Design Principles: Project 02
19/10/2021 - 29/10/2021 (Week 09 - Week 10)
Adena Tan Sue Lynn / 0345769
/ Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
Design Principles
Project
02: Sense of Place
Directory
- Being observant means to pay attention to our surroundings, and be analytical about them.
- It can be an effective way to get ideas.
- Observing = An active act of obtaining information through our senses.
- Our senses helps us know, feel understand, analyse & plan.
- Know your subject
- Slow down and look outward (use mindfulness)
- Try something new (Heightens awareness)
- Improve concentration (cut off distractions)
- Challenge yourself to a mental workout
- Test your observation skills (Memory games)
- Record and consider observations (Go beyond the things you see)
- Stay inquisitive (Question/Analyze observations)
Instructions
Description: Utilize & apply the design principles learnt to express a location of choice. The place becomes the subject of composition in which design principles are applied to capture social & environmental aspects & even the time's effects that will best express their intentions/interpretations of a particular location.
Choosing A Sense of Place
I decided to record some parts of my weekends through photos taken on my phone. I hardly ever go out during the weekdays, due to the pandemic, so weekends are truly my only time when I get to escape the house. Usually, I only go to the chiropractor's & grocery shops. They are truly my peaceful slots throughout the stress of deadlines and having to stay at home constantly during the weekdays.
I always enjoy walking through the grocery store. I've gotten more appreciation for it when the lock down came, and my family decided to order groceries online until a few weeks ago. I love how it feels, being able to choose your fresh produce just the way you like it, to see everything with your own two eyes. It's a simple luxury, but I always look forward to it, nonetheless.
Creative Process
Looking back at the photos I took, I noticed my love for the chilled beverages section. Maybe it's the coldness of the shop in those particular sections that swarm my Malaysian heart with joy (It's like escaping the humid mess of an oven). Maybe it's being able to look at all the different products and stare at them in awe and gasp at some of the prices (Why does that beautifully packaged bottle of almond milk have to be RM40). Thus, I decided to focus on them.
Among the two, I would have to say I prefer Sketch 01 more. I aimed to give it a somewhat fish-eye view with how the lines slowly curve more from the middle. I believed it would give a more interesting look than Sketch 02. This made me eager to do it.
Firstly, I followed the outline of Sketch 01. I changed it slightly and tried to make it more even using a guideline within Medibang Paint Pro.
The first one (left) was the original one I did using the guideline. The second (right) is when I stretched it out to fit less shelves into the frame. Overall, I liked the second one more as I felt the curve was more evident.
Moving on, I started outlining the drinks on the shelves.
After that, I planned the flatcolours.
Now, it was time to figure out what I wanted to include on the bottles. I knew I wanted them to basically represent myself & my experiences, so I thought of a few things to represent that:
- The countries I have visited (& also have been to grocery stores in those countries!): Thailand, Australia, etc.
- Some people I've been to grocery stores with: My mother, my cousins & my friends.
- My ultimate favourite music act: Seventeen
- Some of my own favourite flavours: Matcha, Strawberry, Mint Chocolate
- My favourite animals to draw: Frogs & bears
Proceeding, I went on to draw each of the drinks out. While doing this, I also changed some of the drink's base colour to which I thought suited it better.
After that, I coloured the lines to make it match the bottles & shelves better.
Colouring the lines allowed me to try and produce the highlights & shadows better as it allowed me to get a better grip on the colours.
Finally, I added the price tags for each of the drinks.
We are at the point where I'd like to spell everything out for you, and tell you exactly why I've made my cool beverage section the way that I did, and why some drinks are here instead of others!
First Shelf:
- Hao's Matcha: If I could choose only one drink to drink for the rest of my life, it would definitely be matcha! Hao's was derived from Seventeen's The8 (Xu Minghao) who has a frog emoji to represent him. Minghao is also the reason the price is $8.
- Belle's Thai Milk Tea: Belle is derived from my cousin's name, Isabelle! Thai milk tea just so popped into my head as I have been to Thailand before. The price was from the current Malaysian Ringgit to Singapore Dollar exchange rate as of 30/10/2021 (as Isabelle lives in Singapore).
Second shelf (Probably the most random one):
- Oat Milk: Just a new favourite of mine! It's great with coffee so I've been really enjoying it lately.
- Banana Milk: Somehow, the actual banana milk, I have mixed feelings on. but I like bananas so here we go.
