GRAPHIC DESIGN ROTATION - WORDS

Today's emphasis was on words and text specifically the typographic components that communicate and make the public respond. We began by trying to create 10 of our own typefaces out of expressive markings using various medias, textures and techniques. I used charcoal, pen, pencil and graphite sticks to create random markings which could double as basis of an alphabet or form numbers. I tried various methods using bold and thin lines and use of 'loud' colours. 

Following this I made a list of 10 things I had done, including my methods and materials used. I then made a list of 10 things I hadn't done such use paint, chalk and try making 3D letterforms. After doing this, I discovered that I had missed out quite a lot and I didn't necessarily experiment to my fullest potential, this helped my reflect on what I done.

The next task was to pick one of our 10 markings/letterforms and develop it into a full alphabet. I chose to base my letterforms on random lines across the page, I first drew many straight lines in various directions with a ruler across the page and then found sections of the lines to go over to make a letter. I had a mixture of upper case and lower case letters due to the nature of the lines. The final task was to use sources of light (e.g a light box or a window) to trace different font styles from books into a small box on paper, we could use any style of font and position it in any way. I used a combination of Helvetica Neue Bold and Gill Sans Bold. Today's tasks were some of my favourite of the whole rotation, because of the freedom and openness of the tasks, it has also made me more confident in my decision to choose the graphic design pathway.

Various different random markings which formed the basis for a typeface

My own alphabet experiment inspired by one of my original ideas which was based on geometric lines and marking the individual characters strictly on the lines

Experimenting with the two different traced fonts using the light box

Images - Author's Own 02/10/13

GRAPHIC DESIGN ROTATION - FACES

Finished viewfinder drawing using coloured pencils

On the first day of this rotation we focused on faces as the first of three themes including words and present. At first I began sketching my classmates' faces using different techniques such as drawing from memory which was very odd because you completely rely on your instinct, using your mouth to draw which was easier but hurt my mouth and then using your weaker hand to draw which is again easier but my left handed grip on a pencil is extremely weak. I think this reflected in my final outcomes. All these quick sketches were timed so they were quite expressive and lacked much detail but that wasn't the aim of the exercise. Following this we all drew someone's ear on a large scale (A1) with a 20 minute time limit. I worked quickly using black felt tip which I thought was the most suitable media for working on this large scale. 

In the afternoon we began making collages from magazine tears and newspaper cuttings, the objective was to make a new face out of other famous people's faces or facial components for example a nose or a mouth. This task was very strange as we all ended up with some very abstract, askew and almost alien-like faces. I found it interesting to see what everyone else had created. My creation resembled a cartoon character with comical and distorted facial components with small baby's eyes and a massive nose. Finally we created a square viewfinder to find an interesting part of our collage to blow up and draw on a larger scale (20cm x 20cm) focusing on adding deep colours.

Initially I found these tasks to be unrelated to graphic design but on reflection everything that I did was some form of visual communication and my collage did include some text also so in many ways it was a form of graphic or visual communication. I enjoyed working swiftly using the different drawing techniques because it was something new for me. Questioning what makes a good drawing was intriguing and how a drawing doesn't need to be realistic or picture perfect to be a good drawing.

A collection of all our ears

This is my drawing of a classmate's ear
using black felt tip pen.

A portrait drawing from memory using a graphite
stick. I often forgot where I started and ended up
doing several heads on top of each other.

A drawing by mouth using felt tip pen

A left-handed drawing which I struggled with

A continuous line sketch, my pen was never allowed
 to leave the paper which I often forgot during the
drawing, your natural response is to take your pen
off the paper.

My final collage using famous faces to make
a new face

My viewfinder square which focused on one specific area
of the collage help me to isolate certain parts better.

Imagery - Author's Own 31/09/13

3DD ROTATION - SPAGHETTI STRUCTURES

The brief on this occasion was to create a structure that could hold three light plastic balls above a table without them touching each other. To do this, we could only use spaghetti and hot glue guns which at first seemed like a near impossible task but after some experimentation I discovered it was definitely possible. Before embarking on any actual building we first sketched out some rough designs and rough ideas as you can see below.

I tried to keep my designs as abstract as possible to make the
construction more interesting. There is some flexibility
in the spaghetti so it is possible to bend them slightly however
they are very brittle and snap easily

I was inspired by our local buildings and only had to look
out the window to see the structures on the O2 and
surrounding buildings.

