Introduction This booklet will outline the options on offer for this years Unit X. Please read the briefs carefully and consider which of them would be most beneficial to you, your practice and would help you further develop during your studies. As there are limited spaces on most of the projects, we recomend that you choose 3 options; your most preferred and 2 back-ups in case you don’t get a space on your first choice. You can minimise the risk of not getting your first choice by selecting early when the choices go live. When the option choosing goes live, you will be notifed. The deadline for making your choice is Friday 3rd February 2017 at 5:30PM. We recomend that you speak with your tutor about the suitability of the options in this booklet to ensure you are supported in your choice. Your tutor would be best placed to advise you as they work with you closley. You can make your choice by firstly reading this booklet. Then, noting the ‘Option number’ and logging into your Unit X Moodle page, you will be asked to make your first, second and third choice. This is a first come first served basis. Places are not guaranteed. This process aims to mimic real world practice. There are 12 options available to you in this booklet. Some projects have briefs within them and should not be mistaken for additional options. Each option is clearly marked at the start of the information with it’s option number and project title. If you are unsure about anything you should see your tutor as soon as possible.
There has never been a better time to self-publish. Titles proliferate on almost any subject you care to think about and often there are a range of approaches to popular subjects aimed at smaller or niche audiences. Social networking and mobile devices offer a range of opportunities for extending the brand of a publication and delivering content in ways that are no longer limited to the printed page. This option will take a collective and collaborative approach to the creation of publications, while emphasising and encouraging other entrepreneurial behavior across disciplines. It will challenge you to think about how we begin to articulate and document practice, while also questioning the role that art and design has to play in not only delivering visual content, but also in persuading an audience about the viability of a project. This option will be delivered through collaborative projects, workshops and events all focused on an inter-disciplinary approach, with opportunities for self-initiated publications & pitch presentations. The first week will include workshops with external practitioners to give you a taster of working in a dynamic studio environment. There will also be the opportunity to respond individually to a live brief. Skills acquired: Concept, Presentation, Teamwork, Professionalism, Leadership, Industry Employability
Students may negotiate to undertake a full-time work placement or work based learning during Unit X. This must be discussed with your programme tutor to establish suitability of the placement to your studies. The organisation of your placement must be undertaken with the support and guidance of the Placements team. In order to ensure your placement is a legitimate learning experience, and will count towards your studies you must complete Manchester Metropolitan Universities Placement paperwork. It is your (the student’s) responsibility to provide any placement information and the completed paperwork. For more information, please contact Sarah or Tom in the placements team; Email - AHplacements@mmu.ac.uk or Phone - 0161 247 1712 We define Placements and Work-based Learning (PWBL) as any period of vocational or academic activity where students engage with a third party as part of their programme of study, and where there is transfer of direct supervision to this third party.
For ideas of work placement opportunities please visit; https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8526453 or LinkedIn: “Manchester School of Art- Design Department There will be 2 drop in sessions for any students interested in placements.
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Monday 30th January; 12 – 1PM in the Benzie Café with Kirsteen Aubrey
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Tue 31st January ; 12:30 – 2PM in the Benzie Cafe with Kirsteen Aubrey & Sarah Tomlinson
This option is for those interested in Fashion Art Direction and the related skills and knowledge that support this subject area including styling, photography, graphic design and art direction. The project theme is Punk, summarised by Vivienne Westwood: ‘I didn’t consider myself a fashion designer at all at the time of punk. I was just using fashion as a way to express my resistance and to be rebellious. I came from the country, and by the time I got to London, I considered myself to be very stupid. It was my ambition to understand the world I live in’. The project requires working with people involved in the original punk scene to investigate ideals of rebellion and how this was portrayed through fashion and styling. Central to this are the changing perceptions overtime of gender differences, the impact of this upon status and power, and how concepts of punk are currently portrayed. This is a co-design project in which students will work in groups and collaborate with former punks to co-create works that will be disseminated digitally (in the form of a fanzine) and via a finale performance/ participatory showcase event. Students will identify strengths for group working and take on the roles of art director, stylist and designer. Each group’s fanzine will showcase the developed dialogue and interaction between MMU students and original punks. This could feature archival and documentary photographs, styled shoots, supportive texts and illustrations, and other relevant data such as fashion, graphic, music or location memorabilia and current references.
