MONDAY 9TH FEBRUARY 2015: WRITING PROJECT PROPOSALS

Over the weekend, I did some research into the 4 topics; silence, space, interact and order and i brainstormed various ideas that I have interlinked with that topic. I also wrote section 1 and 2 of my proposal. In class today, we had a class discussion on the research we have done over the weekend. One by one, we presented the 4 practitioners/artists/pieces that we researched into and talked about the relevance with the unit 7 project. It was really useful to see how people interpreted each of the topics and it was really helpful to note down new practitioners that I haven't heard. However, through this discussion, it was evident that I should visit more exhibitions and galleries of art as it will be useful in the generation of ideas and to consider the ways in which artists today are approaching art and design. In the afternoon, we were given time to write our section 3 of the proposal as this is the most important section of the proposal. This section fundamentally depicts the aims of my project and provides an outline of what my project will be. It was quite challenging to pick the right words to allow myself more freedom with the project. Tim and Joao had mentioned that it was important to keep it very open-ended so that you aren't trapped with the proposal you have written. Because the finalized proposal is due on thursday, after the deadline, the proposal can never be changed and therefore it is important that the proposal allows you to experiment and to generate an interesting idea and final outcome. 

TUESDAY 10TH FEBRUARY 2015: EXPANDING PRACTICE CONFERENCE

1. Benjamin 
   - Working (with) x Working (For) or Working (Together)
   - You need good communication between everyone in the team as well as with the clients and companies such as the printers/publishers
   - Branch out to do other things; magazines, blogs etc. (multidisciplinary)
   
2. Emilia: Chicken Shop Date (Fashion Communication Y2 Student CSM)
   - She won the guardian student Media awards
   - Youtube Channel with the videos of her dates
   - Branch out and participate in competitions 
3. Umberto Giovannini
   - Designers nowadays are very multi-disciplinary
   - Current project: Ferrocarril1 Xilo-Reportage
   - The ferrocarril 1 project was an exploration of social identities and he aims to do a series of social-artistic journeys 
   - He follows the pathway of the argentine railway network 
   - HIs wood cuts are a genuine translation with cinematic editing ( using images as a reference) 
   - He wants to fully reflect the atmosphere and therefore decided to experience the environment before creating his pieces
   - He understands their life before he translates it into a woodcut. 
4. Kin Design
   - Multidisciplinary studio 
   - Sense of craft that runs throughout their work 
   - When you have an idea sketch the idea (doesn't just have to be pen/pencil on paper, you can sketch an idea through 3D structures)
   - Whats Important: Communicate ideas, how you collaborate, how you involve yourself how you think and translate your ideas
   - To decide which job is worth doing: PPPP: People, Profit, Profile, Purpose
   People: Is the business good? Are you going to get something out of it?
   Profit: Money, budget
   Profile: Is it going to look good in a portfolio? Will it get them more work? Will it help the PR of their design agency
   Purpose: Is it educational? Useful? Beneficial?
5. Tim Meara
   - Publicly displayed: pushes boundaries on how he articulates things
   - Often how you imagine your project isnt how your project turns out//Surprise yourself
   - Find a particular process on how you like to work and approach your projects in that way
   - Video - Lucien Freud: Not online and available for public use so that he can control the way that it is viewed and presented (make sure that it is the way he wants it to be viewed and intepreted). 
   - His video was created in relation to the deep analysis of lucians paintings, everything was thought through and all the references were made to specific parts of his life; fully reflecting his life as an artist. 

Wednesday 18th February 2015:

Because I feel as though the future will be very scientific/technologically orientated. To reflect this, the design of my product would be quite scientific. (e.g. alchemy, lab style). I decided that I wanted to do something related to food or drink because of the sheer amount of mundane coffee shops available nowadays. Because food and drink is a necessity it will definitely be a commodity that is demanded in the future (something that is certain about the inevitable future). I decided to begin putting down some ideas for branding/logos and the aesthetics of design and therefore began coming up with a name or logo for this. Because of my chosen theme i decided on "The Occultist" which is the study of occult practices, including (but not limited to) magic, alchemy, extra-sensory perception, astrology, spiritualism, religion, and divination. It definitely incorporates all the aspects that I want my brand to communicate which is really applicable. 

