#wotisabook

[wotf-isthis-blog]

Week 2 - MABF Symposium GRAPHIC FASHION 14/03

Thanks to the generosity of Brad Haylock and Andy, myself and fellow designers attended the opening symposium of the Melbourne Art Book Fair. The symposium addressed the current evolving states of fashion and design. The role of publication in this ‘post-internet’ era especially in the fashion industry as graphic elements, typography & publications (printed and non-printed matter) have become a driving force in the industry. The symposium addressed the cultural shift in printer matter and while things are changing at a rapid rate, the foundation of a printed object remains as a ‘marker of success’ -example Kim Kardashian Vogue, Printing mindset which informs digital decisions (digital covers for snapchat (teenvogue), desire of a physical object, printed matter being a ‘marker in time’ (archive).

Femke de Vries an Artist/Researcher in fashion, a speaker at the symposium discussed her project ‘Dictionary Dressings’ her talk was highly informative and was inspiring as she explored the ‘mystification/demystification’ of fashion. 

“Through re-readings from various perspectives, she aims to expose workings of fashion / modes of fashioning. Seeking alternative scenarios for makers and users she takes in consideration the role of fashion communication formats, cultural references and material culture questioning hierarchies and emphasising the physical reality of use.” - extract from Bio( 

http://www.femkedevries.com/about/

)

Femke broke down hierarchies, understandings, to create speculative works as she would compare a magazines definition of a garment which would share the values of the brand to create an experience, mindset with vivid descriptions of the garment not only physically, but how it feels, its place in the scene, its qualities of light etc... while the dictionary definition provides little context and allows a whole new platform for design, example (image above) a dress- a garment on a women attached to a skirt’. 

Femkes ideas of mystification/demystification could be applied to our ideas of a book as the evolving cultural and technologies allows us to break away from codex and question our understanding of WOT IS A BOOK?

[thisisjcuso]

I accidentally made more zines. There is something really cool about having your designs made into something tangible. I feel like we work on our computers so much that it feels like a blur. It feels like it’s important and makes me feel like i’m becoming a better designer. When I made my first zine last year, I thought my design was good, but I look back and realise I just scratched the surface. I’m definitely going to make more and I think I’ll use this new-found love to propel my individual assignment.

zine 1: my trip home (I took photos of my way home from a day at uni)

zine 2: it’s only you (I put together drawings of the female body that I did for a client)

zine 3: ebay (I hunted around on ebay for the weirdest items for sale)

[ricky-is-a-book]

Type could alternatively be represented through audio

[andysimionato]

Clam book in It Follows (David Robert Mitchell, dir. 2014)

[lydiasbook-blog]

Project Exhibition 3

[wotf-isthis-blog]

SYMPOSIUM CONTINUED:

[wotf-isthis-blog]

Week One : DISSECTING THE BOOK

Four Questions surrounding wot is a book?

1. Wot is it made of (Material Qualities)

2. Wot is the form of the Book?

3. Wot is the books purpose?

4. Who decides the Book?

These four questions lead to a workshop/activity where is small groups (2-3 people) we dissected a selected books, carefully breaking down the specimen into its key functioning parts (hardware) to see not only how it was made but also breaking down the formal content/features of a book such as folios (thinking this almost as the books software) etc... While dissecting we also searched for hidden ‘easter eggs’ additions to the book added to the user, how the user projected their experience onto the book. We also looked for damage to see how the book was used.

Luka and I selected the daggy 70′s MEAT COOKBOOK which was beautiful in its vulgarity, as it demanded your attention with violent reds and a 70′s typeface kerned so tightly itself was a war zone. Looking past the cover we found contained beautiful, subtle illustrations and was in the finest condition only with the slightest tonal shift of the pages. This suggested the book was either heavily cared for or was never used...  The one ‘easter egg’ we uncovered was a savers sticker, suggesting the book was donated and was then repurposed for scientific exploration.  

[thisisjcuso]

Week 1 - 6/3

Today was your classic introduction to a studio: feeling a bit awkward cause you don’t really know other people in the class. Although, I was happy to be with some familiar faces. 

We discussed what a book is, was and could be in the future. We were given the task of dissecting a book to really understand it’s anatomy. I never realised how many parts and intricate details are included in a single book. I’ve since learned what a headband, flyleaf and endpaper is.

I felt bad to do this to a book, but it is in the name of education.

[lydiasbook-blog]

Project Exhibition 2

[ricky-is-a-book]

Cassette Book

Don’t trust what you see, don’t judge by the cover.

Want to be the spotlight on the street? Try this wearable cassette book! The book itself comes with an audio cassette and player hidden in its middle. Attached with a bag handle, depending on your preference, you have the choice to convert it into a fashion item. The cover made with holographic transparent waterproof leather fabric. Vibrant colour makes it futuristic, fun and eye-catching, especially for those cool kids who love fashion.

The idea of my post-digital book was inspired by a product designer – Radhika Seth, who made an item with two different uses. This inspired me to make something crazy and think outside the book!

As technology advances, there are a lot of product is gradually being eliminated in the market, therefore my purpose is taking an item from the past and display them in a very modern way for our post-digital era and trigger people to re-interest in such products.

[ricky-is-a-book]

29/5 – Presentation & showcase

Today is showcasing our 3 months of hard work to the class and others. It is so exciting to see other concepts and everything is working really well. I would say some concepts is thinking outside the box and draw your attention pretty well. There are publication, video, broadcast, etc. Each project has its own feature and strong concept behind of what post-digital should be.

I have a good understanding of what post-digital is from this whole project, I have also learnt from some case studies of how to produce different methods to show/ express post-digital. 

Big thanks to our lecturer Andy! :)

[ricky-is-a-book]

26/5 – Process (Part 4)

Putting a piece of wood to set the book into the right shape/form and glued the book with the dust jacket.

In the end, use pressure to push down the book to the right place for a day.

[ricky-is-a-book]

25/5 – Process (Part 1)

To start the concept, I took what I’ve learnt from week one to dissect the book. Glue the side of each page and measuring the size of both items for later on cut out the form from the book.

[ricky-is-a-book]

26/5 – Final result!

Here is the final result and ready for the presentation on Wednesday! :)

[ricky-is-a-book]

26/5 – Process (Part 3)

After putting my PVC dustjacket, I made the belt with the same material to make it consistent as one product.  After that, I made the bag clip out of thin metal and put it aside from the book for the bag handle.

[ricky-is-a-book]

25/5 – Process (Part 2)

To cut out the form from the book, I drilled one small hole on each corner, it could help me to cut out the form perfectly. After that, I drilled a hole on the side for the headphone.