Additional inspiration and support will be derived from sources such as: MMU Special Collections punk collections, graphic designer: Malcolm Garrett, MDMA (Manchester and District Music Archive), Age Friendly Manchester, SHOWstudio and other relevant contacts, such as Debut magazine to support online publication of selected features or a group fanzine. Skills developed; UX design (interviewing, recording, documenting experience, idea generation), fashion styling and photography, location sourcing/ set design, graphic design - type and layout, curation and event planning. Special project requirements; Visits to MMU Special Collections, Platt Hall, the Atkinson Art Gallery, Southport or other relevant places/ persons of interest. Others may be introduced during the project. Example plan for the project;
Week 1 - Project launch; explore/ investigate punk archive/s and punk movement/ ideology Week 2 - Inspire talks/ workshops: Malcolm Garrett and others Week 3 - Initial contact and focus group workshops with former punks (primary research) Week 4 - Secondary research, idea generation and concept development
EASTER BREAK
Week 5 - Refine final concepts (co-design with former punks), location/ set design and narrative style development Week 6 - Styling/ photo shoots and planning final event Week 7 - Design and produce final fanzines and finale showcase
The Isokon building is a ‘pioneering modernist apartment block’ designed by Wells Coates in 1934. It is recognized as a modernist masterpiece and in its time, residents have variously included notable twentieth century designers and creative such as Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, Agatha Christie, Egon Riss and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. Jack and Molly Pritchard commissioned the building with the aim of establishing a new aesthetic and a new way of living. Within the building there were apartments and the Isobar, a social space that became a centre for intellectual and artistic life in North London, regularly attracting visitors such as Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson. Recently renovated and now owned by Notting Hill Housing Trust, the building now provides accommodation for key workers, and the garages have been converted into a small gallery that promotes the history and philosophy of the building. A number of the original residents designed furniture, and these became the basis for the product ranges of the Isokon furniture company (now Isokon Plus). These designs are still manufactured and sold today, along with new work by contemporary designers that share the modernist philosophy, such as Barber Osgerby and Shin Azumi. The weaver, Eleanor Pritchard, has recently collaborated with Isokon Plus in the design of upholstery fabrics for the classic furniture ranges. The project is structured to echo a commission-based brief with a focus on the Isokon building, associated gallery, furniture manufacturers and history as inspiration. Students will work in teams to develop ideas suitable for sale in galleries or retailers that hold true to the Isokon philosophy. Your projects might integrate 3D making and surface pattern, include textile and graphic focused approaches to interior products, or develop illustrations and publications inspired by the Isokon building, residents, philosophy and stories. Potential outcomes might include: • • •
Graphics and Illustration for publication and/or product Textiles for interiors and/or homeware Interior furniture and/or product
The project mimics a professional experience of working within a multi-disciplinary design practice through collaborative working with students from across the Design department. All students will work in groups towards a self-initiated and managed collaborative outcome or range of related products.
Project content:
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A site visit to the Isokon building Hampstead to meet with the client (travel to be self-funded by participating students) Interim live client presentations Cross-disciplinary team building and skills sharing Workshops on creative thinking and group working Regular group tutorial support Teaching will take place in the ground floor studios of Benzie Resolved ideas presented through samples, prototypes or finalised products
Skills acquired:
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Knowledge of British modernist design history The interpretation of an open professional client brief Client presentations Group and team working The opportunity to build on subject specific skills and apply these within a multi-disciplinary design team Flexibility and adaptability To value other creative perspectives The ability to work through unfamiliar and challenging experiences Time management
Specific Project Requirements: •
You will be required to make arrangements to travel to the Isokon building in London to meet with the client during the first week of the project (details to follow).
