rancitelli.5 | Gabby Rancitelli

Checkmate: Process

April 14, 2023April 21, 2023 | rancitelli.5

Concept Statement

My partner and I’s idea was centered around day and night, but instead of doing a traditional light and concept, we chose to focus on day time good luck charms and night time superstitions. I designed and constructed the day time chess pieces while my partner, Francesca created the night time chess pieces. Although I focused on good luck charms during the day, I felt the need to make the king a sun because without the sun you can not see the rest of the elements. The day doesn’t happen without the sun, it’s the reason we have the day time, similar to the king running the game of chess. The queen is shown as a rainbow because the queen is a sacred piece in chess. Both a rainbow and a queen are rare and must be cherished. Also, a rainbow can only happen with the use of sunlight. The bishop is depicted through a ladybug because ladybugs are sneaky and show up out of nowhere, similar to the way a bishop operates in the game of chess. Ladybugs are seen to be ‘good luck charms’ if they land on you. The knight is a butterfly because butterflies are unpredictable and unique, just like a knight in chess. Similarly to a ladybug, if a butterfly lands on you, it is also seen to be ‘good luck’. The rook is shown as a four leaf clover because the rook is defensive, hard to find, rare, and high in value, just like a four leaf clover. Finally the pawn is shown as a penny because they are both low in value and they are both powerful in large amounts. Finding a penny on a sidewalk/road that is heads side up is seen to be lucky as well, but it is very difficult to find a penny at night without a light source.

Ideation

To start off this project, we were instructed to learn the roles and rules of chess. Once we had an understanding of the game, we were instructed to assign each piece as a person at a party. We had to write down characteristics about each ‘person’ and why they fit under that specific piece.

Our second exercise for this project was to draw different icons based on a word and the three types of symbols: iconic, symbolic, and indexical. The point of this exercise was to think about new ways you can visualize words based on your own interpretations.

Our third exercise was to use slip joints to create three dimensional chess pieces out of paper. It was very difficult to visualize a different angle of both the woman’s head and the deer’s body.

Iteration and Production

Once my partner and I decided on a concept for our chess pieces, we began drawing quick sketches of what each piece would be and why it suited that piece well. We could make each piece anything we wanted it to be, but it had to have reasoning behind the piece selected and fit under the ‘theme’.

Once we had each piece drawn on our iPads, I then began thinking about what method my partner and I wanted to use for this project. We decided to explore the ‘hole’ method, which included to layers of acrylic with a rectangle in the middle. Each piece had a rectangle slightly smaller than the cut out rectangle on the circular base so they would fit together perfectly. Next we had to identify the size of each piece based on the hierarchy of each piece.

The top image displays my first attempt at making the physical chess pieces. We noticed we made the rectangle on the bottom of each piece too small compared to the rectangle on the circular base which caused instability to the pieces. The four leaf clover’s ‘stem’ was too shinny and unfortunately broke while laser cutting. The bottom image displays the first few pieces cut and put together to check if the sizing issue was fixed.

The top image displays my completed side of the chess board with all 16 pieces together. The bottom image shows mine and my partner’s pieces together on a chess board.

Reflection

Every one of my projects brings it struggles and successes, and this project was no different. I absolutely loved learning about the concept of chess and the rules of the game. I grew up never knowing how chess worked or what each piece meant. This project made me learn about the game of chess and made me step outside of my comfort zone to try new things. I had never worked with acrylic before and in order to make sure the glue for each piece wouldn’t show through, my partner and I had to test out multiple types of glue to see what would be the most durable and clear. After trying rubber cement, tacky glue, hot glue, super glue, and acrylic glue, the best option for our situation was clear super glue due to the small amount of show through the acrylic. My partner and I also struggled with getting into the laser cutter and making sure all of our files were ready to go before our laser cutting appointments. Thankfully we both booked a lot of appointments and were able to get our piece cut and constructed in time. My favorite part of this project was drawing each piece on Adobe Illustrator because I could make each piece the way I wanted it to. Another struggle I ran into was not making some parts of the chess pieces thick enough. For example, the legs of the ladybug broke while it was getting laser cut due to the thinness of the pieces. The collaboration with my partner, Francesca was a lot of fun and we both complimented each other very well. Overall, I truly did enjoy this final project and learning about the rules/roles of chess.

