ideas factory

Was working with primary research useful for the project? Yes or no, why?

Yes. I think working with primary research initially is a good way to record raw and organic ideas that aren't too influenced by other people's findings. I thought it gave a chance to create more personal initial ideas that can then be built upon with secondary research.

What was the most challenging part? What was the easiest part?

The most challenging part was probably not being able to look up exact definitions of the words wrap, air and futurism to help start my initial ideas process. Instead, it forced me to consider and analyse my own understanding of it and translate it into visual note taking. This outcome would probably differ quite a lot if I were allowed to look up definitions.

If you could do the task again what would you change or improve?

I would probably re-evaluate my understanding of the task before jumping into it, as initially I was overwhelmed by the open ended-ness of the task and translating it into something somewhat coherent. 

Describe the entire process and work you did today in two sentences.

Taking the material, process and "ism", laying it down on paper and using it as a sole source of creative inspiration. Or taking an abstract source and bringing into a refined concept

Did you find the process of working with limitations of 1 square meter?

It made me think of other ways to process my ideas without compromising space entirely. Rather than making it with the scale in mind, I kept it as an after thought to not entirely hinder my though process.

How did you navigate the process of developing ideas in a group of 3?

Working in a group of three works effectively for communication as it allows a manageable amount of different ideas and opinions. The benefits were being able to help each other's initial thoughts, to further progress our proposal. The challenges were when all three of us became confused.

What are the aspects of your proposal which need further thought? How might you work to develop or resolve these?

I think I need to make my ideas slightly more refined in terms of combining the three words together and making it into a concept. I will work back into my brainstorming process and see if I can do this more effectively.

core design and typography

According to me I would say that graphic communication design is the design of how we tailor visual images to directly communicate and tell a specific message to the viewer. Conceptual thinking and creative ideas are the main part, but finding a  way to refine it and make it so it can serve as an effective communication is a contributing factor.

The creation of a new alphabet. Which was the core of your idea? Does the final outcome deliver a message? 

In the alphabet creation process we wanted to follow the idea of using existing alphabets and characters as a guide, but then obscuring it to the point where it becomes indecipherable. However when perceived by the reader we still wanted it to have a hint of the A-Z that we're familiar with. We first drew the character and then added lines and circles to deviate it from it's origin. Building on this, we found ways to add a bit of logic to this method using similar patterns and shapes repeatedly to form the alphabet. In the final outcome we wrote the ironic statement "I Hate Graphic Design" on an A3 sheet of paper. Playing with irony reflects the zeitgeist of Generation Z's humour style in a way, by making a bold or controversial statement of no real truth, simply to make the reader chuckle at its absurdity.

drawing into print

were you able to adapt your idea and visual language to the screen print process?

I think the thing that made my screen print process easy to adapt was the repetitiveness of the design. I chose to go with these tunnel segments as they would create a nice visual contrast when printed in black and red ink. The round shape of the "O" was suitable for a tunnel shape and I wanted to also create a sense of scale as well. So i included the silhouette figure at the beginning of the tunnel to make the tunnel feel more grand.

how did the restriction shape your final image?

The only real restriction was the inability to line up the different section of my screen print accurately, creating a more skewed final result. Although this imperfection adds a bit of organic charm to the screen print and almost creates a sense of animation or movement just through a still image. 

what were the biggest challenges you faced  during the workshop?

The biggest challenges were probably thinking of an initial idea that would translate well into the eventual screen print, and finding a way to incorporate my letter into the idea smoothly.

still and moving image

how did you respond to working as a team?

I think working as a team was the best approach to a task like this. It allowed more creative input and alternative ideas and view points resulting in a more refined result.

how did you combine your ideas to create experimental looks?

First we gathered and layed down all the materials that we thought initially related to the word themes that we were given. The allocated "stylist" would then begin the process by experimenting with the ways the look could come together with the chosen materials. However in the end, everyone in the group would help with putting the look together and tweaking details that added to the overall result.

how were your ideas on fashion communication developed or challenged by the activities?