Other information: Teaching days - Primarily Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. There will be variation within this on a week-by-week basis that will be outlined on the published timetable.
Working with the Manchester City Art Gallery Collections to produce a book or Moving Image/Animation through generation and visual translation of text. In many figurative paintings the subjects, objects or events depicted, may at first seem to be entirely clear, but without background information or in depth knowledge do we really understand what is being presented. For example, in Correggio’s painting “Jupiter and Io” we see depicted, a beautiful naked woman, apparently enraptured and embraced by smoke. It is only when you know the story of the god Jupiter who transformed himself into a cloud in order to seduce the nymph Io, that things become clearer and even then this image is just one moment in time of a much longer and more complex narrative. The unit will commence with gallery visits and talks to explore the meanings and symbolism embedded in paintings. You will then be required to select a painting from which to develop your own narrative, which will then be developed in one of the following ways. BOOK You will then need to select and identify which aspects or particular issues you would like to explore further in order to create a sequential series of images that corresponds to the text to effectively depict a beginning, middle and end. The book will be 32 pages long but this should take into account the front and back endpapers, a title page and a copyright page. Try not to depict the same things described within the text but choose to explore an unexpected or individual interpretation of the text. In effect you are encouraging the viewer to think about the narrative and to gain a greater understanding of the subject. Your illustration should, not only enhance the text but interpret the text, increase visual perception and provide visual information. You will be expected to consider how the selected text will work with your image on the page
BOOK REQUIREMENTS • • • •
Detailed outline sketch of the entire 32 page book. The page size should not exceed 300mm in any direction *Where necessary 3mm of bleed should added to the artwork. Original artwork (presented in a portfolio) of the cover (front, back and spine) 3 double page spreads and the endpapers. Research/evidence of additional reading. Sketchbooks that show concepts, media ideas and compositional awareness.
MOVING IMAGE / ANIMATION or THREE DIMENSIONAL / SET-BASED RESPONSE Following the gallery visits and talks, you will identify a theme or issue, from which starting point you will explore and develop your response/s. Responses are open. You may respond to the project in any way you choose, including, for example, fictional narrative pieces, non-fictional or information-based or abstract responses. You may connect themes with relevant contemporary social / political issues providing further research opportunity. You will be supported in your project, via animation / editing / sound workshop / screenings / lecture and seminar / tutorial support. REQUIREMENTS • An animation / moving image piece with sound. The animation may be produced using any range and combination of digital/ hand-crafted media, the materials connecting contextually with your choice of theme / issue • A three-dimensional response, which may be combined with projection. Choice of scale / format / materials is open, but must be well-documented photographically. • Research/evidence of relevant wider reading / practitioner research • Sketchbooks that show concepts, media ideas and awareness of planning / storyboarding and / or exploration with materials or three-dimensional space. Tutorial support will be given to help you develop your responses, in addition to animation workshops, you will also be given support with photography of work.
This option is for students who are interested in working with a Live Client, to a focused brief, which meets specific client needs. The brief will involve developing ideas and concepts with regards to making artefacts and elements at object, human and architectural scale; urban way finding; narrative and branding, all for Festival Square (formerly Albert Square). Festival Square is the social hub of the Manchester International Festival and is home to several destinations which provide food, entertainment and a meeting point during the Festival. The BBC also uses this location to live broadcast from so as well as working with the team from MIF, Oh Ok and Practise Architects, your work may also feature on telly! Students whose practise is concerned with, but not necessarily exclusive to, 3 dimensional design, interior design, architecture, sculpture and graphic design, may find this brief appropriate to their existing skills, with the potential for knowledge development within a challenging and stimulating context. You will work in groups to develop ideas and concepts appropriate to the client brief. The group will be asked to verbally and visually present their ideas in a cohesive and professional manner to the client and panel of experts. You will work individually to identify your role in the team, generate visual research and appropriate technical information relating to your role. Your group can tackle a series of briefs or a single brief.
