Page 3 of 5

Project 2 – Locale Zine: Toa Payoh

April 23, 2019 / / 1 Comment

This is it! The final project for Graphic Form this semester.

For Project 2, we were required to create a zine based on the allocated locations.

Zine is a “self-published, non-commercial, independent publication” where you can pretty much be experimental in your different ways to express your ideas or message such as through type, illustrations, form, colour and more.

I was allocated the location, Toa Payoh. At the beginning, I was not quite keen on this location as I was unfamiliar with it. Furthermore, the nature of the location did not really spark any sudden ideas for the direction I would like to take for my zine. However, I tried to keep an open mind!

We were first required to present Part I: Site analysis, documentation & Research. 

This allowed us to establish the context, history and uncover stories or architecture of the place, that would help generate for our zines.

I did a pre-site-research before visiting so that I would roughly be able to look out for things as I went along. It allowed me to cover important or iconic areas of the location and be more focused during site visits.

I generated 3 ideas, as stated in the link above:

  1. “The firsts of..”
  2. The Old and New
  3. Freaky Tales

I went back and forth between the 3 ideas as I had several areas of exploration for the three options and was not quite sure which one I wanted to pursue. I felt quite lost for the first couple of weeks as I had a tough time deciding on my creative direction. I wanted to attempt illustration as I knew that it was a weaker area of mine, as compared to photo manipulation.

I ended up deciding to go ahead on Option 3: Freaky Tales of Toa Payoh as I felt like that expressed Toa Payoh quite well when I visited the location. In addition to that, I was genuinely more drawn to and fascinated by the murderous and haunting cases that happened in the area.

Originally, photo manipulation came to mind. However, I realised that with photo manipulation for the horror theme is something that was quite predictable. For instance, the glitch images using RGB channels such as these:

I wanted to try a different direction. I’ve always been interested in Gestalt but never really got around to trying it as my illustrative skills weren’t the best. However, when Ms Mimi showed us images by Noma Bar,

my interest was once again piqued. Of course this stylistic approach demands for critical thinking in design where you are challenged a step further to make universally recognisable associative images and link it to another image metaphorically. Personally, as an aspiring designer, I knew that wasn’t where my capabilities lie as of yet.

During my many attempts,

PHOTOS

After a few consultations with Ms Mimi, I started my illustrations and went for a different stylistic approach. For this particular zine, I did not really have an artist reference. Rather, I developed my illustrations based on what I thought suited the narrative and played around with composition and visual cues.

I felt like my graphic style was drawn from Noma Bar but I adapted it to fit my style.

This zine was particularly challenging for me due to the very fact that I had to create visual cues that would identify with the masses while connecting the images to the narrative and establishing the architecture of Toa Payoh. In addition to that, I did not really have reference images in terms of style so I had to develop my own. In a way, it was kind of like discovery of my style!

However, in reference to the choice of bold colours, I was influenced by Tom Haugomat

Also, I was very used to using muted pastel tones when I illustrate but I decided to go for bolder colours this time around to communicate my ideas.

My  main selected colour scheme:

Font: 

10pt

My narrative: 

Basically, I read up on a lot of paranormal happenings and murder cases in Toa Payoh and wanted to cover many stories but I realised that my zine was only 8 pages and establishing context needs to be done. Therefore, having too many stories may overwhelm the audience.

Therefore, I decided on a narrative where I, as a third person, having a third eye, goes to Toa Payoh to explore and met lost souls where I hear their stories and tell them through the zine.

Consistency — The white colour represents the lost souls.

My process: 

Sketches: PHOTOS

 

Illustration Process: PHOTOS

1st page:

This page was meant to communicate the title, The Third Eye and represent the illustration of me, having this ability.

Development:

The Final Page:

I decided to crop the whole face illustration to just the eyes to communicate the third eye reference. The moon indicates the association of these lost souls who only come out in the dark, at night.

 

2nd - 3rd page:

This page was meant to set the tone and narrative to readers where I establish that me, as a third person, is going to the other side to communicate with the lost souls from the underworld.

I experimented with compositions and used a unique place in Toa Payoh that had a nice contrast against the nature of old buildings in Toa Payoh; Toa Payoh Town Park. The motif that stood out to me there were the hexagonal-shaped border of a pathway.

Photo I took and used of Toa Payoh Town Park:

Development:

The message of this particular page was to relay that I was crossing over to the other side to communicate to the unknown. Some of them did not look like I was actually in motion to reach the other side.  Constructing the composition of this page to deliver the right message was particularly challenging here. As I had to have a balance between the reaching out of the unknown figure and me, as a third person is mutual.

The page next to the above is this one below. I tried to play around with the initials of Toa Payoh (TPY) to fit it into the proportion of the face using typography but I disliked how it looked. Hence, I decided to keep it simple as I wanted the text to stand out in this particular page since it establishes the main context that act as an introduction.

Final spread:

Whilst playing around with layout, I realised that I could communicate the idea of the underworld through the illustration. The underworld is represented as the opaque image where I visibly look smaller compared to the real world depicted below the image above that served as a reflection in lower opacity. I played around with opacity that illustrated the opaque one as the current reality of this zine.

 

4th - 5th page:

This particular page is the recreation of a case that happened back in 2015.

Reference to story:

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/guilty-as-charged-adrian-lim-and-his-2-holy-wives-kidnapped-tortured-and

Basically, this guy who assumes the job of a medium, kidnapped two kids and tortured, rape and murdered them.