Gifting Design: Process

April 13, 2023April 21, 2023 | rancitelli.5

Statement of Intent

My intent for this project was to create a gift for my mentor that I chose based on similar interests. The mentor I chose for this project was Sydney Rohr, a second year interior design major. I chose her as my mentor because we are both very interested in fashion, dogs, and makeup. To learn more about Sydney’s design interests I asked her a series of questions which included: What interests you about design? Who is your favorite designer? What’s your inspiration when it comes to design? What is design to you? Based on those series of questions, Sydney explained to make that she loves the way a space and impact a person’s mood, whether it’s in a negative or a positive way. She also said her favorite designer is Kelly Wearstler because of her unique design and fashion styles. I also learned that Sydney is inspired by the different materials in a space such as textiles. The use of textiles has taught her to push herself as a designer. Before I learned about Sydney’s design interests/inspirations, I was very lost on what gift I should construct for her, but once I learned more about her and her favorite designer, my ideas began flowing fairly quickly. For this project, we were instructed to chose a quote about design that would influence the construction of our gift. I wanted to make sure I used a quote from Sydney’s favorite designer, Kelly Wearstler and the quote I chose was, “Everything is about color. If you look at magazines and advertising and television, the thing you remember is the color.” The reason I choose this quote was because fashion magazines are very influential on everyday fashion and Sydney is very interested in fashion. Also, the different colored textiles in a space inspires Sydney and there are a lot of different textiles/patterns in different magazines. The three materials I used for this project were: mat-board, rubber cement, and magazine paper. The total amount of money I spent on this project was $0 because I used materials I already own/found around Hayes Hall.

Ideation

To start off this project, we began brainstorming our best gift we’ve ever received. Mine was my first dog when I was going into kindergarten. He was my best friend up until the day he died. Once we determined our ‘best gift’, we then began examining design quotes and created three categories per quote: form, action, and purpose. The reasoning for the three categories was to think about how we could visualize the quote into a physical form. As we found more quotes, we continued analyzing each one and brainstorming under each category. As I was in touch with my mentor, I asked her a series of questions to learn more about her, her work style, and her inspirations. As In learned more about her, I continued writing down the information she displayed to me to keep my work organized.

Our second exercise, after our ‘best gift’ exercise was to find an object from around the room and create a packaging for it. The object I chose was rubber cement and once we chose an object, we had to begin researching that objects impact on the environment. I learned that rubber cement is extremely harmful to the environment due to it not being a water based solvent. The chemicals within rubber cement are associated with causing wildfires. My original vision for the packaging of rubber cement was to build a sphere out of bistol paper and on the outside of the sphere, I would have drawn a rough drawing of the globe and red spots for wildfires. Unfortunately my idea for the sphere did not work out due to the gapping between each strip of paper.

After my first attempt at creating a packaging for rubber cement, I decided to created a box for the rubber cement to sit in with drawn flames on the outside to display the flammability of the product and how harmful it is to the environment.

Iteration and Production

To start off ideation, I chose to have my quote be from my mentor’s favorite designer, Kelly Wearstler, a famous interior designer and architect. The quote I chose from Wearstler was, “Everything is about color. If you look at magazines and advertising and television, the thing you remember is the color.” My original idea for this project was to create a three dimensional poster made out of magazine paper and focused on the use of bright, vibrant colors.

Soon after I began brainstorming ideas for my gift, I decided to create a 6×6 box with magazine paper on the outside of the box from various interior design and fashion magazines because my mentor is very big into fashion. My mentors favorite designer, Kelly Wearstler inspired my layout of the box by adding three sphere balls on the top of the lid. Wearstler loves to add an unconventional look to her pieces and the inclusion of spheres is very important to her work. Originally I was going to create a template that I could use to cut and score on my matboard, but after testing, I found it extremely difficult to score matboard without having the layers peel/separate.

Due to matboard being difficult to score, I had to cut out each individual square and glue them together using tacky glue. When I tested this process, my lines were very clean and the angle of the two pieces of matboard were very close to 90 degrees.

When I tried constructing my final box, I added too much glue to the corners, which made the alignment cause issues. To make the box more stable, I decided to add strips of paper on the inside of the box at each corner, but after this instead of making the box more sturdy, it ended up causing the opposite.

Once I finished cutting, constructing, and gluing a new box together, I was finally able to start adding magazine paper to the outside of the box. My instructor and I realized that a water based solvent would possibly cause the matboard to lose its stability, so instead of using tacky for the whole box and magazine pages, I chose to shift my adhesive product to rubber cement, rather than tacky glue.

Once I constructed and glued magazine scraps to the 4 sides of the box, I was then able to do the same to the top of the box and adding the three spheres on top.

Final composition: front and side views of ‘packaging’.

Final composition: top and inside of the container with the quote added inside.

Final composition: gift with the lid shifted to the bottom.

Size: 216 in^3

Money Spent: $0, I used materials I already owned/found around Hayes Hall

Packaging: Box with the lid on top (holder for different items such as makeup or writing utensils)

Gift: Box with the lid on the bottom (intended for a plant to be stored inside or a pot of flowers)

Materials: Mat-board, rubber cement, and magazine paper

Reflection

This project was by far my favorite project all year because of the loose number of restrictions for our gift. We had the opportunity to create a gift that we wanted to build based on our mentor’s interests, that are also my interests. But, all projects bring a number of challenges along the way. My biggest struggles with the project were making sure I stay within the three material maximum and creating a box with four 90 degree angled sides (or as close as possible). It took me multiple tries to find the right technique on how to create a nearly perfect box. After many failed attempts, I learned that in order to create a well constructed box, I had to use as little glue as possible. Also, working with three materials was extremely difficult because I wanted this gift to look well constructed and not like an arts and craft project. I know the reasoning for only being able to use three materials was to make do with the materials we already had, but it definitely was not easy. I also wish my craftsmanship looked better than it turned out, especially for the bottom of the container with multiple burn marks from the laser cutter and it not fitting perfectly into place. I believe I really excelled in creating a concept for my gift and utilizing the gift within the packaging. In conclusion, I enjoyed creating a gift for my mentor, Sydney and learning about her design experiences and interests and connecting with her through shared interests.