Brief 1: Relative* Interiors * a person connected by blood or marriage. Design the Interiors and holistic customer experience for the hospitality destinations of Festival Square. The over arching concept for the Interiors should include space organisation of furniture for dinning and events, and the design of specific furniture elements. The destinations Interiors are The Pavilion and The Glass House which each have their own specific requirements. You are asked to develop a holistic approach to designing the Interiors, which positions The Glass House and The Pavilion as ‘design siblings’, each relating to the other but with differing emphasis. You should also consider the external area, which connects the two destinations in your design proposal. There will be plans for you to refer to once you sign up to this project. Students must also provide a technical drawing package for the construction of the interior elements such as the bar and DJ booths. The design requirements for the destination Interiors include: The Pavilion • space planning for 100 diners • area for dance floor • design of stand alone bar with back bar • design of DJ booth The Glass House • space planning for 70 fine diners • design of internal bar with back bar • design of external bar with back bar • space planning for 100 benches on roof terrace (standing for 200) External areas • space planning of 40 benches and 45 deck chairs
Brief 2: Kinsfurniture* for Festival Square * a wordplay on Kinsfolk: a group of people related by blood. Design a family of furniture (view them as siblings – different in character but from the same DNA) suitable for use in the hospitality areas of Festival Square. The locations include The Pavilion, The Glass House, The Barns and outdoor seating, which each have specific needs and requirements. The furniture designed should encapsulate an overarching concept that considers levels of comfort, material efficiencies, ease of production and demonstrates a companionship with the hospitality Interiors and should comply to the follwing critera: 1. 2. 3.
The furniture must be designed so a relatively unskilled individual can assemble it. Studenst should complete some kind of instruction on how to build the unit. This could be anything from a graphic to a film to a dance, anything as long as it’s clear. Each unit must Utilise no more than £25 in material. (1 unit equals 1 bum) The furniture must be able to be assembled with hand tools only. They can be electric, but no large island equipment. Think what someone might have in their garage at home.
The furniture family should include:
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fine dining chair with high back dining chair stackable bar chair (casual) bar stool bench, high and low dining table to sit 6-8 people (stackable or folding) low bar table
Brief 3: Narrative and Navigation in Festival Square Festival Square contains a number of exciting destinations from independent street food vendors to acoustic stages, bars and dining. Your challenge is to develop a way finding strategy and holistic graphic narrative for Festival Square that pulls together the many events hosted there and the multiple independent identities of the residents. The design strategy should be sympathetic to the design of the Relative Interiors and the Kinsfurniture but be a radical and unconventional as you see fit.
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Holistic directional signage and way finding for Festival Squared Identification signage for The Pavilion, The Glass House, The Barns Menu boards signage and waste management philosophy
Brief 4: Illuminating Festival Square Bearing in mind it doesn’t get dark during the Festival period until 10.22pm at night, how can Festival Square be metaphorically and physically ‘illuminated’, bestowing a sense of celebration and festivity, through out the day. Brief 5: Arrivals and Departures in Festival Square (Architecture students only) Investigating the notion of Threshold between the fringes of Festival Square and the city, propose architectural interventions that announce and signify arrival and departure from Festival Square.
This option is for anyone considering how they might deliver their own practice for others to learn from and enjoy. This may include a future ambition to work as a community artist, teacher or as a practitioner who supplements their income through public workshops. During the unit there will be a range of learning experiences that help you to gain skills in teaching, planning, organising, evaluating and reflecting. You will work in groups to:
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Deliver existing outreach workshops. Co-develop and deliver your own workshops for community and/or school groups. Develop an outreach event as a culmination of all you have learnt.