- Strawberry Milk: I had strawberry milk cravings while doing this project, so... A reminder to add it onto my shopping list for this week's groceries.
- Cherry S.Coups (에스.쿱스): Based off Seventeen's S.Coups who happens to be my favourite. He has a greeting which says, 'Cherryhae'. The price tag is his birthday!
- Tangerine Boo (부): Derived from Seventeen's Boo Seungkwan. The price tag is also his birthday!
- Mint Choco Vernon (버논): Obtained from Seventeen's Vernon. You wouldn't guess it, but the price tag is also his birthday! (Mint choco is my favourite ice-cream flavour, right behind Green Tea)
- Moris Ice Cream Soda: Moris is my cousin's nickname. Somehow, I was reminded of our trip to Australia where we went to the grocery store and bought ice cream! So, I decided it was very fitting for ice cream soda to be in the mix. The price was from the current Malaysian Ringgit to Australian Dollar exchange rate as of 30/10/2021.
- Shua Energy: Derived from.... You guessed it.. Seventeen's Joshua. I realized making the S more boxy makes it somehow look like the number 5. That made me think of energy drinks, which then led to the clock... I then found it to be too empty for my liking, so I added eyes, and boom... A frog.
- Lee's Juice: Inspired by my mother's weekend juicing activities. My favourite is when he juices a watermelon, especially when they're super sweet and refreshing... The price tag is her birthday.
- Tasha's Teh Tarik: Dedicated to my friend, Tasha, who I haven't seen since February 2020, when we went to a cup sleeve event. I hope to see her soon, so I dedicated the drink to her.
- Denzel's Coffee: For my friend, Denzel, who drinks unhealthy amounts of coffee everyday. I am worried for you.
- Nelsa's Brew: She's been my friend since I was 11, so I knew I had to dedicate a drink for her!
The Cold Comfort.
Rationale:
The Cold Comfort was something which came naturally as I always look forward to the weekend trips with my mother to the grocery store. I never get tired of seeing the endless shelves, which are obviously arranged to make us buy more than we intend. However, my ultimate favourite is always the coldness of the chilled section. It feels like a completely different atmosphere. Usually, I'd rub my arms to gain some heat while staring attentively at the drinks. It always feels like my first time entering the grocery store when I look at them. It's like reliving love at first sight, again and again. It's like a sense of comfort to me and these shelves I drew did wonderfully well in capturing what makes them so special to me.
Visual Analysis:
The Cold Comfort was made using Medibang Paint Pro, with an A4 size layout. It's main brushes were the creator's favourites; G-Pen for outlining, Pencil for the labels & colouring and the Airbrush for shading. Considerably, this allowed for her to produce the soft light that she intended as well as maintain the look for some of the labels.
The first design principle to be seen here is clearly Word & Image. With a mix of English and the occasional Korean, it helped her signify some aspects of her life as well as her interests. Both of them also helped showcase the idea further, as some aspects wouldn't have been able to be recognized fully without the other half.
Next, Principle of Similarity made its' appearance here. As the labels show a clear indication of grouping, it allows for the viewer's eyes to perceive them as groups. This ultimately groups the entirety together as beverages, and groups the same labels to be the same drinks.
Besides that, Harmony is observed in the art piece. The overall piece gives viewers a sense of a cute aesthetic laced within the drinks. There's also a tremendous amount of variety within the piece, with each shelf having 2-3 different designs each.
Finally, is Symbolism. The mini characters in the Banana Milk, Strawberry Milk & the Oat Milk, provide viewers the chance to be able to tell what flavour the drinks were without having to read it completely. The same goes for the Watermelon design on Lee's Juice.
Feedback
26/10/2021
Dr Charles asked and told me to consider a few
questions when doing this topic. How are you seeing this perspective?
Consider feelings & taste & choices. In contrast of what
selected of case study, look at artists and see how they did it and how
they composition it and styled it. It currently feels more static. Do I
need to distort it further? What did I intend through distorting?
Reflection
This project made me overall, very calm. I enjoyed showcasing another part of me through this project. Looking back, it's quite funny how my friends call me "Nenek" with how much I love going to the grocery store. However, I believe it's just a part of who I am, throughout my many years going through this. Overall, I think I spent a minimum of an hour on a shelf's labels, but I was just glad I was able to use this project to finally dedicate a piece to something I hold close to my heart. I was able to apply Design Principles I don't normally intend for, such as Word & Image as well as Symbolism. For that, I'm tremendously content with how the final product turned out.