Dynamic Page: Process

March 10, 2023April 21, 2023 | rancitelli.5

Concept Statement

The idea for this project was to create a visual narrative while collaborating with a partner by exploring paper mechanisms. We had the opportunity to focus on stop motion or a kinetic paper mechanism and in my group we decided to explore paper mechanisms. Our whole idea was showing the evolution of male and female fashion from the 1920s to the 2020s by illustrating formal attire that represents both decades. We were able to learn how to pull and push different pieces of bristol paper together to display the change in clothing differences. Fashion is a huge influence on society and the flapper era in the 1920s was very influential on today’s clothing choices. Although dresses and suits are extremely different between the 1920s and 2020s, they both influence each other in many ways.

Ideation

To start off this project, we were instructed to follow a set of instructions to create our first paper mechanism. This paper mechanism’s goal was to show the transition between a closed eye and an open eye by using drawing paper, scissors, and glue.

After we completed our first paper mechanism, we were instructed to make our own paper mechanism. For this one, when you pull down the tongue of the animal, its ears fly up. This one was a bit more difficult than the first exercise due to the open-ended-ness of this one.

In our exercise for this project, we were instructed to listen to a song (preferably without words) and create a visual that describes the song with only basic shapes (squares, triangles, circles) and lines. The song I chose to analyze was Mr. Brightside by The Killers and I found an instrumental version of the song. The different shapes focus on different parts of the song such as different instruments, tempo, and sound intensity.

Iteration and Production

Before my partner and I decided on a ‘fashion’ route for this assignment, my original thought was to have different push/pull paper mechanisms regarding the beach at both day and night. We ended up not pursuing this idea due to the simplicity of the scene.

Link to dress inspirations

My job for this project was to create formal dresses for the women, one in the 1920s and one for the 2020s. I used Adobe Fresco to create my designs and got inspirations from the flapper era in the 1920s and from prom dresses for the 2020s.

Final composition: Women. The series of photos displays the change in formal dresses as you push/pull the tabs.

Final composition: Men. The series of photos displays the change in formal dresses as you push/pull the tabs.

Reflection

This project, alike all others, brought a number of challenges and advancements. My biggest struggles with this assignment was the actual construction of our paper mechanism. I knew in my head how I wanted the movement to look, I was just unable to put my thoughts to words. After many hours of troubleshooting and many prototypes, I finally found a way to make my idea come to life. My inspiration for this project was children’s sticker books I used to play with as a child. The books would give silhouettes of people and stickers to put on the silhouettes and there were no rules. You could mix and match any outfit you wanted. I wanted our paper mechanisms to be playful, but I also wanted the outfits to look professional. In addition, my biggest strengths with this assignment was creating the dresses for the woman to wear. I have always had a sweet spot for fashion so this project really allowed me to incorporate an addition strength into my composition. The song my partner and I chose to go along with our two compositions was Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Ray. The theme of this song is about time passing and people changing, similarly to our compositions because as the years go by, fashion changes. Overall, I did enjoy this project quite a bit, although it did bring a handful of challenges. I enjoyed learning about paper mechanisms and how each one operates.

Body Augmentation: Process

March 7, 2023April 21, 2023 | rancitelli.5

Statement

In the future, carnivals are illegal due to the countless lawsuits, labor violations, and unsafe rides/games. Carnival enthusiasts have to find a way to keep carnivals alive but in secret, without getting arrested. This invention is a vest that is sleek on the outside with a matte finish. Once the coat is opened up, there is a world of a miniature carnival inside with two classic carnival games, the drop disk game and the ball toss game. This coat allows people of the future to secretly play carnival games without attracting unnecessary attention. During this time in the future, box-y coats and clothing have become the new trend because people steered away from comfortable clothes and moved onto fashionable, statement pieces. Whoever is wearing the vest has to discreetly attract carnival enthusiasts to play their games and continue to spread the word to more people. There is a group of enthusiasts who have an underground carnival, similar to speakeasies in the 20th century. This group calls themselves, “Carni-Pals” and they all play carnival games in their secret location. Every member of the “Carni-Pals” has their own vest that they walk the streets in to attract new group members.

Ideation

To start off this assignment, we were instructed to perform individual research on carnivals and record our findings. Within our research, we had to find the definition of a carnival and the history of carnivals. After our research of carnivals, we were instructed to conduct research on body augmentations and masks. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R1e_SxYmYRaw2gSJW4FaivSGxYZaouk0Y81WRiYbnPw/edit?usp=sharing

After our initial research, we were given a scenario in which we had to make a rough body augmentation of. The scenario my partner and I got was carnival food, being worn on your head, with the theme of political problems. For this scenario, we made a popcorn hat that had different political issues inside to replace the popcorn pieces. In addition, we were instructed to start brainstorming possible body augmentations for our final project.