Monday 23rd February 2015: Peer Feedback

Questions I asked:

1. What components do you think influence your experience at a coffee shop/restaurant? eg what aspect of the environment? Aesthetics?

• Music
• Items on the menu - wide selection of drinks/food, the price range, size of items
• Clealiness of the environment
• Packaging, signage (how the menu is displayed)
• Ambiance of cafe - how is it decorated, the theme, the layout
• The smell
• The products/packaging - consistent and cohesive 
• Aesthetics and the colours used 

2. What do you associate with the future? (colours, emotions, technology, etc.)

• Materials - metal, glass, acrylic
• Colours - colder, subdued colour paletter/more monochromatic
• Technology - present everywhere, great influence on everyday life (apps, social media,etc...)
• Shapes/smell - realistic feeling to everything 

3. How do the images laid out make you feel. Are my experiences reflective of a very minimalist/futuristic style?

• The latest ones definitely do through the use of geometric shapes, lines and colours 
• You have done a lot of research into the images which has enabled you to think about design/related to your topic which is really good

4. How would you revamp a coffee shop experience? (new technology, interesting design, new perspectives? etc.)

• Upside down interiors/architecture/design
• Technology - Interactive (e.g. robots?)
• No more waiting in lines - order/pay on your phone
• No waitresses/service people
• Outlets for laptops/phones everywhere
• Smart use of space - no crowded areas, special seats and interesting decor
• More information on what exactly is in your food, special orders available for food allergists or the ability to customize and personalize everything

THURSDAY 26TH FEBRUARY 2015: SEQUENCE

Having finally come to an idea that I felt really excited about. Today I started to develop the visual language for my coffee shop concept. Firstly for the bottle labels I wanted to visually represent emotions through simple graphical shapes and patterns. This task is definitely something that requires a lot of research into the psychology of colours, shapes and forms and this is what I focused on in studio today. 

I felt like the group tutorials were really helpful. Being able to see everyone else's work and presenting my concept to the group and being able to receive some feedback and advice on some of the issues that I have in my project was very useful. Overall, they were really excited about my concept which was really nice and they gave me a few chefs/scientists/artists such as Heston Blumenthal which was definitely useful especially because he definitely utilizes the multisensory experience with food in all his restaurants which is something that directly corresponds to my concept. 

TUESDAY 3RD MARCH 2015: PROGRESS TUTORIAL

Overall the progress tutorial went very well. I received really good feedback about my progress and my start in Unit 7 which is always encouraging. Progress tutorials often make me very reflective and I feel as though my skills have definitely improved since the beginning of the foundation course. My research has gone into more depth and I have been more involved in making and experimenting with everything. I often have a lot to write in my Sketchbook which is something that Anne commented on in my progress tutorial. Because I wont be present in the final assessment she had mentioned that my sketchbook should be very self explanatory. My pages are often very crammed and full of text and images which is something that could be quite chaotic for the examiner and I should condense my notes slightly and add a few post-its to guide reader through my though process. 

TUESDAY 10TH MARCH 2015: PRINT

The primary focus of this week is Print and therefore we had to prepare some stencils ready to screenprint today. Honestly, I really didn't know how I could incorporate a screenprint into my project and therefore decided to do a piece that was inspired by the research I had done for my project. I ultimately came up with some geometric/graphical designs that would be interesting to attempt to screenprint. I cut out two stencils; one for the black paint and one for the red. Due to the complexity of my design it was really difficult to line up the stencils to make sure that the print was alligned correctly. Although it was quite stressful attempting to allign every print correctly, I realized that I really like the ones that were printed slightly slanted or off which was really surprising. I really like the room for surprises with this kind of printing as I have realized that the 'accidents' usually becomes one of my favourite pieces. 