The landscape in this is a graphic illustration of the actual house where this incident happened. I used the shadow man because ‘shadow monster’ is usually associated to the monsters children are afraid of.

Development:
Final spread:

I decided to add a knife that resembles that the man was actually one who is evil and has killed them. The lost souls are represented by the white colour and this was consistent throughout. It also acts as the highlight of the page in which the text, if any, is related to the white figures and it tells their narrative.

 

6th - 7th page:

For this spread, the reference to this story was inspired by:

http://www.hungzai.com/bidadari-cemetary/

In summary, this is a story of a cross-cultural love story that was not accepted. The lady experienced unrequited love where she was rejected by her lover even after moving out of her house to pursue her relationship with him. They moved into Bidadari Cemetery where she was forced into prostitution to fund her boyfriend’s gambling habits. She got pregnant and the guy refused to accept her and the baby. Hence, she committed suicide.

In this image, I was trying to communicate that due to the rejection by her boyfriend, who happens to be the only loved one she had left since she abandoned her family to be with him, the boyfriend not only led to her suicide but also the murder of the baby.  I used visual metaphor to communicate it where the usage of silhouettes and associative representations were used.

The cemetery illustrated in this imagery is also extracted from the real Bidadari cemetery. The challenges in this particular spread was definitely the composition and where I should introduce a highlight to the page without overwhelming it while still highlighting the cemetery as a location. I also still wanted the attention to also be kept on the stories of the souls.

For this particular spread, it was originally just the image of the lady, baby with noose and man’s hand as a whole spread.

But I added other elements as shows below.

Development:
Final Spread:

I decided to introduce a slight textural element to the image with white dots that resemble a starry night as I felt that it looked too plain and didn’t seem interesting enough.

 

8th page:

For this final page, I wanted it to conclude my zine and relay a location through an iconic image.

Therefore, with Ms Mimi’s suggestion, I decided to illustrate myself, seemingly depicted smaller compared to the compiled lost souls that are behind me. There is a spotlight shining but the remain to stay in the shadows which metaphorically also symbolise their inability to be spotted by the average person. Also, I added a shadow that for the illustration of me to symbolise that I am “alive” while the lost souls aren’t. I am also in colour which helps to amplify the latter.

To me, this was probably the most challenging page as I was really struggling with composition. I wanted to showcase the iconic dragon playground to establish the location but could not find the correct proportions.

I also played with distortion through replication and opacity for the dragon playground.

Development:
Final Page:

I actually decided to go ahead and print the image below as the last page but ended up really disliking it as it did not look cohesive with the rest of the aesthetics of the zine. Also, it looked very distracting and has an unbalanced composition.

Hence, I went to reprint the whole zine after changing it to the below:

I felt like it looks cleaner and conveys the intention of the idea better, in my opinion.

Also, notice the text here, it is a continuation to the text in the cover page.

I did two print tests before printing the final one where I used Maple White (150gsm) and Coated Paper (135gsm).

Maple White: Matte paper – I didn’t like how the texture absorbed the ink too much to the point where my illustrations looked faded.

Coated Paper – I preferred this effect where it allowed most of the ink to remain on the surface of the paper and reflects the colour better. However, the paper wasn’t bright enough which was why I decided to go with Bright White as my final.

I ended up going with Bright White paper (135/150gsm). It added a slight tinge of red to my zine which added the creepy effect to my zine as well!

VIEW FOR FINAL ZINE

All in all, I felt like despite the many challenges (and frustration) I had creating this zine, I felt like I did try my best and am overall satisfied with how it turned out. As with any designs, there are always things you would like and definitely can improve on. I did not manage to communicate the gestalt theory completely, but I am glad I did attempt something out of my comfort zone.

I used the above, which are elements of gestalt to help generate ideas for my illustrations when I can.

Given more time, I would love to develop the architectural part of Toa Payoh and incorporate it more into the zine. However, I guess what I was going with for this zine is more so something that is open for interpretation. Same goes for the dialogues used to communicate storyline. It was supposed to be open for interpretation as well.

Comments during crit!

However, given the feedback during the crit session, I understood and totally agree that I could do better in the representation of toa payoh. Will think about it for Vol 2 of this zine! Hehe

FINAL PROJECT PLAY TEST

April 22, 2019 / / 0 Comments

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT & PLAY TEST

A group project by Jessie and I

During the body storming session, we managed to get quite a bit of feedback that were relatively helpful. In summary, we gathered that we lacked relatability in our object for it to be impactful to users. In addition to that, we had several technical difficulties. With that, we made improvements in our play test.

Here’s what went on!

VIDEOS

Our set-up:

What we were trying to do:

  1. Having the tester approach the object and have the ultrasonic sensor to trigger the white lights to be switched on and ambience sound to be played.
  2. The range of the of proximity of the tester will trigger next sound
  3.  The servo motor was to topple the frame down
  4. Each time the frame topples down, the tester is expected to pick it up and see that the white light of each member will be turned off one by one as the steps go on.
  5. Repeat 2, 3 and 4 until the red LED is turned on at the same time,  glowing against all the faces of the family members who died in the accident, leaving grandpa’s LED to remain white.

However, as expected, during our playtest, we ran into a couple of problems in terms of technicality and relatability.

