INSPIRATION by DISCIPLINE
Carolina Rodríguez
Introduction I am a designer because for as long as I can remember the world of art and design has captivated me like nothing else. At a very young age I became exposed to this creative world, which I find myself continuously exploring to this day. One of the main influences that encouraged me to pursue my interests in the field of art and design was my father, an industrial and interior designer, who made sure that whatever talent I had I exercised. His support allowed me the opportunity to consider the field of art and design as a method of personal expression and a possible career path. Today, I still find myself interested in learning more about the disciplines within the world of art and design. The knowledge I have gained throughout the years through my studies of past designers and artists has allowed me to refine my skills and define my style as an artist and designer. This book serves as a documentation of me as the designer I am today. The artworks, designs, and artists presented in the following pages indicate only some of those that have inspired me and my work throughout the years. These subjects reflect my goals for the future in the art and design world. These pages also serve as a symbol of appreciation and respect towards those who have created before me and who will continue to inspire me throughout my career.
John Singer Sargent American 1856–1925
Fine Arts A curiosity in what art is at an early age has lead me to explore it throughout most of my life. At the beginning, this exploration into the art world mainly occurred through the study of some of its disciplines, such as painting, drawing and sculpture. The education I received however, only fueled this curiosity and lead me to want to learn more, which eventually lead me to the field of design. But even though through time I moved away from the discipline of fine arts, what I learned from it and the respect and admiration I hold for art is still very present in me as an artist today. Painting, in particular, has always been the artistic discipline I keep coming back to. It was the first of the disciplines that really took a hold of me and made me want to continue to explore the world of art. Van Gogh, Monet, and Picasso, are only some of the artists whose works have inspired me. Their unique techniques and use of color, form, and shape have shaped my knowledge of the art world and the endless possibilities that it holds. Throughout the years I have also developed an interest for other artist such as John Singer Sargent, Joseph Albers, and the contemporary painter, Michael Carson. Singer Sergeant’s ability to create shapes through the use of color as well as his study of white is astonishing. Albers’ impressively diverse yet simplistic collection of works based on the study of color and the use of geometric shapes has also become one of my sources for inspiration. Michael Carson, a more contemporary artist, manages to incorporate the aspects of Singer Sargent and Carson works that I most enjoy; the use of expressive brush strokes and geometric shapes.
John Singer Sargent American 1856–1925
Michael Carson American 1972–present
Joseph Albers American 1888–1976
Cass Bird American 1974–present
Photography An essential part of my identity as a designer revolves around the discipline of photography. Along with the art of painting, photography was one of the first artistic disciplines that I came across. Although not much of a photographer myself, the graphic components that come together when taking a photograph –such as form, negative and positive space, and composition– caught my attention at an early age. The human as subject is another large interest of mine in the field of photography, as I am always interested in how people can be captured so differently through a photographer’s lenses. Twentieth century photographers such as Irving Penn and Richard Avedon inspire me through their legendary photography. Their immaculate use of high contrast black and white seem to capture timeless scenes, preserving their subjects forever in a photograph. Both photographers had a large editorial focus yet managed to a create wide-ranging portfolios, photographing everyone from the most famous to the most ordinary people. Cass Bird, a contemporary photographer, also has a large focus on editorial photography. Similar to Penn and Avedon, Bird uses people as the main subjects for her photographs and has a large amount of work in black and white. Also, similarly to the Penn and Avedon, Bird captures her subjects in a unique and humanistic manner, which allows the viewer to see the subject in a different light.
Irving Penn American 1917–2009
Richard Avedon American 1923–2004
Cass Bird American 1974–present
Helvetica Max Miedinger 1957
Typography Typography is essential for graphic designers, as type can sets the tone for a design similarly to how color and shape can set the tone for a painting or photograph. The use of clear and legible typography is also crucial when trying to communicate through text in a successful manner, as it provides the viewer the ability to read and understand the information provided. When it come to typography, my preferences lie on versatile and classic typefaces. Helvetica, a san-serif typeface, was the first font I ever recognized as being beautiful. Helvetica’s highly public use showed me its versatility and in a way introduced me into the world of typography. Now that years have passed and my knowledge in typography has expanded I have found other typeface that I find successful and beautiful in design. Some of these are Akidens-Grotesk, Adobe Garamond, and Didot, among others. These elegant typefaces each represent a different use for me as a designer. Akidens-Grotesk is a typeface I use for multiple purposes such as text and headlines. On the other hand, Adobe Garamond I tend to use only as a text typeface, as I believe it is a beautiful and easily legible font at a small size. Didot, however, I tend to use as a display or headline typeface as it is best legible and most appreciated at a larger scale.
