COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY EXHAUSTED

So I've just completed my final portfolio page and I am officially done with NM2208!...well, until I submit my portfolio, that is.
I've certainly learned a lot from this module that I will be applying in the near future. I suppose the greatest thing that I take away from this class is a greater attention to and appreciation for art. I realized that art is all around us and even as I was taking the class, I've noticed that I've become more aware of this fact. There is art to be found everywhere, we just have to look closely :)

Thank you to everyone whom I've journeyed with - my friends, peers, and teachers - it's been a great experience! And while I still can't draw for nuts, I can proudly say I'm better off from when I started, even just a little bit. Happy holidays everyone! See you next semester!



The Dummy,
Signing off.

THE BOOK IS HERE!!!

Our book has finally been printed, so without further ado, I present... The Girl Who Was Alone:




We decided to go with a very clean look, making use of white space to frame our images. Pastel colors were also chosen to maintain simplicity and keep the look and feel of the book close to our target audience's age range. Finally, textures were applied to the coloring of the images to further emphasize the hand-drawn aesthetic of the book.

If you want to see more, go get a copy! (If it ever gets published haha).

Storybook Time: The Girl Who Was Alone - INSPIRATIONS

Yay! Quite possibly the moment most people who took this class are waiting for. My group eventually opted to do a storybook, although we played around with the idea of a comic for awhile. We were quite inspired by number of beloved children's storybooks including Roald Dahl (like, everything he has made... EVERYTHING!), The Giving Tree and The Missing Piece series by Shel Silverstein, and Oh, The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss.

Here are some preliminary sketches:






The Storyline: Ours is basically a coming-of-age tale wherein a girl journeys to find happiness and friendship and discovers that it's only possible if she stays true to herself.

The Audience: School children (Primary & Secondary School) aged 6 to 9 years old

Treatment: We wanted to go with a hand-drawn look so we'll probably minimize the treatment and correction that we render on our images.

Inspirations:
1. Roald Dahl:




2. Shel Silverstein:



3. Dr. Seuss


Will post more when the book comes!

Assignment 5: Postcards from Heaven

Whew, we're nearing the end and I can feel the crunch time. But let me just take a moment to post my final assignment. We were tasked to come up with a postcard design with the theme "Colors of Asia." Now, being a true blue Asian means I know my own people quite well, and I predicted that a lot of students will be coming up with themes about food, traveling and even scenery, so I wanted to do something different. That's when I realized that one of the unique things about Asia is the fact that it's a melting pot of all the world's cultures and colors. In fact, within NUS alone, I am able to encounter the entire world through the different students of different nationalities. I figured, why not take advantage of what's around me and focus on the fact that the heart and soul of Asia lies with its people.

And how lucky was I that one of my groups was made up of one Chinese girl, one Malay girl, and one Indian-Swedish guy. Throw in my American boyfriend and I have my very own United Nations :) So here's what I came up with:


The idea is that Asia is all about the many faces of the everyday people you meet on the street. They may not be particularly attractive or photogenic, but who they are collectively is what makes Asia. As the assignment required different colors, I chose to render mine in a pop art style to connote a sense of modernity and a clean, smooth design. If you haven't noticed by now, I'm apparently a big fan of the pop art genre :)

Here's the design that I chose for my final post card:


The original one was a slight variation from this, with black grid lines instead. After a bit of experimenting, i found that white grid lines render a cleaner look to the design and make the colors pop out more. Ms Jing commented that the colors connote the 1970s. Is that good or bad? LOL, oh well, go Flower Power and Peace and Love and all of that. Peace out!

P.S. Pop Artist Homage of the Week: Andy Warhol

Assignment 4: Post It

For Assignment 4, we were asked to make a poster with the theme of saving/protecting/preventing something. I decided to do something green, because it's one of the issues that I personally contend with. On one hand, I realize the imminent need to start taking care of the environment before it wreaks chaos and havoc on all of humanity. On the other hand, I am constantly frustrated by big corporations riding the green wave and appealing to consumers' environmental consciousness to make a profit, but never really changing their environmentally harmful ways.