PROBLEMS:

Technical :

— RGB Light not being able to turn a true white

— Processing coding

— Servo coding

— Soldering

Comments:

— The narrative was relatively clear in which the depiction of the story interpreted by the testers were accurate

— The testers were unsure of what they were supposed to do.

— The mechanism of interaction isn’t clear in that it needs something to draw the testers to interact with the object

We tried to ask questions to the class to understand what type of commands and associations are needed to allow for a more seamless interaction.

Suggestions: 

— Need something to ask the user to come closer & interact with the frame

  • have audio calling out to user
  • start with the frame down first and the audio calls out to user to help to push user to pick up the frame
  • as this happens, users will see the lights go out

— Establish context

  • have a journal together with the interaction
  • death of date circled
  • have physical ambience (belongings associated to that of an old person such as walking stick and metal tin) ‘
  • have ambience sound play first
  • establish sound of grandpa so users can understand that they are the grandpa then followed by the “Happy Birthday” audio

— Immersive Experience

  • have headphones
  • establish ambient sound, as the user puts headphones on, the interaction starts
  • have a deeper narrative
  • make the experience longer as it seemed rushed

Videos to check out!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Hn3kYPXcbG0nlgf7zvKZ66lRV-HtnE4N

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ZLxrvNiQUHb1vnh1ZAlbg2gEfDsymcw3

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wZiYl5-59Pk-DnoP8B45d_EKTh0ctfMF

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1U4mIyoTNsV25uh4WCyIKAAimwzSVf2c0

Therefore, with the considerations of the comments made and the help our lecturer provided us during consultation, we attempted to move on to our final project.

Check it out!

 

 

 

Final Project Development Drawings

April 21, 2019 / / 0 Comments

DEVELOPMENTAL DRAWINGS

A group project by Jessie and I

Establishing context, Jessie and I chose Option B – Dark Object where we designed and built an object that communicated the emotions of loss, loneliness and self-pity, as mentioned in the brief.

We both came up with a few ideas and realised that we shared one idea in which it had a common denominator, in that they involved the loss of a family member.

Therefore, collectively, we decided to merge this idea and develop it:

BRAINSTORMING IDEAS :

A1: Leaving dirty dishes on the table after a meal that will result in replicating the nagging from mum that has passed on.

A2: Forgetting your towel in the shower and needing your dad to pass it to you. Presented through a disobedient object that'll move in the opposite direction to you as you reach for the towel hanged on it to simulate how dad used to tease you.

A3: Having the mat to trigger a prayer/chant before eating to simulate parents who are always reminding you to say your prayers/grace.

A4: Altar/prayer area activated as you walk pass to keep as a reminder and simulate the presence of a parent/elderly who used to frequent the altar.

A5: Door mat triggering the sound from a child that passed on when someone walks and steps on the doormat in the child's room.

A6: Having an object to simulate a parent waking up the child every morning where the alarm will trigger the motor to roll the blanket out of the bed.

 

A7: Reminder alarm is triggered once the laudnry basket is filled to recreate the nagging from mum when you don't empty the laundry baskets into the washer.

A7

A8: A snack cabinet that triggers the recreating of the nagging of a parent when you reach for a snack.

FINAL CHOSEN IDEA

A9: Family photo frame where when coupled with an associated audio, will trigger it to be knocked down each time a family member passes.

The feedback from this idea was the best from both our classmates and lecturer.

We felt that this idea had the most potential as well.  Jessie and I also felt that we could connect most with this idea.

The next step was to figure out how people would interact with our object and what elements and tools to consider.

Link to our body storming session:  Click here 

 

 

Bodystorming Set-up

Final Project Development Body Storming

March 31, 2019 / / 0 Comments

BODY STORMING SESSION

A group project by Jessie and I

Audio we played to simulate a narrative:

Feedback:

What did you learn from the process?

During the body storming session, we realised:

  1.  Timing and directions are of the essence when it comes to interaction. 

We realised that the interactive experience we need to provide the audience with has to be in correct timing proportions in relation to their reactions. This would provide a more immersive and extensive experience that would provide a better visual and audio association. Basically, it would make more sense if the audio ties in timely with their actions during the experience.

2. It’s all in the details! 

What we found was that the smallest details such as placement of lights that are introduced to our visuals and associative sounds that are universally recognised makes a huge difference in the user experience. It would allow the user to either connect or disconnect with the piece.

3. Connection with users

The user and an observer did mention that our piece did not make them feel things the way we intended to. There was barely any emotional impact. The reason being that they did not feel any emotional connection with the people in the photo since they do not know them.

Therefore, perhaps the suggestions that they introduced could help in improving this experience to allow for a better connection that would resonate with the mass audience.

  • Have the audio of kids playing and laughing in the background throughout as ambience sound
  • Add a visual effect of blood for everyone else but the grandfather (the last person standing)
  • Instead of the image of the grandfather, use a mirror to communicate that the if last person standing was you, how would you feel?
  • Establishing the context of the piece. [Is the participant the sole survivor or is the participant the people who passed on or are they just a third person?
  • Include the audio of the people who died to amplify the feeling of lost, capturing the essence of the person to create a narrative [eg. the recording of kids] –user will form a connection with the kid that would impact them more as they sympathise as they went along
  • Include recording of the grandfather (last man standing) of how he’s lost them or him crying.
  • Include the recording of the kids talking to the grandfather, having the user make the association that they are viewing it from the grandfather’s standpoint and that they’re not replying
  • Include recording of the kids talking to the grandfather but not have him reply [perhaps he doesn’t hear them?]
What surprised you while going through the process?
  • The fact that we did not consider the emotional connection the audience would not have since the photo was with people they were unfamiliar with
  • The unwillingness of some participants to repeat the steps to experience the piece
  • The critical importance of creating ambience to aid our user experience
  • The crucial importance on minute details
How can your apply what you have discovered to the designing of your installation?

