Sensory Abstraction

Instruction

Print the final 30″ by 30″ poster, put it on foamboard, and apply the 3D element.

Purpose
Finish the project.

My Interpretation
See above and previous progress posts.

Instruction

Prototype ideas for the three dimensional aspect of the project.

 

Purpose

Explore what can make the poster three dimensional and how it impacts the composition. Use more than two dimensional space.

 

My Interpretation

I already knew for my main aspect of the 3D element I wanted to cut out a hole in the dead center of the poster. However, due to needing more of this aspect, I explored various textures of mod podge and similar materials on paper and foam board. I tried drying the finish upside-down to create a dried dripping look, but the mod podge was too thick to properly create the texture. Normally brushing the mod podge on didn’t add enough texture, and putting too much made the ink below it run. I tried rubbing loose cotton balls onto the wet mod podge to get a new and interesting texture, but this ruined the foamboard and paper, ripping up and discoloring the material. For the final design, I decided to brush a medium/large amount of the finish on the parts I aim to highlight and pat the still-wet mod podge with a brush to create a very small bumpy texture.

Instruction

Print out a 30″ by 30″ version of your draft – with color – on normal printer paper.

 

Purpose

See how your poster will truly look with color. Focus on new details and what is working and what doesn’t.

 

My Interpretation

I wanted to have a relatively dark analogous color scheme. Purple to red to orange and everything in between, keeping a grounded and familiar sense to the piece while still having contrast between a dark purple and a bright orange. I wanted to imitate the red velvet seats of most auditoriums  by making the background a deep red gradient. I wanted to emphasize the central figure being in a spotlight by making the shapes bright orange, and the subtle dark purple emotional aspect of the bittersweet feelings lingering around the figure, also mimicking the shape of a bow. I wanted the top dripping lines and bottom wavy lines to be connected but different in their own kind of gradient, one linear, one radial. Finally, with the background being a gradient, keeping the last curves one solid color almost make them look like different colors because the background they are on is changing, again, trying to mimic the experience and the disorientation it may bring.

Instruction

Print out a 30″ by 30″ version of your draft – no color – on normal printer paper. Critique.

 

Purpose

Get feedback on your design and improve on it. See how your poster will truly look in person and adjust accordingly, should you need to. Focus on details and what catches the eye.

 

My Interpretation

After receiving critique on my draft, I changed a lot of details around on my poster. Most prominently, I changed the colored bits on the re-design to be larger, have more weight, and match and mimic the rest of the composition in its overall feel of size, scale, and space creating unity. I flipped around the bottom waves for balance and adjusted them so they don’t draw too much attention to themselves. Finally, I fixed overlapping issues of useless small and unintentional spaces and rearranged some background curves to be more appealing and move the eye around the piece more.

Instruction

Create drafts of the final poster with the combined representations. Do not add color.

 

Purpose

Design a possible final project with what you currently have and are using with the combined representations. Define the experience in different ways.

 

My Interpretation

I wanted to have a figural shape in the middle representing the actor taking a bow. For both versions, I settled with this descending line shape with a hole cut out. My first draft was too simple for me. It had a lot going on, but what was going on wasn’t complete enough to convey the feeling of taking a final bow well enough. My second draft is one that I connected much more with, much busier, but still a relative focus on the main “actor”. A lot more is going on compositionally, although some aspects (the audience/house and the dripping paint from the set) are very representational and will be changed later. I kept both drafts in grayscale to not add color, but I changed the grays to get a sense of depth for future additions of color.

Instruction

Combine and merge previous representation of senses to develop more complex representations closer to the true sensory experience.

 

Purpose

Work with designing what is the most and least important parts of a particular representation. Iterate as much as possible, merge representations, combine representations, subtract representations. Experiment and find something new, keep in mind if the new combined representation still hold the same meaning or if it has changed.

 

My Interpretation

I split groups of combinations into three sections: the audience, the actor, and the set. For the audience, I ended up mostly combining sight, sound, and scent representations as you can never touch the audience as you bow, but you can definitely hear them. I focused a lot of waves, emanating lines, and stacked/busy compositions. For the actor, I focused mostly on touch and emotions. I iterated a lot, and some patterns, such as [REDACTED] were a combined pattern that lost the meaning that it’s two parts held together. I found a lot of success in negative space and erasing a lot in this section. Finally, for the set, I focused back on scent and sight again. The set is usually a very harsh and chemically smelling place, as well as a very special place that only the actors get to interact with. I aimed to explore that by being so personal with the representations and their combinations.

Instruction

Create visualizations of specifically chosen sensory experiences.

 

Purpose

Experiment with how to visualize something that isn’t typically visual. Convey sound, scent, touch, and emotion through sight. As for sight, investigate how the overall sight can be abstracted and not simply represented.

 

My Interpretation

I explored a variety of sights, sounds, scents, feelings, and emotions. I explored emotions the most, focusing on the bittersweet/empty feeling you get in the realization that this giant show you’ve just worked on, this beautiful amalgamation of set and cooperation, and all these people you just met are going away. I tried to show that through various forms of scribbles, sharpish shapes, negative space, and declining use of line in direction, weight, and density. For senses relating to the house/audience, I struggled with abstraction vs. representation, sometimes coming too close to a literal representation of a crowd of people rather than an abstract version of the same thing. This same problem also slightly carried over to scent, but not nearly as much. I feel I created a good starting point to work off of.