You will work individually to: • Test out your own practice examples, identifying your individual strengths and opportunities. • Document and reflect on your learning through a blog or similar digital format. You will be working with external partners, which will include schools and community groups. Additionally, you will be introduced to current best practice skills and knowledge in class-room management and child protection. This must be completed prior to off-site activi-ties.
Project special requirments: Travel to external venues will be necessary. Most partners are within close proximity to the main campus, however there may be options to work with partners more then 10 miles from the city centre. Travel expenses will be subsidised where possible. Other Information: Teaching will take place in the School of Art, The Faculty of Education (Brooks Building), Marketplace Studios (Stockport) and various partner venues across greater Manchester. There will be expert input from the Faculty of Education (EdLab), Outreach and community engagement team (Stockport) Professional Artists and Designers who work in this way with the public, and School Teachers. IMPORTANT: Students undertaking this will have the opportunity to take part in the Faculty of Edu-cations EdLab Conference programme. Content is delivered through three weekend conferences and Wednesday afternoon lecture and seminar programme. Attendance at these will be beneficial to undertaking the unit, however this is not a requirement.
This will be a live brief, and you will work collaboratively in a team, with the ultimate outcome being a short piece of moving image for a client. The client will be a commercial brand with a distinct identity, and although the films will be ultimately used for the promotion of the clients product, the films will be more about the attitude and feel of the brand, than the product/s itself. In small creative teams, you will need to organise yourselves into a creative collective, with identifiable roles. The client will brief the entire group, outlining their requirements and be as clear as possible. An opportunity will be given to students to ask questions at this point. Your team will then begin the process of responding to the brief, and a couple of weeks later will make a full pitch of their ideas to the client. The client may or may not make comments at this stage, but will hopefully green light the projects into production. Some projects may be required to make changes before being green light. You will then have an agreed production schedule, which will include regular update meetings before a final submission and completion of the finished project.
Assignment: Working with a client, you will be briefed a project. The brief will outline the background of the project and the context of why the client wants the final project. This will begin to manifest ideas. The briefing will also cover;
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Objectives : what is the goal of the project Target Audience : Who is the audience, and will you communicate with them? The Focus : What is the main identity of the project.
Schedule: You will be given week by week guidance on the project as you progress, but should ensure your own good time management in order to meet the deadline. You should attend all timetabled sessions if applicable. Final Submission: Submission will be electronic and you must upload the animation to your Youtube channel, and then join the dedicated Youtube playlist. (Details will be given nearer the time). A digital copy of the film will also need to be submitted. Evaluation: To complete the assignment you are also expected to submit an evaluation charting your progress on the assignment. The evaluation should be approximately 1000 words. This should be submitted as a PDF. Full instructions of hand in details will be given to you nearer the time. You will be assessed on how you engaged with the project, your creative input, evaluation and communication skills, as well as the creative skills acquired throughout the project.
Adventures in food, eating and cultural creativity. Everyday we engage in the routine acts of preparing, cooking and eating. These processes are seamlessly present within our everyday but it is in that very seamlessness that such processes become rich areas of exploration in making visible a variety of cultural constructs and dynamics. Focussing on food and its attendant activities has the possibility of bringing into view the ways in which class, gender, labour, taste, cultural identity, economics, amongst others are mobilised through the choices we make around the creating, presenting and consumption of food. From secret supper clubs, to immersive eating events, to edible cinema, food has taken centre stage in the cultural world over the past 5 years or so to the point where it has come to occupy a central role in many artists practice: Marina Abramovic, Sophie Calle, Jonathan Trayte, Leo Fitzmaurice are among the many artists who have incorporated some aspect of food; from packaging to dining, from restaurants to narratives, in their work. This Unit X project will explore the reasons and implications for this upsurge that has created a kind of fetishisation of food; this is particularly pertinent in a period of government strategies that has made food poverty very visible. In order to understand the cultural dominance of food and dining and its interface with visual practice we will look at the emergence of the equation of food and creativity in activities such as Gordon Matta Clarke’s ‘Food’ café in his studio complex in Chelsea, New York in the 1970s to the on-going recreation of such ‘events’ in the work of food designers ‘Blanch and Shock’. We will consider the action of ‘hospitality’ as a curating strategy in recent art practice and unpack its implication for the presenting and engagement with art and for museum and gallery display. Equally the idea of restaging and repetition as part of cultural and curatorial practice will be addressed.
