lookomotion . creative process journal .
1O
themes
01 designing for people
Design issue -
Lack of highlighting other interesting hotspots in the Singapore Tourist Information Map and proper graphic communication in terms of system design and visual clutter
Approach -
To re-design and include new places of interest in the Singapore Tourist Information Map for locals and visitors
The.Beginning
02 authority of everyday objects in design Design issue -
Designers who encounter creative blocks in their bid to create designs for communication seek inspirations through the immediate use of advance technology namely the Internet rather than their surroundings
Approach -
Use of shapes in graphic communication through the observation of everyday life and the immediate environment as an alternative source of inspiration for designers to overcome creative block
.... CHOSEN BRIEF! ....
Design.Hypothesis By observing the everyday life and the immediate environment as an alternative source of inspiration, designers could derive fundamental shapes in graphic communication from their visual landscape as inspirations to overcome creative block. As designers divide their environment into basic shapes, which are the fundamental building blocks in design, this approach in designers’ practice could encourage and challenge them to view things from a different perspective to gain inspirations and enhance creative thinking, whilst overcoming and avoiding creative blocks in their design process.
by Adrian Shaughnessy
Creative Block Is there such a thing as creative block or is it a convenient excuse for a lack of ideas? Designers are not robots and everyone has spells when ideas dry up. If this happens, what do we do? Is there a plumbing service we can call to unblock the blockage? I ALWAYS HAVE CREATIVE BLOCK. It’s not that I don’t have ideas – I have lots. Its just that I’m never happy with them. They rarely seem good enough, and I always want them to be better. It’s as if I know that behind every idea there’s a better one waiting to burst out; or, if not a better idea, then a way of making the first idea better. Even when I have an idea that others tell me is good, I’m not convinced and always look to dig down to another layer. This state of semi-permanent creative turmoil is familiar to many designers. We are biologically conditioned to agonize over our work. It is natural – desirable even – to fret over it. I’m not talking about torturing ourselves. I’m talking about relishing and accepting the process of pushing, extending and sculpting ideas. When we stop doing this we inhabit a state of mind that is far more debilitating than mere fretfulness; its called selfsatisfaction, and it’s the mortal enemy of creativity. But ideas can sometimes be hard to find, and just as great sports people have off days, designers can experience spells of creative inertia. Are there any practical steps we can take to dislodge creative blockages? FIRST, we have to look at why blockages occur.
One reason is that we become overreliant on our tools. Designers the world over use the same tools, and over time we come to accept the limitations they place on us and start working in ways that are familiar and repetitive. Often the first step towards avoiding creative stagnation is to change our tools: ditch the computer and pick up a pencil; change the book we sketch in; change the place we work in; change the surrounding we fuction in. Another reason is that it takes time to develop ideas. If we only rely on instant thinking we will miss the opportunity to develop an idea fully. If we can give ideas time to gestate we stand a better change of producing new and fresh expressions. But time is a scarce commodity in design. Ask most designers what they’d most like more of and many will say – time. Yet, despite never seeming to have enough of it, by juggling deadlines we can often give our psychic engines to generate new thoughts. When we have a creative block we should move on to something else and go back to the task that’s causing the problem at a later date. This usually results in a new perspective. However, it’s worth emphasizing that it’s important not to suspend work on a project when a blockage is at its worst; we should only put a job to one side when we have reached a psychological point where we are not experiencing extreme despondency. We should keep going until we feel some inkling of confidence that there will be a suitable outcome, otherwise we will be reluctant to go back to the project.
by Computer Arts
20 Ways to Beat the Creative Block 01. Tap into your unconscious
02. Get it down on paper
“Strange things happen in a semi-sleep state, when your unconscious takes over,” says Shotopop’s Casper Franken. “Wake up and write down whatever was happening before you forget it.”
- Write your main ideas down in columns, and list absolutely everything that comes to mind. You can mix and match the lists for unusual combinations.
05. Finish what you’ve started
06. Put some fun in your studio
- “There’s no such thing as a bad idea: the creative part is in seeing it though to completion, and turning dreams into reality,” argues Mills, creative director at ustwo.
