Reflection on my Final Project Process

This final project has not only challenged my thinking and organization skills, but also expanded my design experience. Now that I look back at the design process for this bench and shelter, it’s amazing to see the transformation from an old water spigot to a model bench and shelter. The most challenging part of the design process was taking my 2D abstract drawings and turning them into 3D models. It was hard to not simply create what I saw. My favorite part of the design process was drawing the 50 abstract designs. It allowed me to be creative and come up with designs from just one line on my spigot. I’m still amazed to see how an abstract design turned into a functional bench. I will definitely be applying some of these steps later in my studies and career.

Found Object

This is my found object that inspired my bench and shelter design. I used the curved lines seen in the handle and around the connection points as my main focus in my final design.

Technical Poster

This is the third piece of my final project for my WSU Summer Studio 2011 class. This poster shows the technical aspects of my bench and shelter. This shows, going clockwise, a plan view, front elevation, side elevation, and section. The plan and elevations show the dimensions of my bench and shelter.

Aesthetics Poster

This is another piece of my final project for my WSU Summer Studio 2011 class. This poster shows the materials of my bench and shelter; 9 am, 12 pm, and 4 pm photos of my bench and shelter; and a rendered sketch of my bench and shelter.

Process Poster

This a part of my final project for my WSU ID 103 Summer Studio 2011 class. This poster describes my thought process from my found object, to an abstract design, to a 3D model, and to a final bench and shelter. It also includes my concept statement about my final bench and shelter model; my original abstract parti with three variations created on a Wacom digital pen tablet; and an image of my process sketches.

Simply Lines

The Simply Lines bench and shelter were inspired by an old, metal water spigot, specifically the lines of the handle around the connection point. The curved lines from the connection point and turn handle created a rhythmic repeating pattern. The curved and repeating lines are combined with a quote by Lori Dennis, “I like to keep things simple and natural. I love simple elegance.” In the bench back and seating you can see rhythm by repetition of triangular shapes and equally spaced lines. On the shelter you can also seen rhythm by the repetition and progression of the blocks. In both pieces there is unity in line and the use of positive and negative space. The materials used for the bench and shelter are metal reflecting the original nature of the metal water spigot. The shape and repetition keep this piece Simply Lines.

Final Concept Model

From the preview concept model, I changed the placement of a few pieces and added color: silver (using a silver sharpie) and lime green (using watercolor paint). I also made the line spacing more even. You can clearly see rhythm by repetition of line and rhythm by progression of line. There is also unity by line and created positive and negative space.

Room Study

This was a study of the door to my dorm room. The purpose was to show value using line weights and high contracts with a graphite pencil. I turned on the line and opened the door to my closet to create different shadows.

Up-Side Down Drawing

I drew Picasso's Igor by looking at the image up-side down and drawing accordingly. The purpose was to use the creative side of my brain and see the image as a new pattern, not an up-side down image. This challenged my logical thinking, but unleashed my creative side.

Mind Map

A mind map outlines major categories radiating from a center image, and lesser categories are portrayed as limbs from larger branches. My central word was Green. I sat for a timed fifteen minutes and sketched what came to mind.

Concept Model

These are two concept models I created after drawing 50 3in x 3in abstract designs. I turned two of those designs into 3D models. I used rhythm by progression and repetition of line, unity of line, and positive and negative space.

Chair Styles

The purpose of this assignment was to take three different styles of chairs (Contemporary, Informal, and Formal) and create a sample board for each chair, all having one common color element. I chose green to be my common color. We were supposed to include a wallpaper, paint color, window covering, 2-3 fabric samples, flooring, and chair material. This was created in my Introduction to Interior Design (INDES 140) class at Bellevue College.

Classy Marina

This was my final project for my Introduction to Interior Design (INDES 140) class at Bellevue College. We were to create a floor plan and sample board based on a real or fictitious interview with a client. I chose to interview my sister, but I designed her place based on a future reality. My sister wants to be a nurse, so for this design I pretended my sister was a successful nurse in downtown Seattle. She wanted to have a place that reminded her of her beach house on Whidbey Island, but also containing a modern feel. I chose a light sea blue, chocolate brown, and sand to be the main colors.