The making and consumption of food will form part of the teaching methodology in this project, Gallery/cafe visits, workshops and screenings will form the basis of the teaching output. Students will be working towards the curation, interpretation and promotion of a final event/exhibition or restaging of a Fluxus food based performance that will form the final exhibition of the project. This will provide the opportunities for practice based students to develop a body of work emerging from the exploration of the above themes that will form part of this final event/exhibition. You can expect experiential teaching and learning centred around the preparation and consumption of food and different dining experiences, developing practice around re-staging, collaborative practice, repetition, ritual, the everyday within visual practice, understanding the role of food and dining in the mobilisation of a range of cultural ideas and practices through lectures and visits, experience of event management and promotion. Skills acquired: Curating, collaborative practice, event marketing and promotion, event management, understanding of issues around curating and displaying performative work, knowledge of current and historical interest around food and its interface with contemporary art practice, the role of food as a lens in the focussing of a range of interdisciplinary practices. Other Information: Teaching days - Monday’s and Friday’s The project is Researching, curating and re-thinking an infamous collaborative/performative event centred around the cultural resonance of food and the practices of eating within the everyday. Any expectations of the project: an event/exhibition centred on the dining table as the final outcome
“Trend forecasting is much like archaeology but to the future.” Lidewij Edelkoort This is a project about forecasting future design. It asks you to explore how changes in the world around us will affect what consumers want over the coming years. You will use this to develop a resource that provides inspirational information to other designers or people working in the creative industries as well as creating future design proposals. This project is open to students from any programme; the outputs can be in any design context. There will be opportunities to work on live projects (these are in development). Part One - Cultural Radar Working in groups, research some of the key external issues that you feel will affect how consumers buy or interact with design in the next couple of years (e.g. environmental issues, economic concerns, cultural events). From this, create a short, illustrated digital presentation that involves all members of the group. This should be very much ideas based – think of it as a trigger that would encourage and motivate someone to work with your information. Part Two – Forecast Resource Use your group presentation (with any ideas you found interesting in other groups’) to develop a trend, forecasting or inspiration source. This could be a book, a zine, a film, an online resource or an outcome in any other media. Its function should be to provide other people working in the creative industries with inspirational source material to engage with their audience in two or three years time. You should undertake significant visual and contextual research, and produce a substantial quantity of development work in a range of media. Part of this should include experimentation with a format for the final outcome and evidence that the clients you are targeting your work at would be receptive to your proposed future intelligence.