09. Look in unlikely places - Go and do something else entirely. You’d be amazed at where new ideas are hiding out. They’re often where you would least expect them to be.
13. Grab some ‘you time’ -
Working on too many projects at once can stifle your creativity. If you’re feeling burned out, take some time to yourself and turn everything off for a couple of days.
17. Push the boundaries -
Experiment in your personal projects or, if you haven’t got the time or energy after a hard day’s work, go off on a tangent for an hour while working on an actual project.
- “Sterility leads to an empty void of nothingness,” says Mills. Always try to inject some colour and life into your studio, and don’t run it like a clinic or a prison.
10. Expand your mind -
“It’s like mushroom picking: you wander through the magical woods of inspiration and see a big, beautiful mushroom,” are the surreal musings of Slovenian duo Kitsch-Nitsch. “Pick it, make a delicious meal, and if your friends like it, go into the woods for more.”
14. Take notes on life -
“The best ideas often come when doing completely random, uncreative tasks,” confesses Johanna Basford. Jot them down as they come to you, or snap a photo of things that catch your eye.
18. Get a fresh perspective - View things from different angles. Some upside-down lettering in a stack of papers or a scrunched-up sketch can create unusual shapes and spark off new ideas.
03. Always carry a sketchbook
04. Don’t be afraid to step away
07. Don’t retread your steps
08. Expect the unexpected
- Don’t go looking for inspiration: “A visually loaded word or phrase can jump out from a passage of text, or a song,” proposes Craig Ward. “Be sure to sketch those ideas down when they come.”
“Inspiration is intangible: you can’t do it on purpose,” believes illustrator Alex Trochut. “If you just try to reproduce how a good project happened in the past, you’ll never get the same result.”
- Completely open briefs can be the worst for causing creative block. Try to distance yourself from the project and come back to it with a clear head.”
- “The best ideas don’t need to be sought out at all; you just have to train yourself not to swerve out of the way when they jump out in front of you,” remarks Jon Forss, co-founder of Non-Format.
11. Explore other creative disciplines -
12. Go against the flow -
15. Don’t be bound by the brief -
16. Broaden your horizons -
19. Shake up your surroundings -
20. Sleep on it when you can -
Inspiration can come from anywhere. Look beyond other illustrators and designers: photography, typography, fashion, film, packaging and signage, for instance.
On smaller jobs, less information can sometimes be better to avoid forced influences. “Your solution might open the client’s eyes to new things,” points out Jeff Knowles.
Try different working environments to keep things fresh. Sketch at home or on the train, refine final work in your studio, and brainstorm in coffee shops, for instance.
Try to approach every brief with the opposite of what everyone else would do. It might not be the direction you choose in the end, but it can help to avoid clichéd scenarios.
Immersing yourself in particular arts or cultures that you wouldn’t normally be interested in could lead to interesting mixed-context inspirations, so get involved.
“Try not to think and do on the same day,” suggests Jessica Hische. “You tend to sort the good from the bad naturally, and occasionally come up with some really off-the-wall things overnight.”
by Kiki Hartmann & Dorte Nielsen
Paul Smith
Paul opened hi first boutique in a tiny shop in his hometown of Nottingham, England in 1970. While still attending evening classes in tailoring and with encouragement from his girlfriend Pauline Denyer, now his wife, he continued to develop his business. In 1976, Paul showed his first menswear collection in Paris. Within 20 years of entering the fashion world, he had established himself as the pre-eminent British designer. Today Paul Smith is global. There are 13 different collections in total and the Paul Smith brand is wholesaled to 55 countries worldwide. Paul is still an integral part of the company, both as designer and chairman. He is involved with every aspects of the business and as a result, Paul Smith Limited retains a personal touch often missing from companies of a similar size.
