayed the light-hearted jobs.

My ideal jobs:

1.Rich Taitai

2.Embalmer

3.Dog patter

4.Cake eater

Process

 

I first brainstormed on the type of flower used to represent each job. ‘Cake eater’ will be edible flower decorations for cakes. ‘Embalmer’ will be white flowers used during funerals. Carnation best represents motherhood. ‘Rich Taitai’ will be fake flowers folded out of money, since this job is pretty unrealistic.

Then I search for suitable images to manipulate; which includes selecting to png, layering, re-sizing and adding drop shadows to create the 3 dimensional, round bouquet look.

Add in square frames strengthened the emphasis on bouquet. Had fun picking the colours. The frames needed a shadow layer, also, need to erase some parts of the frame so the flowers can show and the 2 layers will appear to be more integrated.

Add typographic elements into the compositions.

Tutorial which has helped me in creating the initial compositions with flowers.

 

Embalmer

Initial composition
Embalmer

White flowers, frame, and monochrome colour scheme was kept consistent. Other elements i included in the position were make-up items since this job is ultimately making the dead pretty. General feeling is eerie and solemn.

J – J has a straight stem and a steep curve at the end. I thought the shape is really similar to our arm, where the hands bent at the wrist to create this curve. The arm is slightly tilted to the left to give a directional guide to the eyes.

I – small letter i was represented by a lipstick. The break between the dot and the stem was highlighted by the hint of red instead of having a physical break.

A – A was form using stalks of white flowers. The positioning of stalks also provided a directional guide to the eyes.

N – N was form utilising the shape of a dusting makeup brush and the frame, since both items are straight, angular and with sharp edges.

G – small letter g is form by the round face and the gentle curves of the smoke. Face with red lip to depict the process of putting makeup. Smoke again provided a directional guide to the eyes.

 

Rich Taitai

Initial composition
Rich Taitai

 

Money flowers and frame were kept consistent. Rich taitai is usually dependent on man, hence the  intertwined ribbons. Nudity, money and and luxury goods were common words associated with rich tai tai. General feeling is ‘expensive’ and elegant.

J – J is formed by the nude body. Leg is straight like the stem, and the upper body is curvy to depict the curve of J.

I – I is presented by the long money note.

A – A was formed by money flowers and intersection of the long I as the middle strike.

N – small letter was form utilising the shape of carrier bags and the soft curve of the string handle.

G – G was formed using the logo of the luxury brand ‘GUCCI’.

 

Dog petter

Dog patter

Tutorial that has helped me in creating ‘Dog patter’.

This composition is formed by a fur background because fur is the first thing that comes into contact when I pet a dog. Types were manipulated like demonstrated in the video as hideout for dogs because i would love to have a place filled with dogs.

 

Cake eater

Initial composition
Cake eater

 

Background is lace tablecloth. Type was formed by multiple items cropped into png. Items are all related to cake, such as tools, decorations, and actual cakes.

Final outcome

Glad that the directional guide worked well when I place the compositions diagonally.

I like the black compositions more than the white ones. Kinda regret my decision to separate the jobs into 2 very distinct styles :'( but it’s a lesson for me to learn that unifying the style throughout makes the final outcome much more comprehensive. Still, I manage to try out really distinct styles so it is a good learning experience for myself.

One thing that I want to improve on is to include more aspects of typography, such as size, position, and transformation of types instead of just the form.

Reference & Research

 

Readings on typography:

https://ntulearn.ntu.edu.sg/bbcswebdav/pid-1309954-dt-content-rid-4869873_1/courses/17S2-DN1009-TUT-G02/Ina%20Saltz%20-%20Typography%20Essentials.pdf?target=blank

https://ntulearn.ntu.edu.sg/bbcswebdav/pid-1328702-dt-content-rid-4933163_1/courses/17S2-DN1009-TUT-G02/Gavin%20Ambrose%20-%20The-Fundamentals%20of%20Typography%20-%20Excerpts.pdf?target=blank

https://ntulearn.ntu.edu.sg/bbcswebdav/pid-1309949-dt-content-rid-4869869_1/courses/17S2-DN1009-TUT-G02/Martin%20Solomon%20-%20The%20Art%20of%20Typography.pdf?target=blank

