Design Principles Task III: Creative Design
MODULE GCD60804: Design Principles
12/03/2024 - 21/03/2024 : Week 5 - Week 7
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Task III: Creative Design
MODULE INSTRUCTION:
“FEB - APR 2024: GCD 60804 / DESIGN PRINCIPLES MODULE INFORMATION BOOKLET”
MAIN TASK III: Design & Production (Week 5 - 7)
Creative Design: In this upcoming task, students within the cohort are expected to take their analysis of the selected piece from the previous Task II and produce a piece of work which is inspired/influenced by the one they had had analysed. Students should also apply their knowledge of design principles into their creations. Students are free to choose any constructive visual mediums which are suitable to convey their visual message. The direct use of Photographs (with minor exceptions for 3D models) is not permitted. Any work that is found plagiarised will result in an F grade for the overall module and the student will be subjected to the policies of the University concerning academic misconduct & dishonesty.
MAIN TASK III: Design Analysis (Week 5 - 7)
WEEK 5: Task 3 Briefing + Gathering Inspiration
This week would mark the beginning of the final task for the Design Principles module - taking an estimated three weeks to complete. In order to complete Task 3, we would need to take our work from the previous Tasks (mainly the analysis of the existing piece) and use it to create our own original piece in the style of the chosen UNSDG. Although your project does not need to directly relate to the existing piece (in my case, Worn Out;) This piece should be used by students to influence their future design. Additionally, students would need to consider the techniques they’ve learned throughout the course and must explain how + why it was used - explained concisely in the 150 - 200 word write-up about the final project. Overall, students are expected to produce a finalised piece of work which relates back to & promotes the resolution of a specific UNSDG and should explore the principles of Design in their own works.
Before beginning to work on the final stage of Task 3, it was advised by the lecturer’s to begin looking for some examples of other art-pieces in order to inspire the students' work. Regardless of the advice or not, I always find it effective to look for other things to reference as it can help get a more focused approach to my working. Furthermore, it makes me feel like I have a better end-goal as I can visualise what I want to include.
Inspirational Sources:
Going into this stage of the task, I had a rough idea of the type of Piece I wanted to produce; a simplistic digital art-work at an A4 scale which promoted & supported the impoverished (UNSDG 01.) With a general goal established and a rough idea of the style I desired, I would be able to begin looking for some inspirational material to help in my final design.
“A Collection of images produced by British Artists, TOMMY PARKER”
When it came to looking for a design which appears more simplistic, I would return to an artist I had previously studied & referenced in a prior module; Tommy Parker. In general, Parker is a freelance artist who specialises in appealing advertisements for large companies. I thought it would be useful to reference their previous works to create a simple-to-understand design which is capable of presenting an intended message.
“A Collection of images produced by Artists, Depicting Poverty”
In order to get more visual research about my project, I thought it would be useful to begin looking online as to how other artists choose to depict poverty and how they get their message across. In most observed cases, artists often use striking images and designs to evoke pathos in the viewers - making them feel sorrowful or pity for the impoverished. However, some artists also portray poverty in the context of an included individual (often taking the place of the viewer.) This is occasionally done as it makes viewers feel bad about themselves as these individuals are trying to avoid interaction with the impoverished.
“A Collection of images produced by Living Conditions”
One aspect of my research would see me needing to collect a series of photographs and concept images to better design backgrounds to help bring the final piece of work together. As seen in the sketch stage, I would use these images to model the scenery to better populate the image. Additionally, it may allow me to make reference to aspects of poverty such as poor living conditions or sanitation.
With a majority of my early-stage research completed; being sure to cover the necessary bases of design, I believed I would have enough resources to begin sketching some potential designs for my final project. Once again, as this project is mainly centred around Design Principles and its application in design, it is integral that I consider & reference the rules of design throughout this section - needing to rationalise my choices and their inclusion in this piece. Additionally, the piece's main theme needs to tie back into the concept of ‘poverty’ as outlined by my chosen UNSDG; with the Design Principles needing to convey my intended message. Finally It is important to note that, going into this experience; I wanted to try and use other design programs which may affect the final product with the sketches following a rudimentary design.
WEEK 6 - 7: Sketches + Developing Final Product
In order to continue with the Design Principle Module, students in the cohort would need to take their work from the previous weeks (mainly the analysis of an existing piece) and use it to take a more in-depth study of their selected piece. For Task II, students will mainly be looking at the Design Principles found within their piece and will need to explain not only how they are implemented but also why they are important - relating to the original message of the piece (which should be in line with the chosen United nations Sustainable Development Goal.) It is important to note that, even though this Task requires a more in depth study, students are still limited with a set word-limit (350 words.) With this, students need to learn how to accurately determine & describe design principles in a short, concise manner.
SKETCH I: “One’s Waste Another’s Problem”
“One’s Waste, Another’s Problem” by T.V Sleep - 2024, Sketch, 17.6 × 25 cm”
This first sketch was one of the designs I had originally considered when beginning this Task of the module, as one relatively unrecognised effect of impoverished nations. As one aspect of design is to ‘bring awareness’ or ‘to promote aspects’ of a specific topic; I wanted this first design to inform readers about how wealthy nations will often export their waste to less-fortunate nations with the promise of payment, often to prevent the wealthy nations needing to regulate the waste themselves. In this case, this can lead to long-lasting effects such as the impoverished nation’s land becoming unusable, leading to poorly constructed architecture & over-crowding in areas while making them dependent on imports of foods & clean water.