Inspiration comes from observation. When I’m traveling, it can be a local way of dressing, an army or a postal uniform, or how people put colours together. I get inspiration from seeing things that are out of context. It could be a Ferrari parked outside a 14th century monastery. The fact that they clash with each other could be the inspiration for combining a denim shirt with a cashmere suit, or putting a modern chair in a traditional environment. I never really take any notice of other designers. As a designer, I think you should be bright enough to be able to create original ideas from an empty sheet of paper rather than copying from something that already exists.
by Kiki Hartmann & Dorte Nielsen
Tony davidson & Kim Papworth Kim graduated from Epsom College of Art and Design in 1981 and started his career at Demond Advertising in London. He moved to BMP DDB Needham in 1985, where he met Tony, who had recently graduated from Manchester Polytechnic with a 1st class BA Hons in Design and Communication Media. Together they have worked at several of London’s most prestigious advertising agencies, creating memorable and award winning works for Volkswagen, Courage, Cadbury’s, Heinz, Adidas, Hyundai, The Guardian, The BBC, Levi’s, Audi, One2One, Murphy’s Stout and Lynx.
In 2000, they joined Wieden_Kennedy as joint creative directors and have continued their success, winning awards for work for Honda, Nike and others. Everyone should have a digital camera. Inspirations is all around you. We take pictures of things like broken car wing mirrors and how people have fixed them. Collecting things stimulates the brain. It helps you think of something fresher. We see something and keep it without knowing what we’ll use for. Rather than file them all online, we keep them in scrapbooks. There’s something quite nice about opening a book. We use them for reference when we work. We are very inspired by cross-culture and happy accidents. When things get mixed up the wrong way, they become fresh.
Types of Shapes Origami
Patterns
Asymmetrical, Symmetrical
Tessellation
Complexity, Simplicity
Exploration Experimentation Discover New Shapes Infographics
Mind.Map.ONE
Application of Design Prinicples orientation perspectives lines / outlines positions layouts points texture size / scale transformation addition / subtraction repetition negative / positive space
Abstract
Geometry circles triangles squares
shapes Five Senses sight touch
Mathematics loci graph
Natural Organic Food Games Pixels Crop circles Architecture
Understanding the Meaning of shapes
All Around Our Everyday life, Objects, Environment
Excudes & reflects emotions, moods
Characterisitcs of Shapes
Visual Communication
Identifying Shapes Typography Writtern Characters Alphabets Numbers
Everyday Objects Logos, Brands, Packaging
New Graphic Aesthetics Lack of new shapes, forms & lines
Themes Environment, Landscapes
Design Issues; Design related issue, using graphic communication to tackle the problem
Designing in a Complex World
shapes Five Senses sight touch
Mind.Map.TWO
Authority of Everyday Objects in Design
Visual Literacy
Visualizing & Creative Thinking Designers tend to see things as a whole rather than looking into the details of an object; what are pieces that form the wholeness
Design Culture
Psychological Thinking
Visual Clutter Trends of using Shapes & Lines Predicatble Design Outcomes Practice of Daily Life
Visual.Research & Inspirations
lookomotion. tumblr.com In order to gain inspirations for the chosen topic, intense visual research was conducted from the Internet, books or other inspirational channels. An online visual research documentation was created to constantly archive the collection for quick and easy reference for myself and others.
Colours -
6 series of pastel colours are selected to respresent 6 different shapes. The colours chosen are fun, vibrant and visually soothing.
Art direction -
For the photo ethnography outcomes, it’s inspired by polaroids, which reflects the ‘instant’ idea.
Typography -
Shapes are basic elements in any design and shapes can be used to create typefaces like alphabets and numbers.
Research Findings: 100 Designers A questionnaire was conducted with 100 designers to gather and quantify first hand information and understand more about the topics surrounding the design issue. The next few flips would show the research findings and comments from the designers surveyed.
01 what’s a creative block...
Creative block is a semi-permanent inability to continue with the flow of inspirations and creative thinking, and it mostly affects creative professions such as designers.
02 have you encounter creative block... 4 NO
96 YES
03 what do you think is the main cause of a creative block... 34 Perfectionism 19 Fear of Failure
22 Limited Amount of Time
14 Procrastination
1 Mental Health
10 Others
04 when would you experience a creative block... The comments are based on the chosen cause in 03.
