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‘Calmness’ Pattern Development

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‘Triumph’ Pattern Development

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‘Hope’ Pattern Development

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‘Sympathy’ Pattern Development

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‘Sadness’ Pattern Development

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‘Fear’ Pattern Development

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‘Anxiety’ Pattern Development

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‘Chaos’ Pattern Development

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Theme Selection

Aim & Objective 

Emotion Mind map 

Emotions experienced during quarantine 

Chaos - Anxiety - Fear - Sadness - Sympathy - Hope - Triumph - Joy - Calmness 

Mood Board 

- Design Inspiration: Animal Skin Patterns 

- Idea Inspiration : Mark Rothko 

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Stage 5: Practical Investigation: Print Making

Aim & Objective

Illustrator Adjustments 

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Idea Selection

Aim & Objective

The purpose of the task was to provide an overview of our chosen idea and explain our inspirations how we will communicate them to our audience as we enter the development stage.  

What is your inspiration?

My main inspiration for this project is Mark Rothko. Looking into his artwork, there's evidence of a gradual meltdown. He's very first paintings were chaotic and utilized various colours, shape and always depicted either objects or people, however as he progressed, his work began to dissolve and organise into a more ordered universe of rectilinear squares, and by the end of this liquefaction, his work used minimal form or none at all. A second inspiration is derived from patterns found on animals skins. Such patterns use a variety of shapes and colours which form beautiful aesthetic skin. 

How are you going to communicate this to the audience and why?

Rothko’s journey from absolute chaos to order and calmness can be linked to our current situation. When the pandemic first hit, we were sitting in total chaos, filled feelings of anxiety and fear, however as weeks progressed, we began to understand the virus and its behaviour, therefore order began to come in, followed with some sense of calmness. This can be depicted through a gradual meltdown of shapes within the look book, reflecting on how we as humans, suffer from sudden shifts of emotions due to unexpected situations. Additionally, when using visual language to convey emotions, a viewer may develop a personal connection with the painting, due to perhaps an event or situation in their life; this is an aspect which I aim to achieve during this project.  

Which practical investigations are you going to next and how can these link to research?

I'm going to experiment with a range of analogue techniques, to find techniques which will show a gradual meltdown of form within the look book.

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Stage 4 : 1.2 Explore & Find

Aim & Objective

The purpose of the task was to record a body of work to develop through experimenting with a range of analogue materials. We were asked to look at our surroundings for inspiration and try a range of materials, considering different tones, textures, shapes and colour. 

Markings  

To commence I looked at possible inspirations within my home and considered how I could simplify these inspirations through marks. My first inspiration was a chair in my room, which formed a wavy like pattern whenever placed on an angle. I responded by imitating the wavy like pattern using black ink. My second inspiration was my curtain. When light hits the curtain, what seems to be broken lines become visible, perhaps due to the material used. Therefore I responded by imitating the pattern and drawing irregular lines. My third inspiration was a wooden table and responded by mimicking the wood grain pattern using a felt tip pen. For the rest of the markings, I experimented with various forms looking at how they can be used to convey meaning and to produce aesthetic patterns.

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Stage 4 : 1.1 Explore & Find

Aim & Objective 

The purpose of the task was to reflect on our current situation, and how surrounding could inspire the motif of our design. 

Questions To Consider

Do you feel inspired by what you see in your home, your garden, your local area, the people you see or the experiences you have had during a lockdown?

This lockdown has enabled me to reflect on past experiences, sparking various emotions, which I could visualize through this project. 

Is there a certain view or activity you have found becoming part of your daily routine?

A daily routine which has become part of my daily routine is running. I view running as therapy, it releases stress, boosts confidence and enables me to generate ideas for design, which is essential as I strive to keep active during lockdown. 

What signs, symbols and motifs do you see regularly?

While running I come across various road signs that guide me, also I take inspiration from logos I spot on, work vans and buildings and from nature. For example, patterns are seen on birds or other animals. This enables me to generate ideas efficiently.  

what are you trying to communicate to your audience?

My aim is to communicate the cycle humans go through during situations; from complete stress to calmness and security. 

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Response To Research

Bruno Munari 

Looking into Bruno Munari I was fascinated by his mind-boggling experiments which straddle different media, discipline, genres and effects. For example, during the development of the marks depicted in 'Design As Art,' he was concerned with finding how many ways and with what techniques he could produce variations on the human face while being limited to only black and white. Therefore during development, I will consider whether the patterns convey the intended message or emotion while only using black and white and if not, what change can be placed. This self-discipline will allow me to view the use of colour as supplementary rather than mandatory equipping me to produce a look book which is concise with its intention. Additionally, Munari experimented with various techniques until he was satisfied, therefore throughout this projected its essential I investigate various forms and techniques.

Keith Haring 

Simplicity, colour and shape are such simple concepts, however, after viewing Haring’s work I have realized how few artists have mastered them. Haring makes his work seem so simply genius that many would ask themselves and contemplate if what they are witnessing is truly great art. It is his hunger, for the ability to create simple and ingenious pieces of art while appearing that it was achieved effortlessly, that has impressed me most about his work. Therefore during this project, I will try to adopt Harring skilful use of shape and simplicity into the look book.

Mark Rothko

Mark Rothko due to his careful choice of colour, he allows viewers to build a personal relationship with the artwork that is hard to verbalise and describe. Additionally, Looking into Mark Rothko's liquefaction of form there is evidence of gradual change in his work, which I charted. This idea of gradually dissolving form is an aspect which I will explore further. 