Iteration and Production

To start off our iteration for this project, we spent a day making a rough prototype of our coat. We used a variety of materials found around our classroom including rolled scrap paper, fabric, pipe cleaners, and drawing paper. Our goal for this prototype was to get an idea on the size of our coat and the sizing of our games inside the coat. We found that after this prototype that we needed our base of the coat to be a sturdy material because the scrap paper was too flimsy.

One of my many jobs for this project was to make the coat which was later changed to a vest due to the time and material constraints. With the help from my teaching assistant, I was able to make a stencil of a vest I had at home from only scrap paper. Making the stencil allowed me to make quick alterations to the structure of the vest without having to manipulate any cardboard.

Once I completed the paper stencil for our vest, I was able to trace the stencil onto cardboard that I acquired. I had to make each side of the vest twice to make sure each side was equivalent lengths. After all the cardboard was cut out I started taping the sides together, but only on the inside because I wanted to make sure I would still be able to bend the coat to allow it to fit on my body. I also taped a majority of the sides to cover up the holes from the cardboard to create a more cohesive look.

Images of the structure of the vest standing up, rather than laying flat to show the additional tape to cover holes and adding additional support to the structure to certain spots.

Originally, we were told to come to our Tuesday class with our final product and due to the lack of help with this project, the vest did not look like my best possible work. I loved how the inside looked with the classic red and white stripes but the exterior looked unappealing. The splotchy spray paint brought down the production of my work and the straps didn’t work well with the rest of the vest due to the blue stitching which didn’t match anything on our vest. Also, due to the many layers of both acrylic paint and spray paint, the build of the vest began to bow and bend.

Inside view of our ‘original’ final product. My partner’s job was to create the games on the inside and did not test out how the games would work and how they would sit on the coat. Due to the lack of testing on his part, the pegs for our drop disk game kept falling off due to the lack of glue and the length of the pegs. In addition, the ‘disk’ for the drop disk game wouldn’t fall into the slots at the bottom of the game. Rather, the disk would just fall off the sides. In regards to the ball toss game, the holder for the ping pong balls was too bulky so I was unable to get the coat closed when it was on.

Since we were given a two day extension on our project after we were critiqued, I made a lot of changes to our final product… specifically seven hours worth of adjustments. On the exterior, I painted over the spray paint with acrylic paint to cover up the patchiness and to create a more ‘sleek’ aesthetic design.

As for the interior of our final product, I made sure to touch up on my paint job and add new straps to the inside. With the straps, I made sure to use a seem ripper to remove the blue stitching and I added three straps on each side to make it sturdier and match the aesthetic better. My partner trimmed down the pegs on the inside of the drop disk game and I removed the ping pong ball holder from the ball toss game to reduce the bulkiness.

Images of the vest on in a full 360 degree view.

Images of the vest on and how it sits on the inside.

Materials: Cardboard, matboard, cardstock, sharpie markers, ping pong balls, acrylic paint, paint brushes, and tape.

Color Choices and Reasoning: We chose to make the inside of the vest red and white stripes because a ‘classic’ carnival has/had red and white striped tents. We wanted to make the inside of our vest resemble a carnival to the best of our ability.

Sense Beyond Sight: Sound from the disk hitting the pegs and the ping pong balls entering the cups.

Advancements: New to me techniques (building a vest by building a stencil) and my design illustrated an unconventional use of a material (the use of cardboard to make the vest).

Videos Link: IMG_6339 IMG_6341 IMG_6342

Reflection

This project was by far my hardest and most mentally draining assignment yet. Although this was supposed to be a group project, I found myself doing 90% of the work and spending countless hours in the studio completing the work for my partner and I. I am a working that likes to get my assignments done early and not wait until the last possible moment, but my partner was the opposite unfortunately. So, to be able to finish the project on time, I had to do most of it. Although this project was very draining, I did find myself learning new techniques such as making my own vest out of cardboard and making my own stencils for the vest. In addition, I also found new ways to interact in group projects and learned to not be so uptight with my work. My greatest achievement with this project was deciding on a ‘costume’ and incorporating the hidden aspect into the vest. For future projects, I hope to continue to improve my craftsmanship. Overall, this project was very difficult, but I persevered and ended up finishing on time with a handmade vest that I made from scratch.

Layers- Deep Space: Process

February 9, 2023April 21, 2023 | rancitelli.5

Concept Statement

The idea for this project is to focus on the ominous, darkness of a cave through a series of layers made out of Bristol paper. To represent deep space, this composition focuses on harmony and movement. As the layers increase, the deeper and darker the cave will become. The increased number of layers allows the cave to darken naturally due to an increased number of shadows in the composition. To control the darkness within the composition, the wooden box frame will not allow light to peak into the layers from the sides. One of the main elements of this project is the incorporation of a surprise element and the use of light. The surprise element chosen for this project was a bear cut-out attached to the back of the last layer and can only be seen once a light source shines through the back end of the composition. The importance of the cut-out bear is to have a surprise effect, allowing the viewers to feel as if they are in the cave, unknown as to what will come next.