22 Limited Amount of Time
14 Procrastination
1 Mental Health
10 Others
“_LACK of imagination, research, doing work in front of the computer for too long ”, “Tutor doesn’t state what is the requirement properly”
“Brief is too vague”, “Depression”,
“_LACK OF SLEEP ”,
“Mental fatigue”
“_PRESSURE, DEADLINES!”,
“Lack of ideas”, “Stress”, Thinking too much”,
“_ASSIGNMENTS, ESSAYS, PROJECTS”
“_WHEN doing projects at a time, having a need to think of ideas, having to think of a good idea, learning new things”,
“Redo an idea”, “Lasalle”, “Limited mindset”
“Internet browsing too much”,
34 Perfectionism
“_MOSTLY long-term projects whereas you are suppose to spend a very enormous amount of time to that specific project, and you just unconsciously demand yourself to think more and squeeze out more creative juice out. By the time you realize, you already ran out of juice and crying in the corner.”,
19 Fear of Failure
“Unfamiliar context of work”, “Fixation with a certain approach”, “Pressure from competitors”, “After several ‘circles of death’ developing the idea”
“_THE first stage of every creative task. (brainstorming, idea gen, actually getting my ass to work)”, “Thinking too much about a project, which ends nowhere”, “The first stage of every creative task”, “Too much inspiration research online”
“Take a shower, distract myself with something different, watching something inspirational, movie, listen to music”
“Take a break and go for a walk” “Mindmap”
“Talk to group of friends about my design issue and hear their opinions maybe they can inspire me”
“Usually I just take a break, have a cup of coffee, BREATHE, surf a few websites and PRAY TO GOD LOL.”
“Sleep it off...”
“GOOGLE, my best friend”
“SMOKE!” “Look at blogs”
“Visit more galleries, go to more places, talk to more people, lurk around for new ideas and artwork online, in fact, after all these. Just do it. NIKE IT.”
“Relax and explore out of subject”
“This helps me a lot: 2 tablets of fisherman friends, to the toilet, sit down and just stone there. Sometimes, I bring either my iPod touch or yellow sticky note and my favorite pencil inside and doodle stupid things out.”
“Exercise, watch Youtube videos” “Go for a haircut”
“Talking to other designers”
“Make a conscious effort to let go of the approach and expose myself to other forms of design”
“Good time management and proper researching of ideas”
“STARBUCKS, it has been said that urgency can push one to come out with best ideas”
“Hit my head”
05 how would you overcome a creative block as an individual...
06 where do you usually first research & seek inspirations from when given a design brief... Designers were given three options - The Internet, Books or Environment.
12 Books
15 Environment
73 The Internet
07 please specify the sources you visit to research & gain inspirations... Designers were asked to name the sources from the chosen answer in 06.
THE INTERNET Google thefwa.com Behance Smashingmagazine Sixrevisions Hongkiat Wiki Adsoftheworld Blogs Tumblr Artessan Abduzeedo
Design float Deviantart Flickr Cargo collective Donut project Fffound! Online design journals Dribble Online magazines Design boom Typojungle BOOKS Library Bookshops Basheer National Library Lasalle Library
ENVIRONMENT Applicable sites Nature Orchard Toilet Beach Street skatepark Town Just look around Away from your “workplace�, anywhere is good Places that will have a linkage with project; sometimes town area; somewhere with hustle and bustle.
