Dynamic Pages: Process

Research:

 

We got the opportunity to go to the Thompson library and look at a variety of different pop up/dynamic pages books. This was actually really interesting and I felt that seeing the endless amounts of ways to approach dynamic pages was extremely beneficial, especially when it came to our brainstorming process.

Seeing the different ways each author used to tell their story was helpful in keeping our ideas flowing with possibilities that we wanted to pursue within our own project. There really wasn’t any big restrictions with this project which is why I think it was easier to really think outside the box about our project’s concept and possible narrative that we wanted to tell.

 

 

Exercise:

In this exercise we listened to 5 different instrumental songs and we were tested to visually show/draw out the sounds we heard in each song. Once our visual was created, we discussed what ideas or words came to mind when hearing the song. I really enjoyed this exercise because I felt like I was listening to music in a whole new way. My ears were picking out sounds that I probably wouldn’t have realized was its own part in the song, even though I’ve been in music for pretty much my entire life, this time I was able to see the rhythms and beats and pitches all in their separate lines but also together at the same time. Below is the visuals for each song that I would draw out while the song played.

Iteration:

 

After doing the music exercise in class, my partner and I decided it would be beneficial to do that same thing with the song we chose to use for our project. The song we chose is actually an original made by my partner Aaron. The name of it is “Don’t Leave Me Alone”. This was an interesting situation as he already knew what the song is about but I did not. So we used a combination of my thoughts and his to come to a conclusion about the message of the song and what we wanted to convey to our peers.

We created a list of feelings and idea descriptors to get our ideas down on paper that we were feeling/thinking while listening to the song. Then we came up with words that expressed movement but correlated with the feelings involved as well.

Starting off our ideas were very literal, we immediately knew we wanted to do something with couples and human interaction but it seemed too easy to figure out and understand. We really wanted the viewer to think about the message.

By making the list of descriptors, we landed on the idea of the sun and earth interaction. The earth depends on the sun to keep coming back around but the sun does not need the earth. We thought this was a great connection in expressing our thoughts and the meaning of the song.

 

 

 

Video Showing how the mechanism works: Path Movement

We decided that the most clear way to do this was to show the planets moving toward each other, once they reach a certain point where they are closest together is when the explosions start to occur. Emphasizing the idea that some people are better apart than they are together.

This mechanism is the outcome of part original and part research. It was important to have the planets slide around to show their movement in space but also to come together.

Resource Used: https://youtu.be/FDxHrMbe4U8

 

 

Video Showing how the mechanism works: Explosion Pop Up

The next step was figuring out how to do the explosion. It was important to both of us to show the calm atmosphere while the planets are separated. We believed that having each page be completely one solid color until the explosion showed peace and kept the viewer focused on the planet while it slid down its own path. Once the planets met together is when the colors would appear, trying to create a surprise for the viewer.

This was the most difficult part of the project because we wanted our pieces to work together and having the explosion in between meant we needed to compose our pieces connected to each other. As busy college students trying to navigate life and school we quickly realized that solution wasn’t going to work so we stayed to doing our own pages.

We wanted the explosion to be a quick pop up when viewers are least expecting it so the paper mechanism had to be smooth and fast. We landed on this mechanism, deciding that we would use the flames as the pop up. Having color on the inside and the solid color on the outside so it blended in with the main piece.

 

 

Push the tab forward and the square pops up
Fully upright and standing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In class we learned how to make a simple pull tab that was used to uncover something. I knew I wanted to use this mechanism in my final page but wasn’t sure exactly in what way. Video showing how the mechanism works: Pull Tab Movement

Before
After

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are just some quick sketches and iterations of what we wanted the planets to look like. Both of us loved the black and white contrasting colors to portray the planets, emphasizing the differences in people that are together in a relationship.

The photos below show our sketch that we often referenced during production. I created these on the app procreate, so that I could have something visually to make decisions from. My side was the Earth while my partner chose the Sun.