We would definitely take into consideration all that we gathered through the following steps:

  • Be sure to add carefully curated ambience sound to allow users to connect with the piece and be emotionally invested
  • Be mindful of the narrative of the piece and consider the point of view of the participant
  • Creating an experience that involve the senses of a typical user that creates association and therefore allow for them to paint a visual in their head of our narrative or an interpretation of our narrative [eg. Have the kids call to the grandfather (user), add sense of smell through baby powder and axe oil]
  • Be critical in our decisions to create an immersive experience that would tug on heartstrings of our users. It has to be a somewhat universally accepted association that the user make to the piece to allow for an emotional connection to be established.

Research Critique 5 – Design Noir

March 24, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Limiting one’s creative scope and conforming to the industry’s standards all comes within the territory of being an employable designer. Be it graphics, fashion, film or products, the main goal is to have a deliverable that can cater and sell to the masses. The main issue here is the fact that designers see the marketplace as the only outlet to channel their works and that translates to creating products that can be mass produced to generate profits from the marketplace.  In addition to that, the lack of funding for designs that challenge the industry’s critical requirements are dismissed due to its niche nature. This therefore, puts designers in a tough position since success is determined by the valuation of their products.

However, with massive technological advancements over the years, rarely do we come across electronics that serves a purpose other than to satisfy physical needs of the masses. Film is a form of art but if you stop to ponder, you will soon realise how emotionally attached this form of art is. Design is exactly that. It requires idealogical-process thinking and challenging the mind to develop emotional connections with the objects. Of course, there is a need to make functional designs but that is what engineers do. What separates a designer from an engineer is their ability to effectively deliver a message with a design. One that is thought-provoking, therefore forcing change. In a social context, the aim industry of the design industry at the moment and what it has been for decades, is the churning out of products that is “smaller, faster, different, better,” Dunne, A. & Raby, F. (2001). The Secret Life of Electronic Objects. Birkhauser.

There is a gap to be bridged in the market for such designs to be purposeful and this is through the concept of Critical Design. Although it may not be widely accepted, the purpose of the nature of these designs are of such; to challenge social norms, question political impacts and generate change for progression, and this goes beyond physical change.

Critical design challenges the norm and pushes boundaries to provoke thought and instigate debate, without exercising the industry’s requirements to create a design that is marketable and commercially functional.

A way to go about this is to pose as a corporation rather than producing these ideas as an individual entity. The reason being that, “corporations have a bigger influence on reality than government, and buying power is more important than voting power.“Dunne, A. & Raby, F. (2001). The Secret Life of Electronic Objects. Birkhauser.

That in itself, is a true manifestation of the concept of power and politics of corporations. One is more likely to accept ideas of a whole corporation rather than a single artist who seems like he or she is experimenting with design which will more likely than not, be looked at as fine arts; something that is already so detached from the mass market consumption.

Maywa Denki posing with some of their products, Nobumichi Tosa, founder (middle)

One of the most iconic and extensive example is Maywa Denki. A perfect blend of art and corporate culture, it is originally founded by two brothers, Nobumichi and Masamichi Tosa. Nobumichi is now the sole president of Maywa Denki.  They describe themselves as ‘parallel world electricians’ and aptly so. They generated an apprehensive take on a corporation by producing a profile that explained the company’s activities for potential job applicants.

Maywa Denki was named after their father’s s electrical equipment factory that went bankrupt in 1979. “As a parody of a small manufacturer, it describes itself as “an electric company in a parallel world.” The nonsense machines are its “art resource” products; its performances provide “mass promotion;” and its “mass production”. Yamada, M. (2018). Twenty-five years in the company of Maywa Denki.  Japan Times, Japan. 

Nobumichi Tosa wearing Pachi-Moku

For the purpose of this essay, I am going to focus on the invention of Pachi-Moku. As former musicians signed with Sony Music Entertainment, it is not surprising that they fused music into their inventions. Pachi-Moku being one of the most well-known inventions by Maywa Denki, is their take on mechanical musical instruments.

Performance of Pachi Moku

Performance of Maywa Denki’s musical instruments

On the surface, it may seem silly to some when Nobumichi performs his brilliant work of art. However, through interviews and talks, the essence of his work is clearly motivated by challenging the norm and refusal to conform. In his TED Talk, he provided the example of aircraft starting off as a ‘nonsense machine’ because back then, no one would have believed of a flying vehicle. But since then, it’s become a norm and no longer seen as a ‘nonsense machine’. He also highlighted the difference between art’s ‘nonsense machines’ and engineering ones. Art’s nonsense machines however, involved the unexplained ideas to become the main focus of the concept, something that ‘Can never be explained by humans. That is the reason why art transcends time and moves us.’ This is essentially what critical design is. Maywa Denki places emphasis on ‘displaying rather than expressing.’

Through this, he allows the audience and the general public to experience his work and causes them to reflect upon why such things were created. This generated emotions within the audiences as well and spurt discussions amongst the designers in the industry as well.