THE INTERNET Lazy // Easy, fast and practical // The internet sources beats everything presently // Easiest and available // Convenient and less time consuming // Wide range of design inspire material // It is the fastest and easiest you can get. // Habitual // It’s the easiest to start from, considering all my work is digital. // Google has everything that you need and want to know. // It’s the fastest source of information. // Since I have an account on behance and they have nice works there. // Fast and easily accessible and has a lot to offer. // Designers opinions I thoughts on same level. // I get inspired by well made handmade designs. // Faster, easier to comprehend and can be accessed easily. // The fastest and easiest way to research. From there then I go into books and look around for inspiration. // Convenient! Fast! Hassle-free! // See other people works sometimes gives me inspiration // The first resource that comes to my mind // Common and most convenient sources // Easy and information is relevant to our times // Availability, ease of research with little time wastage // Full of creative artist // Easiest and most effective way to let use know where to start // Source for anything // Internet has infinite sources of inspiration, find the unexpected, search many times at the same time // Start from Google and pick the specific link //Availability of information in a short amount of time // Up to date // Gives the most basic and popular perception of imageries // Endless resources // Library of visual stimuli // Internet is free // I like to broaden my horizons in order to find the focus i want in my ideas and creativity. I don’t setting limitations for myself when it comes to brainstorming and the online media has the most options and fastest pace of absorbing information and ideas. // So much awesome shit online. I love it. And I hate it. SO JEALOUS OF ALL THOSE TALENTED ARTISTS. – tumblr // Most convenient when at work, don’t have the luxury of going out to look at books or environment // Easy access, practically you can get any information. // It’s really great, compiles everything in articles and covers a variety of creative topics from name cards to web design. – smashing magazine // It has regular updates on design news // Easy, gets me started somewhere.
08 give a reason for your chosen resource...
BOOKS Easily to find around school and can get to see visual thing in one time // More tangible // Books open up my mind // Search for something that relates to what is my work about // Good design books and relevant information // I think projects shown in books are more meaningful and communicate better that’s why it’s being published as a book. // The Indians at Basheer are really creative, I suspect they are designers //Books have collections of work including past works
ENVIRONMENT To have first-hand original ideas and research; to be true to originality // Most creatives look too much into other creatives, i believe it’s everywhere else. // I would go Zara, if I were workin for a brief for Zara.// Find things that i might have miss out alot. Talk to people, our target audience. // It’s good to study people and their behaviours understand the social meanings behind their selfpresentation and actions. // Relax, mood, sound, process // Something that can calm me down to better formulate my thoughts // Inspirations can be found anywhere // Movies always give some inspirations // I can find as many inspirations as I can in an open environment // Simply because it’s very quiet and the room smells very different and it triggers your brain to run faster // Basically, it depends pretty much on the nature of the brief. If it’s product design related, of course it is necessary to understand the background and needs of it. In my case, normally it’s printed material, so it’s necessary to hunt for things that makes your design more interesting and at the same time appropriate. Being book smart isn’t street-smart. :) // A lot of things to see around and sometimes inspiration will come when you’re seeing the stuffs surrounding you. // Usually I get inspiration by human behaviour, the surrounding with shape, colour, shadow // According to the mood of the issue I am thinking
Identity.Design AT the start of this project, the original title given was: ‘Look Look See See’.However, it seemed too direct and boring. The objective of the project is to observe our everyday life and environment, thus I wanted the project title to be able to reflect fun and movement. Observation: Look; Movement: Motion Hence, combining both word and meaning eventually led to the finalize project title:
Alternatively, perhaps something more related to the topic such as geometric typefaces to create the title...
LOOKOMOTION To begin an identity design for my project title like a icon or typeface logo, I did some visual research to gain inspirations to kick start... Initially, I was quite fascinated with swirls and curls as shown. They are like cursive handwritings and had a more personal touch. But I wasn’t sure about the art direction yet.
Here’s some ideas and sketches for a typeface identity logo using my own handwritting... I kind of like some, but legibility wise can be difficult and unclear.
Typefaces SO, the idea of a handwritten identity for LOOKOMOTION wasn’t ideal, thus I decided to explore using exisitng typefaces available...
Acaslon Regular font family has been chosen because of the range in the look of the alphabets....
LookomotioN 0123456789 Acaslon RegularSC The upper case like letters ‘L’ and ‘N’ and the lower cases could be easily differentiate in terms of height.
lookomotion Acaslon RegularSC I admire the equal height and width of the lower cases, which kind of gives the word a particular personality. SHORT & STOUT.