Stock images:

Best Ideas About Money Flowers On Money Bouquet Dollar Bill regarding Simple Dollar Bill Origami Flower

http://www.thepinsta.com/carnation-arrangements_UuvqsRfYfvJaFe*myhWIOMs2feeE4s6noJV9lUhYerc/

https://www.sweetheatheranne.com/shop/signature-buttercream-flower-cake

https://www.shiels.com.au/gold-necklaces

https://www.kisspng.com/png-brush-face-powder-cosmetics-makeup-powder-307228/

Femme fatale – a végzetesen vonzó nőiség archetípusa

http://www.freepngimg.com/animals/dog

https://maky-orel.deviantart.com/art/PNG-STOCK-Golden-dog-355947534

http://www.pngmart.com/image/2321http://www.pngpix.com/download/dog-png-imag

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/442267625888333813/?lp=true

Dog PNG File

http://www.stickpng.com/img/objects/shopping-bag/plain-black-shopping-bag

https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/fashion-beauty/make-up/best-red-lipsticks-mac-topshop-dior-9821512.html

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/261068109632526044/?lp=true

https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/661747738969447638/?lp=true

http://www.fluidr.com/photos/nzpix/2566631721

white lace background 13

http://ericaobrien.com/shop/

https://pngtree.com/freepng/serving-tray-rack_1558321.html

PROJECT 2: locale II

pHOTOGRAPH&Process
These are the raw images of my hands before manipulation. (For more photos on Clarke Quay,refer to LOCALE I.)

The location for my zine is Clarke Quay.

In this zine I will portray the uniqueness of CQ through the theme of hands, with my interpretations of the activities I experienced there. The entire zine will take on a minimalistic style, utilising negative spaces and photographs in bold squares as the design language. Many features of CQ included squares, such as shophouses, ZOUK, mall front and logos designs. According to my research for LOCALE I, the top 3 activities I should try out at CQ are:

1. Clubbing (nighttime)

2.Food – Lobster Ramen (all-day)

3. Museum (daytime)

 

First spread:

 

 

 

 

 

Jiangnan GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

Jiangnan GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

initial

 

Final

Concept:

First spread shall be on museum. I painted my hands black and white because monochrome best portray the day vs. night aspect of CQ. Monochrome also depicts the stark distinction between the traditional and the contemporary art installations I observed in CQ. Hence, I wanted the 2 pages to look oddly different.

Outcome:

For the left page I blended the sharp corners of Asian Civilisation Museum with my painted hands and Buddha’s mudra. Orange tint gives a vintage feel to the museum page, while blending the holographic art installations at CQ produce a vibrant page. The overlapping border is not blended to show clashing.

 

Second spread:

 

 

 



 

Jiangnan GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

 

Tutorial on split colour glitch that has helped me in creating this drunk effect with Photoshop.

Tutorial on motion blur that has helped me in creating the false multiple exposure effect.

 

 
Final

Concept: 

I use neon lights and hand gestures to depict the entertainment aspect of CQ, including clubbing, music and consumer expenditure. Neon lights were in the play because of the vibrant lights I observed in CQ during nighttime, and dynamic colours best portray those kind of activities youngsters and myself enjoyed there.

However, I feel that my previous set of photos cannot fully bring out my own take. After considering the uniqueness of the location from my point of view and suggestions given by the people around me, clubs at CQ are popular because most of their friends “jio” them there. Since youngsters seldom club alone, CQ became the most common place to club as more people join and get to know about this location.

Outcome:

Glitch effect to show drunkness on left page because cheap alcohol is a unique feature of CQ. Motion blur allow me to show the hand movements when I was clubbing. The hand gestures used literally translates to ‘friend’, ‘go’, ‘there’. The 4 negative spaces depicts my experience there with 3 other fiends as each of us were at different levels of ‘high’.

