Amy Kilner Design Taxonomy
www.amykilner.co.uk
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Amy Kilner Design.
Brief: ‘Taxonomy’
Project/Assessment Task:
“Photographs are valued because they give information. They tell one what there is, they make an inventory.” (Sontag, 1971, p22)
Collect 30 artefacts or images of the same type. Produce a body of design/animation work that communicates the taxonomies and cultural insights within this collection to a specific audience – young, design-aware students in Hong Kong.
“A way of certifying experience, taking photographs is also a way of refusing it - by limiting experience to a search for the photogenic, by converting experience into an image, a souvenir.” (Sontag, 1971, p9) “It remains characteristic of the collection that sooner or later a radical change will occur capable of wrenching it out of its regressive system and orientating it towards a project or task (whether status-related, cultural and commercial is of no consequence, just so long as an object eventually brings one human being face to face with another - at which point the object has become a message).” (Baudrillard, 1968, p113)
Communication with this audience will be via internet methods (your blogs, twitter). The University of Huddersfield has a significant Chineese community and you may choose to approach individuals in this community to inform your work. From your collection you will develop the most appropriate concept and produce a cohesive body of work. The presentation of this work may be a number of static images or designs, moving image, virtual display, animation or physical installation.
Using taxonomy as a core theme, students are expected to develop a body of graphic design or animation work that explores a collection of 30 artefacts or images (of the same type of thing). Weekly seminars will focus upon the discussion of work in progress and students are expected to develop their body of work, documenting and reflecting upon this process each week (via their blog). Each seminar will be an opportunity to receive oral feedback (from tutors and peers). Project/Assessment requirements: Gather your collection through ‘primary’ methods – any photographs must be your own creation (and not gathered via internet image searches). Your research will need to be thematically clear and you should be prepared to present and justify it weekly. Your research and project development should be presented in logical format, via your blog, and should be annotated with written reflection.
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30 Christmas Baubles
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Taxonomy: Taxonomy:
1. The classification of organisms in an ordered system that indicates natural relationships. 2. The Science, laws, or principles of classification; systematics. 3. Division into ordered groups or categories.
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Brand-Taxonomy-Specialist-ways-of-working-(Part-One)/11909101 This is a brand taxonomy that I found on Behance, it presents information about different brands. It is a really nice info graphic as it is easy to understand. The cover design is also quite interesting.
h t t p : / / w w w. b e h a n c e . n e t / g a l l e r y / P e r s o n a l Taxonomy/10102691 This is a personal taxonomy I found online. The sections are on different beaches and inside there is different sand. The material used for the case looks like a dry sugar paper that reminds me of stone and the sea, it is a natural looking combination.
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h t t p : / / w w w. b e h a n c e . n e t / g a l l e r y / M U S H R O O M POWER/10286323 “An infographic exploring the three main ways in which humans use mushrooms; as food, medicine, and narcotics. The included memory card game helps users with learning the taxonomy and subsequent properties of this particular group of mushrooms in a didactic and enlightening way�
http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=taxonomy Info graphics found on interest showing different taxonomies.
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Info Graphics:
This is a really good book for examples of presenting information. Information Graphics: Sandra Rendgen, Ed. Julius Wiedemann, With essays by Paolo Ciuccarelli, Richard Saul Wurman, Simon Rogers. Including a Poster by Nigel Holmes
Below: “This double-spread presents an international status report on beer consumption and how it is regulated around the world.”
Left: pg 319 “This double piece presents selected projects from around the world for influencing the weather.” I quite like the way this information is presented. It gave me the idea of having information coming from my christmas baubles explaining stories behind my family Christmas.
Left: pg 345 Design by Peter Grundy I love how the info graphics make up an overall image. http://www.grundini.com/
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Rob Bailey:
“Rob Bailey is a Freelance Artist, Illustrator and Designer who lives and works in Manchester, England.� I love the simplicity of Baileys work. Grundys work reminded me of this artist. http://robbailey.co.uk/work
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Kandinsky:
Wassily Kandinsky: Hajo Duchting Image used on front is: Yellow-Red-Blue 1925, Oil on Canvas 127 x 200 cm, Paris, Musee National d’art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou
I’ve always loved Kandinskys style of art. Every piece he does shows so much emotion. When I first found out about his art I found out he created art based on music. The use of colour, shape and form in all of his compositions bring the image together to connote meanings really well.
Several Circles, 1926 Oil on Canvas, 140 x 140 To me, in this image the circles are made to stand out from the background. The circles remind me of Christmas baubles which is why i’ve kept it in my research.
Composition VIII, 1923 This is my favourite Kandinsky piece from the Bauhaus era. The black circle in the top left corner is a lot darker than the rest of the image which makes it stand out a lot more and become more important in the visual hierachy.
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Miro:
Last year I visited the Miro exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture park, I ended up coming home with this book as I loved all of the pieces that I saw there. Book name: Miro by Iria Candela
Painting (The Magic of Colour) 1930 This is one of Miros more minimal paintings. The name “the magic of colour� says a lot about it. It literally is just 3 blobs of colour on a page but even though the red and yellow are on a much larger scale the black is still much more dominent.
