Design Principles Exercise 5 || Sense of Place

 Design Principles

Week 8 - Week 10(26/10/2021)
Jodiann Yeoh Chooi Kit 0352238

Module : Design Principles

Task : Exercise 5 || Sense of Place

Lecture

Introduction

The lecture video started off with an introduction of what "Sense of place" is. In simplest description, a designers role is to solve problems with effective visual communication.

"Problems" that a designer solves - ranging from personal goals to community events, and from corporate functions to world changing projects - all through creative, visual communication means.

Dr. Jinchi then touched on the importance of observation, which then relates to how the client informs the designer of the purpose and how designers work when it comes to representation of visual ideas. Its important to understand that it coincides with one another.

This brings us to the idea of observation where we pay attention to the details and to be analytical about them. It can be an effective way to get ideas. Sources can stem from artefacts, daily happenings, physical surroundings etc.

To aid our understanding, Dr. Jinchi showed us some images that relate to observation eg. inspiration of architectural designs, fashion wear which are inspired by nature itself, traditional tattoos which symbolise growth, Instagram pages with a distinct style, as well as a video on "8 ways to improve your powers of observation", all of which really gave me that strong understanding.

The 8 ways to improve your powers of observation(by MindTools)

1. Know your subject - You'll notice more if you understand it

2. Slow down & look outward - Use mindfulness to focus on your attention on your surroundings

3. Try something new - Choose an activity that will engage your senses & heighten your awareness

4. Improve your concentration but cutting out distractions - Turn off your phone, log out of social media or go somewhere quiet so you won't be disturbed.

5. Challenge yourself to a mental workout - A smarter, more agile brain will help you to observe with greater insight

6. Test your observation by playing a memory game - Describe a photograph or list everything in the room you're in right now without looking 

7. Record and consider your observations - Go beyond the thing you see. Note down the smells and sounds you experience too

8. Stay inquisitive - Question & analyse your observations, this will add value to your work.

Observing is an active act of acquiring information, through the senses, of a subject matter in its natural setting. The video mentioned senses, our senses are important for us to know, feel, understand, analyse, and even plan what we want to do. It is important as it enables designers to see problems, as well as getting ideas for solutions to those problems.

"All we have to believe is our senses : the tools we use to perceive the world, your sight, our touch, our memory. If they lie to us, then nothing can be trusted" - Neil Gaiman

Instructions

Sense of Place

- Now think of a place you're in now, or a place you have spent some time at previously, or a place that had created a lasting memory in you.

- How do you express your sense of that place?

- Start by documenting your observations - photographs, diary, talking to relevant people etc. reminisce 

- Create a mind map to work out your ideas

- Other mediums you can explore - collage, illustration (manual/ digital), scale model, etc.

Visual research of what I think gives off "Sense of Place"

Earthrise by Iris Van Herpen

Couture by Iris Van Herpen

Spring/ Summer 2021 Haute Couture Collection "Roots of Rebirth"

-Inspired by fungi.

If you've watched some of her designs in fashion shows, you'd see the movement and texture of the garments as the models walk down the runway, which moves in a way which very much resembles the naturalness of a fungi, the colours are an utter similarity and its such a breathtaking thing to see.

Personal Mind Map

Drawing colourful fishes with crayons

Painting strawberries, its leaves, and a flower using watercolour

Painting a butterfly in its natural habitat using poster colour

Attempted sketch of traditional Chinese style paintings

4 images above are artworks I did when I was 7 or 8, all of which I found from when my mom posted these images on Facebook. I felt at that age, I lacked detail, however I had a good sense of colour and was able to blend the colour effectively, at least for that age.

I wanted to use these as reference as I want to imitate that child like feeling/ impression like which I get when I see my old artworks. This in a way created a sense of place for me when I made these as I remember in detail how I would run upstairs in the middle of watching a cartoon, just to sketch out the characters. I would practice by tracing magazines or buying illustration books as I just found it such a thrill to create the exact same/ similar replica of the original work. The way my parents would magnet my works onto the fridge like a certificate was meaningful to this day and was what drove me to keep going. I think that relates to "sense of place", the feeling of being present at the moment and overall calm/ satisfied.

Some pictures of my past self where I felt a sense of place

My sister and I at a hill, and right behind is the place we'd stay at

My sis, aunt, me, & close family friend

My cousin, sister, and I

Sister and I posing on a bridge in Cameron Highlands

The bridge was located near a hotel we always stayed in and right across a tea cottage which had the best scones and tea. It was a ritual of ours to make sure we get a picture on that bridge on every visit. Every morning, we'd have a stroll along the forests which were cold enough to make us blow mists from our breaths, we would then visit various farms which had gooseberries, raspberries and strawberries which we could handpick, it was such an interactive thing to do as a child and was such a thrill. I think being with my family and appreciating everything in that moment when I was younger gave such a lasting impression therefore a strong sense of place at that moment. 

Some pictures of my present self where I felt a sense of place

Picture of my dog and I on my 18th birthday

My 18th birthday was by far the best one yet and a moment I felt a sense of Place and felt grounded.

Chosen image which shows "present"

Picture of present self every morning(thorough explanation in mind map below) where I felt a Sense of Place.

2nd Mind Map after exploration relating to image above.

Final Design on "Sense of Place"

This is a digital design of myself which was done on Autodesk Sketchbook. I wanted the texture to resemble a crayon's drag on a paper surface which is often irregular and rough looking. Though I used the referencing image of myself, I changed the colour to something more vibrant and fun, just like my old art which is rich in colour variants thus imitating my smaller self which I feel is still present in me. I made the light coming out of my phone more prominent to emphasise on the light source coming from my phone which then reaches my face and bed frame and onto the back wall. 

A scene from Coraline

The black background is inspired by my favourite Tim Burton stop motion film, Coraline. The image above shows a scene where Coraline is attempting to escape the pocket dimension also known as the "Other World" and was ruled by her "Other Mother", named Beldam. I imitated the way the sky slowly fades from black to white, and how this metaphorically relates to me, is the shift of my life and how differently I see it now compared to when I was a child.

I ensured that I kept it simple through basic shadow and highlight placement, whilst making it noticeable that it was a human form. This piece depicts me at my present where I feel a sense of place as well as aspects of my past younger self which is filled with innocence and when I felt a sense of self in doing what I truly love, art.

Close-up of final design

You can sort of sense the immaturity and abstractness within each stroke and just the style in general. I'd say that my art then was more abstract, compared to now which is more on realism, thus why I chose to do reuse the abstractness which symbolises me in the past.

PDF of Final Design - Sense of Place

Feedback

Week 9(19/10/2021)

Screengrab of feedback from Dr. Jinchi

Feedback was done online rather than in Microsoft teams as today there was a public holiday

Week 10(26/10/2021)

-Very cool, theres a good sense of composition. The black background trailing off is adding to that mysteriousness.

-The close up has more of a rule of third but she thinks its good that both can be included

-She's glad that I went for this direction after some discussion and its good to see how my idea was initially about the past and how I combined it with the present without having to show the place.

-I've successfully evoked the kind of feeling about the place.

Reflection

Week 9(19/10/2021)

The feedback I received from Dr. Jinchi assured me on what direction I should go with this topic, this made it easier for planning and the process.

Week 10(26/10/2021)

The feedback was positive and it made me relieved that my idea was a good one. Again, it could not be done without the thorough discussions and feedback which was given by Dr. Jinchi. This exercise gave me an opportunity to take myself down the memory lane of how I changed as a person and the difference of what I feel is a sense of place from the past and present.