composition research

It was suggested that I undertake more research on composition. I started by looking at Marimekko and Scandinavian designs and after a trip to the library I feel a lot more confident in what I wish to achieve.  I am finding it difficult to create fun designs for adults, as some appear more suited to children. This relates back to my previous research of putting things in context. Sally suggested creating thumbnail designs in order to create ideas on paper first before going onto photo shop. This strategy was helpful and I plan to repeat in Unit X. I found it easier to use small pieces of paper printed out with a background design of my own. This was because it kept my colour palette in mind. I also liked this idea because it meant that I didn't have to be around a computer to develop my designs.

Examples of Research



Marimekko

Soviet Design

Consider:

Scale

Colours

Repetition

Direction of pattern

Lotta Kuhlhorn

 

I came across Lotta Kuhlhorn's book Designing Patterns. What was so useful about it was the compositions she presented were what I was looking to achieve. She also had instructions on how to create similar patterns on photo shop. Having never practised repeat patterns before, this was a great find. I also found similarities in colour and motif designs that I am looking to achieve.

initial designing

During my initial designs, I focused on the arrangement of my motifs. I have been concentrating on creating a wide variety of motifs and some consist of a few variations. I feel that I'm not being as free as I should be because I'm too focused on making decisions on composition. I also felt that I had too many colours in my colour palette so I have refined it, as some of them weren't contributing to the overall feel I wished to achieve.

I also encountered a problem with my motifs; Because I have crated them on my own laptop, it appears that a few of them have been defined with a shaded background. This isn't visible on my own computer but is in the ones in the art school (because the screens are better). This has made me loose time I was trying to save by creating my motifs at home, however I can resolve them by using illustrator and the image trace setting. As annoying as this is, I'm glad I noticed the problem early in the project. I have also taken this as an opportunity to refine my motifs. I thought that by having a lot it would make designing easier, however now I think it's actually harder; they don't tend to appear consistent in my designs as I though a few would overlap throughout. On the other hand, if I was working freelance then my motifs couldn't reoccur in different designs.

I have concentrated on creating a very direct translation of the images I am working from, but in my group project I found it a lot easier to be more experimental with my designs. This had led me to the conclusion that during Unit X I will create motifs that can consist of a more tonal range because I enjoyed working with the shaded/ textured motifs in the group project.

context research

I found it useful researching children's and adults interiors at the same time. I had considered splitting my project into two parts, designing for adults then children, however this seemed inefficient and repetitive. I started to notice that some of the colours reoccurred across the age groups such as yellow and blue, which were present in girls, boys and adult designs. I also feel the context the designs are presented in makes a big difference to the overall appearance, making me think that the same design could be used for adults and children. Because I want to include embroidery in my work, I am concentrating on researching the High-end market.

 

Harlequin research 

 

 

I feel that this research has bettered my understanding of what I wish to achieve. It is important to remember that when designing for adults it should appear fun, not childish. When taken out of context, many of the designs appear to suit a range of age groups. An example being the pink bedding; this is designed for adults, however, if presented on a single bed then it would appear for a girl’s room.

Patternity Project

I decided to enter the Patternity project because the brief was to enter photographs of the everyday that displayed patterns. The winning images would be displayed in an exploration of pattern look book. I felt that this coincided with the work I had completed over the summer because I was looking for patterns in everyday forms, some of which included nature. Below are the images I entered in the competition. I took into consideration the different qualities each image offered, including the use of shape, colour, texture and symmetry. I felt that each could be used as a repeat, and they are all images that have inspired my own project.

Collaborative Project

I thought that it was be a positive and informative decision to take part in a live brief with fellow students. The group was evenly matched with two embroidery/ print students (including myself) and two sole print students. I found it useful to see the different ways people worked. I found this process to be more positive than other group projects I had taken part in before because we all wanted the same outcome.

 

After researching possible competitions, we decided to enter Feather's Make Wallpaper that's Art competition and decided to focus on a beach / seaside theme. We also decided to work from the same colour palette so that out designs could be seen as a collection at the end.

