Being Introduced to the Assignment

In the works of the shape grammar assignment, we would iterate multiple designs, and explore the use of relating the principles of design as compositional and communicative skills. Through iteration, we would come up with designs and illustrate complex ideas relating to the essential principles of design. We would then move onto analyzing our observations and actively defining key vocabulary related to the course with the goals of determining what best ideas could be used for completion of the assignment. We would also use self-critiquing, and critiques from peers to help refine our designs.

Process

Exercise

In the first step of the assignment, we were given an exercise to rapidly iterate multiple concepts. In both the analog and digital version, we made a template with specific measurements to create six squares to work with. We were also restricted to use only squares, triangles, and circles with measurements of 1/2”,1”,1.5”, and 2”.

When starting the process, I thought I was accurate about creating the template but after analyzing it when finished, I believe I didn’t keep my ruler straight, and I also didn’t cut out the shapes I used as precisely as I could.

In the first use of the template in the exercise, I just let my mind wander to find ways to use the shapes. I wanted to see how the use of not just using the shapes, but also using rotation, and outlines could create something. After creating each design, I would sit and analyze what I did, and why I was doing it. I found that I was mostly drawn to create designs for the aesthetic, and that had movement and harmony in it.

Before moving onto more iterations, I wanted to be neat about getting the mesasurements correct. I found that once I started perfecting the shapes it was fairly easy to create the templates larger in size than the smaller ones. I also found it difficult to make perfect circles. Out of frustration, I began to continousuly look around my room to find cylinder objects with the same measurements needed, and traced them to get more accurate circles.

I then moved on the broadening the use of shapes in the process. I wanted to see how incorporating more than one type of shape could create designs with more meaning to it.

In this part of the exercise, I focused more on how each design made me feel, and then related it to the principles.

Top Left: I was inspired by listening to music at the time and thought maybe if I used triangles and circles, I could make a simplistic form of a rocket ship that had been on the album cover of the music I was listening to. The shapes created a sense of movement that made me feel as if the rocket ship was entering outer space.

Top Middle: I had started this design with the use of just the square and the circle, and wanted to see how I could make more out of it. I started to add triangles to create a sense of movement. In my head, these simple designs almost illustrate a little story. I felt that even though the two triangles located near the bottom left of the design were inside a box, the other triangles weren’t limited by lines, and were moving closer and closer to the circle.

Top Right: In this design, I wanted to work with the idea of creating a sense of direction. I began to just simply put shapes together until the movement principle was indicated.

Bottom Right: I began this design by layering circles on top of one another. I then moved on to add the triangles. I kept the principles of harmony and balance in mind when doing this.

Bottom Middle: Throughout the iterations, I saw the circle templates laying by each other, and thought they looked like bubbles. I decided to play around with not limiting the use of the shapes within the box, and layering them on top of each to create a feeling of unity.

Bottom Left: I began playing around with the idea of scale. I started with a large triangle, and began to add more and more triangles to add more movement to this. With this design, I found that I favored the principle of movement. I would later use the idea of this design in more iterations that lead to my final six considerations.

Moving on to the use of creating iterations digitally, I found the beginning stages of using Vectornator frustrating. I was practicing with incorporating the use of the shapes to not only be inside of the box. I tried using the erase tool and placing a new frame around it, but the program would warp the shapes. I had talked with peers about working around this issue, and I didn’t get much useful feedback, as others were struggling as well. I decided to work around this issue, as many of my favorite designs didn’t leave the limitations of the box anyways.

I then used the prior iterations and built off of them to create six of my favorite versions of each.

Top Left:

I took inspiration from one of my digital designs that got all warped by trying to work outside the boxes. In the exercise, I simply just had one 2 inch circle, and I and I used three smaller ½ inch circles to create a simplistic use of scale. I also liked how the contrast between them allowed them to be perceived as two different objects. For this design I decided to add a 1.5 inch circle, but still use ½ inch circles inside. I thought this created an interesting contrast that emphasized the shapes in two different ways.

Top Middle:

I kind of played around with the multiple shapes of squares to get this design. I thought it was interesting how the design offers a ladder effect, but also a sense of balance and harmony with the surrounding squares. I decided to choose this design as one of my final designs because I took a different approach to it. Instead of keeping the principles in mind, I just let my mind flow to come up with a design that I was oddly pleased by.