Ideation

For this project, we were introduced on how to use the laser cutter in Hopkins Hall. For our first laser cutting experience, we were instructed to cut out a basic shape and follow the correct directions to laser cut with Bristol paper.

For Exercise 1, we were instructed to use a letter from our name and use the original spaces in the letter to add an object/objects that represent our personality in some way. I chose the letter, ‘R’ for my last name and I cut out a purse and a wedged heel because I love fashion and shopping.

In the first image, we picked a random object and shined our phone light on it to cast a shadow and create a drawing based on the outline of the shadow. The item I chose was a hand sanitizer bottle and I created a koala from the bottle’s shadow. In the second image, we worked on hand cutting a quick replica of our deep space composition.

Iteration and Production

These images display my first draft of my deep space composition. My first draft didn’t represent my concept statement in a positive way. It didn’t represent a ‘deep, dark cave’ because there were only 5 layers and the composition was boring without the hidden element.

These three images show the evolution of my Adobe Illustrator files for my deep space composition. I started off with a plain cave, then added a few layers with stalagmites and a boulder, and a bigger bear, and my final online file added more stalagmites and a standing up bear to create a more ‘scary’ scene.

Final composition: with and without light reveal.

Number of Layers: 7

Paper Size: 9″ x 5 7/8″

Reflection

This project brought a great number of successes and a handful of difficulties. Throughout this project, I learned how to use the laser cutter for the first time and how a light source can truly transform your composition in a positive way. For this project, the design principles I chose to prioritize was harmony and movement. My biggest struggle with this project was accurately creating a cave that was both deep and dark, and making my layers the correct size. Unfortunately, I made my paper layer sizing the size of the opening from the frame box, not the size of the insert which made me have to redo my layers again. To make my cave “deeper” and “darker”, I made sure to add more layers which also gave it a more defined shadow to enhance the darkness of the composition. I think my biggest achievement for this project was thinking of a concept and sticking with it, because usually I choose an idea and change it multiple times before I come to a final conclusion. I do however wish I added more layers of stalagmites on my final composition to add more depth. I really enjoyed learning how to use the laser cutter rather than using the Cricut because the laser cutter is much more efficient and fast compared to the Cricut. In conclusion, I loved learning how to use new tools and techniques with the project and learning how to create depth with 2D shapes.

Sketchbook: Process

February 3, 2023April 21, 2023 | rancitelli.5

Statement of Intent

For this project, my intent was to create a sketchbook that I could use for the remainder of the semester for mind-mapping, visual and non-visual strategies, and brainstorming. In addition to our sketchbook development, we were taught how to operate the laser cutter on our own in Hopkins Hall. The laser cutter allowed use to create clean and precise lines. In this assignment, we were required to use as least three types of paper inside the sketchbook, use laser cutting/etching on the front cover in some way, be between 5″x7″-9″x12″ in size, include binding, and incorporate our name, course and year on the back design. The materials I used for this project was mat-board, lined paper, drawing paper, tracing paper, graphing paper, four holed snap clips (binding), the laser cutter, Adobe Illustrator, and a hole puncher. My goal for this project was to create a sketchbook that accurately describes my personality and exploring/advancing my knowledge of the laser cutter and its abilities.

Ideation

In Exercise 1, we were instructed to create a miniature sketchbook following one prompt. The prompt I chose to create my sketchbook about was ‘What Would You Find At The End of The Rainbow?” The part that made my work flow was each page’s ‘item’ started with a letter from the acronym, ROYGBIV.

These two images display a possible design for my back cover of the sketchbook (image one) and mind-mapping of materials and cover designs (image two). Although I did not continue with that design for my back cover, I did use my mind-map to decide on my cover design, paper types, and cover material.

Iteration and Production

The first image shows my original sketchbook cover design which is an outline of my first tattoo and the second image displays the hole punching positions/spacing throughout my 8.5″x11″ sketchbook.

These images display the digital version of my sketchbook front and back covers. I decided to go with the “magazine letter cut out” look with a wide range of fonts and sizes. I carried out the front cover design to the back cover to keep it consistent.

Physical copy of my sketchbook’s front and back covers made out of blue mat-board and laser printing the design onto each cover side.

View inside my sketchbook with four types of paper: lined paper, drawing paper, graph paper, and tracing paper.

Size: 8.5″x11″

Materials: Matboard (front and back covers), graphing paper, tracing paper, drawing paper, lined paper, and four hole snap binder clips.

