Research

My research for this assignment consisted mainly of practicing how to draw in perspective, searching for the types of furniture that I wanted to add to my space and finding their dimensions, as well as learning how to create grids and completing multiple trials for grids to decide what size to make my final grid. I used these practices and the exercises to improve my linear perspective techniques and situate both simple and complex forms into a constructed space. I had to rely on essential forms to construct complex objects and volumetric forms.

Exercises/Activities

Contour Line Weight

After doing a rough sketch of three objects (a watch, key, and water bottle), I made a clear contour of each one. Then I cut out each contour on Bristol paper to create stencils. The stencils were used to layer and overlap the contours in a completely new composition. This was my first chance to work with different line weights and learn how to put different objects together in one composition in a way that is visually pleasing and moves your eye across the page.

 

 

Planes, Curves, Layering

For this exercise I created a composition with both flat and curved planes, as well as layering. The part of this composition I like the most is how the curved plane wraps around the rectangle throughout the middle. In class I learned to create a singular curved plane, so to figure out how to make it look like it was wrapping around took some trial and error.

 

 

 

Bottles and Shapes Diorama

Bottles Diorama

Throughout this exercise I got a lot of practice with ellipses and making ellipses of different sizes to show dimension within the bottles. This ultimately helped me later on when working to create cylinders and round objects within the final project. These bottles took a lot of practice for me and were one of the harder parts of this assignment, and I would say I still need practice with free handing ellipses.

Shapes Diorama

After practicing by drawing cubes that were stacked on top of each other, I created two still life dioramas by stacking blocks of different shapes. I then used these to create a final composition and decided to challenge myself by having most of the blocks be stacked together instead of separated. This exercise helped me understand how to create 3D forms in a 2D composition as well as how shapes fit together in space.

 

 

Perspective Practice

This exercise helped me practice drawing in linear perspective with both one and two point perspectives. This was especially helpful when using linear perspective in creating my final 3D space. It was also helpful in learning to draw cylinders in perspective because that is one aspect I struggled with at the beginning.

 

Mood Board

For me, this exercise was one of the most helpful in creating the final assignment. I used this mood board to really visualize what type of furniture I wanted to include in my final studio space and seeing the vibe I wanted to create in the space helped me to decide what types of furniture to add as well. I also included dimensions of everything in this mood board which was ultimately extremely helpful when transferring dimensions onto my grid.

Iterations

It took a couple attempts before creating a grid that I wanted to use in the creation of my final delivery. The first grid I made was a 14×14, but after laying everything out, I decided to make my final grid with the dimensions of 16×12 because the objects situated better within those dimensions. Also, using tracing paper to originally ideate my layout and test different types of furniture provided me a vision for my final space and helped me understand how I need to change the dimensions of certain objects such as the loft. It was a great way to visualize what I actually wanted my final space to look like and what steps I needed to take to get there.

Production

Every exercise throughout this assignment was very helpful in guiding me in my final delivery. After completing the exercises, I was able to use my improved techniques of triangulation and perspective drawing to situate complex objects into my final linear perspective space. One of the most helpful exercises in creating my final space was the mood board because it provided me a starting point and dimensions for my objects. Seeing my visions organized all in one place, helped me decide what furniture I wanted to include in my final space and see how the different objects could work together to create a single cohesive space. Throughout the process I ran into a couple obstacles, the biggest one being smearing the ink while drawing with the micron pens on the Bristol paper. To solve this obstacle, I switched the straight-edge I was using and when I used a ruler instead of a triangle, I smeared the pen a lot less. I also struggled to get the dimensions on the couch correct, but after a couple trials I got it to work well in the space. Using different line weights was another aspect I could’ve done better. I only used one line weight and I think that if I had used multiple it would add more dimension to the space. I knew my final production was completed when I had all of the required objects, but also added specific details, like sticky notes and plants, to personalize the space. However, if I did have more time, I would choose to add more texture to the furniture, more details like smaller decorative objects, and obvious changes in line weight. Overall, throughout this assignment, I learned many new drawing techniques including perspective drawing, triangulation, contouring, and more, as well as how to apply these techniques to create a 3D space within a 2D drawn composition. 