So what better way to tackle my cynicism than head on right? I decided to do something on disposable coffee cups because it poses an ethical dilemma of sorts. On one hand, the coffee industry is a billion-dollar-a-year industry that aids a lot of third world countries through export profits and technology transfer. A lot of coffee farmers benefit from this as coffee is a relatively easy crop to grow, there is such a high demand for it and more and more coffee companies are paying fair trade prices for quality coffee. On the other hand, there is the issue of the environmental impact of the industry, particularly disposable coffee cups. So I realized that there is a need for a practical solution, which is not to discourage people from drinking coffee (because that would be both stupid and impossible), but rather discourage them from using disposable cups.

In terms of design, I wanted to make a poster that directly addressed the reader and call attention to the possible consequences of his/her seemingly harmless caffeine habit. I find that posters are normally too impersonal and generic, so the idea is to catch people's attention by changing the tone of my poster from an authoritative one, i.e SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT OR YOU DIE!!!, to a friendlier, more familiar one, i.e. Hey buddy, got a second? I just need to tell you about something. So here's the first draft:



I wasn't completely happy with how it turned out, but since I did it in such a rush, it had to do for the time being. The class suggested a clearer contrast between my invitation and the hard facts through type size or face, but they did like my coffee cup. One of my classmates, who's incidentally a coffee addict and an avid user of disposable cups, thought the coffee cup was very enticing. So I figured, hey, why not go with that, lure the reader in then give him the hard facts. I tried again, and here's what I came up with:



I streamlined the poster more and decided to use the words to form images instead. I went with my classmates' suggestion of creating hierarchy using type face, type size and type color differences. For this artwork, I was trying to call attention to the fact that everything has two sides to it and so we have to learn how to read the fine print, so to speak. From afar, it looks like a really enticing and inviting coffee cup, with friendly messages on it. This is meant to symbolize the selling point of most coffee chains these days, which is to create an atmosphere of home and friendship within their shops. When the reader gets closer, however, he is able to see that the coffee cup is actually made of sentences - of the bad, hard facts - hopefully encouraging him to read on. This is a throwback to the idea that beneath coffee shops' cozy and friendly exterior, beneath it lies the ugly fact that the coffee industry's use of disposable paper cups is seriously harming the environment. The ultimate goal is to make the reader think twice about his everyday choices and realize that their actions have farther-reaching consequences than they realize. Did it make YOU think? Let me know!

Class Exercise 2: Fearless!

Class Exercise 2 came and went and this time, we were asked to pick a word from a list of words and convey it through an image that uses only lines and basic shapes. Keen to take up the challenge, I chose the word "Fearless" and decided to portray it through this image:


As you can see, it's a little stick man running across from one mountain top to the other. If someone were to do that in real life, then they'll probably be "Doomed" instead of "Fearless", but I suppose that's the beauty of art: anything goes :)

So anyway, I decided on this image because apart from the obvious literal image, I personally think that it has a symbolism behind it as well. Mountains have long been used as a metaphor for life's struggles and obstacles, i.e. climbing mountains, ain't no mountain high enough, etc. So for me, being fearless is not only fighting to climb one mountain but boldly venturing out to the next mountain to be conquered. The guy running is a symbolism of a zest for life and a desire for speed as we tackle what life has in store for us. After all, we only have so much time in this world; might as well try to make the most out of it as we can.

Assignment 3: A Toy (Photo) Story

So I never got to show this to the class, as I got stuck in the bus stop because of pouring rain and I never made it to class. Which is really sad, because it took quite a bit of effort to get the shots that I wanted. Whew, now I know how photographers feel!

Here are the proofs from my first attempt. See if you can decipher the story from the pictures alone:


Okay, if you're still scratching your head, here's the plot: basically, a guy is writing a really important paper but falls asleep. Next thing you know, his stuffed animals have come alive. Some of them tried to wreak havoc, others were just plain mischievous, while others tried to help. The guy wakes up to find that his paper is already finished, but is puzzled to as to who did it. The last frame pans to the stuffed animals sitting were they were in the first frame, with the words typed "The End" on the computer screen. Hence, the guy is left to wonder, "So did they or didn't they?"