Maywa Denki functions on the concept of “Mass-Pros’s”. Namely, Mass-Production and Mass Promotion. Mass Production is self-explanatory where products are created for the purpose of selling to the public.

In comparison, Mass Promotion is done through the live performances they conduct, globally where the demonstrate the use of their instruments, challenging the idea of musician celebrities who charge high prices for their tickets and sell them to those with a high education and are wealthy. In contrast, Maywa Denki’s idea of art is to sell art to a large public, making it more accessible to the masses to share the idea of their art instead of ripping them off for large profits. Instead, mainly to supply their design cycle.

Therefore, an importance should be placed on critical design instead of treating it as an after-thought, like it is currently. The purpose of this essay is not to downplay or criticise the industry’s current design ideology. Rather, it is to shed light and shift the focus on the urgent importance on Critical Design. The idea of it is to go against the conventional supply-demand product design and instead, to take an alternative approach to adopt a design process that could take an effect on the future of design. Critical design stretches the ability of the design process to its full potential and not just focus on the current needs of the masses. Inclusion and experimentation of concepts through Critical Design could lead to new inventions being created that could change the social, political and economic standpoint of the current. It helps to “promote this enlightening quality of critical design,”. Jakobsone, L. (2017). Critical Design As Approach To Next Thinking. Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

If we refuse to challenge the current industry norm as designers, would the world of design remain stagnant and emotionless? A single person would not make a difference but a community of designers, collectively, could challenge the industry to provide a balance of functionality, practicality as well as expression.

Link to presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zxacaHMNScjEG9CVsk2OLqFkeqBGauhBv5kdkB7eWEI/edit?usp=sharing

 

ASSIGNMENT 2B – HELD, WORN, CARRIED – WEAVE THINKING THROUGH MAKING

March 13, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Part 1

Moving on from a weaving assignment before this one, Part 1 requires us to select a minimum of 2 verbs (from: WRAP . PUNCTURE . CRADLE/GRAB . BIND . SLIDE . LIFT) and come up with 4 expressions that expresses the verbs.

I chose Wrap and Bind as my verbs and did some sketches as I attempt on the expressions. I did some research and was more drawn to the play on ropes and I decided that that would be one of my material along with cane. Figured the two would be a pretty interesting and unifying combination given its ‘raw’ nature.

Sketches:

Process for Expressions:

FINAL 4 expressions:

 

Part 2

For the second part, we had to create a vessel that is to be held, worn or carried. I looked up some photos for inspiration and was steered to the idea of my final product being a bag of some sort.

Originally, this was my inspiration photo:

I did some sketches to generate some ideas for consultation.

I liked the more curvilinear shapes as they felt more organic and tied better with the materials I had in mind. I sketched these based on the 4 expressions I had in Part 1.

Upon consultation, I decided to pick number 1 as my final product. I wanted it to have spaces so that a complimentary fabric would peek through. I did not want it to all be covered in the weaving expression.

At first, I wanted to use wires as the base and weave cane through it. However, upon consideration, I realised that attaching it together would be a problem as I wasn’t familiar with soldering and I was also pressed for time. Hence, I decided to go ahead with having weaved cane as the base.

I started working on the bag. I soon realised that this can was tougher to control as compared to a thicker rattan that I had used before. I knew it was the cane as I used the same, pine needle pattern as before. The cane was fragile and dries quicker than the thicker rattan.

This served as a problem as the weaved base kept falling apart or rather, it looked messy. I decided to continue on as I really liked how it looked as a base. Another problem I had with it was also the fact that it could not stand as the base was more pointy than I had anticipated.

PROCESS PHOTOS

Afterwards, I attached vertical rattan to the base. As I continued on, I added twine in a darker colour horizontally and incorporated the square plait weaving I learnt in Part 1 into the bag.

A mini bucket was used to form the wider base that I was aiming for. I didn’t have a smaller bucket in hand which I intended to have. Had to work with what I had. I tried to use the weaving to keep the base wider.

Unfortunately, the challenge to replicate the shape from my sketch was pretty much unachievable with the materials I had on hand.

Hence, I brainstormed again and decided to change my plan. I went with a more organic shape where I used a ring to wrap the cane around. I used that as the means to form my shape. The idea of it was for the bag to look raw and have that “unfinished” look as it was aimed at holding things like bottle for those working outdoors like farming. This was also to compliment organic-like materials that I went for.

As I continued on, I kept getting frustrated with the unstable base that I decided to remove it completely. I decided to incorporate jute rope for the bottom with cable/square plait weaving that I incorporated from Part 1. Fortunately, the base was detached from the vertical cane that already had weaving on it.

Rough sketch of new plan for weaving

Jute rope was used because it was more thick and rugged. After that, I just experimented with different bases to see what I could come up with.

It was not possible to form the pine-needle weaving base with rope. Hence, I decided to use the same cable plait method in vertical form to criss cross it with one another. Thought it created an interesting expression.

Afterwards, things started to look better. However, the challenge was to form a shape for the bag. I formed the shape as I went along and it was supposed to look have a more irregular shape where it looks different from each angle. To form and keep the shape intact on the ring, it took quite a bit of manipulation with rope to secure it further.

Upon completion of the weaving I realised that one side of the product looked too empty and it didn’t look like it forms a smooth curved shape on the left side of the bag. (front view)

Hence, I incorporated one of the expressions of the twisted cable plait and attached it in a curved manner to the empty slots.

Finally, I added the handle which was from Part 1.