I then began to make my structure and often I changed my mind whilst building it because I was finding out about the properties of spaghetti and what the limits were. I ended up making a simple cone shape where the spaghetti interlocked at the top and then on the lower parts I made two more smaller versions of the original structure to fit the three balls.

The early stages of development 

An example of how the spaghetti was fixed together,
the hot glue created a solid bond and enabled me to
adjust its position before the glue dried completely

Reinforcing the base of the structure, the added support
 prevented the 'legs' of my structure from spreading apart.

 The completed structure could successfully hold three balls off the table without them touching

A view of my structure on its side creating a different composition, the small man indicates the scale and creates the illusion that the spaghetti ball holder is a full size building

In conclusion, I thought this task was a success and I enjoyed making different structures, it didn't take long for me to discover the properties of the spaghetti which meant that I completed my structure fairly quickly with time to spare. In future I will probably work slower and take my time as I think this would benefit the learning process more. This effectively marked the end of the 3DD week. 

Images - Author's Own 26/09/13

SAATCHI GALLERY

I found my visit to the Saatchi Gallery to be a very refreshing one due to the fact that the majority of the work on exhibition is from more younger and emerging artists which is quite unique and I could appreciate the work as some of it from practitioners my own age. Manageable in size, the Saatchi gallery is neither too big or too small, all the gallery rooms are arranged cohesively and I could spend an ample amount of time in each room and still see all of the other exhibitions in one visit without rushing.

Amoungst my favourites were paintings by Zak Smith who's work is inspired by comic strips and their graphical nature which drew me towards them. In addition, Douglas Kolk's collages which represent the sensation of bombardment in everyday urban life are rich and visually compelling because of the diversity of materials and techniques used such as newspapers, magazines, graffiti and repetition of the human eye.

In summary, I consider to the Saatchi Gallery to be one of the best exhibitions I've been to purely because of its compact and concise displays, I felt as though was not being confronted or overloaded with too many artworks, its just the right amount to keep the viewer interested until the next room. The works were diverse and crossed various disciplines of art and design which is the best way to engage everyone. As mentioned earlier I value the fact that most of the aforementioned artists are young which gives the exhibition a youthful appeal.

'Bust of Emanuel' by Jose Lerma and Hector Madera
made from paper crumpled around hidden supports
abstracted to the point of near-un-recognisability.

This room dedicated to Annie Kevans displays the gentle
and innocent faces of young boys who will in the future become
dictators, included are the juvenile faces of Joseph Stalin,
Adolf Hitler and Mao Zedong amoungst many others such as Mugabe
contrasting what we know now and what we didn't know then.

Zak Smith's graphical comic book style stood out
to me instantly

More colourful collage work from Douglas Kolk

Marcelo Jacome's tissue paper, bamboo, fiberglass and cotton thread
 creation resembles a flock of birds moving in unison in a
chaotic but organised manner.

A close up of the previous structure which reminds me of my
experiments during 3DD week using different materials to
create one bigger but fragile creation.

'Floating City' by Han Feng depicts hundreds of tracing
paper buildings grouped together hovering just a few inches
off the floor.

Yuken Teruya's work reverses the flow of industry from tree
to paper, to paper to tree. The shopping bag is intricately cut
out creating a tree. The bag is placed on the wall for one person
to view into at a time.

Visual noise influenced by musical lyrics is the effect
created by Stephen Lowery's psychedelic drawings.

Artist Unknown - 3D metal wire structures also reminiscent
of those I created during 3D week using spaghetti.

Exhibition - Saatchi Gallery 25/09/13
Images - Author's Own 25/09/13 

3DD ROTATION - BUILDING BRIDGES

There are many ways to build a bridge, you can go for striking architectural shapes and lines sacrificing function and practicality or you can create a structurally sound bridge that's a bit boring. This was the dilemma that our group was faced with therefore the initial design process underwent much deliberation and we found ourselves changing the design as we went along. The brief was to create a bridge between two tables using only cardboard, bamboo and tape (lots of it) that could allow a boat (a table) to pass safely underneath. To test it, a remote controlled car must be able to safely traverse the bridge. This meant we could possibly use a suspension bridge design much alike the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco or even a lifting bridge similar to the Tower Bridge in London.