I tried to use colors to convey a sense of mystery and fantasy about the story, but the images just turned out really warm and orange-y. That's when I decided to use the power of Photoshop coloring to tweak the images and give them a more cartoon/comic style. I took inspiration from American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, known for his pop art rendering to comic images and tight frames with incredible detail:

FINAL ARTWORK:


I opted to use pop art-inspired colors as it rendered a certain fantasy to the story. Since I can't expect people to suspend their disbelief for a moment and believe that stuffed animals can come alive when the images look all too real, I decided to aid them in evoking fantasy. So what do you guys think? Let me know!

P.S. An Homage to Mr Roy Lichtenstein:

Assignment 2: Pictogram

I never really paid much attention to road signs until I took this class. Who would've thought that the signs we come across everyday, i.e. stop, go, etc. were the result of a very specific art form and design process? I guess I never really thought about how these signs came to life until I took NM2208. Awesome, epiphany!

Anyway, I instantly knew what I was gonna do the moment the assignment was announced. My biggest pet peeve are people talking in the library like they were at a Starbucks or something. While I realize that we are not robots and are made of feelings and emotions, I'm pretty sure you can talk about how terrible your day is going because your boyfriend forgot your anniversary in a million places OTHER THAN THE LIBRARY.

Hence, I proceeded to create my abstractions and here's what I came up with:



My classmates reminded me that the red line should be tilting towards the opposite direction (see how much I pay attention to these things?) and Ms Jing suggested that I get rid of the black outline around the red circle (again, evidently due to my lack of attention). They also commented on how the 3 circles for the last abstraction have the potential to be visually attractive, if I did some cleaning up. The class also suggested that I draw lines to indicate talking, since it runs the risk of conveying "No Socializing" instead.

So after some cleaning up, here's the final product:



I tried adding horizontal lines to the circles' mouths to indicate speech, but it just ended up looking like they're vomiting sticks instead. So I decided to use the curved lines to signify volume instead. I also decided to go with the third level of abstraction, as it most clearly indicates that talking should not be allowed inside the library or any other similar study area (Some friends said the last one may be too authoritarian, as it may convey "No Talking" instead of "No Talking Inside the Library."

So to all of you library critters, please observe proper library etiquette, lest you face the wrath of my sign. BWAHAHAHAHA!

P.S: Here's this week's inspiration. Enjoy!
Play Pacman! http://www.elpais.com/juegos/swf/pacman.swf

Assignment 1: UPDATE

So I've decided. Journalism it is.

Since it is my life's goal, I figured it represents me the best. I presented my two prototypes to the class recently, and you guys will get to see it as well, so check it out:

1. Prototype 1: Cartoon


Here's the first prototype, which I used sort of a cartoon-y feel. I decided to keep my design minimalist, with red as the only accent color. I figured that having only one accent color would make it easier to tie all the elements together and concentrate attention on the detail. I wasn't really sure how it would turn out and I just colored random parts, but I think it turned out pretty well. The red makes the image more playful and I especially like the way the lamp turned out. It reminds me of candy canes or Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat:



2. Prototype 2: Photorealism/Black and White


I think this one connotes more of a grown-up, serious feel. I do like how the sketched line art mixes well with the images and kind of gives straddles between reality and fantasy. For this prototype, I decided to stick to black and white to evoke that smoothness about the image. I like the silhouettes of the elements as well; it really brings the image back to the basics and gives more attention to form rather than decoration. I think I'm attracted to silhouettes as they are very clean when used in design.

FINAL ARTWORK:


So here's the final artwork, which is a combination of sorts between the two. I went the first prototype in terms of the elements within the image, although I included some of the color schemes and elements from the second prototype. I switched the background to black to make the image stand out from the paper more and also to streamline the sketched look a little bit. I ultimately decided to go with this one, because it appears to struggle between playfulness and seriousness, cartoon-y and smoothness, youth and poise - much like what I feel my current place is.

By the way, this TV show trailer served as an inspiration of sorts for this assignment. Enjoy!
Chuck opening credits: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhgtQlBndeo

Assignment 1: Who Am I?

