Design Principles / Project 2

on

10.12.2021 - 10.26.2021 (Week 8 - Week 10)
Audrey Gracia Djohari / 0348120
Design Principles
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor’s University
Project 2: Sense of Place


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Lecture 7 (Sense of Place)

Introduction:
  • A designer's role is to solve problems with effective visual communication.
  • Example: Apps, Poster, etc.

Importance of Observation:
  • The client informs the designer of the purpose of the project. But designer has to work for the visual ideas: doing observation.
  • Being observant means to be attentive to your surroundings, to pay attention to the details and to be analytical about them.
  • Many designs are inspired by nature. Biomimicry the annulation of the models, systems and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems is one example of how the results of the observation of nature is applied to design.
Figure 1.0: Application of Biomimicry in Design



8 Steps to Improve your Observation:
  1. Know your subject
  2. Slow down and look outward
  3. Try something new
  4. Improve your concentration by cutting out distractions
  5. Challenge yourself to a mental workout
  6. Test your observation by playing a memory game
  7. Record and consider your observation
  8. Stay inquisitive

  • Observing is an active act of acquiring information, through senses, of a subject matter in its natural setting. Our senses are important for us to know, feel, understand, analyze, and even plan what  we want to do. Observation is important to designers as it enables them to see the 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, our sight, our touch, our memory. If they lie to us, then nothing can be trusted."
- Neil Gaiman
Sense of Place
  • Island Bazaar's Instagram is a good example of detailed observation. It shows the hint of island life (the cool breeze, the warmth of the sun, etc.) through the documentation of the designer's surroundings.
  • They also apply suitable design principles to create effective visuals in those Instagram feeds.
  • There are many mediums of how sense of place can be expressed: photography,  collage, illustration, scale model, etc.
  • Good example: Infinity Room by Yayoi Kusama. (I was so happy when Miss Jinchi shows Yayoi Kusama's work in the lecture video because I'm a fan of her! I went to Museum Macan where they had her installation and it was so cool. She really made the audience feel like they're out of earth. She's just a pure genius.)
Figure 1.1: Examples of Sense of Place, Island Bazaar's Instagram Feeds

Figure 1.2: Examples of Sense of Place


What to Do:
- Think about a place that created a lasting memory in you.
- Document the observations (photographs, diary, talking to relevant people, etc.
- Make a mindmap


INSTRUCTIONS


VISUAL RESEARCH

Every artist has their own way to express a place. It depends on their feeling of the place, what they focus on.  What's unique about painting a scenery is that the artwork can be more abstract and expressive than the real place. That's why I feel like visual research is very important for this project as it allows me to notice more detailed things.

From these artworks below, I could see how colors, patterns and and textures play their parts in creating the scenery. Selecting the right colors is crucial in order to create the right mood. Paying attention and determining the source of light can also affect the whole scene.

Figure 2.0 & 2.1: Different illustration approach of places

Figure 2.2 & 2.3: Different illustration approach of places

I found both of these illustration's composition very interesting. The left one (Meat Shop) has so many things going on at the same time. I could see that the artist doesn't really care about the right perspective. The walls and the whole structure of the building is not architecturally correct but somehow it manages to be aesthetically pleasing. The hanging meat are placed in a weird but cool composition, and I think they're beautifully colored. Somehow their existence makes the illustration more appealing.

While right image (the window with raining scenery) is as appealing with a composition that's more concrete and makes more sense. It has a very strong sense of emphasis. The colors are not realistic but they are dreamy and interesting. The artist emphasizes light in a unique way–using yellow and purple for the window lights to create contrast. The use of black space as the framing is very impactful and it creates a new point of view for the viewer, making the whole new story for the place.

Figure 2.4 & 2.5: Composition and Color Research


Figure 2.6 & 2.7: Chinese Themed Illustration Research, Pinterest

After going through all those research, I choose Pantjoran House as the place I want to illustrate. Pantjoran House is a Chinese Food Restaurant located in Central Jakarta. It's one of the best and most delicious oriental restaurant in the city, not only that, it's also a historical building. It's a combination of traditional Chinese house and Indonesia's 40s or 50s building style.