Hidden Element: Pocket for scraps of paper (leftover Bristol paper)

Mediums: Graphing paper, tracing paper, drawing paper, lined paper

Page Count: 35 pages

Reflection

This assignment brought quite the learning curve due to the open-ended-ness of the project. Sometimes I work better with more boundaries and requirements, but this project taught me to follow my own taste in design, rather than focusing on other people’s projects. I think my greatest achievement for this project was my cover design. I enjoyed how the laser printer etching application made the mat-board turn brown/gold to contrast the blue mat-board finish. I work better on online applications rather than hand drawing which is why I enjoyed this project so much because Adobe Illustrator allows me to tweak my work online easily and efficiently. My biggest challenge with this assignment was adding the “hidden element”. I am not overly excited about how my hidden element turned out due to how sloppy the inside pocket looks. I do wish I would’ve spent more time researching possible hidden elements and other binding methods rather than just the binder clip/spiral coil methods. Overall, I am happy with my final result for this assignment and I look forward to filling the 35 pages with mind-maps, doodles, sketches, visuals, and non-visuals.

MashUp: Process

December 7, 2022April 21, 2023 | rancitelli.5

Statement of Intent

For this project, my intent was invent a new word by combining two ‘real’ words together and communicating the meaning of the new word through text and visual imagery. We were instructed to manipulate 2D and 3D forms such as objects and letters in isometric perspective. In creating a new word, we were instructed to combine two words that would work well together and could be easily identified using context clues and drawing. Using Adobe Illustrator, our goal was to find a font that would help represent our word and use imagery to explain our invented words meaning, and use no more than three hues that help contribute to our word. In this assignment our materials included Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, sketchbook, pencils, and an isometric grid. My goal for this project was to learn more about Adobe Illustrator and to efficiently communicate my invented words meaning through context clues and visual imagery.

Ideation

In our first exercise, we learned about how to make letters in isometric view, changing the depth of the letters, and how the thickness of letters effects the outcome of a word in isometric view. We were instructed to explore these three variables by putting our name and initials in Adobe Illustrator and add a variety of colors that represents you as a person. This exercise ultimately taught us how to use Adobe Illustrator in a new way and become more comfortable with the application.

In our second exercise, we began exploring possible mash-up words and how we would visually communicate the meaning of the words. We were instructed to choose one noun or verb and one adjective. The word I chose in the end was “winzing”.

In our final exercise, we were instructed to start visualizing possible ideas for our mash-up words. Our instructor gave us a time constraint on how much time could spend brainstorming these ideas so we could get a few ideas down quickly.

Iteration and Production

Once we had our mash-up word selected, we were able to start putting our word in isometric view and testing possible illustrations using Adobe Illustrator. The first image was the first time I put my mash-up word into Adobe Illustrator and I started focusing on just the color variations/shades. The second image is when I started adding in illustrations to my word and planning how to arrange the visuals.

Description: For this assignment, we were instructed to communicate with the use of text and imagery. We learned how to manipulate text from 2D to 3D and focused exclusively on isometric view and drawing. During this process, we were also instructed to invent a new word while combining two words together (a noun and adjective). The two words I chose to combine were ‘freezing’ and ‘wind’ to invent the new word, ‘winzing’.

Three detailed images of my final project

Reflection

This assignment was probably my most successful project so far because of how much I’ve used Adobe applications in the past. I was extremely familiar with the applications and how tedious the process would be. I think my biggest struggle in this project was finding a word that would be accurately depicted using imagery and text. I chose the word, ‘winzing’ because now, in December, it is extremely frigid and windy and I wanted to create a word that would describe that type of weather. Originally when I asked people what they thought ‘winzing’ meant, I usually got “winter and freezing”, but once I showed them my illustration, they understood almost immediately what the word meant. One thing I do wish I would’ve explored more would be making the visual elements 3D rather than 2D. Overall, I think this project helped me realize that everyone truly does have their strengths and weaknesses and that although I am not an excellent artist, I do excel using technology to communicate my artistic abilities.

Patterning and Abstraction: Process

December 6, 2022April 21, 2023 | rancitelli.5

Statement of Intent

For this project, my intent was to create a pattern primarily based on shapes in nature. Once creating a pattern, we were instructed to design a card and envelope paring and ultimately participate in the Department of Design’s annual Winter Market. In addition to our card development, we had the opportunity to add advancements to our project such as collaborating with other classmates, making a color version of your card, making your card design 2D to 3D, etc. The advancements I chose to pursue for this project were collaborating with my classmates with material usage, attempted use of color, and participating in the Winter Market. My goals for this project were to learn how to use the Cricut machine, improve on my craftsmanship, and create an overall, functional card design. In this project the materials I used included the Cricut machine, card stock paper, Micron pens, tacky glue, Adobe Illustrator, precision knife and images found on the internet of different natural shapes. For this project I chose to prioritize the design principles: harmony, balance, symmetry, and repetition.

