Locale ~ Final (Zine)

FINAL ZINE

Art direction:

  • working with scans and edits
  • compositional arrangements in relation to the sound of the place
  • progression of time throughout the day with the use of colours
  • something representative in each spread to give context

Front and back cover

The background colours on the front and back cover ties in with the first and last spread while the colours included in general are all present throughout the zine. The entry and exit of a journey through my zine is represented with the entry and exit of a gachapon machine since I spotted them along Haji Lane.  Some textured scans of the machine itself are included in the front cover. 

First spread

The first spread is dedicated to the cafes along Haji Lane. With the pie scans being the main subject of this spread, it’s clustered arrangement resembles the sounds of chitter chatter and cutleries on plates in the cafes. The overlapping and rectangular framing of the pie scans also conveys the placing of plates. Incorporating the calm and beautiful exterior of this cafe, the plain yellow border represents that. Textures from napkins are also overlayed in this spread and the warm tones help to link to the next spread.

Middle spread

Targeted to express the boutiques along Haji Lane, this spread contains various forms of hand-made packagings from the shops. Replacing barcodes and commercial packaging, there is a presence of organic forms such as stamps, brown paper bags and handwritten price tags. This organicness is contrasted with the typed text “handmade, handpainted”. Compositionally, this spread holds a neater arrangement to mimic the calmness in the shops. The overlay of the scanned bag also conveys the crinkling of plastic sounds.  

Last Spread

Lastly, to end off the night, this spread expresses the nightlife at bars. The visual soundscape of the street at night overlaps with the double yellow lines. Amongst the soundscape is abstract block colours that have been extracted from raw images taken during the night which also represent the murals there. The 2 overlapping areas between the lines and the double yellow line represent two main parts of the street where bar seatings spill out onto the road. On the right is an abstract layout of barstools in the arrangement of the bar menu.

 

Image making through type ~ Process + Final

Before proceeding with my concept and 4 compositions, I had to first list out my 4 future jobs. Upon further reflection of these jobs, I realized that I’ve always wanted to pursue them as a child perceiving these as pretty fun jobs.

  1. Flight attendant
  2. Interior designer
  3. Baker
  4. Supermarket cashier

Starting off with objects that I could possibly include visually into my compositions, I began brainstorming for things that were relevant to the jobs in my sketchbook.

brainstorming

sketches

Following the development of ideas, I began sketching possible compositions. The interior designer ~ dollhouse sparked the idea of using other childhood toys to portray the remaining jobs. This concept of including childhood toy sets was then included in my art direction.

Toy cashiers

Kitchen/food sets

Prior to coming up with all the compositional concepts, I proceeded to draw them in greater detail so that I could lightly sketch it on the tracing paper before sewing the thread on.

SEWING PROCESS

Trial test aka exploring the medium:

embroidery + pen detail

embroidery + colouring details

I choose to sew on tracing paper because its translucency allowed for layering of backgrounds.

Sewing process

During the sewing of circles in the first composition, I realised that it was more efficient to poke holes in the paper beforehand with the needle.

Colouring in areas with colour pencils

 

 

 

TOP LAYERS

BACKGROUND LAYERS
  1. Air stewardess – Plain white background
  2. Interior designer – floor plan
    1. floor plan

  3. Baker – recipe pages
    1. recipe pages

  4. Cashier – receipts
    1. grocery receipts

 

FINAL PRESENTATION 

Concept & message of work:

  • Telling of my future jobs with the progression of time through
  • Neatness of embroidery and background layer decreases with time
    • Creasing of paper increases
    • Increased length of thread that remains at the back

Art direction:

  • Embroidery with monochromatic threads on the first layer with pen and colour pencil detailing
  • Setting of job further emphasized in the second layer
  • Fitting the letters of my name into the ‘structure’ of each respective job so that it can’t really be replaced with any other letter
  • Using childhood toys as a guide for the compositions

The order of my four jobs is in the chronological order of age starting from a young adult, to adult, middle age and lastly as an elderly.

my name is Teri and I am an air stewardess

Inspired by the Chinese aeroplane chess board game that I use to play as a kid, I thought it was very suitable for this job as an air stewardess. The background for this piece was plain white to portray the neatness and certainty I have as a young adult. Blue monochromatic colour scheme.

my name is Teri and I am an Interior designer

The composition of this piece I think turned out the strongest amongst the rest. It was the first piece that I was very certain of and it bridged the linking of letters into the structure of the item itself, which in this case was a dollhouse. As for the second layer background, I draw a floor plan in shades of pink to match with the red monochromatic scheme in the front.

my name is Teri and I am a baker

The letter t in this third piece represents a cake on a baker’s table. The surrounding decorative materials around it make up the remaining letters in my name. In this composition is where I bring in collaging in the background; collaging of old recipe books but still arranged rather neatly. The use of green/yellowish pages complements the green monochromatic scheme in the front.

my name is Teri and I am a supermarket cashier

For my final job as an old woman, I’ve also wanted to sit by the cashier scanning groceries for others. Using a toy cashier set as a guide, I altered the structure of the set so as to fit the letters of my name. The age in this is reflected in the messy collage of receipts in the background. I used shades of grey for the thread in this while pops of colours from the receipts peak through the tracing paper.

