Research
In this project, I thought back on all the different concepts and lessons I have learned over the past year. I thought of the different design styles and solutions I used to create my own projects and the things I leaned to do better. For this project I wanted to draw out my animation, because I haven’t done that before, I began researching and trying to figure out the different programs I can use to do that.
the first step was to define the word and get to know my mentor. we communicated through iMessage so whatever we talked about was recorded an di could refer back to it when Im brainstorming and making the final piece. we talked about a lot of things and I asked her many questions to get to know her and to understand why she chose industrial design.
Where are you from? Why industrial design? what inspires you? Hobbies? interests? whats the most valuable lesson you’ve learned so far? What are your professional and personal goals? what are your values? did you have any struggles that define the person you are today? what is your favorite meme/gif? and what is the best gift you have ever received?
Exercises/Activities
Exercise 1 – What is the best gift you have ever received?
When I was a senior in high school, I was suffering from depression. At that time I was going through a lot because my parents were getting a divorce and I was dealing with a lot of things on my own. My sister and I grew up being best friends and inseparable. She was in another city attending university and I barely ever saw her, so part of it was me feeling very alone.
On my birthday, a giant box showed up at my door step and the bell rang. Me and my mom gathered at the door trying to figure out what it was and who sent it. Both of us tried hauling it into the house but it was too heavy. We eventually gave up and decided to just open it outside.
As we ripped open the wrapping paper and cut through the tape ,my sister popped out of the box scaring us to death. In her hand was a scrapbook of pictures of our adventures and a small gift.
This is a memory I cherish a lot because her presence was the best gift he could have given me. This taught me that gifts don’t have to be material things, the most significant and thoughtful part of this gift was that it gave me what I needed in that moment, and that was just emotional support and hope.
Exercise 2 – Quotes
” I am not concerned with gifts given in spite or fear, nor those gifts we accept out of servility or obligation; my concern is the gift we long for, the gift that, when it comes, speaks commandingly to the soul and irresistibly moves us.” – Lewis Hyde
“It is what you make of it”- Lewis Hyde
Iterations and Production
From my conversation with Allison, she told me that she loves gritty (Philadelphia Flyers Mascot) so I started making meme gifs. I wanted to create something funny that would make her laugh because we talked about how we both don’t care about material things but instead, the meaning behind them. The sentimental value of something is a lot more important to both of us.
I really enjoyed using hand tools and making this on the iPad. I cut out and moved the eyeball and wrote a gritty comment about gritty never blinking. In recent months, gritty memes have become a way for people to express their political opinion. So I tried to use motion book to draw out gritty himself using this reference image during this process I was still getting used to drawing out my animation instead of using vectors like in the dynamic pages project. Some of the limitations on Motion-Book are the lack of drawing tools like blending. It was hard to make complex drawings with the limited brushes and pens. my original plan was to make gritty play hockey but I wasn’t able to bring it to life in the way that I wanted. this taught me the importance of functionality within design. This drawing took me a really long time and to make an animation, I would have to redraw the character on each frame.
After making this, I had to take a step back and look back at the assignment brief. A major aspect of the project is focused around this phrase. “Design a “gift” intended to explain or highlight an idea you have come to understand as fundamental about design”. until now I had only been focusing on the actual piece and not the concept behind it or what it means. so I had to go back to the drawing board and rethink my idea.
I decided to research a powerful quote that would inspire Allison when she graduates. something to help her with her goals and motivate her when she’s feeling down. I started using Adobe Animate to bring this new idea to life.
“Design the life you want to live”- Rachel Roy
I started drawing out a hand to represent the fact that the future is in your hands and what you make of it is up to you. The hand is holding a smily face to reinforce the idea that you control your own emotions and you can do whatever you put your mind to. The background is space because this concept closely resembles the concept of manifestation in Quantum physics. I like this idea a lot better than the meme because it has a deeper meaning and the drawing part came together well.
I wanted to used colors that stand out and are cartoonish so I went with neon ones.
Changed the font:
Concept Statement
‘Design the life you want to live’ narrates the power Design and how it gives designer a chance to create their reality through not only art and design, but also by using Design Thinking (David Kelley). Design solutions are applicable in all scopes of life and can be used to inspire people not only professionally but also in finding solutions for their personal life. Designing is a gift, and a superpower that help us expand and share what we can see with the world, and create changes or simply open a door that invite people to think or see different things. I used emphasis and variety as my main design principles for this project. This animation is intended to inspire Allison to create her own future and to use design as a took to solve problems. She is a very creative and analytical person. looking at her portfolio I see her potential and her ability for growth. She will do great things with her gift and that is what I wanted to emphasize with this gift from me to her What I am trying to communicate is, that designing is a gift and depends on what we do with it, what we design with that gift, is what we are sharing to the world.
Reflection
If I could do something different next time I have to make an animation, I would practice digital drawing and color selection. It was kind of difficult to do it free hand. Using vectors is a lot easier for me because I am able to control the movement of the mouse/pen. I am just now exploring this kind of production method so there is a lot to improve.
Final