Inspiration:

FINAL DRAWINGS

2-point Perspective

Projection

Axonometric

FINAL OUTCOMES

 

 

 

 

 

Project 1: Image Making Through Type (Final Outcome)

March 1, 2019 / / 0 Comments

1. Firefighter

Analog, Photography, Digital Manipulation

Final Outcome:

2. Hypnotist

Analog, Digital Manipulation

Slider

I created a slider and mounted it onto the A3 to allow people to slide the black bar across the design to see the animation.

View Animated Effect of Final Outcome Here

Presented in class as:

3.Fashion Designer

Analog

I presented this in a box which I feel, added to my design as I interpreted the box as a box for display. Therefore, adding it helped to relay my design better. It was also placed on a cork board to show how fashion designers usually pin up their inspirations and fabric type, etc whilst in the process of designing. The silver thumbtack just as an accent to that.

I also placed a silver sheet underneath it to bring out the type and I chose silver because it tied the design in together better.

I also attempted a white plastic sheet but felt like it was too striking and pushed the eye away from the design of my “collection” in type form.

Presented in class as:

4. Astronomer

Analog

I presented this final piece as is where the nails were being embedded into foam and mdf board that has been sprinkled with white & blue paint to create a galaxy effect. The nails formed the constellation of my name.

 

High Quality Photos Here

Project 1 – Image Making Through Type (Research and Process)

March 1, 2019 / / 0 Comments

I’ve always been interested to explore deeper into the world of Typography. As a Design Art student, knowing the importance of typography and having an understanding of its use in your designs is crucial to produce a harmoniously synergised artwork.

Therefore, I was quite elated when I found out that our first project would allow us to dive into this aspect of design!

Before that, Mimi mentioned that we should attempt to create compositions with the influence of Cubism  from the #ispotalphabets in-class assignment.

Here’s my attempt:

Name used: Wiyah

My call-name within my family, extracted from my name, Alawiyah.

RESEARCH & PROCESS

As soon as I got to know about our project, I kickstarted it early via brainstorming on the different ideas of careers I would like to have.

In the very beginning, I approached the project in a more thematic-based way where I explore concepts of careers in a more surrealistic manner.

First Brainstorming Session:

Career:

My name is Wiyah and I’m a…

1. Flower – so I can always be appreciated & be seen as beautiful in the eyes of all

2. Brain – so that I can control my mind ands switch it on/off whenever I overthink or over-worry

3. Colour – so that I would be able to inject emotions into my dull life

4. Heart – so that I can control what I feel

5. X-ray – so that I can see through people that will only hurt me

After the first feedback from Mimi, I decided to change my vision to something more basic so that I could attempt analog experimentation. I thought too much before and that restricted my creativity. Hence, after watching the videos that Mimi had shared in class, it really sparked my interest to attempt to have analog elements in my project (which in turn led to most of my Project 1 being done in analog). I figured experimenting with different forms, visuals and materials might create more interesting and unpredictable outcomes.

Hence, I started off fresh and brainstormed for ideas once more.

Second Brainstorming Session:

After several rounds of elimination, I narrowed down my choices to these few:

Career:

My name is Wiyah and I’m a…

1. Makeup Artist

2. Photographer

3. Arabic Calligrapher

4. Firefighter

5. Hypnotist

6. Fashion Designer

7. Astronomer

I started off by watching several videos before attempting them on my own to get inspiration.

1. Career: Makeup Artist

Upon researching further, I found this link of makeup done with art:  https://www.buzzfeed.com/alannaokun/incredible-paintings-made-out-of-makeup

I attempted to play around with makeup, mindlessly,  just to see how it works in terms of texture, colour, harmony of texture and the different forms of makeup .

(1st box, LEFT): Done with lipstick and eyeshadows.

(2nd box, RIGHT): Done with mascara

(3rd box, LEFT): Done with lipstick, eyeliner and pencil.

(4th box, RIGHT and BOTTOM): Done with lipstick and eyeshadow, brush, colour pencils. In this particular one, I imitated the font of Southern Jannie.

Upon further development, I had the idea to use an eyelash curler to manipulate the font shown in the photo above. The text was written with eyeliner.

After exploration with makeup, I figured that I wasn’t too keen on the idea of it and moved on to explore the other careers.

2. Career: Photographer

I had the idea of it being in the red room where items would be arranged to simulate the red room, then photographed and manipulated digitally to add red light effect, etc. I toyed with the positioning through sketch to generate a sense of composition. However, after thinking further, again, I wasn’t too keen on the idea and moved on.

________________________________________________________

3. Career: Arabic Calligrapher

 

I toyed around with the idea of the calligraphy being in origami, wire or paper mache but soon realised that this does not really portray the fluidity of the lines created by calligraphers.

Hence, I attempted to write the arabic letters using a customised digital calligraphic brush in Illustrator.  I tried to rearrange the composition of the letters to create more interesting shapes.

I then applied the influence of these arabic letters to the “English” version of my name.  I also added the shapes used in the Arabic calligraphy art such as the flower and the circle made of words.

I had the intention of doing all these on water colour paper with watercolour paint. For some reason, there were a lot of modern calligraphy art that are done on watercolour background which influenced my decisions.

Playing around with colour pencil that can be converted to watercolour with cut out of text

Unfortunately, I didn’t stick by this idea due to development of other ideas in other careers.

