So, this is my concept board. After all my sketching, thinking, painting, rethinking, haiku-ing, thinking (you get the picture), I had to come up with a concept. I searched long and hard and came up with the concept "cradle to cradle." Having to do with the cycle and a never-ending process, I was pumped and thought it would be a challenge. Luckily, my professors and classmates set me straight. They told me to look further to a concept that's not so literal. I suppose coming up with a life cycle concept from an avocado is pretty literal.
So, I had ALOT of work on my hands. Somehow I had to get to a place away from the avocado and come up with a concept from my process. After going back to my watercolors, I found the variation within the layers to be very intriguing. What determines how that pigment disperses? Where one splotch starts, a line could form, a ridge-type saturation or something else could take shape. This variation got me thinking about how painting is a little like Biology in that way. The paint acts as the ever-changing organism, dependent upon its circumstance and environment.
So, with that I'm marinating on a concept somewhere in between adaptation and deviation from a common point and how "speciation" may also influence the surroundings.
The next step was to make a 3-D model of our concept. How do you do that? Well I chose to use a piece of chip-board as an "obstacle" that causes a seemingly stagnant piece of paper to deviate into to parts. One part starts to fold on itself, becoming a kind of incomplete cube, while the other half remains the way it began. This represents a part of my concept, but I have more models to make and concepts to explore....I suppose.
So, enough blabbing. Here is the model:
After making it 3-D we had to take that 3-D image and learn a little about drafting in order to make it 2-D on a to-scale piece of paper. So, we headed back to the drawing boards....I mean, DRAFTING tables....whoops!
And, so I began the process of turning my piece into two types of drawings: a plan (kind of like a horizontal cross-section of the object) and an elevation (like looking at the object from one of its sides.)
The first is the plane. I've aligned the model next to the drawing so you can try to see what I was drawing. We use weight of line and thickness to denote something closer or farther away, or a permanent sturdy fixture.
Now your processes are similar to how architects think everyday. Architects tend to think of things in plan, sections, and elevations.
ReplyDeleteI find the elevation more interesting than the plan. I can see the elevation also existing as a section. Thinking about an object in section is where it gets really interesting. A section often makes you think of the object in a more spatial way. The negative space is just as important as the object itself.
Defining a "concept" is something designers struggle with all the time. Most successful concepts come from a feeling or an experience. I think we are all trained to always have a right or wrong answer. The design world operates a little different. There's good, bad, and interesting, but almost always never right or wrong. It's often about the journey of discovery, the ability to set limits and rules, and to ask the right questions. It took me a long time in architecture school to deprogram myself from thinking there was a right answer out there. I found it helpful, most of the time, to always have a reason for doing something. Otherwise, give it some serious thought before doing it. Answering the "why" is usually the toughest part.
I know it can get frustrating sometimes, but hang in there... you're doing awesome. Just know that all of these exercises are designed to develop your creative and critical thinking. I definitely can see the foundations of a designer in your work. You're off to a wonderful start.
Let me know if I can be of any help, especially if you have a mental block. I always found it helpful to describe or discuss whatever I'm working on to someone. I'm not looking for answers but by talking about it, you can jump start the creative thinking again.
Looking forward to your next posting.