Colour + Semantics
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Glasgow School of Art 2015/16
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Product Design Year 1
Icebreaker /// 21/09 to 25/09 Evolution /// 28/09 to 16/10 Cross School /// 19/10 to 30/10 Layout /// 09/11 to 13/11 Guerrila Interventions /// 16/11 to 11/12 Semantics /// 4/1 to 15/1 Make/Remake /// 18/01 to 12/02 Interactions /// 22/02 to 18/03 A day in the life /// 18/04 to 13/05
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Colour is key to the understanding of our world. We experience, interact and understand our specific environment through colour. This project asked us to begin to understand the language of colour, and the resultant effects it gives off. This first task involved the gathering of similar objects that align to this shown colour group, a deep purple. Through taking a closer look at the objects all around me, I become suddenly aware of the extreme diversity of colour in objects, but also the underlying re-occurences. This was a time of revelation, during which I, as well as my classmates, could begin to understand visual language and the unspoken inclinations of colour. Colour can be your most powerful design tool if you learn how to use it effectively.
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“Whimsical”
We were tasked with trying to convey a given adjective through visual language. This building on our understanding earlier about the connotations of colours, and resultant feelings conveyed by them. In given the word “whimsical” I looked for light, pastel-like colours, those being washed-out and floaty. I decided to place my chosen objects on the shelf to try and convey a sense of aloofness and nonchalance. They were left thrown around carlessly to try and build on this picture. This word was guessed by my classmates in our review, therefore I believe it successfully performed its role. An improvement would be to include at least colour with more depth, a strong red perhaps to make the image a bit more fanciful.
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Semantics Objects are embedded into our everyday lives; we form relationships with them as they become “tools for living” some so ingrained in our daily routine that it is hard to imagine life without them. Each has its own visual language and narrative. Semantics are a key element in the design of any product to communicate market positioning, drive desirability and inform interaction to the end-user, often subconciously. Semantics are those charecterisitcs which shape identity. The purpose of this project is to become sophisticated in understanding these contributing factors and associations which form a product’s character. This project will begin by a series of product ‘autopsies’ in small teams: a thorough diagnostic analysis of a range of familiar (and unfamiliar) products to be conducted by ‘deconstructing’ them semantically. Looking for a breakdown of all the semantic components, not in terms of their functionality but rather those inherent values, attributes and properties that are key to what defines each product’s personality.
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Clam Ashtray by Alan Fletcher, Manufactured by Mebel The manufacturing period during which this ashtray was made is reflected in its design. This is a product that I recognised on first glance but could not ever possibly place, a dream-like memory that I know is there but couldn’t define. The teeth-like crenellations give it a caricature like character, while affording a degree of functionality; two halves of the same tray come together with a satisfying slide to create one whole piece. The dark blue exudes conservatism and a degree of splendour, a quiet and confident necessary presence
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MARIO // 40 // VEGETARIAN CHEF LIVES WITH PARTNER GREIG AND THEIR 2 DACHSHUND PUPPIES. LIVES IN EDINBURGH CITY CENTRE BUT DREAMS OF MOVING OUT TO THE COUNTRY
This exercise in character building asked us to create a persona from a brief given description. From this constructed idealisation we would then choose a suitable product for them, based obviously on the knowledge of semantics we had gained from earlier in the project. I imagine Mario to have been raised somewhere in the remote European countryside, a rural setting such as a farm. This would have been the inspiration for his future career as a vegetarian chef, wholefoods and the outdoors are an intrinsic part of his upbringing.
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I imagined Mario living in a clean and tidy home. He would be the sort of man to expend a lot of effort in to his home life. His kitchen exposes little hints of rural background through exposed roofbeams, matched with his new urban environment by the stainless steel and and wide, clean limestone surfaces.
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He would be the sort of man to enjoy the novelty of exercise. Cycling around the city is his preferred method of transportation. He owns a nice pair of rugged trainers but doesn’t necessarily use them every day. He sticks with big, hiking style boots; ready for the elements while the brushed leather giving an edge of sophistication.
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These are the textures that Mario might be interested in. Organic fibres such as suede and wood, references to nature through golden wheat and rich, dense soil. Mario would like dark, rugged naturally formulated colours, a far cry from the chemical and synthetic colours of the city.
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I found this bookshelf for Mario in John Lewis, an accessible and midrange, reasonably priced high street store for the young and aspirational. Made from spruce, it suitably references his upbringing as well as his hopes for the future. A rustic, wholesome finish, it seems to be sutiable for interior or exterior. The simple wooden shelves provoke a family farm nostalgia, I can imagine it being piled up with jars of homemade jam or laden with freshly used garden tools and smelling of newly cut grass. It consumes an inconspicuous presence in the home, not too big and obtrusive but quietly functioning on the side and providing the necessary storage. This bookshelf has the space that Mario needs, not demaning any sort of complimentary products but simply being there. It leans against the wall and relies on its support, perhaps on the same way that Mario is constantly leaning on his older life and never really leaving it behind. I am confident in this choice for Mario, and believe this bookshelf perfectly matches him, not only by his persona that I created for him from the description given, but also for who I might predict him to become. Of course, there are a number of interpretations to be taken from a description but I am confident in this being a viable and good option.
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Edward Allbutt Glasgow School of Art 2015/16 Product Design Year 1 28.