Akidenz Grotesk Berthold Type Foundry 1896
Adobe Garamond Robert Slimbach 1989
Didot Named after the Didot family
Cipe Pineles Austrian 1908–1991
Editorial Design Editorial design has been a passion of mine since I was old enough to understand the fact that a magazine page held more than just images and text. As a child I used to collect magazines. I would cut some up and paste my favorite spreads on the wall next to my bed, while others I kept intact, preserving them just as they had arrived to me. Whatever I chose to do with each, I did after carefully looking over each page in admiration. At first I believed I enjoyed reading magazines but later I realized I rarely read one, as I was too distracted by the visual page itself to bother with reading the words. Legendary layout and print designers such as Alexey Brodovitch and Cipe Pineles, who were at their peak in the twentieth century, and the contemporary designer Veronica Ditting, are just a few of the designers who’s work have inspired me. Timeless innovations, such as the way Brodovitch replicated and emphasized texture and shape in his compositions, and how Pineles created whimsical layouts via the cropping and merging of photographs, are only some of the things I enjoy most from these designers’ works. Ditting on the other hand, while still establishing herself as a legendary designer has managed to create unique and clean identities for magazines.
Alexey Brodovitch Russian 1898–1971
Veronica Ditting Argentinian
Cipe Pineles Austrian 1908–1991
Christian Dior Haute Couture AW 2015
Fashion Design Fashion as a hobby has always been present in my life. My father always liked to dress in a manner that represented his individual style, a trait I acquired. This interest lead me to educate myself in the field of fashion design throughout many of my teen years. Although I am no longer involved in fashion design as an educational field today, I still consider fashion to be present in me as an everyday form of expression. The opportunity to study fashion design throughout several years allowed me to gain a great deal of design skills that I still use today. It also allowed me to further appreciate and better understand the endless amount of dedication and work that goes behind creating beautiful garments. Designers such as Elie Saab, Dior, and Valentino, who never fail to create timeless and extraordinarily beautiful designs are only some of the designers whose work I have great admiration for. The classic lines and textures that come out of these designer's high fashion designs have always captivated my attention and have time and time again inspired me to create artworks with classic and timeless nature.
Valentino Haute Couture 2013
Elie Saab Haute Couture SS 2014
Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring 2013 (left) Ready-to-Wear Spring 2016 (right)
Cristiana Couceiro Portuguese
Layout Design Layout design is an area of graphic design that deals in the arrangement of visual elements on a page. Out of all of my interest in the field of design, it is safe to say that layout design is one of the methods I take a part of the most. Throughout the past few years I have dedicated most of my time to the study and practice of layout design. I have done this by taking part in projects that involve layout designs such as magazine publications, web designs, poster designs, and screen printing, among others. Some of the elements that I enjoy the most in layouts designs are the use of contrasting colors, geometric shapes, texture, text, and photography. Layout design has become my main focus as a graphic designer. Although familiar with many areas of design that involve layout compositions, I most enjoy creating designs for print, as I take pride in creating tangible pieces. My previous studies in other fields of art and design have helped me create more dynamic and successful layouts through a better understanding of composition, contrast, and form. When designing layouts I tend to draw inspiration from designers, such as Armin Hofmann who successfully created innovative, simplistic, yet dynamic posters. More contemporary designers such as Mike Joyce and Cristiana Couceiro also serve as a source of inspiration for me through their similar simplistic and clean design styles that aim to communicate tone and messages through beautiful design.
Cristiana Couceiro Portuguese
Mike Joyce American 1972–present
Armin Hofmann Swiss 1920–present
Daniel Will Harris Reveal Watch 2001
Product Design Products are created with a purpose. Therefore, if a product does not fulfill the users needs, it is ultimately unsuccessful. This however, is not a problem for designers such as Dieter Rams, Alec Issigonis and Daniel Will Harris, who have proven their abilities to create successful and purposeful products for consumers. Personally, I enjoy minimalistic products with clean and defined lines that provide easy and intuitive user vinteractions. These traits can all be found in these designers’ product designs. Dieter Rams set a name for himself through his clean and simplistic designs for the Braun company. Through his designs he proved himself as one of the most successful product designers of the twentieth century. Alec Issigonis also set a name for himself in the 1950s through his design of the Mini Cooper. His success at creating a small, consumer friendly, and cost effective car has transcended into the world of today where the car is still being manufactured for today’s consumers, such as myself. Daniel Will Harris, on the other hand, a much more contemporary product designer, has shown great promise through the design of a watch that maximizes the consumers experience when determining the time.
Dieter Rams Braun GmbH
1961–1995
Fixie Fixed Gear Bike
Alec Issigonis Mini Cooper 1959
Boris Berlin and Aleksej Iskos Muuto Fiber Leather Chair
Furniture Design Similar to product design, in order for furniture design to be successful it must fulfill the users aesthetic and functional needs. My personal interest in furniture lies here, where a beautiful pieces of furniture can fulfill a users needs while still function as a piece of art in its given space. I prefer minimalistic furniture with clean lines and simple structures that offer comfort and usability. An example of this type of furniture can be seen in Greta Grossman’s work, as well as in the works of collaborative design teams such as Iskos-Berlin, composed of Boris Berlin and Aleksej Iskos, and Muller Van Severen, created by Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen. These designers serve as inspiration to me through the creation of their innovative and timeless furniture. My interest in furniture design also lies on its reflection in my other interests. Similar to layout, editorial and product design, furniture design focuses on creating beautiful designs through the use of form, color and shape, in order to create successful and functional pieces.
Greta Grossman Swedish 1906–1999
Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen Belgian