It made me think of ways to translate a single word into a whole fashion look and consider the connotations the words might give., and how they can also be translated into the look. Thinking in this way definitely opened my mind up to a different form of communication; the way one might communicate through their choice of clothing and others might perceive it. Although considering how to make the communication clear or understandable was definitely challenging, and I think we could've put more thought into the actual  communication we were trying to make.

how did photography help to transfer your image into potential narratives?

 The location of the shoot was one effective way of adding to the narrative or communication of our fashion look. Through the photography we also considered the angle and framing and how that could communicate a message in our looks. For example for the black white hybrid look we found a location with primarily grey, as that is a mix of both black and white.

what were successful strategies that others used and why were they successful?

I think some other people payed more attention to lighting and framing than we had, and it resulted in a more perceptive and interested visual result. Considering these elements is another way of building a communication or narrative.

 (see digital outcomes page for results)

how will the idea change the audiences interpretation of the text?

My original segment of text was the phrase "the need for water" which I had found on some type of food packaging. The original text might have been something superficial, but similar to the previous Ideas Factory project, it had me thinking about environmental issues again as they are an ever present issue. "The need for water" is something which almost every living organism has, yet there are many areas of the world where drinkable water is scarce.  Putting this phrase onto an energy drink-like product is to represent the addictive qualities of the caffeinated drink and how that can relate to the simple element -water- and how when withdrawn, can create feelings of addiction with the consumer. But it made me question why are some humans are even put in this situation, where there  is a withdrawal from the basic need for water. Medicine is another necessity needed for modern day human survival, so i also thought about making a medicine "water bottle" and experimenting with how to present this idea.

What struck you most about the designers in the presentation and why?

The most striking thing about the designers in the presentation was the ways in which they used simple images and icons seamlessly with each other to create a sequence or story. The most outstanding ones were the ones that were very simple; i thought that they were really effective at communicating a clear message or theme.

What does image making mean?

To me image making would be finding creative solutions to building an image to either simplify it, or stylize it in a certain way. This could be through the use of colour, space, material etc.

How an icon can effect your life?

The main thing about making an effective icon I feel, is about how easy it is to instantly recognize it when seen. Since I can instantly recognize icons, they change the way that I view and process  in formation in my day to day life. They also change and effect my overall attention span. 

how did I find the still life photography process?

The most successful photo that came out of the shoot was a photo that really captured an essence of surrealism, without it necessarily being intentional. The lights, shadows and balance of the whole photo created a precise feeling of unsettlement. In this workshop I learnt how to think more about photo composition and the feeling that can be created with this taken into account. I personally enjoyed taking the photos of the actual set up from multiple angles and playing with lighting , as it creates another level of element above simply just viewing the set up with your eyes. We tried multiple locations, some that offered a natural light source, and some where we could be a bit more liberal with the light source. The fishing line was a great resource for further creating a sense of surrealism and off balance as it allowed us to suspend things in impossible ways.

what have you learned about the properties of materials?

Although I already predicted how the materials would act on their own, I couldn't accurately predict how the materials would affect the light source when used together. I found that layering materials with slightly different opacity levels created a nice diffusion affect with the light. I've also learnt more about how light can be manipulated in a creative and communicative way, affecting mood and tone simply with a few visual tricks.

Since I was using a small torch, I found it a little tricky to diffuse it and make it less intense so the source of the beam didn't become too obvious in the photo. i tried battling this by moving the distance and position of the torch from the box and using material to dim the light.

what can you change about the box to affect your experiments?

In terms of the box i thought the best approach was cutting slots in the lid and creating slides of the material, where they could easily slot in. I created a total of 6 on the top of equal distance, although perhaps changing the distance of the slides would've gave some interesting results also with the layered materials.

developing lost letters concept into a relief print

With my lost letters project I wanted to see how i could develop the tunnel idea from the narrative that I had created. I basically kept this same narrative, but developed it in a more clear depiction of the idea. I wanted to think about how I was going to contrast the negative a positive space in an interesting way also. The majority of the relief print was going to be a negative image while the "reflection" of the figure in the image was going to be a positive print as then I would juxtapose and clearly highlight the person from their reflection. I wanted to make this contrast clear to keep the original idea of the linear tunnel with the two ends being clearly defined. After making the plates out of mount board, the actual printing process is by far the most rewarding part of the process, and I found it quite fun working in an efficient team, where we each carried out tasks of the printing process.