3 Words - WEEK 2

I was advised to do more research of my chosen words, in order for me to experiment thoroughly with my ideas. I needed to focus on one idea of my research and extract it as much as possible before moving on to another idea. I struggled to do this, but later on found out how to overcome this by refusing to think of design ideas, as this hindered the research and experimentation stage. I also realised that i was taking the spider/arachnophobia idea to literally and needed to abstract the idea by taking elements of spiders which people fear.

The critique also helped me to understand that i need to do so much more experimentation before i even consider design ideas. I found myself using knit in my sketchbook, which dominated it. This was because they were the only samples included in my sktchbook, which led people to believe i was interested in knit over design, which is not the case. I need to also consider how much knit samples i put into my book, to avoid giving the impression i want to be a knit student. Although i enjoy using elements of knit I want to express my interest in designing, therefore i will increase the number of silhouette sketches in my sketchbooks in the future.

In order to improve and complete this project, I aim to look more closely at the way phobias effect people, rather than look at the surface meaning of arachnophobia and aichmophobia. I want to relate my research to how phobias effect the body before considering specific fears such as ones mentioned previously. I want to make it obvious that i am decorating a fear with the use of Nick Knight's 'Flora' photography, as it will help incorporate the word 'decorate'. I believe my initial research must be open for me to target specific parts - i can then isolate these ideas in order to develop them as much as possible.

3 Words - WEEK 1

This week was slow, because the project was so free. My initial words were: Nick Knight, grotesque and decorate. I liked the contrast between the words grotesque and decorate and wanted to work closely with them. I struggled a little to include Nick Knight into the project because he has photographed many different things that were hard to categorize as his specific style. I found his book 'Flora' which inspired one of my words, decorate.

During my research stage, I decided to change the word 'grotesque' to 'phobia', because i thought grotesque was too vague. I initially looked at common phobias i knew of such as arachnophobia, acrophobia and achluophobia. I then specified my phobia research on arachnophobia and linked it to aichmophobia because spider legs remind me of needles. I linked this research to Nick Knight's 'Flora' work and chose plants that were spiky or seemed to have sharp edges. I found it difficult to merge the ideas together, rather than experimenting with each of my chosen words separately.

In an effort to apply the word decorate, i decided to experiment with the effect of Nick Knights photography used in 'Flora'. I edited pictures of roses i took to make the colours more vivid and the darker shades velvety. I wasn't sure where to take this idea, and used parts of the image i edited, and images from 'Flora' in order to connect them to spider legs and needles. For example, i took images of rose thorns to relate it to needles. I also experimented with the the way sharp objects effect skin - for instance indentation and protuberance.

Collaboration Project (Industry) - WEEK 2

This week, my group concentrated on finalising everything. On Monday, we brought all our deigns together from the previous week to create the final collection. We drew up our initial final ideas on an A1 board and agreed that one person finalises the final illustrations to keep the designs looking unified. I think this worked well because we incorporated everyone ideas into the final designs and our team kept on top of their deadlines in order for this process to run smoothly.

After, myself and the design team finalised the designs by drawing the flats of each outfit. This was time consuming, but made the presentation look professional and helped me to visualise how they would actually be made.

In the time we had left, I attempted to present the concept of one of out ideas by making a prototype. I used acetate sheets for most of the layering, which we thought was befitting because Comme des Garçons sometimes use unconventional materials. I intended to show the prototype, although we were unsure to present it because it wasn't presented digitally. I would have done this differently by organising the prototype to be show digitally

Collaboration Project (Industry) - WEEK 1

Starting a collaborative project made me feel skeptical of what was to come within the following weeks, due to being such a big group. However I was surprised to find, despite our group being one of the biggest, we were a very  successful team. We were designing and advertising a collection for Comme des Garçons.

After we organised our roles, we created a mind map using the quote we chose. I think working in a group really helped us to project our ideas further and create an innovative concept. This was because we were able to discuss freely and no one was left out. Everyone had very good ideas, but we were comfortable with each other to dismiss any ideas that we thought weren't going to work well. Ideas that didn't work well, or want to take forward was religion. This was because we felt it was a common concept to use and did not reflect the style of Comme des Garçons.

Eventually we came to our final muse, which was an onion, because we were playing around with the word 'layers'. Myself and the group really liked the idea because onions fit into the style of Comme des Garçons. This included the shape, because I thought it resembled the 'Lumps and Bumps' collection Rei Kawakubo produced. In addition onions were appropriately linked to the part of the quote: '...real conditions of their lives and their relations with their fellow men'. We thought men layer their true feelings with hardened emotions, which was why I thought onions contrast this idea because they can make you cry.