0123456789 Acaslon Regular More useful when it comes to numericals, as it seems clearer and legible than Acalson RegularSC.
... CHOSEN TYPEFACE!... ACASLON REGULARSC
lookomotion Lookomotion LookoMotion LOOKOMOTION 01234567 89 ACASLON REGULAR
lookomotion Lookomotion LookoMotion LOOKOMOTION 0123456789 AKMY PRINCE
lookomotion Lookomotion LookoMotion LOOKOMOTION 0123456789 DESYREL
lookomotion Lookomotion LookoMotion LOOKOMOTION 0123456789 DIDOT
lookomotion Lookomotion LookoMotion LOOKOMOTION 0123456789 FRUTIGER CONDENSED
lookomotion Lookomotion LookoMotion LOOKOMOTION 0123456789 JELLYKA
lookomotion Lookomotion LookoMotio n LOOKOMOTION
0123456789
Sem 1 . Week Seventh . Design Responses Ideas & Sketches
Project Identity Logo Combination of the most basic shapes in design; circle, triangle square. The idea of creating a symbolic logo, but somehow seems kind of Illuminati.
Random Idea Part of the investigation was to observe our surroundings, hence the Observation Pad; worksheet form.
Visual Presentation Polaroid template with either a die-cut of the shapes identified on the top, or a flip open & the reveal the image behind.
Visual Presentation Ideas on how to present the photographs in a collection of Polaroid form, or perhaps in a poster.
Design.Response.ONE Photo.Ethnography.Booklet ONE of the design outcomes I’ve decided to approach was to design a series of photo ethnography booklets based on shapes identified in our everyday life and the immediate environment. I had visited various locations, random walks, random sight-seeing to document things that have shapes involved with a digital camera. Most shapes I’ve managed to identified so far are from buildings, pathways and food.
I’m Gonna Do This!
With the photographs consolidated, organized and edited accordingly, it’s time to highlight the shapes identified in each image and compile into a booklet.
Booklets In total 7 booklets were produced and each booklet was numbered using a symbol placed on the cover. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Top Layer: Shows the illustrated shape identifed from the photograph.
Bottom Layer: Below each outlined shape as shown, the next page displays the object the shape has been derived from.
7
Design.Response Photo Ethnography Image Process
Essential Tools to begin the entire journey of observation and capturing shapes in our everyday life and environment, you would need an iphone or digital camera to photograph anywhere, anytime
Instagram Application a free mobile application that could filter the captured images with polaroid effects and it would produce an exact square image after filteration
SHOOT! with the basic tools, it’s time to head outdoors and snap our everylife and environment such as buildings, decorations, food, sceneries...
Choose & Filter after capturing tons of images related to shapes, use ‘instagram’ to filter the original images with suitable effects, which produces different feel and colour contrast.
Sem 1 . Week Twelveth Design.Response.ONE Photo.Ethnography.Booklet Compilation IN week 12, it’s time to showcase new and improved design responses since the previous week 7. Hence, here’s some process of the design outcomes I’ve created for WIP and in exhibition mode.
Tracing Sheets Each identified shape from an image would be printed on tracing paper, so that it is possible to see the base image, which the shape had been derived from. Visual Presentation With each set having a tracing paper as the top layer, and the photograph as the bottom layer, it’s ready to be binded together using thread and needle.
Design.Response.TWO Infographic Shape Ranking Chart 300 designers were surveyed to vote for their favourite shape in design. With the results, I’ve created an image or pattern to illustrate the tallied votes.
75
designers x hall of shapes verdict: with a total of seventy-five votes from three hundred designers, the triangle is ranked number two.
81
designers x hall of shapes verdict: with a total of eighty-one votes from three hundred designers, the circle is ranked number one.
74
designers x hall of shapes verdict: with a total of seventy-four votes from three hundred designers, the square is ranked number three.
28
designers x hall of shapes verdict: with a total of twenty-eight votes from three hundred designers, the rectangle is ranked number five.