WEDNESDAY 11TH MARCH 2015: UMBERTO GIOVANNINI: RELIEF PRINTING

Today we worked with Umberto to create a relief print that captures a journey you have taken or an experience you have recently experienced. Umberto's prints are usually quite cinematic as he merges various components and images together to generate a 'collage' type piece that draws upon various aspects of a location or and journey. Personally, I found it really difficult to be able to showcase a journey/location in a single image, let alone carve the card to create the print. Although I was really hesitant about this task, after getting use to the technique, I began enjoying the process even more. It was definitely difficult to get the hang of cutting the mountboards, but after a few experiments, it was nice to be able to create different textures and lines with difficult marks on the card. 

THURSDAY 12TH MARCH 2015: RELIEF PRINTING

Today we had time to finish off cutting our boards to begin printing it in the print workshop. Honestly, because this was my first time cutting out something like this. I really didn't know how it was going to turn out; if my lines were too thin? too shallow? But I guess that is all part of the expeirmentation process. Overall, I surprisingly really enjoyed this task, although it didn't really relate to what I'm doing in my project, I really liked the process and technique of relief printing and maybe I could include this process in my unit 7 project somehow. 

I also experimented with hand embossing that I wanted to use for my project. I really like the look of embossed paper as it attracts the user to touch and experience the product rather than just looking at it passively. Creating texture with the package definitely attracts the user to experience the product in a new way that really fits in with the very tactile and sensory experience I want to achieve through my project. 

MONDAY 16TH MARCH 2015: OBJECT

In the morning we were given a task to brainstorm and generate answers for 12 questions. 

TUESDAY 17TH MARCH 2015: TRANSLATING 2D TO 3D

Today, we translated some of our 2D ideas/concepts/designs to a 3 dimensional object. I decided to focus on creating the corporate identity/branding for a candle that triggers memories through the senses. I specifically wanted to create something that makes you reminisce abotu something or a feeling in the past that puts all things into perspective. This idea stemmed from the sensory experience I wanted to evoke through my 'brand.' So today, I generated the net of my pacakging on illustrator and experimented with different ways of packaging a candle. My final packaging is quite simple but I was inspired by a matchbox. I decided to use mirrored card with pastel card to give the box a more sleek but playful look. Honestly, at this point in my project, I feel slightly lost and disoriented with my concept. Therefore found it particularly useful to have a focus topic like 'object' to guide my creative process. However, after creating the packaging, I couldn't really visualize how I wanted the whole brand to look like. Developing a brand is definitely more difficult than it looks. 

Peer Feedback:

1. What do you think about the candles that trigger memories

• I love how there is definitely a mix of the senses and I really like how you use a experience/situation to describe the scent which leaves it open for the customer to smell it and experience it for themselves and deduce the feelings and emotions they associate with it. 
• I really like the concept and the use of materials 

2. What do you think I could do next to take this project further?

• Maybe develop an advertisement for it or maybe design how you want it to be displayed in a store or experienced by a customer. 
• Maybe consider the environment in which it is used in and how it creates a new atmosphere or environment and try to visualize it

THURSDAY 19TH MARCH 2015: TUTORIALS

Having created the packaging, business cards, labels and membership cards for my candles, I wasn't feeling to excited about it. Although it did communicate what I wanted it to communicate, it didn't excite me like I hoped it would. During the progress tutorial I asked my group what they thought about the product; although liking all the things I had made, they also commented on how it might not be as 'futuristic' as it could be, and maybe this was due to the fact that it was a candle (which is a very current product.) Their feedback was really useful, however, I did feel really stuck on what to do next. I really felt as though the idea of making it a very 'sensory experience' was hindering and holding me back from generating some more exciting work so I decided to take a step back and stem back to when I began brainstorming about 'issues' that could arise in the future. Being really interested in the concept that in the future we would have limited resources and there would be the increasing issue of sustainability I decided to take this and brainstorm more ideas that I could experiment with. 

MondaY 23rd MARCH 2015: Image week

To finish this mini project I decided that I would photography the candles to create a mini catalogue with all the candles and generate an advert. 