I decided to base the idea for my designs on David Attenborough's The Blue Planet documentary because I hadn't completed any previous research regarding the sea to work from. I decided that I would focus on my illustrative style of drawing, in order to incorporate a skill from my current project. Below are the collection of motifs I developed through the images of marine life displayed during a range of programs throughout the series. Most are derived from jellyfish and shells.

 

 

I found it interesting to work in repeat as this is what I am practising in my own project, having never done it before I found this a useful skill to acquire.

I enjoyed the fast pace of this project the most, because there were four of us in the group everything progressed faster than an individual project. I also enjoyed working will people who wanted to work and overall found this to be a positive process. I feel that this process has confirmed that I prefer working in collaboration with others. We kept up to date with each other via email so our work could still progress even when we weren’t together.
My designs incorporated an illustrative effect and using motifs made by other members of the group enabled me to feel more free. I liked working in repeat, and I will apply this to my work during the Practice Unit.

I submitted three designs to feathr.com. Each of them displayed all over patterns, resembling a landscape effect we had discussed at one of the group meetings. I felt that the designs were the most commercial and fulfilled the brief by suitable for statement wallpaper, intended to be seen as art instead of decoration.

Under the Sea 1

Colour Palette

I liked the use of colour in the graffiti I'd seen because it was fun and quirky. I used Photoshop to extract the colours from a range of photos I had taken, but I want the overall feel of my collection to be fresh, with one or two warm, bright colours, reflecting the colour combinations I'd seen in my context research. I thought it was important to experiment with a few combinations because these designs weren't intended to be presented for interiors. One of my fears of choosing a colour palette from graffiti was that they could make a room feel enclosed because they incorporate so many bright colours; however on closer inspection a lot of the colour ranges appear suitable for my project. I also kept in mind other patterns that I'd seen and liked, noticing that I don't want too many colours in my colour palette. I want my colour palette to be gender neutral so that I can experiment with designing for boys and girls as well as adults. I found it useful to create mini colour palettes, as it made it easy to see contrasting colours and compare against my research.

Photos and Motifs

Below are images I wish to change into motifs. I have grouped my photos in two: patterns and motifs. Many of the patterned images consist of brick walls and I like the idea of incorporating them via the interlinking brick pieces, however I'm not too sure at this stage how I will develop this further.

I have already started recreating them with an illustrative technique researched last week, along with experimenting with different thickness of line; however, I'm not finding any of the designs particularly exciting. A few suggestions were made during my tutorial that I am excited to try out, such as looking at abstract artists and to experiment with using a Chinese brush for a different effect. Chinese brushes are used to create the description of a shape with a single line and I think that this will add more character to my work. One artist suggested that I look at was Michaux, who is an artist/writer that creates abstract alphabet drawings. I thought these were particularly interesting when experimenting with the style of a line. 

What I have learned through developing my work through the process of drawing is that the hand drawn effect really appeals to me. When visiting New Designers, I came across a few techniques that really inspired me, one of which was a series of patterns that appeared to be graphite or charcoal drawings printed on fabric. I thought that style of drawing had an interesting effect because it made the fabric look like paper and added more depth to the piece. The design had a really crisp finish, with defined edges, so in order to create an effect like this I will have to undertake fabric research sooner rather than later. 

Images for Motif Designs

research on abstract work and Chinese drawings

Boards includes

(from left to right) 

Graffiti on The Duke of Lancaster (the fun ship, Wales) 

Michaux alphabet

Rene Magritte 

Other Chinese paintings 

Live Brief: Alice Kettle

Throughout the year, a fellow student and I have been participating in a project with Alice Kettle, both commission based and collaborative. Alice Kettle was asked to create a large-scale textiles piece in order to portray the company Lloyd's Register. They plan to display the work in their new offices as they are relocating from Central London to Southampton. We visited the original site last year in order to collect visual research and have created fabric samples from this. I feel that this opportunity is beneficial because it enables me to work with a successful artist in order to create art intended for an interiors setting, to work in an external setting and to learn new skills concerning print and embroidery.