 

Third spread:

 

Jiangnan GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

 

Final

Concept:

Favourite food enjoyed at CQ is Keisuke lobster ramen. It is indeed popular as the queue was long. After trying it with my friends, all of us felt that the taste was overrated. Hence I position my hand with ramen like a puppeteer to depict that the shop owner might have manipulated the consumer to lure in business with the fact that this is the ONLY lobster ramen in Singapore, and as an unique selling point at CQ, it is suppose to be really good?

Outcome:

The ramen on hand was really difficult to extract into png due to the noodle strands but this turn out to be my favourite spread. I blended the lobster ramen with holographic texture as for the background. Then I cropped the image into 3 sections. The font ‘and nowhere else’ shows that this ramen is unique to CQ because this is the only one in Singapore.

 

Coverpage & backpage

 

 

Jiangnan GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

 

initial

 

 

Final coverpage

Final backpage

Concept: 

Initially I wanted the covers to be funky and look like jotter book because handbook = guidebook? I really like the title because ‘Handbook‘ is a pun, it’s suppose to be a guide to what to enjoy in CQ but also literally a book of hands. However it does not blend well with the rest of the pages, so I changed the style completely.

I explored CQ with my camera, and the bulk of the contend is photography. Hence I thought it would be interesting to include me actually taking the camera. The photos in camera shows unique features of CQ, one taken during daytime and one taken during nighttime. ‘Clarke Quay‘ font was taken from the site’s mall because I thought neon green and blue colour actually fits into the holographic colour scheme. Showing partial identity of the curator perhaps also arouse reader’s interest to find out more about what I have to say about CQ.

Outcome:

Sophisticated covers will not fit into my minimalistic outlook for this zine. Even though the covers are simple, a lot of thoughts were put into them.

  
 

These holographic textures are inspired by the art installation I saw at CQ, on top of the kind of dynamic, lit, vibrant, overall feeling I want to portray.

Equipement

 

YongNuo YN360

Lightsaber‘ that I’ve used to produce the neon lights. Just a single stick, with RGB colour control system to give me any colour I want. (colour theory in practice omg). Sometime I place 2 sticks side by side to give a remix of colours.

Image result for nikon d810 on tripod
Nikon D870

Nikon D870 with tripod to stabilise and DIY white backdrop; a large white board against the wall.

 

 

FINAL zine

 

Video of the printed zine:

The printing and stitching went really well for first try. :’) The colours came out vibrant and almost 1 to 1 as my screen.

Research&Reference

 

Inspiration for hand gestures from pintrest

My inspiration for the b/w painted hands.

My inspiration for the entertainment aspect of CQ, with clubbing, music and bills.

My inspiration for the noodles on hand photo.

My inspiration for the covers.

Research on format and style

Readings:

https://ntulearn.ntu.edu.sg/bbcswebdav/pid-1344132-dt-content-rid-5001154_1/courses/17S2-DN1009-TUT-G02/Project_2_Zine_Graphic%20Form%20AY1718%20Sem%202_Techniques.pdf

https://ntulearn.ntu.edu.sg/bbcswebdav/pid-1344133-dt-content-rid-5001155_1/courses/17S2-DN1009-TUT-G02/Grace%20Fussell%20-%20InDesign%20Tutorial%20Contents.pdf?target=blank

How to saddle – stitch.

Tutorial on basic document set up and techniques for Indesign.

 

I really like minimalistic designs. Many features in these zine were used in my own zine such as ‘crossing pages’ and blocks of image with minimal words.

 

Research on sign languages and hand gestures

 

 

 

 

Friend

 

 

 

Go

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There

 

 

 

 

Pay bill

Clubbing

Rock / music

 

 

PROJECT 2: locale I

Types of data

Primary: original, first hand data collected by myself

Secondary: data collected for research purpose, can be by self or others

Qualitative: data which cannot be quantified or measure eg. descriptions, five senses

Quantitative: data which can be quantified or measured eg. statistics, number, charts

Categorising my data
Primary research
Mindmapping my research formats

 

Photo record (sees):