PDF Of Final Work

 

Link to Portfolio Project

Research

Through my research and note taking, I began to think about how each element and principle can be used in design instead of just being able to list their names. I also never thought about time being considered an element, but I now understand how all design must be able to experienced, which happens over time. Not only was I able to utilize certain principles in my designs, I was also able to use many other ideas from my notes throughout my exercise and final composition. For example, the idea that all design radiates from a center point was used in my final composition because all the shapes came together at one point in the center, but also radiated outwards into an open composition.

Exercise: Making shapes from shapes

To begin this exercise I created the 11×17 template, then, using a compass, cut out three different sizes (1.0, 1.5, 2.0) of triangles, squares, and circles. Then, using the shapes as stencils, I traced their contours and layered different combinations of shapes to create many compositions on the templates. My early iterations were first created, then examined to find a principle that it conveys, and my later iterations were created with the intent of using a specific principle within the composition. Lastly, using the iterations on my templates, I overlaid tracing paper and found new shapes within those compositions to use for the final delivery of the exercise.

 

PDF of More quick iterations based on specific principles

Final Exercise By Hand Version

Using the new shapes I found from my iterations, as well as a point and line, I created four compositions for the final exercise, two dynamic and two static, as well as two that are convex polygons and two that are curvilinear shapes. Each 8×8 composition was created with the intent of utilizing a specific principle to create a certain type of energy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Exercise Digital Version

I repeated the final 8×8 compositions in Adobe Illustrator.

Remake of Two Compositions By Hand

After critiques, I chose two compositions to edit and recreate in order to truly fit the principle I assigned to it. The new principle I focused on in both the convex polygon and curvilinear compositions is emphasis in which I intended to emphasize the point.

For this revision, I kept the composition as dynamic, but made sure the edges of the shape and line lined up together more precisely and placed the circle on the intersection point. This was done to make sure the composition clearly conveys the principle of emphasis/dominance, in which the point is emphasized. Also, the orientation of the convex polygon conveys the energy of “collapsing”.

For this revision, I kept the composition as dynamic, but instead of a continuous line, I used a dotted line to create a better sense of movement towards the point in order to emphasize the point. Also, this new curvilinear shape is a simplified version of my original one.

Iterations

Building off of the compositions created in my iterations for the exercise, I intentionally used lines and points of the shapes to create new forms and activate a relationship between positive and negative shapes.

 

Columns from left to right:

1. The first column of boxes are layers of contoured shapes, creating compositions.
2. The second column of boxes are the new shapes I created from the original composition in their “positive state” (a black background with white shapes).
3. The third column of boxes are the same compositions from second column, but repeated in their “negative” state (a white background with black shapes).

Final Compositions

Title: Radiating

Principle: Balance

 

 

 

 

Combined PDF of Final Compositions

Concept Statement

The title of my final composition is “radiating” and I focused on the principle of balance in order to communicate this descriptive state and energy of “radiating”. I used a center point that all 4 shapes converged at, but also made it an open composition so that when you look at the center, the shapes seem to radiate outward, causing the viewers’ eyes to travel both to the center focal point and outward beyond the composition.

Production/Reflection

Over the course of this assignment, I have learned about many new techniques and concepts. In the “by hand” process I was able to learn how to create geometric shapes using a compass and refine my techniques for cutting and gluing card stock and Bristol paper. For the digital versions of this assignment, I was introduced to Adobe Illustrated and worked through understanding the uses of different tools within the application. Lastly, I was able to use all of these techniques, as well as my clarified understanding of the elements and principles of design, to ultimately create compositions that focus on a specific principle (balance) to generate a certain energy (radiating). In the future there is room for me to improve my craft within the “by hand” process (especially my cutting techniques) and my use of digital tools like Illustrator within the digital process. I will carry all that I have learned from this assignment into my future in design, especially my understandings of the elements and principles and how to utilize them to create energy and meaning within compositions. I will also continue to work on clearly communicating the principle of my intention to an audience because many times, viewers may see something different than the designer if the parts of the design do not distinctly work together to convey the principle.

Link to Portfolio Project