Initial brief: George Home Design Team (Asda) GEORGE has over 130 million customers a year and sold 295 million items in 2015. A team of around 12 Designers work for the George brand at Asda House in Leeds shaping the future of the fashion and homeware industry. They are creating quality yet affordable pieces of design for real life as part of the George (and Asda) family. Designers at George enjoy bringing their vibrant ideas to life. Through discovering the latest trends, con-stantly searching for inspiration, they use their creative flair to design some of the most popular prod-ucts in the country. In fact, they often set the latest trends. But, as with any popular brand, there is a lot that goes into creating clothing and homeware that cannot be ignored. It means George is not just a su-permarket clothing and homeware store. It is a place where you can design for the whole country. The Project: The Design Team for George Home Design, will write a more detailed brief in the new year related to their Spring 2018 trends which will be ready end of January / beginning of February. Basically some of the Design team from George will set and present a couple of trends from their Spring 18 design pack. From this, students can design ideas for products using the look and feel of the trends and present back to them. Product types they would be looking for would be for the George Home Ac-cessories Range. Some examples of the types of products are: Wall art, Ceramics eg. Vases, candle hold-ers, trinket boxes, Glassware, Hanging plaques, Ornaments, Sculptures, Lighting, Fragrance and candle packaging but students can choose other products as well. A selection panel made up of Manchester Metropolitan University staff alongside Designers from George will then give you feedback on the design ideas, with the possibility of some being taken forward for de-velopment as part of the unit. (*If George select any for production, the students will be credited and have chance to negotiate remu-neration with George) Other information: Teaching Days- Tuesday and Thursday
This is a collaborative design project with Donghua University, Shanghai, China inspired by Miao embroidery from the Gui Zhou region of China. For this brief you will work in 20 groups of 3, 1 from Manchester School of Art, 1 from Donghua and a Miao embroiderer. The project is based on a creative and technical exchange between the two Schools and will consist of research, design development, textile / fabric manipulation / finishing sampling and fashion illustration. Through collaboration with your crossuniversity groups, the project will conclude with the production of an outfit or garments at Donghua. Your work will be inspired by Miao Gui Zhou embroidery. The Donghua students will present their research to you but it is essential that you undertake your own research and development work. DRAWING is key to your research process. Miao Gui Zhou embroidery “The embroidered patterns are about the story of the ancestor of mankind. By embroidering his story on clothes and the cloth with which we carry our babies and singing songs about his story, we believe that he will protect us and our children.” Pan Yuzhen, Miao embroiderer Miao embroidery is peculiar to the Miao ethnic group inhabiting Southwest China’s Guizhou Province. Leishan County, Guiyang City, and Jianhe County are the three regions known for their extraordinary Miao embroidery with the design and craftwork of embroidery in these regions differing in materials, colour, motif and process. Their traditional dress also differs from region to region. Working with silk and cotton thread, as well as horsehair, embroiderers adorn cuffs, sleeves, collars, and tunic fronts with designs of mythical animals (dragons and phoenixes) and ordinary insects, fish, and flowers. Other processes, such as pleating and materials, such as tin, are traditionally used. These designs are not only decorative; more importantly, many record daily life, life cycle events, and community legends and history. This is a highly creative brief that concentrates on developing a range of 30 textile samples that can be shared with your group in Donghua who will design and produce an outfit based on your samples. Within your Manchester group, you will then design a 12-look collection (for men or women) based on your research and samples. You may also want to continue to sample.
The combination of fabrics is essential in intelligent fashion design. This project will consist of workshops focusing on contemporary trims and finishes alongside the development of your own materials and unusual combinations through intensive research and sampling. You will produce 2 duplicated technical files per group (it might be a box) with your samples, one for Manchester, one for Donghua. The samples may be in larger format – do not be constrained by A4 or A3! Notes may also accompany your samples - document anything you need to replicate the sample or develop from in the future. Document your research, experimentation and development work in sketchbook or sheet format, as well as on a group blog and digital portfolio. Outcome: • • • • • • •
Group blog reflecting on your work and its development, alongside your collaboration. Digital portfolio consisting of the presentation of the following: Research which includes the development of a narrative /theme in your collection based on Miao Gui Zhou embroidery. Document through drawing and photography everything in depth for example any research development, toiling, fastenings and finishings. You will create a varied range of garments with a back up of 200 designs. While these designs will range from initial sketches to final designs, it is expected that you will play close attention to the whole of the garment – detailing, finishes, back and side views where appropriate Illustrated final 12 looks with Technical drawings. Extensive sampling and the production of fabrics.
Throughout this unit you will have a reflective approach to your work and its development. This will be evidenced throughout your sketchbooks / design sheets and be based upon both your individual and collaborative practice. Additioanlly, throughout the project, the groups will work together in workshops, virtually online using Pinterest with discussions and tutorials using the Wechat app.