I visited this place when I went to Jakarta, and the figures below are the photographs I took myself. I noticed that this place has a very different ambience compared to other Chinese-themed restaurant. It brought me back to the days I visited my grandma's old house which I could no longer go to.

Figure 2.8 & 2.9: Photographs I took, Pantjoran House

Figure 2.10: Main Photo Reference


PROGRESS & IDEA EXPLORATION


- Sketches
Figure 3.0: Sketch in ProCreate


- Digitization Process (Illustration)

I illustrated everything in ProCreate App. Below is the video of complete process of how I made this project:

Figure 4.0: Illustration Process Video

The figure below is the color palette that I chose. I want to emphasize the color light yellow, orange and pale turquoise color. I felt like it portrays this particular Chinese restaurant atmosphere.
Figure 4.1: Color Palette


   
Figure 4.2: Illustration Process & Layers


- Digitization Process (Animation)

I ended up using 11 frames. I animated the lanterns, the hot dim sum on the table, the small light bulbs and  the whole color of the frame.

Figure 5.0: Animation Frames

I creates 6 movement steps for the animated parts, then I created a loop to make the animated video.

Figure 5.1: Animation Process

Lastly, I used InShot App to add the background music and ambient sound.

Figure 5.2: Adding the Music Audio


- Design Principles Application

1. Repetition
I used repetition for making the decorative ceramic tiles. I duplicated the same patterns and applied it on the floor of the house. Decorative ceramic tiles like this can be found in many old houses in Indonesia. They became popular when Indonesia was occupied by the Dutch (Netherlands). Ceramic industry developed rapidly in Indonesia in the 20th century.

Figure 6.0: Repetition

Figure 6.1: Inspiration, Dutch Ceramic Tiles



2. Harmony
Harmony can be seen on the colors that I used for this artwork.

Figure 6.2: Harmony


3. Movement
I emphasized the sense of movement especially on the hot dim sum. The smoke patterns makes it look like it's moving.

Figure 6.3: Movement

4. Rule of Thirds
Figure 6.4: Rule of Thirds


5. Layering

I actually used more than 50 layers to make this artwork, but there are 4 main layers that depict the distance. Layer #1 is the furthest from the viewer's point of view. And Layer #4 is the closest to the point of view. 


Figure 6.5: Layer #1

Figure 6.6: Layer #2

Figure 6.7: Layer #3

Figure 6.8: Layer #4

6. Texture
In this artwork, I experimented with various textures, such as wood, glass, concrete, cloth, and food.  

Figure 6.9: Texture of Wood

Figure 6.10: Texture of Glass



Figure 6.11: Texture of concrete table

Figure 6.12: Texture of the lantern's tail

Figure 6.13: Texture of the dim sum


7. Symbol
  • My Chinese surname "Zou" (simplified Chinese: 邹) which is also the name of my family.
Figure 6.17: Hidden Symbol



- Final Outcome

  • Title: Pantjoran House
  • Description: 
I simply want to capture Pantjoran House's mood and atmosphere in this artwork which has a strong 1950s Indonesian-Chinese culture vibe and a homey feeling. This place reminds me so much of my grandma's house ambience which I couldn't visit anymore. The whether is cool (expressed by the blue color, dominant on the left side of the frame) but it's also a warm place at heart (expressed by the yellow, orange and red colors) because I feel at home when I went to Pantjoran House. 

And it's not Pantjoran House when there's no smell of delicious Chinese Food. The freshly cooked dim sum and the vintage 'rantang' at the top of the wooden cabinet. Ahh, also the Chinese-style furnitures and those decorated ceramic tiles (the history of this ceramic goes back to when Indonesia was occupied by the the Netherlands), what a mood. The main goal of this artwork is to create the visualization of my culture in the form of place, which is an Indonesian-Chinese antique old house. And Pantjoran House is the best representation of it, makes me want to go back to grandma's house.