SATURDAY 28TH MARCH 2015:

With my 'printing commodities' and 'rechargeable commodities' concept I decided to begin experimenting with trying to generate a manifesto for a company that produces this 'device' or 'product.' My original idea was to develop a brand and corporate identity for a 'charger' that recharges commodites so goods could instantaneously be grown back. My idea was derived from my brainstorm I did about global issues that are affecting us today and that could worsen in the future. Technology is something that is rapidly developing and researchers believe that it could take over everything in the future. Environmental issues has always been something that has been worsening and it has been forecasted that resources could be depleted very soon if we don't find other alternative or sustainable ways of consumption. With this I thought it would be an interesting idea to be able to 'grow' or 'recharge' or 'produce' your own goods with something like technology that seems to be rapidly improving and expanding. With this idea I decided to experiment with some simple stop motion/animation videos to show a packaging or stem to be plugged in and recharged. e.g. the core of an apple would be plugged in and grow the apple back. 

WEDNESDAY 1ST APRIL 2015:

I decided to begin with coming up with name and a logo for the company. I resarched into various synonyms for 'construct' or 'generate' but decided on 'QNSTRKT.' I really liked how at first glance its pronounciation is very questionable, however, once you try to say it, it is noticeable that it is pronounced as 'construct.' 

Because this was ultimately a 'printer' i wanted the logo to be very geometrical to show the technological/scientific side of this company. 

FRIDAY 3RD APRIL 2015: 

As part of my manifesto, I wanted to focus on global issues as one of my main concepts. I researched into global issues and listed a few that I wanted to incorporate into my project. Poverty and world hunger was one of the main topics that I wanted to research more into. With this I wanted to digitally illustrate infographic ads using various fruits and vegetables to illustrate statistics. 

Peer Feedback:

• I really like how the statistics along with the illustrations really makes you think. It is almost like a facade, where the beauty of the images draws you in and then you notice the statistics and the severity of global issues. 
• I think its a really smart and creative way to use infographics to convey your message. 
• Maybe consider setting a theme for the statistics? e.g. environment, social, political, historical, etc. so that it is more direct?

WEDNESDAY 9TH APRIL 2015:

I thought it would be an interesting idea to use pantone swatches as 'inks' for the Qnstrkt printer. A commodity would be generated based upon the swatches that have been inserted into the machine. Therefore I wanted to create swatches for each of the senses. Firstly I decided to focus on taste as the first sense. For the swatches I wanted to replicate sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty in a visual way. Therefore I thought it would be a good idea to firstly begin by finding out what people think a 'sweet taste' or a 'bitter taste' would look like. I asked people what colours they associated with each taste and shapes and forms first comes to mind when they think about a specific taste. With this information I decided to experiment with a photography experiment that I thought would fit in quite well with my concept. I decided to fill a tray with water and swirl the various coloured paints on the surface. I then swirled through the surface using a toothpick and added a bit of oil to create some interesting forms in the water. The information from my survey determined which colours I used for each of the different tastes and I considered the forms they had drawn for me when using the toothpick to create the spirals and the marbling effect. 

THURSDAY 10TH APRIL 2015:

At this point in my project, what I aim to exhibit in the final show is a promotional pack for my 'company' and 'concept,' Within this it would include all the basic consumer touch points (e.g. business cards, posters, etc.) I really want to convey the aim and the fundamental beliefs of the company through this promotional pack which will definitely be a challenge. I have already made my infographic posters which will be a part of this promotional pack. But I also want to make small publications/zines/catalogues each explaining Who we are, What we do and Why we are doing it. I aim to also generate a packaging (e.g. a catalogue folder) which will hold all of this together nicely. 

SATURDAY 12TH APRIL 2015:

I thought it would also be an interesting idea to try and develop an app as well. And I did a quick little experiment on photoshop to try generate this. 

TUESDAY 14TH APRIL 2015: POST EASTER BREAK TUTORIAL 

During the tutorial today we had to present our portfolio along with all the work we have done during the easter break. My concept and idea has changed drastically throughout the project and therefore felt that it was really useful to have this tutorial. 