In the end we decided to go for a suspension bridge-like method and firstly created our road using two sheets of folded cardboard with bamboo inside to reinforce the board and prevent it from flexing and bending, this worked well. Then we created the central support column in the middle of the bridge where the road arched up and secured it in place using brown tape, we also secured the ends of the road to the table using tape. Once the function and practicality was complete we got creative and made patterns, drawings and alternative structures on the bridge.

One of two panels of the road bridge
made using bamboo-reinforced folded
cardboard.

Fixing the ends to the tables

The middle support column made
using a lot of tape and bamboo

A view of the bridge's underside

Fixing the two poles to the ground was difficult
but the weight of the bridge and the tape made
it easier for the two bamboo poles to stay put.

An example of one of the bamboo joints
on the bridge

Early stages of the bridge's construction 

Tape barriers to prevent the remote
control car from falling off

A view from the entrance of the bridge

Golden Gate-like structure

The final completed bridge; structurally sound
and aesthetically pleasing

 Images - Author's Own 24/09/13

LEARNING STYLES QUESTIONNAIRE - RESULTS

I don't usually learn something the same way twice and I am quite laid back with respect to particular aspects of learning, for instance I don't mind learning practically or theoretically and I am aware of the fact that some can only learn either practically or theoretically however with myself, I can manage with both. I tend to adopt other people's way of learning in order to make learning more interesting for myself. In this questionnaire I wasn't massively surprised with the results as they were quite accurate even though questionnaires are sometimes ineffective. I made sure to answer the questionnaire as honestly as possible in order to get the best results and this paid off. Out of the four learning styles (Activist, Reflector, Theorist of Pragmatist) I am a Reflector which is what I expected, the trait description is almost spot on: thoughtful in approach, a good listener, thorough in preparation and contemplative before acting. Normally, I am skeptical about trait defining questionnaires as I don't believe they are true measurement of a person's characteristics, especially when placed in different scenarios, however I was pleasantly surprised by the accuracy of the results in this particular questionnaire.

3DD ROTATION - SUPPORT

The main objective of this weeks rotation is to think differently about design and 3D forms, we never simply started a design from scratch instead we used the most unlikely starting points. Initially, we began with lines, shapes, fruits and numbers as a starting point for a design such as a floor plan of a house, an item of clothing or a rabbit hutch. Surprisingly, I found this technique quite useful as putting pencil to paper is often the hardest stage of a design. By starting off with something completely unrelated and random, it gives you something to work with. This task was completed on A1 paper with pens, pencils and markers as an initial sketching or brainstorm process. 

Following this process, we each had to construct something that could support a water bottle 30cm in the air, however we could only use one sheet of A1 paper, roughly 40cm of masking tape and no other materials. I constructed a cone design which worked very well and was the most successful product I produced today in my opinion.

The final task was to produce a chair or any object that could support our full body weight 30cm in the air. For this task we could only use four sheets of A1 cardboard and the whole product had to be flat packed. This provided some difficulties however I adopted a slot mechanism that was structurally sound and stable but quite boring. The stool could be deconstructed into sheets but ultimately it was a bit square, which was what helped it hold my body weight. Overall I enjoyed today's tasks because it forced me to look at designing differently which I probably would have never done and I enjoyed the creative challenges posed by restricting materials and limited equipment.

The first page of sketches using random starting points for
example making a rabbit hutch out of the shape of an orange.

The second page making watches out of the tread pattern
on my shoe and making a vehicle out of shapes

My rabbit hutch which used my favorite fruit,
an orange, as a starting point.

A shopping centre complex which used one
horizontal, one diagonal and two vertical lines to
create an ariel floor plan

An improvised mp3 player/headset

The pattern created using five felt tip pens
simultaneously on my water bottle holder

To create a pouch-like volcano opening to the
cone, instead of cutting the top completely off, I
folded back the paper so that there was room
for adjustment and flexibility to hold the
bottle tightly.

The final product ready for testing

Thankfully, the cone shape provided sound structural
support and the folded pouch-like technique helped
support the bottle and hold it tightly in place. I was
very pleased with this product.

I resorted to using a tried and tested, simple slotting method to secure the boards in place.I found this worked well because the boards fit very securely together.

This is the final stool with some more
slotting to increase structural rigidity and a
single sheet of card placed on the top to sit on.

This is a view of the interior structure of the stool, the slotting
mechanism works all the way through the structure, I found
this was the best way to make it stronger.

Images - Author's Own 23/09/13