Asian civilisation museum
Riverside point
Modern setting
CQ central
Wall decoration
Water foundation
Water foundation
Stairs along Singapore river
Shophouses over view
Stairs
Boat
Bar table
Roadside WALL’s ice-cream
Wall decoration
Frontline shophouse
Chinese restaurant in CQ
Landmark shelter
Art installation
Art installation
Wall decoration
Restaurant logo
CQ landmark logo
Historical photographs
Turkish ice-cream
Bar chairs
Alcohol display
Bar
Table graffiti
Shophouses
Alcohol display
Roof decoration
Bar wall decoration
Club information
Bar wall decoration
Fast food restaurant
Japanese restaurant interior
Reverse Bungee
Boat and Singapore river at night
Bridge
Wineries along the river
Lights along the bridge
Lights along the bridge
Chinese hotpot restaurant exterior
Bar
Turkish ice-cream at night
River cruise information and ticketing counter
Reverse bungee close up
Reverse bungee
Zouk
Roof decoration
River cruise at night
CQ central
Street/ bridge
Youngsters exchanging numbers
Hooters
Blurry light
Plant decoration
Turkish ice-cream maker

 

 

Row of restaurants

 

Descriptions(feels / taste / smells):

Turkish ice-cream

Tried the prominent Turkish ice-cream. I ordered durian flavour which tasted pretty average for $6.80, and the smell of durian is too mild for my liking, but the process is fun! The maker will play tricks with you, and she’s really fast. Quite embarrassing as passer-by pause to watch and tourist started taking pictures of me…

Hokkaido Ice-cream

I think Singaporeans generally love Matcha-anything! Tried their single cone matcha flavour for $4.30, and I would say it is as delicious and authentic as any other matcha soft serve in Singapore like Maccha House and Sunday Folks. My favourite is still Tsujiri Tea House because they add interesting toppings such as rice ball and red bean.

Image result for keisuke lobster ramen
Keisuke Lobster ramen

This is so popular! Waited for almost an hour before I got seats for 3 and it was during non-peak/meal hours. Imagine the queue if we head there during dinner time. Like other Keisuke outlets they offer complementary hard-boiled eggs and seasoned bean sprout for starving customers like us to munch on before our food is ready, which is really thoughtful. The portion is huge and I could not finish mine. Cost me around $23 after GST and service charge, the highest among all the ramen outlets I have tried (which is a lot). I guess it was because of the ingredients that goes into the rich lobster broth. Was quite disappointed to find out their toppings consist of common ingredients such as egg, shoots, spring onion, pork slice, and nothing-lobster. Nonetheless, the meat ball was a interesting twist and it taste great!

Image result for truffle fries shuffle
Truffle fries from Shuffle

I like Shuffle, especially the ambience. Not too rigid for a chill night, and definitely a rare pub which perform Chinese songs. I heard Jay and JJ Lin’s songs mostly. Tried their truffle fries ($12), red velvet cake ($6.80) and Signature house drink, black currant something-i-cannot-remember. Honestly the food is average, probably because I have high expectation for truffle fries at $12, and the cake was clearly left overnight (or maybe more than one night idk) because it turned hard. The ambient light was too dark for my camera hence this picture is taken from the internet.

Image result for truffle fries chupitos
Truffle fries from Chupitos

One of my favourite! I have to say, their truffle fries is by far the most delicious I’ve tried in Singapore because they fry it IN truffle oil instead of sprinkle on top, it tastes and smells divine, even though they’re known for the shots instead. They offer interesting shots such as Milo, Blowjob, and other items on their menu. $1 shots also attracts a crowd of youngsters. I would like my OSS content to be alcohol-free, so I shall not post any pictures for that.

 

I use edited photos to deliver my thoughts and general feeling towards CQ. It is colourful, vibrant, and romantic. Offer beautiful sceneries at night. Filled with alcohol, cheap love, and activities to enrich Singaporean youngster’s nightlife. Meanwhile, many activities are also available during the daytime such as museum and cafe hopping.

 

Sound (hears):

-Slow river flows

-Tourist boat honks every time they set sail

– Music from performance and clubs

-Human commotions

 

Here is the link to my survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HSWLJ6Q

 

I gather many information from the survey and the interviews.

1)How frequent youngsters (age 18-25) visit CQ.

2)What are the top 4 activities they like to do there.

3)Their favourite F&B outlets.

4)They visit CQ during daytime or night time.