From a Design Principle aspect, I wanted to create some form of contrast between the two classes while highlighting the extensive labour needed to manage the waste. I first began designing this sketch with a layout in mind; using the rule of thirds to correctly place some elements (such as the figures on the intersecting points) to suggest importance. Although this image lacks a series of colour, I alway knew I wanted to colour the piece such that the background elements were heavily saturated when compared to figure to further create emphasis. Additionally, I wanted the two classes (and their respective tools/waste) to contrast one another using colour. The wealthy individuals would be painted using cooler colours while the impoverished would feature warmer colours - a simple motif which would be used throughout the piece.
SKETCH II: “Simple Desires”
“Simple Desires” by T.V Sleep - 2024, Sketch, 17.6 × 25 cm”
For this next sketch, I wanted to take a step back on global-scale poverty and wanted to down-scale local cases in more familiar settings. This way, I would be able to communicate the effects of Poverty on a level which is familiar to most viewers as it could be something they’ve seen themselves. With that being said, I also wanted to include how ‘what we consider to be a human necessity’ is something that can be very difficult for the impoverished to get; making the viewer feel more fortunate of themselves and more willing to help others (guilt tripping into feeling like they live in excess.)
From a Design Principle Aspect, I wanted to create a piece which highlighted the difference between what more fortunate people have versus what the impoverished may desire. In order to achieve this kind of feat, I considered the use of coloured emphasis to suggest the impoverished man’s desire in a more natural way. In essence, the image would mainly be dark (dark purples and blues) with the only ‘light-colours’ (warm yellows + oranges) coming from windows which depict basic necessities such as easy-access food + water and suitable living conditions. To bring more attention to the impoverished man, he would appear on the lower-third Point-of-intersection (Rule of Thirds) and would be coloured in the same ‘light colours.’ This could be opened to some meta commentary as ‘impoverished people in cities are often recognised & seen easily but no one helps them.’
Final Product & 200-word Rationale:
“One’s Waste, Another’s Problem” by T.V Sleep - 2024, Academic centred digital work, 2480 x 3508 pixels (A4)”
“One’s Waste, Another’s Problem” was designed around “UNSDG 01: Poverty” and aims to address how the impoverished are taken advantage of by the upper-class. The piece mainly uses Design Principles such as Emphasis, Contrast, motion & balance to convey its intended message.
Balance is utilised throughout the piece to create Points-of-Interest and focuses the viewer's attention to the key-elements. It was designed using the ‘Rule of Thirds’ for layout, with each figure appearing on the points-of-intersections, highlighting their importance. Additionally, the image is semi-symmetrical to suggest comparison in the background scenery/difference in living-conditions.
Emphasis and Contrast are used to further imply the message. The figures feature saturated colours when compared to the background, emphasising the importance of them and their interaction. Furthermore, the two figures are contrasted, with the impoverished using warm colours while cooler colours are used for the wealthy. A motif which is utilised throughout the piece.
Motion is used to suggest action between the figures. It appears that the impoverished travel from the city; taking the waste to the slums - further being inconvenienced by the wealthy man, deposing his device. The motion aims to suggest how waste is some-what forced onto the impoverished (an unnecessary burden) who has to take to their home; the smoke further suggests ecological damage.
Final Word Count: 213
Working Review & Self-Reflection
WEEK 5: Lecturer’s Feedback
As this was the last Task of the Module, I mainly focused on presenting them my task overview and showed aspects of my work from the beginning week. This way I would be able to be more time-effective. When presenting my pre-sketches to the lecturer, he was mainly focused on my inclusion of the Core Design Principles and how I intended to explain them in the description. Although the sketches were quite limited - he was more confident with the first one and was reasonably happy with my in-person explanation.
WEEK 5: Personal Reflection
As stated above, my main goal this week would be to show as much of the task as possible as early as possible to ensure that I would have ample time to complete the creative stage. To me, the sketches did seem a little lack-lustre but it was reassuring to see that the lecturer had full confidence in my work thus far.
WEEK 7: Lecturer’s Feedback
For this last lecture, I went over the remainder of the project with the lecturer who appeared to be quite satisfied with my work although he did suggest minor improvements which could be made to enhance the end-product. Other than that, the lecturer was impressed with the work I’d shown throughout the semester and I hope I’ve done well in this module.
WEEK 7: Personal Reflection
In relation to the previous week, I had fallen ill and was unable to attend lectures to meet with my lecturer to measure my progress - meaning that this week would be extra stressful. Despite the pressure, I continued working to create the final product which was a bit tedious on my end - the main problem stemming from trying a new software. For this project, I tried using autodesk instead of adobe (as I was having licensing issues) which took a while as I did not have all the tools I would've preferred. As a result, I feel that I could’ve done better this final piece and hopefully will do better later.
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