4. Career: Firefighter [Confirmed Image]

PICTURES OF SKETCHES FROM BOOK

Started out with sketches on how I wanted my image to be. For this particular career, I had my vision set out for it to be done via photography and digital manipulation.

Inspiration Photos:

  

But the above photos were not suited to my career and does not much visual association related to my career and therefore would not create a universal understanding of the visual representations of the career.

Therefore, upon further research, I found the photo below which resulted to being my main inspiration.

I envisioned 3D block letters in Sans Serif with no decorative features, to be physically burnt and being put out by fire, against a black background.

I did not want any decorative font because it would be too distracting and would not complement my idea very well. With Sans Serif fonts, it would look clean and minimal which suited what I was going for.

Therefore, I started off by making templates for these 3D block letters of my name with Illustrator.

Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFhd5g87R2Y&t=65s

With regular copier paper, I attempted to fold and glue the 3D block letters into place.  I attempted this twice (due to a mistake I made in templates for more complicated letters) before moving on to a thicker art card to achieve a more solid built that would photograph better.

Paper used:

Template I came up with for 3D letters:

Since the Career is Firefighter, it is clear that the first thing that comes to mind would  most likely be Fire and Water.  This sparked the idea of having it done in an analog manner where I would burn the letters and have it be put out by water.

CLICK TO SEE VIDEO OF PROCESS

The challenge I had during this process was lighting the block letters. Turns out that the paper I used was too thick and had a glossy, metallic effect that hindered it from being lighted easily.

Another challenge was that when I had my dad pour water over the letters so that I could take the shots, the letters kept toppling over due to the pressure of water. Also, the water was not really captured in the shots.

I decided that this had to be heavily manipulated digitally to achieve the effect that I want. Therefore, I first had to remove the the background (leaving the raised platform) to achieve the dark effect that I envisioned using Quick Selection Tool in Photoshop. I then filled the empty space with black with the Paintbrush Tool. 

 Afterwards, I decided to photoshop flames and burnt areas from other shots into my chosen shots so that every letter would be on fire to create a more dramatic effect. I also added reflections of the flame on the raised platforms.

The next step was to add the water that would put out the fire. From the photo attempts above, it was almost impossible to isolate the water from the background and it wasn’t very obvious either. Hence, I had to add it digitally.

It was difficult finding the misty water that I was looking for hence, it required several attempts. I blended the mist I found to the photo using Screen in Photoshop. I also had to photoshop the flames in the middle (Y & A) to have flames that looked more swayed to make it more realistic due to the pressure of the water that I added in the middle. The water effect added  was intentionally misty as I attempted something normal water effect but it looked more like rain (as seen below), which didn’t portray what I was going for.

The final outcome was also edited further in Lightroom to increase contrast, lower brightness and increase sharpness.

Mists/Water References:

1

2

3

4. 

5. Hypnotist [Confirmed Image]

I’ve always found hypnosis intriguing and therefore the career choice. With this, my vision went straight to illusion-related images with lines and distortion.

Influences:

I then explored the idea of having a raised text with lines with Typography and whilst researching, I found a video that shows exactly that. The problem with this is that it required an older version of software.

 

I researched further and found a video on Youtube that created Animated Optical Illusions:

It was extremely interesting and I wanted to attempt it. It was quite complicated to understand how it worked so I had to cross-refer to many videos.

Once I saw this, it was apparent that this was the perfect optical illusion that I could use to apply it to the typography for hypnosis. It was very trippy and requires extreme focus to make out what the image is when you slide the black bars across the text.

According to Wikipedia, the definition of Hypnosis is as follows:

Hypnosis is a state of human consciousness involving focused attention, reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion. The term may also refer to an art, skill, or act of inducing hypnosis.[1]

Therefore, I felt that this was apt for my Career Choice of Hypnotist as I am mimicking the effect of hypnosis for the audience.

Main Video Reference:

 

I used Sans Serif font so as to not distract from the message of the text too much. I used Upper Case and Lower Case for my First attempt then changed to Lower Case completely as I felt like it complemented my design better. The font I used was also more rounded in nature which suited the design rather then angular fonts.

First Attempt:

I used Colours instead of Positions (like video) to create the animation on paper.

It looked very stagnant and did not portray the image I had in my head.

Click to see GIF

Second Attempt: Becomes my final outcome

For this, I decided to distort the text and make it wavy using the Warp Tool. This is another visual association I added to the hypnosis effect. When you think of hypnosis, it’s all about illusion and all things trippy and spinning. Hence, the wavy texted added to that effect and created more movement in the animated illusion text that I created.

Video Reference:

Third Attempt:

I distorted the image further by adding another row of the text below the already distorted image. However, it looked rather complicated and illegible which defeated the purpose of this Project. Mimi’s feedback on it confirmed my thought exactly. Hence, I went with the second attempt instead as my Final Outcome.

Click to see GIF

I printed the black bars on transparent paper. This is the crucial part of making it an animated image.

6. Fashion Designer [Confirmed Image]

I’ve always enjoyed looking at clothes and finding clothes as they’re a form of identity for me. Ever since I was a child, this was a form of my creativity since I was a very quiet child. I also enjoyed how different vibes of clothes allowed me to embody different personas.

When I was researching for this, I saw a lot of pictures online that served as inspiration for me. Initially, I wanted to attempt analog methods for this.

However, after considerations, I realised that it would take a lot of hours into me learning new skills of sewing and embroidering to be adapted into my typography designs. It required a lot of time to research for the methods too.