Collaborations to generate a creative and sustainable design practice within Textile design. Liberation Kilt Company has designed a range of tartans symbolising contemporary social movements. The purpose of this project is to explore in a spontaneous and intuitive way various Textile / Fashion design possibilities for the Blue-heart Tartan. Blue-heart: Human trafficking is a mounting global problem and one of the world’s most shameful crimes, affecting the lives of millions of people and robbing them of their dignity. the Blueheart tartan symbolises the collective heartbeat of those who are trafficked and provides another way for people to show their solidarity against this modern form of slavery, represented in the tartan by the black lines that intersect to form a cage. Blueheart was inspired by the united Nations’ Blue heart Campaign, an international initiative to raise awareness of the plight of trafficking victims and build the political will needed to fight the criminals who make a living buying and selling human beings. twenty percent of proceeds from the sale of Blueheart fabric and products is donated to the Voluntary trust Fund for Victims of human trafficking, coordinated by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Info: unodc.org/unodc/human-trafficking-fund.html Scottish tartan register No. 11405; uK registered Design No. 4040928 Woven in Scotland by Bute Fabrics ltd. available in 10oz, 13oz and 16oz Pure New Wool © 2016 liberation Kilt Company | liberationkilt.com/blueheart Collaboration, knowledge exchange and associated transferable skills are the key practices explored. You will work in designated student teams to develop research to inform a collection of 12 looks. The addition of knit, weave, print or stitch could also be applied to the designs. Historically tartan has been a major source of inspiration for designers for centuries and continues today to be a textile associated with many high-end market design labels, eg. Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garcons, to name just a few…… Working in teams, you will be expected to consult an extensive range of research sources and develop your personal design process through a variety of media including, drawing, collage, writing, painting, and photography. Research is essentially the driving force behind this project and very important for the communication of your own ideas both within your team and to your audience. Giles Jackson, founder of Liberation Kilt Company and designer of the Blue-heart tartan will provide woven swatches and a range of archival material (articles, videos, etc.), which may serve as a foundation on which to build.
Design Development When exploring design possibilities for the Blue-Heart tartan, you are asked to develop an experimental response to it. Incorporate a combination of knit techniques to create a collection of swatches within your team. This response may be broad (your vision for an entire collection) or narrow (focusing on a specific category, e.g. accessories). Within your team you are asked to develop a colour palette in response to your research. This palette should complement the Blue-heart tartan, ie. Could be worn with the Blue-heart tartan) You are encouraged to do some observational drawing using coloured media and to create a storyboard reflecting the concept underpinning this project, ie. Ethical considerations, and displaying your research and colour combinations; this will inform your design development for a collaborative collection of textile swatches for fashion ideas. You are encouraged to concentrate on the potential of knit techniques to generate design ideas and explore a creative and sustainable design practice. You will investigate knit structure effects to achieve contemporary fabrics with particular emphasis on tartan. Traditional techniques of iconic fabrics such as tartan, paisley, lace and tweed can be used to inspire ranges of unconventional tartans. Tartan is traditionally geometric in structure, but can be designed in an unconventional way; taking abstract elements of block pattern. Techniques could include mixing textures and weights of contrasting yarns, striping with mixed colour combinations, knit, weave, felt, embroidery or print. You could investigate more complex solutions of merging techniques within the discipline, but must design fabrics that sit well together. Outcome:
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Group blog reflecting on your work and its development, alongside your collaboration. Digital portfolio consisting of the presentation of the following: Research which includes the development of a narrative /theme in your collection based on Blueheart Tartan Document through drawing and photography everything in depth for example any research development, toiling, fastenings and finishings. You will create a varied range of garments with a back up of 200 designs. While these designs will range from initial sketches to final designs, it is expected that you will play close attention to the whole of the garment – detailing, finishes, back and side views where appropriate. Illustrated final 12 looks with Technical drawings. Extensive sampling and the production of fabrics.
Throughout this unit you will have a reflective approach to your work and its development. This will be evidenced throughout your sketchbooks / design sheets and be based upon both your individual and collaborative practice.