As the first official assignment for this class, this was probably the one that I spent the most time on. From developing concepts, creating thumbnails and narrowing them down to a final design, it's possibly the most exhausting assignment of all. Nonetheless, it is quite fun and interesting to examine oneself and determine what ideas and concepts best represent each of us. So here's my take on it:



1. Journalism (on the left)
I was about 5 years old when I first decided that I wanted to become a journalist and it hasn't changed since. Hence, this was definitely an obvious choice. I picked elements that represent what the world of journalism is all about: fast-paced, on the edge, always moving, and defined by endless deadlines. This idea gave birth to a notepad (VERY IMPORTANT!), a lamp (an essential, especially when you're working late into the night, as I am currently doing), a microphone (for budding Christiane Amanpours like me), a clock (your reminder that time is of the essence) and a video camera (a useful eyewitness tool). I basically wanted to give an all around picture of what journalism is all about.

2. Manicures and Pedicures (on the right)
I am a girl (yes, unbelievable, but true). And part of being a girl is getting to pamper myself with the simplest, albeit frivolous, things and manicures and pedicures top the list. I eventually didn't go with the idea, however, because it's not a very interesting visual design-wise (maybe because I can't draw for nuts) and as much as I want to proclaim that I'm a girl, I wouldn't want to be characterized solely by mani-pedis.



3. City Living (on the left)
I came across this beautiful quote from a song called Begin by Ben Lee and it said, "Think about the city, it's living proof people need to be together." It struck me especially, because as an international student living on my own in a foreign country, I've had my fair share of times when I felt alone and needed someone to lean on. That said, I do appreciate the simultaneous excitement that the city brings about, which I wanted to convey in my design. I chose to go with building facades and while they may or may not be accidental, I do like how the crooked and contrasting elements somehow lined up together. On the one hand, there is the big sleek building towering over all the others; on the other hand, there's the rickety old building that looks like it's about to fall apart; add the sight of a bursting fire hydrant and you've got yourself the perfect city. This was actually inspired by one of the trips I made to various big city, most notably Chicago. Here are some photographs from that trip that may very well have been the inspiration for this theme:



4. The Beach
As a Pisces, it would be crazy for me not to love the beach. There's just something about the surf, sand, and sun that spells utter paradise for me. You know how they play the Desert Island game and ask you what you'll bring if you were ever stuck on a desert island forever? Personally, I'd bring my bikini, sunblock, and my iPod and live happily ever after.

So what's it gonna be??? I have no idea. Maybe I'll sleep on it and let you guys know soon. Goodnight!

Class Exercise 1

This was the very first artwork that I made for the class, and since forever, really. Like I mentioned before, I am not much of an art person (probably because I was never really very good at it), so there was never really any reason for me to dabble in it...until now.

Anyway, I came up with the idea of a helmet because I believe that that one thing my generation has that allows us to be more creative is our skill in multitasking. For example, as I am writing this, I am also currently reading my email, scanning through my favorite fashion gossip website, and brushing up on the latest news around the world care of the Washington Post. Oh, and also sitting in one of my lectures (not telling which one! *winks*).

So as you can see, the helmet has many features, all of which I believe are essential to my own personal survival as a budding creative person. Some of its features include a chopstick holder, which can feed me sushi, dim sum, and a variety of other things; a handphone connector, so I can stay in touch 24/7; and a built in headphones, preferably connected to my iPod filled with my current obsession: old-school '90s songs.

The helmet has all sorts of various other features, but ultimately point towards a fast-paced, multi-faceted future. And to be able to survive in such a future, one must learn to think outside the box and learn to be creative and flexible. Hmm, speaking of which...I wonder if I can turn this into the next cool gadget? Ahh, imagine the possibilities. I'll call you when I make my first million. But for now, I bid you goodnight.

P.S. You can also customize your helmet to look like this:

Long Overdue

It's more than halfway through the semester so I figure it's time to fill this blog with something. Nothing like procastination to get in the way of academic responsibility!

So title explanation - the blog is called The Design Dummy because that's what I am. I've always liked art and aesthetics, but haven't dabbled much into it myself and this is actually the first time I've really immersed myself into creating art.

Random memory: I remember being really jealous of my dad, who could take a table napkin and spend 5 minutes doodling on it and come up with an elaborate sketch of war scene in action. I watched him do it with such ease and continuity that my 5-year-old brain found it too hard to fathom.

So maybe after spending a semester in this class, I could do that too. And then I'll show him, hah!

Enjoy!