AUDREY TAYLOR PALMER FALL 2018
n o i t c e : fl e e c R i t c a r P s s n e o c o r P e Th
Volume 1: In Situ
SAM FOX SCHOOL OF DESIGN & VISUAL ARTS AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS
THIS HEADLINES OF THIS BOOK WERE TYPESET IN BENNET BANNER AND THE BODY COPY WAS TYPESET IN OPTIMA. IMAGES WERE SOURCED FROM UNSPLASH AND THE CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM IN ST. LOUIS, MO. THIS BOOK WAS DESIGNED BY AUDREY TAYLOR PALMER IN FALL 2018 FOR REBECCA LEFFEL KOREN'S FORM & FUNCTION CAPSTONE STUDIO AT WASHINGTON
CAPSTONE IN DESIGN: FORM + FUNCTION PROF. REBECCA LEFFEL KOREN
Project 1: In Situ The purpose of this project was to consider one of the roles that designers fill is that of an observer, interpreter, and, ultimately, translator; bringing observed experience into visual form for others to engage with. For this project we acted as the intermediary by responding to a particular place or site, and generate artifacts that share an experience of that place with others. We were tasked with conducting various forms of research to uncover something unknown about our site, discover a unique way to spend time there, reveal a less known interpretation, or a new and more abstracted read of your site—all with the aim of capturing an experience to share with our audience.
PART ONE
09 Research PART TWO
13 Discovery PART THREE
25 Refinement & Criticism
Research
PART ONE
Choosing a Site When the constraint that it had to be a site we had never been to before was announced, as a St. Louis native I thought "oh gosh I've been everywhere, what am I going to pick?" Then I remembered how people always ask me for inn and hotel reccomendations for their parents when they visit and I have to answer "I don't know, I've never stayed in a hotel here, I'm from here." That is what lead me to the Cheshire Inn. The other site I was considering was the new Chapman Plaza in Shaw Park because Shaw Park has always been a part of my childhood and initially I thought Chapman Plaza was just a fountain. Then it turned out to be this beautiful gazebo and winding river. However I thought the Cheshire had more present character and visual language. Front of the Cheshire Inn
Second choice location Chapman Plaza in Clayton
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(left) Transition of flooring textures between rooms
Visiting the Inn The first weekend after location selection, I teamed up with Katie Bumatay to go and visit our sites. During my visit I took a lot of pictures of the textures and colors of the inn. While there were a few distinctly British items like the flag and pictures of the Queen, most of the British image was conveyed through lighting, color, and texture. This gave the inn a transformative vibe rather than a touristy one. You felt like you were in the British countryside, rather than a gift shop.
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(above) The gold would go on to influence the gilded edges of the sides of my cards (left) The stain glass windows, even in the Starbucks, were used for the collage on the back of the card.
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Discovery PART TWO
The Form I considered three different forms. A mobile, a deck of cards, and a rubiks cube. The Cheshire had a lot of different parts (the rooms, the lobby, the restaurants, the Starbucks, the exterior) that were all working together to convey this theme of the hotel I chose the deck of cards because it had the traditional tone of the inn and I was not just applying images to form, but rather crafting an experience.
(left) Mobile visual research
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(left) Deck of cards visual research
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(this page) Deck of cards visual research
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Card Icons I struggled with getting the icons to be a consistent visual language and convey something additional about the inn and the experience and not just "British."
(left) Early sketches
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(above) Digital iterations
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Card Background I loved that I was able to bring my interest in collage into this project as well as the images of the stain glass windows. It was difficult to convey the windows in a card icon, so the back of the card was the perfect opportunity.
(this page) Card back options
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(this page) Card collage process
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The Box I went to Michaels and bought a lot of different wooden box options. I was considering either painting it gold or covering it in leather. The gold paint wound up looking cheap so I went with the leather. The box wound up being two lids attached together with the hinges from another box. In another life I would open a leather tooling shop. I discovered my love for this skill during this project. I had never done it before
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(this page) I went through a lot of trial and error with the leather box and crafting this experience was my favorite part of the project. I wound up attaching the leather with glue and painting with brown paint. I redid the box for final critique so that it was cleaner and all around better.
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Refinement & Criticism PART THREE
Round 2 This was the one project I refined before final critique. During the first critique, I was told the cards felt too clean and lacked the texture that the back of the cards had due to the collage. I added texture to the icons and numbers. Ideally I would print on off white paper, but FedEx did not have this in glossy when I was printing for final critique. So I prioritized the glossy over the off white. After the first critique I was able to experiment with gilding on the edges and decided I liked this, so I was able to do this for final critique as well. My next round of revisions on this project I would like to design face cards the collage language.
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First round cards, before final critique revisions
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