Positive and Negative Space

This piece shows equal positive and negative space with no focal point. It was created on white illustration board and with black construction paper cut with an x-acto knife. Each square is 3 x 3in. and was designed to be repeated. This was created in my 2-Dimensional Design (ART 110) class at Bellevue College.

High Key and Low Key

This assignment was to show high key and low key contrast. Simply put, the left is as if the lights were on and the right is as if the lights were turned off or a shade pulled down. I used a combination of the three primary colors with the addition of the secondary color green. In the High Key piece, I tried to keep the colors as close to their "tube" pigment as possible, with the addition of some red to the yellow and white to the blue to create perspective depth. For the Low Key piece, I took those same colors and added black to mute their intensity. This piece was created in my Color Design (ART 111) class at Bellevue College.

Color Schemes

The purpose of this assignment was to become familiar with different color schemes. Each 1 x 1 square is a custom, hand mixed gauche paint swatch. Going counterclockwise, the color schemes are as follows: Triad (Violet, Orange, Green), Analogous (Blue-Green, Green, Yellow-Green, Yellow), Double Complement (Red, Red-Violet, Green, Yellow-Green), and Split Complement (Green, Red-Violet, Red-Orange). This was created in my Color Design (ART 111) class at Bellevue College.

Renaissance Textile

This textile print is inspired by the Italian Renaissance. Balance is seen both symmetrically and asymmetrically: symmetrical in that the borders and corner pieces are exactly the same; the differing center and bottom images make it asymmetrical. According to some research, the vine print (seen in the borders, background, and corner pieces) was a common textile pattern. The layout used was also common: borders and a center image. In this textile, the images chosen are from two famous Italian Renaissance artists. The center image is from Leonardo da Vinci’s “Study of the head of Leda,” and the bottom image is from Sandro Botticelli’s “Venus and Mars.” This was my favorite project from my WSU Summer Studio 2011 class. It helped me understand Adobe Photoshop a little more.

Elements and Principles of Design

 

These are posters demonstrating the elements and principles of design. I was assigned the Renaissance time period and had to find images accordingly. Luckily I am pretty familiar with this era so it wasn't too hard to find images. I used sever different types of examples from buildings, to chairs, to paintings, to plates, to vases.  The posters were created in Adobe InDesign.

Tints and Shades

The point of this project was to understand tints (adding white to a color) and shades (adding black to a color) are. I chose red. This is painted in gauche. I was to chose a geometric shape and divide it so that there were 9 steps between pure red and either black or white respectively. I painted this in Color Design at Bellevue College.

Color Wheel

This color wheel is painted in gauche and the colors are hand mixed (except for the primaries of course). I painted this in my Color Design class at Bellevue College. The point was to paint the color wheel in an original design. I wanted to emphasize the different levels of colors by size. The primaries are the largest, next the secondaries, and the tertiaries are the smallest. 

Pattern Block

The point of this project was to create a composition based on a geometric pattern block in Adobe Photoshop. First I chose to create an analogous color scheme, and I chose a pattern. I then chose six images I felt fit into this color scheme paying attention to color, value, texture, and luminance. I began manipulating the images by adjusting adding filters, effects, and distortions. Once all my images were manipulated, I began placing them onto my pattern. I further manipulated them by stretching, distorting, or scaling the image to fit part of the geometric pattern. I heavily used layers so I could later adjust the size and placement of my images. It’s hard to tell what my original images are. The center diamond is a green parrot distorted with the liquefy tool. The triangles surrounding the corners of the parrot are green orchids distorted to create a triangle and with the spatter filter. The yellow diamonds with the black in the corner are a yellow butterfly distorted with the liquefy tool. The green and yellow triangles between the orchid triangles are a yellow and green parakeet distorted to create a triangle and with the dry brush filter. The four, large, green triangles are a tree frog distorted to create the shape and with the dry brush filter. Finally, the light yellow triangles around the boarder is a yellow tang fish distorted with the liquefy tool and to fit the shape.  

Palouse Horse

This image was created in Adobe Illustrator along with a Wacom tablet. I found a picture of some hills and a horse in the Palouse, Washington area. Using the Wacom tablet, I used the paintbrush tool to draw on a layer over the original image. Once I finished my drawing, I turned off the background layer (original image: bottom) and this (top) is what was left.