Ideation

Iteration and Production

Project Advancements: Attempted use of color, collaboration with classmates (material usage), and participation in the Winter Market (sale and distribution of items)

Reflection

This project brought many struggles and advancements for me as a designer. I struggled a lot with sticking to a design rather than starting over a week before the project’s due date. Originally my plan was to focus on the form of a lime, but I ended up focusing too much on copying the design of a line rather than focusing on something such as line, shape, or color change within the lime. Once I scratched the lime idea, I transitioned to a flower and focusing on shape and line. My first idea for the card design of the flower was to have three rows of three in the center of the card and add three cut out circles on both the top and bottom of the cover. Once I would have the six circular cut outs, I would have added three more additional flowers on the inside of the card on the top and bottom. So, ultimately, my card would have 3×5 arrangement of flowers but once the card was opened, there would actually only be two rows of flowers, on the top and bottom of the card (my first arrangement of images under ‘Iteration and Production’ show this idea). Unfortunately, I was unable to instruct the Cricut to cut and draw in the correct location so my flowers wouldn’t line up correctly. Once that didn’t work, I ended up settling on a simple card design with a 3×3 floral grid on the front of the card. I settled on this design because I enjoyed the complexity of the flowers and the simplicity of the grid pattern. I do however wish I would’ve chosen a more complex pattern to add more uniqueness to my final outcome. Overall, this project was a very big learning curve for me and took a lot of time to adjust to new computer applications and the complexity behind the Cricut machine. On future assignments with the Cricut, I do hope to improve on my craftsmanship and continue to learn new features that the Cricut offers.

Space and Time Walk: Process

November 4, 2022April 21, 2023 | rancitelli.5

Statement of Intent

For this project, my intent was to focus on slow looking to observe and record an excursion on The Ohio State University campus, starting at Hayes Hall to any location of my choosing (Ohio Stadium). While focusing on slow looking, we had to use all of our senses (smell, touch, sound, taste, and sight), not only focusing on what we could see. In our map, we showed our journey through 3 different methods: words, digital images, and sketching. In this assignment our materials included a mechanical pencil, Bristol paper, Mircon pens, eraser, tracing paper, tape, ruler, triangle measuring device, T-square, our iPads, cell phones, and drawing paper. My goal for this project was to accurately draw a map that was both pragmatic and poetic. I wanted to make sure my composition was easy to follow, while also focusing on the main structures on campus that helped identify my pathway.

Ideation

For Exercise 1, we were directed to follow our notes and creatively compose written directions for anyone to following (with the ability to read). We focused on both practical and poetic observations to include in our directions. Our goal for this exercise was to get someone to our location, while also pointing out interesting qualities on our journey.

For Exercise 2, we were directed to go on our journey from Hayes Hall to our destination. Originally, my destination was Buckeye Grove but later changed it to the Ohio Stadium. On our journey, we had to take pictures and make a collaged composition using Adobe Fresco.

In class, we looked at Oath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David. We were told to examine the painting one time by only what we could see and create a Haiku about it. Then our professor explained the painting to us and had us rewrite our Haiku for a second time about the background of the painting.

In this activity, we were directed to create a map starting at our home and traveling to our favorite restaurant. The image on the left is my first draft of this assignment. Our only directions for this assignment was to get make a map from point A to point B. In the second image, we were told to draw another map from our house to our favorite restaurant, but add more detail.

Iteration and Production

In these two images, I put my ideas on paper and started planning out how I wanted my map to be laid out. In the first image, I originally had all buildings other than Hayes Hall and Thompson Library as footballs to show the main theme of the map, but later changed it to the actual building shapes (as seen in image number two).

In the first image, I used tracing paper to get my first draft of my final on paper so I would eventually be able to transfer my work over to Bristol paper (as seen in image number two). My second image is after transferring my work to Bristol paper in pencil and pen.

Description: When I started this assignment, I was unsure of how I wanted to get my thoughts down on paper. I am not a very skilled artist so I struggled a lot with this project. At first, I chose Buckeye Grove as my destination, but later changed it to the Ohio Stadium because that has a much bigger meaning to me than Buckeye Grove. My dad got season football tickets every year and would take each kid to one game a year. Going to football games with my dad growing up shaped me into the Ohio State fan I am today and inspired me to attend The Ohio State University. I knew I wanted my one hue to be red to signify

Non-Visual Sense: Sound (shown through sound waves at four different locations)

5 Steps: Hayes Hall, the Oval, Thompson Library, the Recreation and Physical Activity Center (RPAC), and the Ohio Stadium

Two detail images of my final composition

Reflection

Unfortunately, I am not a skilled artist and this assignment brought a good amount of obstacles I had to overcome to be successful. Once I was able to overcome these issues, I found this assignment to be much more enjoyable and entertaining. One of my main issues with this project was drawing my map. I do think if I was a more skilled artist, I think my map would look nicer and more complex. I also struggled with how to incorporate color in my composition. Although color wasn’t necessary, I chose to include it to show the main points on my map. But, as an inexperienced artist, I am fairly content with my final composition. In contrast, there are a few things I did well in this project such as drawing straight lines and the accuracy of the placement of the buildings and sizes. This assignment has taught me to slow down and focus on the little things in life through slow looking. This project also taught me that projects are very time consuming and you have to manage your time well. For my future projects, I hope to continue to improve on my drawing abilities and work outside of my comfort zone.