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Case Study: Mark Rothko

Context

Mark Rothko belongs to the generation of American artists who completely altered the essence and form of abstract painting. Marcus Rothkowitz, also known as Mark Rothko, was born in Russia in 1903 and was raised there before then moving to the United States with his family. He later travelled to New York City to take up a course at the Art Students League with Max Weber, one of the only artists to have first-hand knowledge of European modernism. Rothko’s early expressionist paintings were a reflection of Weber’s influence as well as that of artist such as Marc Chagall. Early in his life as an artist, Rothko’s works featured various scenes and images of the bustling urban lifestyle. His paintings also exude some mystery, intense emotions and isolation. Influenced by the post-World War era, he began to feature images of survival and death due to the situation that prevailed during that time. Additionally, the paintings produced by Rothko during WW2 comes across as chaotic, signifying a period of war and chaos, whereas, towards the end of the war, we see Rothko take a minimalistic route to his painting, which hints the period he was living in; a time of temporary peace.

Meltdown Timeline

From 1946 down to 1949, Mark Rothko began to dissolve all of the visual features found in his earlier art which had been based for the most part on pastiches of artist such as Picasso. Both artist simultaneously came up with a new art form that shifts out of modernism and enters into the epoch of contemporary art by wiping the walls of being ‘clean’.

Looking into Mark Rothko’s liquefaction of form there is evidence of gradual change in his work, which can be charted. By 1945 there’s an indication of liquefaction of these forms, which suggest that they are actually sliding off the 'walls’ of being. This theory manifests in the No. 1 (No. 18, 1948) painting, were not only is the art piece beginning to meltdown, but it begins to shift and organise into a more ordered universe of rectilinear squares and certain diagrams, and then by Untitled [Multiform] (1948) he starts to bring order into the chaos of the painting. Moreover, by the creation of Untitled, 1949 (with Yellow, Brown and Green) he begins to paint using minimal form or none at all but with a maximum of luminosity and radiance.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Rothko was able to devise a unique method to achieve luminosity in his work by applying thin washes of oil paint. His obsession with colour enabled him to compose paintings which evoke a variety of emotions in the viewer.

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Case Study:Keith Haring

Context

Keith Haring was an iconic painter known for his unique style inspired by graffiti, cartoons and comics strips. He was born in May 1958 and died at the age of just 31 in 1990 in New York. His unique style of chalk drawings was displayed on subway stations and walls around the city. He also created paintings, drawings and prints in a graffiti style, filling the works from edge to edge using signs, abstract symbols, and human and animal figures moving in a spaceless, airless design. In the 1980s, Haring’s chalk drawing began to appear across New York City. Over the eighties, his growing fame helped propel his career and establish him as an artist of the people. He then began to exhibit internationally with his murals and drawings, achieving great commercial success.

In his work there is a common recurrence of various images and figures as he draws a never-ending story involving dolphins, crawling babies, television sets, barking dogs, serpents, angels, dancers, flying saucers, pyramids, and ticking clocks. The narration he implies in his art owes a debt to Haring’s childhood fascination with Walt Disney and Dr Seuss, as well as animated figures like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. It is these influences that fill his work with themes of rhythm, movement, chaos and energy. What should be admired here is the element of discipline involved. His teachers at Art School would recall the endless rolls of paper on which he drew, and the fact that he seemed to work “nonstop.” I believe this is reflected in his work as you can feel the vivid energy and passion Haring had for his art through his work. The vivid energy and movement he presents to the audience is a theme I would wish to explore further during this project.

Mark Making 

Examining his work, I noticed is his very dominant use of colour and repetition of both shape and form. In almost all his work. it appears he consciously decides not to use a dominant focal point or the use of perspective, foreshortening and many well known artistic qualities. Instead, all his work appears relatively flat and the use of shapes and objects is consistently repeated across the entire piece. I believe what makes his style very strong and interesting is that it allows the viewer's eye to flow freely across the work of art without arriving at a desired focal point or causing the viewer to constantly search for deeper meaning than what it is you are actually viewing. I believe his work allows your mind to wander and one is able to view his work for what it truly is; art.

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Case Study: Bruno Munari

Context

Bruno Munari was one of the most recognized names in twentieth-century Italy, due to his impact on visual arts, futurism and modernism. He is credited for his contribution to industrial design, sculpture, painting and concrete art. Munari was born on October 24, 1907, Milan. However, he spent most of his childhood in Badia Polesine, then returned to Milan at age eighteen.  His principles and beliefs were built upon his early involvement in the Futurist movement, led by Marinetti. During the 1930s, Munari began to move towards Constructivism, particularly with his kinetic sculptures titled, ‘Useless Machines’ (1933), which were meant to transform or complicate their surrounding environments. Later on, he moved away from the influence of the futurists and Constructivism and began to look into various art forms, to develop his unique style.

Mark Making

The post-World-War II period is marked as the height of Munari’s creativity as he experimented with several art forms employing ingenious ideas. His early experiments altered the stereotypical graphic designing and typography. For example in his book 'Alla faccia', Bruno Munari created countless faces through different types of 'signs'. Each is different, yet they are all universally recognisable, demonstrating how a single concept can be infinitely expressed. Munari strived to find ways and techniques he could produce variations on the human face, by limiting colour to only black and white and using line and shape as a channel to convey emotions or expression. Additionally in the book 'Design as Art', Munari takes this experimentation a step further by looking into spirals and other forms, and examine they can be utilized to form human faces. In the book, he goes on to explain that each image and technique has precise qualities of its own and transmits a certain message – 'a graphic symbol for a cosmetic cannot be the same as one for coal’.

In conclusion, Munari's willingness to experiment and push a single theme to the limits of its elasticity is something that I’m sure will resonate with me and certainly still represents the working practice of the contemporary logo designer – one who, as Munari says, ‘usually makes hundreds of small drawings and then picks one of them’.