Bathroom Design

The task for this project was to create a poster with a case study about a certain topic. We researched the topics in groups and our group's topic was bathroom design including universal design, so I chose the McCoy bathroom designed by Clint M Larkan and his associates. My specific items to cover in my group were the toilet features and ventilation in the space. I like the lines drawing you through the poster, but the font seems a bit out of place for the design. The picture layout works well with the text below, but I wish the text in the picture of the before and after plan had turned out clearer. We were able to brainstorm ideas for our specific topics together as a group and when we were stuck trying to figure out something we would get help and feedback from each other. I found our team collaboration went very well.

Sketchbook Cover and Reflection

 

Overall I feel my sketches have improved through the semester. This can be seen best through the fruit still lives. The first sketch is done in pencil and has some shading but the shading really develops in sketch 6. Texture is also added into that sketch where it was not used in the previous one. My perspective seems to have improved from sketch 3 to sketch 10, with more accurate lines. I feel I can develop it even more through practice. My composition is strongest in sketch 4 and 9 with the use of the entire page. I still need to keep working into the shading and use of color in my sketches. Some of my line work needs improvement, but I have improved my skill with using a pen in sketching throughout this process. The flair pen is definitely my favorite sketching utensil now.

Process Poster

For this project the task was to create a poster of the process work from a project in another class in InDesign. The other project entailed making a 3D model of an abstracted room with a piece of furniture. The design idea was supposed to come from an artist of our choosing and the previous projects we had made, as well as a nature object. So for this project we had to show all the steps we went through to get to that final model including our concept statement. The poster had to employ color theory too. I started with a background knowing it would relate to the ocean, then went into finding a color theory. I decided on using a split complementary to blue, but when I used this on the text it showed up too dark so I tinted both the red-orange and the yellow-orange. For the grid layout I tried to find a way to make the photos of the shell line up better, but could not due to the object study. I found this layout was the best to show both to reasonable sizes. Originally I also had the 2D sketches smaller but there seemed to be too much open space in the middle of the poster then. I tried my best to match the blue in my study model to the image in the background, but could not use the sandy brown since it is not quote yellow orange. Then the yellow orange was too light against the right corner in the title so I decided to add a red-orange stroke around the lettering to help it stand out more. Overall I like how the poster turned out, but wished there had been a larger selection of fonts in InDesign. This one was closest to one I had on my personal computer, but I still feel it doesn't match as well.

Resume

For this design, we were to create a resume which included our logo and a background image. It is supposed to be well organized, readable and creatively designed. Originally I had the logo in the upper left and had my name and contact information in a block to the right of it, but I felt like it separated the pieces too much. So I moved them into this formation. Then when I added the background the logo's white space was too square and detracting. To solve that problem I added a gradient feather that diffused so it didn't stand out so much. I had tried to take out the white background all together but the logo blended too much into the background image. I feel now your eye first goes to the logo then across to my name, going down the page after that. The path in the background can then lead the reader back and can be symbolic of what is in the future. What I still do not like about the resume is that when printed the background image is more yellow than the green seen here.

Logo Design

For this design the task was to create a logo that reflects my design philosophy. Since nature is a big part of my design philosophy I started with a mind map of what I think of first when I think of nature as seen below. When I started creating my logo it mostly had trees as starting points for my name, then I though about trying to create an ocean type with my initials. Eventually I settled on a wolf created out of my initials howling at the world. I tried to display the fur like curves using the M in my initials and once I created the rest I realized I should try to add in fur quality near the face so I edited the K. For the moon/earth I started with the continents being a darker green but found they did not show enough contrast in gray scale and so I made it a brighter green. For the font for my name I thought a curvy or more decorated font would detract from the rest of the logo so I chose to go with a more straight forward typeface and edited the character height, width and spacing to make it more of what I wished for.

Weekly Sketches

Value of a room with normal lighting and bright high contrast shadows.

I like the great shadow that was cast at this hour but I wish I were able to capture the density of it better. I also wish I had drawn some of the elements more alike, for example the chair in the far back for both pictures are different slightly in angle.

The negative space of a chair captured through sketching.

I like the intricate detailing of the chairs back shown through this but wished I had picked a chair that did not have a blank white background. I feel it would have been more interesting with some figure-ground relationship shown.

 A sketch of a sliding door handle using colored pencil on black paper.

The picture on the left is when I first went through with Crayola pencils and tried to capture the handle but I feel as though I did not get the depth properly. Then I went back through using Prismacolor pencils and was able to get more depth and make the color show up better on the paper as seen in the right picture. I like the one of the right a lot better but feel I could have capture the depth of the crack of the door better.

 A figure trace of a little boy posing as superman.

I like how it turned out overall but wish I had added more line texture for the creases in the arms.

A sketch of the cross-section of multiple oranges.
I like the the composition on the cutting board but wished I had moved it up on the paper more or off set it some.

A sketch with shading of a corner in my room.
I like the depth of value in the corner by the sink but I wish I had darkened everything so it did not scan so lightly. 

Multiple views of a chair in my room seen from top, bottom, side, front and perspective.
I like the composition of the chairs on the paper but which I had showed more texture.

A perspective and floor plan view of my current dorm room.
I liked how the floor plan and perspective are so close to each other, but I feel like my perspective is off.

A Mind Map based off the first word that I thought of.
I like the color I added into it but I wish I had filled up more of the empty space.

Roman Textile Design

For this Design I continued using the Roman influence with a few new images. In Roman culture, gladiator fighting was a focal point of their lifestyle and is interpreted by the lion attacking the bull.  The curvature work in the groin vault and the arch are seen in most of their buildings and were used to focus  and draw the eye to the central piece. The colors of red and blue were seen as royal in Roman history and gold was associated with money and power. The textile design incorporates all of these essential qualities of Roman history by using them to center in and create harmony in the piece. The texture was chosen from their frequent use of mosaics in their lavish homes and creates an interesting contrast for the eye.
Although the contrast between the blue and red are nice I find the center image is not as harmonious as I wished. But I do like how everything lined up in the final 30x30 textile.