Instruction

Create a mind map to help visualize the senses of your experience.

 

Purpose

Delve into extreme detail about every sense possible that could relate to your experience. Create connections and relate things that may guide you through visualization of such things.

 

My Interpretation

I decided to visualize the experience of a final bow onstage of the last performance of a comedy. I recently experienced this last October and in a few days (from the creation of this post) I will be doing it again. I wanted to have a strong sense of the conflicting feelings of completion and emptiness that comes with finishing a show but having to leave it behind. It’s bittersweet, but a lot goes into it and even more runs through your head as you take that final bow. There’s a lot of scents from the house, perfumes, nice clothes, fancied-up people. There’s a lot of sight between the bright lights and dust in your eyes and a lot of sound, obviously, from the applause. The overall experience is very complex and I plan to have a lot going on in the composition, but keep an actor-like figure at the center of it. I do not want to lose focus on the fact that all these experiences only exist because the actor had the privilege to be there in the first place, bowing.

Listening to My Favorite Playlist, Longboarding to Class (In the Cold).

• Riding the Board
  • touch
    • the push
      • boot is stiff and restrictive
      • heel to sole to toe roll
      • consecutive pushes
      • left thigh sore from supporting
      • right calf sore from pushing
    • bumps
      • legs shake
      • knees bend
      • rebalance necessary
        • arms out
    • the wind
      • cuts the face
      • ears feel raw
      • fingers, if exposed, are numb
    • hand in pockets
      • one hand on my phone checking the playlist
      • shielded from cold
      • fuzzy jacket
  • sound
    • the music
      • upbeat, strong, intense, heavy
      • dulcet, cool, relaxed, fun
      • folky, punchy, earthy, vibrant
      • slow, melancholic, melodic, ambient, ethereal
    • the rumble of the wheels
      • rhythmic, constant, calming
      • loud and echoing off buildings
    • others walking and talking
      • footsteps
      • no discernible conversation hear
      • disjointed and meaningless strings of words
      • small snapshots into lives of people
  • taste
    • dry tongue
      • extremely
    • piercingly cold air
  • smell
    • road salt
    • leather jacket
    • moisturizer/cologne
  • sight
    • many people
    • blurry landscapes
    • self
  • emotion
    • feel like a badass

Waking Up From a Nap When You Really Don’t Want To.

• Waking Up
  • touch
    • the warm bed and blankets
      • comfortable and lovely
      • heavy and warm
    • the cold air
      • harsh and dry
      • frigid
      • goosebumps
  • sound
    • the alarm
      • piercing and loud
      • disorienting
      • annoying and terrible
    • the rustling of blankets and clothes
      • soothing and soft
      • gentle and welcoming
  • taste
    • a dry mouth
      • drink water (lots of water)
      • feel better
      • throat is coarse
  • smell
    • the clean linens
      • comforting
      • relaxing
      • hard to leave
    • the sweat
      • a little gross
      • smells like… sweat
  • sight
    • the dorm room in shade
      • sensitive to light
      • eyes watery
      • hard to focus on anything
  • emotion
    • the complete discontent
      • is this really happening?
    • the dread
      • I really don’t want to move

The Final Bow.

• Finishing the Performance
  • touch
    • stepping/walking/running/dancing on the stage
      • wooden boards
      • the occasional loose nail, crew,  prop, or costume piece
      • sturdy and solid
    • the cool air from the house
      • refreshing
      • gives goosebumps
    • the sweat
      • dripping down your face
      • can’t touch it
  • sound
    • the finale scene/song
      • talking/singing
      • score
    • the performance
      • movement sounds
      • talking/singing
  • taste
    • the sweat
      • can’t stop it from falling
      • salty
      • a bit gross
    • dry tongue
      • too much talking/singing/moving
      • tacky and sticky
  • smell
    • the set
      • recently cut wood
        • earthy and familiar
        • comforting
        • dusty
      • dried pigmented paint
        • chemically, sharp on the nose
        • dry and arid
    • the audience
      • fancy clothes
        • peoples getting dressed up in their finest clothes
        • corduroy, velvet, and cotton
      • clean
        • fresh scent from freshly showered people
        • brushed teeth
  • sight
    • the other performers in the scene
      • varies on the scene
        • can be sad, happy, funny, angry, etc.
      • actors are friendly and lovely
      • in the moment
        • sweating, laughing, crying
    • the darkness of the house
      • ominous and haunting
      • try to ignore
      • stares from strangers
  • emotion
    • the scene
      • whatever the scene calls for
      • satisfaction of performing
    • the end
      • relief and pride
      • joy and completion
• Bowing
  • sound
    • the applause
      • deafening
      • comes and goes in waves of loudness
      • can hear individuals and the wholE
  • sight
    • every cast member
      • friends you’ve made along the way
      • exhausted
      • smiling and bowing
  • emotion
    • the bow
      • ecstatic for everyone involved
      • proud of work put in
      • content in a job well done
• Leaving the Stage
  • touch
    • the actors patting each other’s backs/hugging
      • warm and sappy
      • close but not uncomfortable
  • sight
    • the darkness from the house leaves
      • see the whole audience
      • individual faces
        • friends, family, strangers
    • backstage
      • the secrets behind the set
        • goofy and fun
        • complex and full of coordination
  • emotion
    • bittersweet
      • it’s over
      • you’ve now got to say goodbye to the friends you’ve met
      • may not see them again