Top Right:

I also built off of a previous design for this one. I felt that the direction of the arrows coming from the top, pointing down created this dominance feel of the triangles. I really liked how the design allowed a sense of movement, that almost looks as if an army of triangles are invading the two triangles at the bottom of the design. I decided to leave the bottom triangles open/white to add to this feeling. The openness of them creates this feeling of weakness in the whole idea of dominance.

Bottom Right:

I hadn’t actually used any previous designs to build off of for this one. I had some friends stay over at my house, and in the morning when all our alarms were going off, I created this image in my head of what alarms would look like if they were shapes. This image stuck in my head as I was working on the other designs in this template, so I decided to create a design that related to it. The alarms almost had a rippling effect and came from several different directions of the room. This was very irritating at the moment, but it made for some good inspiration for this assignment. I also thought it was interesting how it created an odd sense of harmony and thought it would be perfect to include.

Bottom Middle:

I had created a similar design in the exercise by just letting my mind flow. In the previous design, I had incorporated other shapes than squares, but when getting feedback from peers, I thought I should build off of it. I thought it was interesting how I unintentionally was able to create two different senses of direction. I felt that it creates a direction from the larger squares from the bottom right up to the smaller square at the top left. Similarly, yet different the smaller squares in the top right flowed into an almost arrow effect. This design was one of my favorites because when layering the squares together, the contrast between them created a sense of depth as well.

Bottom Left:

I had created a design in the previous exercise that created a bubble look. However, without the contrast of the background, the circles didn’t stand out to create what I was fully envisioning. With this, I simply just modified the previous design by just adding a black background that I was more pleased by.

Final Decisions

When deciding what design I should use for the final two 8×8 compositions, I was torn between my two favorite designs. I honestly didn’t know which one would be better so I created an analog version of both of them. I felt that I could judge which one I liked better at a larger scale, and could also ask friends and peers for advice as well.

I was excited to recreate this one. I had changed it up a little from the digital version, and decided to add a black background to the large square located in the bottom right. I felt that this adjustment was able to allow the design to have more depth than the previous one. However, with working with squares I idealized the perfection of the shape, and I found that this design wasn’t exactly what I was envisioning. Even though I used the detail knife to cut out the shapes, there were still some imperfections about the analog version that made me realize, I didn’t want to continue working on this, nor turn it in.

The Final Compositions

 

 After getting a lot of feedback from friends, family, and peers I decided to choose this design as my final composition. Although it’s very simple, many people enjoyed and related to the idea of the sensation of alarms going off.

I really enjoyed the outcome of how both versions emphasize a different aspect of the design. With the black background, the design almost feels sunken in. As if everything is falling in towards the middle. This is exactly how I felt when all those alarms were going off. I felt like I was in the middle of everything. However, the white background offers the feeling of the alarm itself. The contrast of the black on top of the white creates the feeling of the sound going off.

I didn’t receive many critiques as to how I could modify this design to appear better, but being that this one was more spontaneous, and was created later in the process, I was able to use prior knowledge from the exercises and lessons to create a design that related to the assignments and principles. Ultimately these final compositions offer a meaningful and interactive design to any viewer who uses alarms.

 

 

 

 

Observation Drawings

When observing the campus, I was drawn to the walkway between the Field House and St. John’s arena. When first viewing this area,  I remember thinking it’s a very unique space. I used to come here for state competitions throughout highschool, and thought that it was interesting that this walkway connected two completely different spaces. The area itself proved emotions of  nostalgia, and a sense of motivation and excitement. When viewing this spot I believe I associate the emotions I would feel as l would walk through the space to go from the practice room and get lined up to compete, to feel the wistful senses of motivation and excitement I felt during that time. 

When staring the process of using triangulation throughout this drawing, I began with the opening that was at the end of the walkway. I found it easiest to use the known points of the rectangular opening to align other angles together. I then moved on to finding the angles of the ground and the ceiling. From there I started working on the walls, and moving down to the entrances of both buildings. The last step I took when completing the drawing was detailing out the doors and windows.

Throughout the process of viewing the photo to complete the drawing, I noticed I felt different emotions about the space.  When viewing the photo I am more drawn to the ways the space fits together from the sense of direction of the lines. However, when I view the space in person, I am more drawn to how the way of the openness connects the two buildings to create a unqiue feeling. I am drawn to the lines and how the space is all connected, so I thought it was oddly pleasing to connect all the lines together.

 

I found that I was also drawn to the entrance to the Horseshoe by the symmetry and balance of the ceilings and entrance. I believe this helps the stadium have an inviting and welcoming feeling. I found it to be very comforting by the way it creates this welcoming feeling. To have come from a school in New York, I didn’t have the opportunity to be engaged in going to sports events, which I truly missed. I’ve grown up with always having a love for Ohio State Football, and when viewing this location I get this sense as if I am welcomed back home.

