untitled (design + architecture + craft beer): 2011

Study Models

Starting off with the Platner Lounge Chair, I started making models trying to draw inspiration from the lightweight base.

Not really getting what I wanted, I started to think of what else I could do to make the base the focal point and thought of Eladio Dieste's amazing brick architecture...

...so I started playing with "bricks" to make my base of the chair

Here is the beginning of many more cardboard bricks to come!

More Inspiration

Looking at the architecture of Eladio Dieste, I am wanting to make the base of my chair out of "bricks" and making that the focal point with a simple seat.

Short Platner Lounge Chair Presentation

The Knoll Platner Lounge Chair is what I chose for my inspiration. Here is the link for my Prezi:
https://prezi.com/secure/4a8973bf44467f35c15684bbd0748cc0795c3222/

So many chairs

So for this last project, I am searching for a modern chair that I find interesting and can draw inspiration from. Here are some of the chairs I found interesting...

Below is the chair I'm going to go with, the Platner Lounge Chair

Sorry I haven't been able to get any scanned images in, I'm working everyday to try and make up for the time (and money) I lost from getting my wisdom tooth removed last week. I did find quite a bit of info on this chair and designer online though

How to Steal Like an Artist

Here is the link to the article by Austin Kleon that I referenced in my book project. It made me feel a little bit better about how everything turned out.
http://www.austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/

Book...

I am fully aware that I was severely lacking in blog posts for this project. But I didn't much like anything I was doing so I will post my final images and say no more.

Book layouts

So after playing around with possible book layouts, this is what I have so far...just a couple very rough ideas.

for this first one I was really intrigued with the collage idea, but it's quite difficult on the computer and I'm not sure how I could make it work by hand. So I then went to the next idea...

Having a layout similar to a real newspaper, but the stories be my experiences as I read the paper in the morning. This one is a little easier to visualize and would probably look nicer in the long run.

More book ideas

So trying to think of a better experience to center my book around, I've been toying around with a couple different ideas (some better than others):

Going to the dog park - my friend has two puppies that she likes to take to the park. I could tag along (maybe have a picnic!) and document the experience with video, then maybe use a more bold illustrative style for the book since the main focus would be the playfulness of puppies.
Shopping online for ______? - I think the task of shopping online can be quite interesting, especially if you're trying to find something very specific or trying to find the best deal/value.
Making soup for my sick roommate - Nothing has really come up on how this could work, but it happened yesterday so it's fresh.
Purchasing/planting a new house plant - The process of searching for a house plant can be exciting. It depends on whether it will be indoors or outdoors, what kind of feel you are going for in the room, etc.
Watching a movie - My thoughts on this one was to pick a movie that contains many different emotional states within it so I could show them visually using different effects. Also the atmosphere of watching a movie: popcorn, dark room, cuddling (pillow, dog, etc.)
Making a cake - I enjoy baking, even if I don't really enjoy reaping the benefits of my labors. So all the aspects that go into baking a cake, including finding the right recipe that my grandma probably gave me, getting all the ingredients to make it from scratch, the different textures and smells of the process, could get interesting. I was also thinking of how I could apply my previous idea of making a more sculptural book and using each step as an actual piece of a cake. This could be very cheesy but could again be geared towards children and used as an educational tool.
Reading the newspaper - I think I liked this idea the best. We have been talking about Swiss design in one of my classes and how some of the artists use amazing collages and photo montages to deliver a message to the viewer. I think using a local paper like the Kansan could be great because it contains a lot of different info but is also somewhat concentrated. It informs about news relevant to students, contains humor, games, sports, odd news, but also has tidbits about going-ons outside of the university. Using the big titles to portray the main messages, and possibly tying all the images together in a way that the book could open into a giant collage. Some cool effects could be used to enhance the very black and white pieces, like having actual coffee stains since many people read papers in the morning, or having red pen markings if something is important or maybe filling out part of a crossword. Maybe even editing some of the photos in photoshop to give the book a certain feel could be a possibility.

Let me know what you think!

Experience as a Book

So, trying to figure out what this next project is about, I've come up with a couple experiences that could be interesting:

baking - I like to bake, whether it's cookies, muffins, or bread. I usually give them away because I like carbs a little too much...but it's still fun to do

2. going on a run - I also like to stay fit (going along with me staying away from the baked goods), and going on a nice run is quite meditative. Depending on the mood I'm in, I'll either take my iPod and get a good hard workout in or just take the peaceful route and listen to the outdoors and take in everything around me.

3. My last idea that I just recently came up with I thought of by thinking about what it is I really like to do: building. As a student in architectural engineering I love the idea how materials and technology can create some pretty amazing things. The idea of someone having to actually construct my "book" before they could read it seems pretty awesome. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to make this reality yet, but the wooden mind puzzles are the first thing that come to mind.

Let me know what you think!!

Final Poster Design

Almost there....

Getting close on the final poster, just need to add two more sketches at the bottom

What Makes a Good Poster?

Jessica Helfund expresses her great distaste of what "posters" are becoming in the design world. She describes the long history of this informative artwork and how it portrays the social and cultural values of a generation. There are 4 basic points of poster design that are described:
1. Increased Participation by Scholarly Society Members (audience)- going through a rigorous editing process makes everything better, not just posters. Also, knowing your audience and designing clearly for them is essential.
2. For many researchers, the poster format is superior for the presentation of their data. (form and content) - "poster" is being referred to anything that is 8.5x11 and hung on a bulletin board, without any regard to the content. All posters are different, even if addressing the same product. Combining form with function and style with substance creates something unique in its time.
3. The individual presentation time of a panel, i.e. 15-20 minutes is often not enough time. (scale) - posters are most effective when they are large, there is actually a physical reaction from the viewer. Small posters work too, they show amounts of detail in the hands of a skilled designer.
4. Poster sessions are a consideration to foreign colleagues. (audience) - basic rules apply to all types of posters: Content. Form. Scale, Audience. Typography. Image. Hierarchy. Composition.

She finishes by asking students to team up with scholars in the humanities to volunteer and practice their craft in order to improve it; all while doing good for the community.

Posters in Progress

So when trying to design a poster for the final, this was my initial design...

But I'm feeling like that's a little too busy, so I have been working on a second approach:

This one (so far) is a lot cleaner and gives off the type of feeling I'm going for.

Trees!

While searching for potential candidates for my treehouse, here are some photos of trees...

Wayfinding Solution Images

I created a quick SketchUp model of the parking garage that we are using and incorporated our solution of red tape on the floor and signs at the nodes. Here are some images from that model...