 

 

 

 

 

Production:

 

 

I knew this path needed to be cut extremely well and even because in my practice one I found it was somewhat difficult to slide the mechanism down the path since my cutting had some hiccups within it. I learned that just the slightest difference in cut was going to get the planet stuck and not move swiftly. So I decided to use the cricket to cut the path and stars. This was the first time I had every used a cricket so I was learning how to use the app and how it looked on there wasn’t necessarily how it was going to cut out. A lot of trial and error went into this but I loved figuring it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just like the mechanism I created earlier in this post, I recreated it but this time using bigger circles. I drew out two circles that were slightly connected in the middle. Cut out that shape as a whole then I folded them together where I had left them connected, so each side was now folded as you can see in the photo. This was connected to the planet and it slid down the path.

I really liked the simplicity of this mechanism but it is sometimes difficult to change the angle of the planet as it slides. I knew I would have to come up with some way to guide the planet, so I decided I would just leave the main cardstock open on the side where the tab was so it had free range to move. Since the path was see through I decided to put another piece of cardstock behind it so the viewer couldn’t see the table it was sitting on through the path.

 

 

 

 

 

I used the same mechanism as I had previously tested but this one was pulled outward instead of being pushed inward with the tab. This gave me the ability to put the explosion/fire on the inside of the mechanism so that when it opens, the fire will be facing out toward the viewer. This took some time to think about how the mechanism was going to work/how I wanted the affect to look but ultimately I was happy with my thought process of it and glad it worked the way I intended.

The photos to the left and below show how I constructed each piece.

 

 

 

 

The photos below show the pull tab I used to show the sparkle paper that shines through in the stars. Just like the pull tab I did in the practice one earlier in this post, I somewhat came up with this mechanism on my own. I needed something that I could use to ‘light up’ the stars but then could also hide once the explosion in the movement subsided. I decided doing the pull tab was the best way to do this so that when I pushed it down, the glitter would show but once I pulled the tab it brought the sparkle paper back up and hidden from the viewer. All pieces were made out of cardstock and tacky glue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Concept Statement:

In certain relationships, sometimes the individuals in those relationships just aren’t meant to be together. Whether that be their personalities clashing or different priorities, whatever the case may be we’ve all been in relationships where it’s best to be separate than it is together. In our project we wanted to convey that push and pull atmosphere that many relationships go through. The earth and sun are used to represent what it feels like to be in that relationship. The earth needs the sun for multiple reasons but the sun does not need the earth. We wanted to emphasize the idea that when the two planets are apart, there is a calmness as each planet is doing their own thing as they go down their own paths, but once they begin to come back together is when the chaos begins and the toxicity of the situation starts to affect the atmosphere around the pair. With the use of contrast in color we emphasized the balance of the planets while at the same time showing how vasily different and unique each individual is. The name of the song is called “Don’t Leave Me Alone”, the message in the song is about wanting to be near/with someone but knowing it is best to stay apart. 

Final Product:

Starting Image
Slowly slides down
Reached the bottom
Stars begin to shine as the fire starts to become seen as well
The explosion has fully occurred
My partner and I’s together in beginning
Together at the explosion

Link to a video showing the pages work together: Movement Video

Link to original song used for the composition:

Reflection: 

I really loved our approach to this project, it was really interesting to go through the thought process together and see how each person approaches design in different ways. Luckily my partner and I tend to make our designs based off of our own personal lives so that really worked well for us when it came to brainstorming an abstract idea. Just like all partner or group projects you never know what may happen…even though my partner and I had great brainstorming and communication, things fell through between us making it difficult to fully extinguish the project that both of us would’ve liked to. In design I’ve learned that you have to be able to work around/with other people constantly and the control is not always in your hands. I think the last minute falling out between my partner and I got the best of us and we put our best effort in to create something that showed our thinking but at the end of the day I think both of us would’ve liked to redo the final composition, which is okay.

Link to Portfolio Project: Dynamic Pages