Nocturne 1940 One of the main things I love about this painting is how colours change when they overlap a line. It adds depth to the overall image and creates a hierachy, we decide which is more important though, depending on what colour we see as more dependant.
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Research: Collections
All images from Pinterest. http://www.pinterest.com/ amykilnerdesign/collections/
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Amy Kilner Design.
Research: Collections
All images from Pinterest. http://www.pinterest.com/ amykilnerdesign/collections/
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Amy Kilner Design.
Research: Collections
All images from Pinterest. http://www.pinterest.com/ amykilnerdesign/collections/
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Research: Collections
Whilst in France I visited a Church that has a special area where people put young childrens shoes. They do this to say thank you to a saint that heals children with walking problems. I found it quite relevant to the taxonomy project as there was a collection of shoes that all have a million stories behind them. Not all the children will of got better which is quite upsetting but then on the other hand some will of recovered.
Another thing I noticed on my trip was how much effort they put in to the way their streets look. Everyone seems to be a lot more relaxed in comparison to in England. This is an example of how different cultures have different views on things.
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Research: Collections
This product was in the front of a soap shop window in York. It is Christmas themed as they are clearly trying to start selling products ready for the Christmas shopping boom. They are targeting it at people visiting York centre to shop. York is quite an upper class shopping destination as they have easy travel options to London which means a lot of people can live in York whilst working in London which can mean that they have a lot of money in their back pocket.
I also saw this rememberance garden in York. The symbols used to remember different groups are a taxonomy.
I saw these cards in a quirky little shop in York. They are a good example of collections used on a graphic design.
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Research: Collections
I saw these little signs in a shop in York. They are pretty unique and quirky. As a collection they work really well together. The style of typography is quite nice and homely. I’d say that these items are targeted at people that like their home to be nice and cosy or just people with a bit of spare money.
I saw this collection in a shop in York. It is wooden items for the home. They look really nice together, there is a lovely range of browns and the visual merchandising has definitely been thought about and considered as the items people will most probably buy are at eye level. The items that are put on the wall are also hung up which helps the customer see what they can do with that product if they were to purchase it.
This is the front of the shop in York where I got all of these photos.
Another lovely collection of wooden items for the home.
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Research: Collections
A collection of British products for tourists.
The front of the Christmas Angels shop. Nice collection of Christmas products.
Another collection of Christmas products.
More Christmas products.
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Research: Collections
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A collection of Christmas baubles in the store Christmas Angels. They are arranged quite nicely to make it easy for the customer to pick the right colour. A lot of people decorate their Christmas trees so they are colour coordinated.
Amy Kilner Design.
Research: Christmas
All images from Pinterest. http://www.pinterest.com/ amykilnerdesign/christmas/
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Amy Kilner Design.
Research: Christmas
All images from Pinterest. http://www.pinterest.com/ amykilnerdesign/christmas/
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Research: Coca Cola
The British Father Christmas was green before the Coca Cola brand took over.
The Truck advert is one of the most iconic Christmas adverts that exists. Most people I know seem to think the Christmas season has begun after they have seen the ad on TV.
There are all sorts of Coca Cola adverts for Christmas that can be found online. They all seem to include Santa Claus himself which is a great way of showing customers that Coca Cola is for everyone, just like Santa is.
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Research: Christmas
“If decorating your Christmas tree with the same old dusty baubles every year is turning you green about the gills; spruce up your, erm... spruce with Pantone Christmas Baubles. Adding a dash of designer chic to your decorations, each of these painted glass baubles features one of Pantone’s official colours – and the reference code to match! Created by Italian design house Seletti, Pantone Christmas Baubles will be sure to delight and amuse anyone with a background in design – interior or otherwise. And they’ll cause equally powerful feelings of bafflement in anyone else! But either way, these tongue-incheek baubles are a great alternative to your typical festive ware and would look sensational in any home.” I thought that these Christmas Baubles were a great idea. They are sold on Firebox. They are targetted at designers and people who appreciate Pantone references.
http://www.firebox.com/product/4614/Pantone-Christmas-Baubles
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Amy Kilner Design.
Research: Christmas
Shops change their websites when Christmas is close to promote various products. This example is the website for the Christmas Angels shop that I visited in York.
The Firebox website is quick to make it obvious that Christmas is close and that their customers need to start thinking about what presents they are going to buy people.
M&S take a more classy look onboard for their customers.
Toys R Us are the busiest at Christmas time so they have changed their website to fit with the theme. They have also used Christmas baubles to show various offers.