5)Specific reasons why they like/work at/stays at CQ.

6)Any change to CQ that they know of over the years.

7)Whether it will be noisy at night for the residents.

8)Have they heard of boat quay.

Secondary research

History:

Top 10 things to do at Clarke Quay:

1.Visit Singapore river

Center of trade since modern Singapore was founded in 1819

Used to be heavily polluted until government relocate cargo and trading services to Pasir Panjang

Clean up from 1977 to 1987

Central artery for the area’s nightlife scene

Boat tours passing important landmarks such as Merlion, Esplanade, Anderson bridge, Marina bay

2.Asian civilisation Museum

Finest exhibitions showcasing Singapore’s history

14000 m2 with 1300 artefacts

3.Fort Canning park

Trees, lush vegetation surrounded by gleaming modern offices and sprawling malls

4.Reverse bungy

Landmark of CQ

Illuminated at night

$45 for a ride

5.Lockdown

Real-life escape games
$20 per person / hr

6.Boat Quay

Area in between North Bridge Road and Anderson Bridge

7.Central Fire station and Civil Defence Heritage Gallery

Oldest fire station in Singapore

Colonial-style exterior

8.Art-2 Gallery Singapore

Host regular exhibitions showcasing paintings, installations

Offer consultancy service

9.Hong San See temple

116 years old

Buildings, courtyards, statues, accosted with Buddhism

Award of Excellence in the 2010 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage

10.The Arts house screening room

75 seats

Daily screening

Image result for clarke quay boat quay
Location map

Difference between CQ and Boat Quay

1.Price at Boat Quay is slightly cheaper than CQ

2.Boat Quay has more restaurants and less clubs compared to CQ

3.Boat Quay is less loud and dynamic

4.Location and history

I was quite surprise to find out from my survey result that 100% of them actually knows about Boat Quay. Okay it is just me being ignorant, I’ve never heard of Boat Quay opps. I was surprise by the fact that residents and tourists who stay in nearby hotel reflected that the noise does not bother them at night.

Final outcome

 

Concept:

  • Black and white backdrop to highlight the day and night quality of CQ
  • Digital painting as medium, using vibrant colour schemes to portray a dynamic CQ
  • Single sheet infographic format allow me to link all the activities back to CQ as the location
  • Included both primary and secondary research
  • Pie charts / bar charts / numbers and percentages for quantitative datas
  • Images / icons / typography for qualitative datas

Digitally painted icons gallery:

Sir Andrew

I wanted to paint a portrait of him but unfortunately only manage to find b/w photos of him which is ominous to paint. Hence I looked at his statue for reference.

Cargo

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took reference from the photo of a real cargo ship at CQ back during the days. The boxes are painfully difficult to paint.

Shophouse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the colour scheme of this shophouse. <3

Ramen bowl
Onion in ramen
Seaweed texture ( Had no idea how to paint seaweed that looks realistic :/ )
Bamboo shoot in ramen
Pork slices

 

Meatball
Lobster

Had fun tracing and painting all the ingredients in the lobster ramen. 😀 My favourite is the bamboo shoot because initially it just looks like a brown rectangle block without the details I added in later. I also love eating bamboo shoots, so must make it nice.

CQ scene

This took me whole day to paint. I love the outcome because I was kinda particular about the details, like numerous shophouses and railing along the river because all of these are important elements that help to portray the  complete image of CQ.

RESEAERCH & references

For research on Ethnography & Infographics:

Brian A hoey, A simple Introduction to the Practice of Ethnography and Guide to Ethnographic Fieldnotes, June 2014, retrieved from website

Insitu, What is Design Ethography, 2016, retrieved from website

karen O’ Reilly, Key concepts in Ethnography, February 2018, retrieved from website

Unknown author, Why Infographics are Dominating the World, retrieved from website

Randy Krum, Cool Infographics Excerpt, retrieved from website

For research on the top activities in CQ:

http://www.singapore-guide.com/top10/top10-attractions-clarke-quay-and-riverside.htm

https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attraction_Review-g294265-d324756-Reviews-Clarke_Quay-Singapore.html

For research on the history of CQ:

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_863_2004-12-16.html