2D to 3D Translation: Process

October 27, 2022April 21, 2023 | rancitelli.5

Statement of Intent

For this project, we were instructed to explored the relationship between 2D shapes and 3D forms. Throughout this project, we made a variety of 3D forms and learned how to construct forms using Bristol paper, tacky glue, a precision knife, and a template(s) found on the internet. A goal I had for myself for this project was to improve my crafting skills from assignment two because I struggled with cutting straight lines and keeping my composition clean. Originally, I chose a snub cuboctahedron as my form which consists of 38 shapes (6 squares and 32 equilateral triangles). Unfortunately, with the time constraint of this project, I was unable to construct my best work making a 38 sided form so I changed my form to an octahedron (an eight sided form made up of eight equilateral triangles). For this project I chose to prioritize the design principle, contrast while making a surface illusion on my form.

Ideation

For exercise 1a, we were instructed to building a perfect 3″ cube made out of Bristol paper. Making a ‘perfect’ cube obviously isn’t easy due to human error, so we had to make the best cube possible. I did have a few crafting issues (corners lining up and line marks/smudges), but overall, I know I made the best cube I possibly could.

For exercise 1b, we were instructed to make a 3D prism with only the 2D template provided (on a grid so we were able to see the measurements). I did a fairly well job with the construction process (still had loose corners and smudging), but overall, not a bad prism with little information given.

For exercise 2, we were instructed to build a 2D template of any polyhedron we wanted (between 6 and 12 sides) using Adobe Illustrator. This process was very tedious and time consuming. The solid lines are the cut lines while the dashed lines are the score lines. In addition, we had to include tabs in our template to make sure we would cut and score the correct places. Original template found on “File:Geometric Net of an Hexagonal Pyramid.svg.” Wikimedia Commons, 25 October 2013, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Geometric_Net_of_an_Hexagonal_Pyramid.svg. Accessed 31 October 2022.

In these three photos, I have my constructed 3D prism that I originally made as a template using Adobe Illustrator. I did a much better job constructing my form with good craftsmanship. The only main issue I had was 4 out of the 6 sides on the hexagon were the same length, while the other two were slightly larger. I caught this while I was drawing my template on paper, so I was able to adapt to my issue, fix it, and improve on it.

For my brainstorming, I thought of three ways I could show illusion on my final form. The first image are my three ideas and the second image is the illusion inspiration I chose to pursue.

Iteration and Production

Originally, I chose my form to be a 38 sided polyhedron, but due to the time constraint, I wouldn’t have had enough time to complete this form to the best of my abilities. I had to make the template the first time to figure out where the tabs needed to go, and a second time to fully construct a first draft of my form. The second time, it took me six hours to make the template, cut and score which was way more time I expected to take on just a draft. But, this process taught me that sometimes complexity isn’t what is necessary.

To start the construction my final composition, I had to choose a new polyhedron that I could construct at the best of my abilities. I found my original template at “File:Foldable octahedron (blank).jpg.” Wikimedia Commons, 28 January 2014, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Foldable_octahedron_(blank).jpg. Accessed 31 October 2022. But, pictured is my template I constructed using Adobe Illustrator.

In the images above, I created an equalateral triangle on tracing paper, drew a circle in the middle, made a horizontal line every 1/4″, and filled in every other space. I originally did this on tracing paper because I wanted to see how the illusion would look on my polyhedron before committing to that one design.

Pictured above is the second part of the project’s template that has been cut, scored, and penciled in illusion drawing. What I struggled with the most in this process was making sure the circle drawn was at centered as possible.

Description: I chose to build a octahedron polyhedron for my final project due to both the simplicity and complexity of the form. The hardest thing with this form was to make sure every side matched up perfectly with little to no smudges.

Description: I chose option #2 which was using surface illusion to create an illusion of 3D surfaces using shapes, lines, shading, and mark making. The way I did this was by originally creating a circle in the middle of four of the eight triangles on the form. From there, I drew ¼ inch lines horizontally on the surface and colored in every other space. But, once it came to drawing in the circle, I had to then color in every space that did not line up with the triangles’ lines that I started with. The alternation of colored lines helped enhance the look that the circle is either popping out or into the 3D form itself.

Reflection

This assignment was by far my most difficult project. I spent countless hours working through the construction of multiple shapes, having to change my form halfway through the assignment, and struggling to keep my composition neat. But, I also thrived in multiple areas throughout this project, including drawing the template (on both paper and online) and scoring my templates. For my original form, I did struggle on making the template on paper due to how many shapes I had to make and making sure the template would fit properly on the paper. But, with my final form, I did a great job making the template using my compass to make equilateral triangles. In addition, originally I struggled with scoring my templates because I would either push down too hard or too soft, but after a few tries, I knew the correct pressure I needed to put on my knife. My biggest struggles with this assignment was gluing, keeping my work clean, and picking a form and sticking with it. Gluing my form was difficult for me because glue gets messy very quickly and easily, which also caused more smudges/marks on my forms. I made sure to keep my work as clean as possible though. From this assignment, I’ve learned how complexity isn’t the solution to get a good grade. Getting a good grade is making improvements, participating, asking questions, and trying your best. In my future projects, I hope I can continue to improve on my craftsmanship.