Rather than drawing the entire front entrance, I choose to focus more on what’s inside the main arch. I was drawn to the openness of the large arches instead. In the process of starting this drawing, I struggled to find a starting point. I choose to start by creating the curve first. I then moved on to creating the ceiling, and the trim. From there I was able to use the ceiling and trim to create the three arches. I finished my process by adding small details that stood out to me.

I thought that by drawing this observation I was choosing the most appropriate location. Throughout the process, I later felt that this might have been a mistake. I figured the minimalistic look of the entrance and curves would make up a great subject for this project. I was wrong. Throughout the process I noticed myself restaring over, and over again because I lacked finding a way to create alignments to make it all synch up. The curves and arches in this were very difficult for me to create the curves with precision.

Viewing this space in person, and by photo were completely different experiences. In-person, you can sense the openness and depth, but by photo it was simply just a bunch of lines and curves. In-person, I was able to sense the symmetry more accurately than by photo. I feel like this was reflecting in my drawing because the photos I took were slightly off-center.  I noticed it was also difficult to fill in details that I  found intriguing when viewing this image in person, such as the fence, which I unfortunately struggled to find a way to create such small fine lines to be able to include in the drawing.

In the process of setting up my page, I found the process very constructive. This is my first time working on a web page, and I found that the instructions were a crucial part of the process. If I ever tried to get ahead of myself, I would become lost. When referring back to the directions, my problems would be solved.

I choose to construct my bio into three parts, “Background,” “What Design Means To Me,” and “Hobbies.” I felt that I could introduce myself, my educational path, and lead to what design means to me, and eventually end with my hobbies and passions. This allows for the flow of ideas to go together more seamlessly.

When setting up the aesthetics of the page, I choose to go with an earthy tone theme. I felt the soft brown was both professional and aesthetically pleasing. I also choose to highlight each subtitle by emphasizing the size, so that the reader could easily move from idea to idea.

From this assignment, I learned how to set up the basics of a web page. As I learn more and expand my portfolio, I am excited to continuously update this web page to show how I am growing as a designer.

 

A Design I Like A Lot

In this photo of the inside of the oculus, the interior of the building is very captivating. As I went to school in New York, I had been using the building very often. I remember my first time walking through the building to go up to the observatory located at the top of the World Trade Center. It was dark outside, but the inside was still filled with so much light. It created such an uplifting feeling, and I grew to love this building. The designer designed the space inside the space to almost mimicking the sense of openness in space you get from walking through another New York City’s monumental, Grand Central Station. Calatrava explains that the design was intended to be a symbol of light and hopefulness after the city recovered from the tragic 9/11 attacks. Despite the long and expensive construction of the building, I believe this building is a modern monumental concerning New York’s History.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/santiago-calatrava-explains-designed-oculus-for-future-generations

 

A Design I Dislike

I strongly dislike the design of the EOS lip balm. I believe the container that stores the lip balm is very annoying and impractical. The designers designed the lip balm to serve the purpose of allowing it to be accessible to find, and would not get lost in a purse. However, I feel that the lip balm becomes more of a cluttering item than an easily accessible item.  The design doesn’t allow for the everyday purpose of regular lip balm by the bulkiness, which causes the product to constantly be falling out of pockets and purses, and allows rolling away.

https://www.fastcompany.com/3063333/the-untold-story-of-how-lip-balm-upstart-eos-outdid-chapstick

 

A Design I Secretly Dislike

I dislike spiral stairs because I view them as unnecessary and annoying. The stair’s architectural design once served a purpose of a form of protection as kingdoms were attacked in the past. I believe the stairs are very aesthetically pleasing, especially in open concept areas. However, the practicality of these stairs does not make sense to me. In today’s day and age, these stairs could be dangerous for children, and the elderly, and often only serve the purpose of aesthetics.

https://www.acadiastairs.com/history-of-the-spiral-staircase/

 

A Design I’m Embarrassed To Admit I Like

I’m embarrassed to admit that I enjoy the yoga ball chair, however, despite how researchers have found that the chair serves no purpose to your body health. I believe that this chair is very pleasing to sit on, and I stand by it. Obviously this design isn’t taking the books by it’s aesthetics, but in my eyes, it’s still a win.

https://ergo-plus.com/using-exercise-ball-to-replace-office-chair/