 

Locale ~ Part 1

Before diving into the creation of our zine for part 2 of project 2, part 1 requires us to complete an in-depth research of our location; a unique site in Singapore. To kick off part 1, I began my research online to jot down a few places of interest that I could possibly visit.

PLACES OF INTEREST? 

Bras Basah Complex
someplace familiar to me
second-hand bookstores

AVA Senoko fishery port
brings back memories of childhood
how I hate the smell of wet markets
reminded me of Tsukiji fish market in Japan but a local Singapore version
never knew of this fishery port
respect for the people in this industry and how it operates during the night

The Senoko fishery port is a place that I never knew existed in Singapore. I was really excited to visit the place initially, but after reading through online blogs about the place it seems that it isn’t much different from a regular wet market except that it operates during the night and through the early morning.

Upon further consideration, I realized that having lived out of Singapore for many years, there’s one place that I’ve always liked visiting when I’m back and that would be Haji Lane. It’s always been nice to just stroll through the shops on a quiet afternoon browsing through the quirky nic nacs that are rare to spot in regular shopping malls. The selection of my location was hence decided; Haji Lane.

RESEARCH METHODS 

What is primary research and what is secondary research? Please provide examples of both.

Primary research involves gathering data that has never been collected before. For example, conducting your own survey with questionnaires or interviews with a specific group of people. Secondary research, on the other hand, involves the use of primary research data that is already available. It could be further analysis or interpretations of primary research. Examples are studies or reports by agencies or businesses within the same industry.

What is qualitative and quantitative data? How would you go about collecting the two?

Qualitative data is information about quality and cannot be measured numerically. Examples could be the softness of your hair or the grace at which you walk. It involves descriptions of the quality of things. Quantitative data, on the other hand, involves information that can be measured with numbers. Examples include the age of your car or the length of your fingers.

What are ethnography and participant-observation? What are some ways collecting data?

Ethnography is defined as “the scientific description of peoples and cultures with their customs, habits and mutual differences.” It is designed to explore cultural phenomena where researchers observe society from the subject’s point of view.

Participant-observation occurs when the observer participants in the activity and records his/her observations as a ‘player’ in action. They take on the role of being studied and may involve living in a commune, or becoming a firefighter.

What are infographics and how are they used to effectively communicate data? What other ways can we visually represent data?

Infographics are visual representations of information that use design to express content. The simple yet informative design effectively communicates data clearly and quickly. Examples of infographics are signs, maps and data representations. Other ways to visually represent data.

Interview Qns 

Before visiting Haji Lane, I prepared two sets of interview questions for the respective interviewees. The questions are targeted at obtaining both quantitative and qualitative data.

On-site interview questions (passers-by):

  1. What is your age and race?
  2. Are you a local or tourist?
  3. How often do you visit Haji lane and why are you here today/why do you come back here?
  4. Could you name me your favourite quality about haji lane/a unique quality about the place
  5. Approximately how much time do you spend here?
  6. Do you take photos of the wall murals and do you know the artist?

On-site interview questions (shop staff/owners):

  1. What is your age and race?
  2. How long has this shop been around for?
  3. Why did the owner choose haji lane as a location to buy/rent a unit?
  4. Could you name me your favourite quality about haji lane/a unique quality about the place
  5. Regarding the wall murals, have you ever taken pictures of them and do you know the artist
  6. Are the items you carry your own products or are they commissioned and how do you source for them?

Jotting down notes + interview responses

Aside from conducting interviews on site, I also created another set of questions for an online survey on SurveyMonkey. The quantitative responses I received were helpful in contributing to my quantitative infographics while the qualitative data allowed me to gather more unique selling points of Haji Lane.

Qualitative Data

 

 

Quantitative Data

Haji Lane – History 
  • Reputedly Singapore’s narrowest street
  • Named after “haji” – the pilgrimage undertaken by Muslims
  • Just over 4 meters wide, lined on both sides with centuries-old shophouses
  • Buildings are of early shophouse style, characterised by minimal plaster ornamentations and low ceiling height
  • In the past, they were used as accommodation for Muslim pilgrims transiting through Singapore
  • Today, some of the shophouses have been beautifully restored
WEEK 8 CONSULTATION

Primary research method:

  • on-site interviews

Secondary research method:

  • online research
  • history of haji lane
  • TripAdvisor

Qualitative Data: can be presented through illustrations + sketches

  • People’s favourite / unique quality about Haji Lane

Quantitative Data: can be presented through infographics

  • Time spent there
  • How often is their visit

UPS aka Unique selling point:

  • street art, boutiques, bars
  • combination of styles and character

Following this consultation, my next step was to arrange all the data that I have into an organised order for presentation.

Final presentation & Crit.

Here are my final slides for the research: Haji-Lane.pdf!

Joy mentioned that although I covered a large variety of different unique qualities, I can try to focus on one for part 2. The main point about Haji Lane as a creative space was brought through but I maybe I can consider the contrast between day and night at Haji Lane. Some classmates feedbacked that I had a good range of research methods and suggested that maybe I could look into patterns from the wall murals for my zine since they were eye-catching.

For part 1 of this project, I really focus on obtaining research and covered quite a few aspects of Haji lane as a whole so moving along I can now narrow down what I have. 🙂