Figure 7.0: Final Outcome in JPG, “Pantjoran House”, 10.31.2021

Figure 7.1: Final Outcome in PDF, “Pantjoran House”, 10.31.2021

Figure 7.2: Final Outcome Animated GIF, “Pantjoran House”, 10.31.2021

Figure 7.3: Final Outcome Animated Video with Audio, “Pantjoran House”, 10.31.2021


FEEDBACK

WEEK 8: Independent Learning Week

WEEK 9: Public Holiday

WEEK 10:
Look at every perspective of the space, pay attention to multi sensory perspective. Don't be afraid to consider abstraction, it doesn't have to be a realistic, but it should result from your observation. Also do consider things like figure ground methods and layers.


REFLECTION

Experience
I had so much fun doing this project because it allows me to improve my skill in observing as well as my illustration skill. I had quite a hard time determining which place I should go with because I have so many favorite places. But eventually I went with the place that I recently went to, and it's one of my favorite place in Jakarta.

Observations
I realize that focusing on little things is a way to learn. It makes me realize things I never realize before, and it always comes with new information about something. Once I started seeing the world the way it really is (not the way I think it is) I could notice some design elements I missed in my drawing, like the complexity of glass reflection, how light touches every object, the sound of people talking, that wonderful smell of dim sums, etc. Observation is the secret to design.

Findings
I found that it was not easy to create the right atmosphere and ambience of a place when we draw it.  The color we choose, angles, and and cropping create a huge impact on creating a sense of place. And I found how important observation is to make a good design.


FURTHER READING

- The First Secret of Great Design | Tony Fadell

Figure 8.0: The First Secret of Great Design, TED

Reference:
TED. (2015, June). The First Secret of Great Design | Tony Fadell.

As a human, we are used to the way everyday things are, because our brain as a limited power. So our brains encode the everyday things we do into habits, so we can free space to learn new things–this is called 'habituation'. But a product designer should see "the way things are" as opportunities. They think about how things can be better, what to improve. 

Designers, innovators and entrepreneurs have a job to not just notice problems, but to fix them. And to do that, we need to learn to see the world the way it really is, not the way we think it is. Because it's easy to solve a problem that almost everyone sees, but it's hard to solve the problem that almost no one sees. 

  1. Look broader
  2. Look closer
  3. Think younger
In conclusion, fight that habituation. Focus on the little things and ask ourselves are those important or are those the way we've always done it? Challenge yourself with the questions "How can I experience the world better?". And maybe, that way we can get rid of the unimportant steps and live a more effective life, a better one.

- Being More Observant Is a Skill You Can Learn; This Is How You Do It

Figure 8.1: Being More Observant Is a Skill You Can Learn


Reference:
Anouska. (2020, September). Being More Observant Is a Skill You Can Learn; This Is How You Do It.

"There is no logical way to the discovery of these elemental laws. There is only the way of intuition, which is helped by a feeling for the order lying behind the appearance." 
–Albert Einstein
  • A mixture of research, paying attention, reading patterns, and a gut feeling is what we need in order to predict things. If you do take the time to pay more attention to the stuff that is going on around you, it can open up all sorts of insights that you might not have seen before (it may enhance your day to day life positively or alert you to all sorts of other things, and some of these are not so positive). 
  • Steps to Observe More:
  1. Put down your gadgets (phone, computer, tablets, etc.) and use your senses.
  2. Slow down, so you have more time to think.
  3. Take in your surroundings, focus more of what you hear, feel, the weather, don't do everything in autopilot mode.
  4. Analyze the situations, analyze what the people around us are thinking, doing and feeling, and think about the reasons behind their actions.
  5. Take notice of the people's details. 
  6. Train your brain to pay attention and multiply happenings.
  • Observation, intuition, curiosity, and critical thinking are an extraordinarily powerful combination not only to allow you to see snippets of how the future might unfold but also to boost your creativity exponentially.
  • Those other things you notice in the process could be a tiny piece of a puzzle that you are yet to understand. If you do keep practicing you might even begin to be able to work out the complete puzzle, before anyone else.


Exercise 1 : Elements, Principles of Design, Contrast, Gestalt Theory
Exercise 2 : Balance, Emphasis, Repetition, Movement
Exercise 3 : Harmony, Unity, Symbol, Word & Image
Project 1 : Self-Portrait
Project 2 : Sense of Place
Project 3 : Visual Analysis

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