Therefore, I resulted to digital methods using manipulation of images.

I used Argo, a Serif typeface. This is a decorative font and I was inspired by editorial layout designs like such. I also went with all lower-case typeface as it made the piece look more united.

Upon attempting a digital approach, I realised that it didn’t really tie in to my whole concept of literal experimentation of typography.

Hence, I decided to go ahead with my original idea of doing it by hand. I used fabric, thread and beads. I retain the idea of using the same Argo typeface.

Through research,  I was drawn to this String Art..

but I was already going to do String Art for another one of my idea. Hence, I wanted to explore other methods. Also, I felt like it would not have created as strong a visual association to the career of fashion designer.

Other inspirations:

 

Hence, I decided on another method. I, first sketched out the idea on paper to have a rough creative direction.

As for the methods, I figured things out along the way through experimentation on a separate piece. I tested out patterns and silhouettes on there too.

Originally, I wanted to just sew on different fabrics onto the typeface using organza (with end product looking like the photo below…

Fabric Type by Tania Alvarez

..but I felt like it would not portray the idea well. I also wanted to attempt embroidery on the whole typeface but Mimi’s feedback said that it could easily look like my career was to be an embroidery artist.

Hence, I opted to combine the two ideas and creating interesting silhouettes of the typeface.

I wanted the whole composition to have a harmonious feel to it and for it to be viewed as a collection, resembling what is released in runways. Therefore, I made sure to use threads that are off the same theme of colour with a pop of pink. I played a lot with texture too through embroidery and fabric.

A reason why I chose Organza as my backing fabric is because I felt that organza had the feeling of elegance and is often associated with girly fashion as it is used to create tulle skirts.

LETTER ‘W’: 

I created daisies and attached them together with alternative colours as I felt that it looked more interesting with alternate colours rather than just one dull colour. It also helped tie in my “collection” together with the use of the neutral and the dark colours.

Reference Video:

Detail of my embroidery:

LETTER ‘I’

Inspiration:

I used fabric, ribbon and beads for this and created a silhoutte of a dress. I added embroidery knots along the dot above I in a neutral colour, again playing with the idea of a harmonious collection to ensure that it delivers the association to runway fashion designs. The silhouette resemble a model wearing my “piece”,  dot above the silhouette also resemble the head of  the model to emphasise the idea.

Detail:

LETTER ‘Y’

For this, I wanted it to be filled with interesting embroidery to insinuate a fabric type. I learnt am embroidery technique called, Braid Stitch or Cable Plait Stitch.

Reference Video:

I tested it on the separate piece of organza before attempting it on the final piece.

Details of my embroidery:

LETTER ‘A’

I decided to have a pop of pink colour to represent my personality and identity to my “collection” since I do love the pale-pink colour.

I cut out the fabric from my fuzzy socks to retrieve a furry fabric. This also added texture to my “collection” to make it more interesting and appealing to look at. I stitched the fabric to fill in the curved part of the A.

As for the stamp of the letter, I used linear stitching of fabric. To create a raised texture, I added more thread through the needle. This is to match the fuzzy fabric of the curved part of the letter.

Details:

LETTER ‘H’

Finally, I decided to add polka dots to the letter H with black thread, again using the idea of having a unified “collection”.

I drew circles, stitched around it and filled it in with thread. This was also teted beforehand on the separate piece of organza.

7. ASTRONOMER [Confirmed Image]

For this, I played around with the idea of constellations. I’ve always been drawn to stars and what’s beyond the Earth, galaxies, etc. I asked around and generally, people do agree that constellations do make them think of the galaxy.

In definition from Wikipedia,

An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets, and galaxies – in either observational (by analyzing the data) or theoretical astronomy.

Therefore, creating visual associations using constellations would infer the world of Astronomy.

Whilst researching, I already had an idea in mind where I wanted this to particularly be string art to project constellations.

Inspirations:

I started sketching different compositions as follows:

Upon consultation with Mimi, I decided on the 2nd sketch as it looked more interesting and customised in composition and type. For this image, I did not have any font references. I decided to have it all in upper case as they look more angular which served this purpose (string art) best.

References:

Links:

Link 1

Link 2

I practiced on felt board to see how my idea would’ve worked out. I used thumbtacks and realised it was far too big to execute my idea. Hence, I changed to regular screw pins.

I got an MDF Board and had to cut it down to size and file to create a smooth outline. After which, I painted it black. The reason is because the Galaxy is known to be very dark, almost black (as seen above).

13a7e7c5310e430cbcfef85953fab176

While waiting for it to dry, I cut down a foam board that I bought to act as base for the MDF board. Two A4 pieces were stacked on top of each other. This is to allow the nail to push through and not land on the other side of the board which create a neater finish.

After which,  I proceeded to mark the areas I wanted to hammer nails in. This was a challenge because the placements of the points were  purely instinctive.

I then coiled regular sewing thread around the points and this was coiled a couple of times to make it slightly thicker than I originally planned.

I wanted this to go minimal in design for this but this turned out to be way more plain that I had anticipated. Therefore, I decided to add specks of white and blue paint as the background to create depth. These mainly act as the millions of stars seen in galaxies.

I tested the use watercolour and flicks of the toothbrush on a black surface. When I was ready, I started doing it on the board. This helped to amplify the idea and imagery of galaxy which relates back to Astronomy., together with the constellation of my text.

CLICK HERE FOR FINAL OUTCOME