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Changing 30 objects
One of my ideas for the Taxonomy Brief is to present all the Christmas items I have as an illustration of a tree. I quite like the idea of doing it in a kandinsky style. I’ve always been in to this style of Art mainly because it really inspires me and I find creating it a lot of fun no matter what mood I am in. After speaking to Margot I am going to change the commercial photos of baubles to ones that I have at home as I’ve got a lot that have stories behind them. Christmas means a hell of a lot to my family as my mum always went crazy for it, she died when I was 12 so every year we always make the most of it in her memory. Even at her funeral she was referred to as Mrs Christmas! Quite a few of the baubles that I have come across are photos she has cut out and put in a photo bauble. Since then my dad has made one and put a photo of her in, she is always the angel of our Christmas tree! It is quite an emotional time for us all at Christmas but there are so many stories behind every single family out there and how they spend their christmas. There is also a big divide now between the traditional Christmas and a Commercial Christmas which I have noticed since going through my 30 commercial photos with Margot. The image to the left is a quick mock up I made on illustrator of my idea.
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Christmas day:
When I was younger and my mum was alive we would get up bright and early on Christmas day. Now as me and my brother are older we tend to get up a little later. 8am: Get up and open presents after dragging mum and dad out of bed. 10am: Spend the morning watching Christmas TV and playing with presents. 12pm: Go to Grandmas for the biggest Christmas Dinner ever 2pm: Open presents from everyone 4pm: Grandad tries to drag me and my cousins in to silly party games. Last year we had a game where we got electricuted if we didnt press the button quick enough. 6pm: Christmas Tv together 7pm: Eat more food 8pm: Have a lazy night in together enjoying the day off work as a family.
Commercial Vs Traditional:
Before looking at the Christmas items I had at home I went straight for Commercial Baubles in a shop without even thinking. This just shows Christmas is becoming more and more Commercial as time goes by. The Coca Cola advert is taking over and that is all about making money. When you take away the presents and shopping Christmas is special because it brings people together. It is the one day of the year where families dont have to work (unless they are in public services). On the other hand Christmas can be a very emotional time, I know this from experience especially because my mum loved Christmas so much. It is quite sad but it is such a good time to remember her as on Christmas I’ll see everyone who also loved her to pieces. I don’t know where I would be without my family!
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Design Process Part 1:
Here are my first ideas of ways to present my taxonomy. The first is a series of Commercial posters that would be used on a shop wall or in a catalogue. The second is to draw a Christmas tree and have all of the baubles hanging off it. The tree would be an abstract image to represent my life. The third idea is to create a brochure in a kandinsky illustrated style with information on certain Christmas baubles, explaining what we do on Christmas every year.
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Design Process Part 1:
Another idea I had was to create a Christmas tree with all my baubles on it as well as drawn up British Christmas items that will be recognised in Hong Kong. Basically creating an image that represents a British Christmas.
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Idea 1: Commercial Posters
Left: A poster with a 10% white opacity layer over the top. Nice and simple, a little old fashioned, to be placed on shop walls to make products look like they are worth more than they actually are.
Below: Another idea is to split the poster up in to two and on one side to play with typography with various Christmas messages that would be found on cards.
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Idea 2: Christmas Tree
Kandinsky influenced Christmas tree with British items hanging off of the branches. Easy for people in Hong Kong to understand.
Another style but still influenced by Kandinsky.
Just playing with the shape of the tree, this one makes the tree look drunk so I won’t be using this one.
A quick vector version of my tree idea.
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A bit of a neater sketch of my Christmas tree.
I could do various hand drawn baubles for the tree.
This idea is for the poster. To somehow show a Commercial Vs Traditional Christmas.
Abstract Christmas tree.
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Left: All of the commercial baubles on the tree. Later in my project, I realised I won’t be using this idea as it has nothing to do with my personal Christmas. However, it did make me think more about the traditional Vs Commercial Christmas.
Below: I designed this heart inspired by Kandinsky. It represents the love I have for my family. The black dot shows the pain i’ve gone through with losing my Mum but as it is part of the heart as a whole it shows she won’t ever be forgotten and she has influenced me and motivated me every day of my life.
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Idea 3: Traditional Christmas
After playing with typogrpahy I chose to have this as my front cover for the book. The photo is one I took when I visited York.
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After playing with various typography I came up with the idea of a brochure / story book showing my baubles and having a brief description on how much they mean to me. Here is the front cover in process. I didn’t play around with it too much as this layout worked for me first time.
Here is the layout test I made using InDesign & illustrator. I would have a brief story on the left then a description of the baubles on the right. It all stays consistent and matches.
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Extra photos to use
Daniel with one of his Christmas presents a few years ago.
My cat Tommy dressed up.
Grandma and Grandad at Christmas dinner.
Playing a game last Christmas where we got electricuted if we lost.
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On a family holiday 2008
Family photo last August.
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Final Mock Up
Front cover Mock Up
8am: Santa has been
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10am: Radio 2
12pm: Christmas dinner
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2pm Giving is good
4pm: The games begin
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6pm: Family time
7pm: Food Coma
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8pm: 365 Days to go
Back Cover Link to document on Issuu: http://issuu.com/amylouisekilner/docs/a_traditional_kilner___sanderson_ch
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