Some notes I took down during the tutorial:

• Rewrite the portfolio sheet captions to be more specific
• Make sure that all images are mounted without any tape peaking out he edge
• Print some larger posters of the infographics so that the text is visible (2 or 3 sheets)
• Do next: Produce the promotional package (the catalogues) and print some posters
• What to exhibit: x4 A3 Posters (with swatch or without) and the catalogues 
• The posters can attract someone to your exhibition where they will then be able to look through the catalogues and publications. 
• Really good development of idea and sketchbook showcases the change in your idea and documents your through process clearly. 

Thursday 16th April 2015: Group Crit 

On tuesday, I had my tutorial with Hannah and we discussed the work that we had completed over the easter break and what aspects to focus on in the last few days before the deadline. So today we presented our chosen idea to a large group and talked about the development of our idea and what we aim to do next. 

Peer Feedback I received:

• The infographics poster and the graphics were executed very nicely 
• Consider the colours used in the posters - if you are raising awareness make sure you know why you chose the colours you did and not a striking colour of awareness like red for example. 

I chose to use more gentle colours to convey my message because I want people to approach the product and posters and after comoing closer, they then begin to realize and notice what the poster is really talking about (the harsh statistics on the infographics). The colours are used to initally grab the attention of my audience without being this huge sign that is strikingly overwhelming. 

• Make clear why you chose your medium and why you think its appropiate in conveying you concepts and intentions. 
• Before explaining my concept and intentions, I asked the group what they think I am aiming to do in my project and most of them said raise awareness. Which is what I was aiming to do, so I definitely feel that the message is clear throughout my project. 

MONDAY 20TH APRIL 2015: FINAL OUTCOME PRODUCTION

• I am going to dedicate this week to producing all the outcomes I aim to exhibit in the exhibition. 
• What I aim to exhibit in the exhibition: x4 A3 Posters and 3 Catalogues in a promotional pack

I was definitely very stressed because I was still unsure about how I want the catalogues to look and how I wanted them to be exhibited, etc. However,  definitely knew what I wanted inside the catalogues so I began by compiling the contents for each of the catalogues and began the printing process. I then printed out mockups of various components and compiled it physically to be able to see if it looked good together and what not. It definitely helped to just try things out physically and to look at it in real life rather than just digitally. The first mock ups i did was to test out what kind of materials were most suitable for the colours and patterns. 

TUESDAY 21ST APRIL 2015: 

Yesterday I was able to print the content for my who catalogue. I tested i it out on tboth textured paper as well as matte and glossy to see which one was most suitable. I really liked how the textured paper looked with the printed images on and therefore chose to go with that. This was also 230gsm which was a lot thicker than that of the matte and glossy paper. It was definitely a challenge to line everything nicely which was very time consuming. Hopefully I will pick up the pace soon for the next few catalogues. 

I also sent in 4 files to be printed with Archiprint to print the posters on 230gsm A3 Matte paper which will be ready for Thursday. 

thursday 23RD APRIL 2015: 

I was able to print half of each of the zines and therefore today's task is to fnish printing each of the publication catalogues. I also decided to print some small business card size statistic cards that acts almost like a flyer. At this point, I didn't have any covers designed for any of the publications and thefore that was also one of today's priorities. It was definitely a challenge because I wanted them to all look unified but also be individual. I therefore decided that the layout will emain the same with a vary in the graphics and the colour of the covers. But because each of the publication catalogues are of different sizes it was also difficult again to format the pages to print at the exact dimensions. (It would've definitely been easier to print all the content in one go to ensure that everything is the same size - something for future reference). 

FRIDAY 24TH APRIL 2015: 

I was able to get everything printed yesterday and therefore today I plan to assemble all the components to my publications. It was definitely a lengthy process. After pinning everything today in the correct order I then had to consider how I wanted to bind the publications. I had already planned to hand stitch them 3 different ways to differentiate from each one. But I thought it might be too abstract, therefore I decided that it may be a better idea to stick to japanese stitching but change the edge in which they are bound. I knew that I wanted the who publication to be bounded on the left edge and the why publication to be bounded on the top edge. 

The what publication was definitely the most difficult because I wanted to bind this in one of the top corners but couldn't find any stitch designs to accomodate for this. So I ended up creating my own stitch which happened to work successfully!