After out mind map, we created a concept board using images from books, containing close ups of onions and abstract pictures which resembled specific parts, and surface design techniques, lighting and mood.

As a designer, myself and my team studied actual onions, sketching and photocopying parts to create silhouettes for our initial designs. Photocopying certain parts of the onion skin was beneficial because I was able to experiment with different shapes. I think working with a main and strong physical muse made it easier for me to home in specific shapes and expand on experimentation. I would have liked to experiment with the shape more if we had more time on the project, although working in a group meant we concluded with enough experimentation and development.

Despite being a designer, I developed a couple of knit ideas which mimicked the shape of onion cells and onion roots. I enjoyed using knit in the designs because it tied into the layering idea, especially as the designs were intended to show was underneath. In general, I like using knit because it is an interesting way to create textured patterns, although I want to concentrate on silhouettes as I want to go into fashion design. I want to collaborate silhuette design with knit when practical, because i don't want to specifically design knit in the future.

Identity & Self - WEEK 7 - Film/Illustration/Pattern cutting

This week felt crammed but each day was helpful in their own way. On the first day, I gathered a crude concept board of images (mainly from work in my sketchbook) in order to create initial ideas.

I wanted to use the idea from accessories (the rib cage structure) to symbolise the exterior persona people see me as (as this would be the most eye catching piece of the garment). In addition I would create an undergarment that people would see secondly (which would symbolise the mischievous/corrupt/disturbing deeper persona). I decided not to do the rib cage because it may be too accessory orientated and I would be able to have enough time to do it well.

I thought the day where we were doing film was useful, but for people who take to the promotion side. I wanted to make a film for my final piece but I didn't have enough time. When I have time I will edit the clips I took whilst taking shots of the final product. 

Identity & Self - WEEK 6 - Accessories

I think I achieved a decent amount of development for this week. Looking back at all the weeks, I see that my weakness is my development. I will have to ask for a bit of guidance in order to resolve this problem, but I believe some if it is due to me being too precise with presentation. 

I was pleased with the final outcome, despite that I simplified my original design. When I spoke to Carol, she said the shoes with the rib cage structure would be too much, which I agreed to, bit thought I could use this idea for the final outcome of the project.

In my mind had a clear idea what I wanted to make the shoe out of, but it would be too difficult to make with the time I had and wouldn't support the body weight of the wearer. I wanted to use the 3D printer but it was too short notice. In future I would like to used the 3D printer because I like to add intricate details.

Instead of using wire as the main skeleton of the shoe, I used and exciting shoe which was much more practical (even though it's intent was not to be practical). Carol suggested that I use the whole shoe but cut down to be more open - (I only wanted to use the heel, sole and platform). If I had more time, I would have 3D printed part of the shoe, such as the open wire sides. I was planning to paint the shoes black, but after placing the black knit on, I would look more effective to paint it white. This development complimented the contrast theme. Another Carol suggested was to just have the knit wrapped round, instead of adding more parts. Se said that the knit resembled the original shape I took from my special object, although I didn't think it was obvious enough, therefore I adapted the design to have spine on the back of the heel which was made from clay. This was to apply the shape I developed from my special object. Instead of clay, I would have to used a sturdier material using the 3D printer because the clay parts kept on falling off. This made the shoes impractical.

Identity & Self - WEEK 5 - Knit

I enjoyed this week because I like using knitted fabrics and we were able to experiment with different techniques.

This was the first time I had used a kitting machine and was a very different method to hand knitting, dispite some aspects being somewhat familiar. 

I liked the fact that there were different techniques to try, but I felt like the lessons could be geared towards making a collection that was specific to out identities. I felt like the lessons weren't challenging me to use them specifically to our brief. I was glad the machine that I used worked correctly, as I learned that they could be stubborn and temperamental. 

My favourite techniques used were the honeycomb, ladder and the 3D knit. These had the most interesting texture, plus the ladder and honeycomb had a spiderweb aspect to it, which assists my theme. I took an interest to the the 3D knit because I tried to replicate it in a previous project where I looked at Japanese designers such as Issey Miyake and Rei Kawakubo. I would have liked to experiment with this type of knit and work it into my theme.

If I have time I will develop a knit collection that is relation to this project.