Project Statement
For this project I wanted to do something that was fun and eye caughting, something that everyone would recognize. My partner and I decided to explore the worldwide feud of Starbuck vs. Dunkin Donuts through the game of chess. We both decided that since everyone knows they have such a strong opinion of whose coffee is superior, bringing it to life through chess just seemed so necessary. When creating my set of 16 for the Dunkin Donuts side of the board, my focus was choosing items and aspects of the company that shared characteristics of the original chess pieces. By choosing to based what visuals I made on what qualities they shared with original chess pieces, the game still had the trait of hierarchy. I explored materials, using acrylic and cardstock to create pieces where the visual component was stronger than the structure of the pieces. My partner and my sets bring a fun physical sense to this battle of coffee brands, finally a winner can be declared.
Process
View detailed project process at Checkmate: Process
Reflection
This Checkmate project really let me as a design fundamentals student show my creative side. I enjoyed exploring a theme and brand while bringing it to life through a game. I got to explore as well as push my creativeness to a level I have not been able to yet. As much as I did enjoy this project, my craft is an area that could have been stronger. It was a new technique for me creating 3D forms using the methods of sliceform. With this being said, I am more aware of the process of creating pieces that take on sliceform but could improve. For example, when it came to creating my pawns, I did not take into consideration the thickness of the cardstock that was being applied to each side of the acrylic. This made it much more difficult for each piece to fit into one another. This did lead to my craft being less stronger but I am still very proud of the work I put into this project. Through the design process, I knew it was not going to be easy to bring the visuals in my head to life; however, I constantly was prepared and ready for whatever the next step in the journey was.