11
designers x hall of shapes verdict: with a total of eleven votes from three hundred designers, the semi-circle is ranked number six.
31
designers x hall of shapes verdict: with a total of thirty-one votes from three hundred designers, the polygon is ranked number four.
Week Twelveth Exhibition HERE are some glimpse and photographs of the exhibition setup during Week 12, the work-in-progess showcase. The space I’ve opted for was suitable for the amount of design outcomes with the follow starting with the collection of images that shapes could be identified, then the 6 booklets of photo ethnography and lastly, the infographic ranking cards were displayed.
Design.Response Feedbacks & Suggestions Lecture: Stanley’s Comments “Strong art direction with each outcomes, they tied the outcomes together really well. they are a tad small so you can consider scale for your works but because of the space that you were given, it seems to work well. Infograph of designer’s favourite shape is also interesting, was hoping to see a larger scale for it.” “Think about designing a way to hold and collect all your images in a concentrated form. remember that your design issue is about looking for inspiration from our environment, so this stage is critical. you can always continue to add on and expand on each shape as the collection grows.” “Moving on from here, aside from collecting and increasing your library of references, you can begin experimenting with different ways of representing that information aside from the current printed photos concept. You should also start thinking about applying these references in coming up with designed outcomes, such as typefaces, patterns, grids, etc.”
Sem 1 . Week Seventeenth Design.Outcomes & Evaluation
Design Outcome 01 Infographic: Hall of Shapes
Design Outcome 02 Photo Ethnography: Little Shape Snaps
User.Testing Part One Infographic: Hall of Shapes An infographic ranking of the most popular shapes applied in design by designers.
50
designers
Fifty designers were chosen to participate in the user-testing to answer and evaluate the design outcomes.
41 Design Students
48 Females
09 Professional Designers
07 Males
38 ‘SAYS YES!’
12 ‘SAYS NO!’
Do you think the infographic ranking of the most popular shapes applied in design by designers could be useful and essential for future designers when choosing a particular shape to design in graphic communication and why?
“Better understanding of which particular shape is more appealing and useful, can help designer to choose shape wiser.”
“So that young designers have an idea what worked best for pro designers.”
“I think the shapes applied in the infographic helps to break down them to different interpretations, allowing them to be more accessible to the designers with such minimalistic designs!”
“Because it gives the overall view that can be a GUIDE for future designers.” “It makes the job easier for designers when they want to use shapes.”
“It’s insightful and visually appealing on first glance, could SPARK SOME CREATIVITY in an individual.”
“To be EDUCATED about the choice of shapes could help PREVENT THE MUNDANE USAGE of say the usual piechart circle.”
“I guess designers would then know which shapes to not overuse and which to use more of.”
“Coz some people might wanna use shape that common used for particular concept while some of them might wanna use shape that never been used for that particular concept/design before.” “It makes people think about other shapes that is not common to use in their design.”
WHY YES?
“A point of REFERENCE and ideas.”
“It is essential to acquire knowledge through infographics and gain new information that we designers aren’t really aware.”
“So our work will be MORE EFFECTIVE.”
“Quite useful, since I think shapes also play an essential part in design trends.. :)”
“Certain shapes may INSPIRE them.”
“Because the as human we react to shapes faster than text. Sometimes shapes from far can give us the idea of what’s the poster is saying.”
“I have mixed feelings about this because designers are rather different in terms of their creative exploration in design. It might help younger designers as a guideline but it might be be essential for all as there isn’t any right or wrong way when choosing shapes to design in graphic communication. However, it is definitely great to have something to start you off when you have no idea what to do next.”
“The applications aren’t as clear as I think they should be. What are the implications to the layout, aesthetics and message when choosing a square over a triangle for instance. That is the are I think needs clearer clarification.”
“It does not show the preference of the target audience, which should be the designer’s primary focus.”
“ Knowing what is the most popular shape out there doesn’t affect or help in choosing which shape I ultimately choose. It still boils down to whether I feel the shape looks right on the design I’m working on.”
“The shape that you form into a another shape/ image not really interesting enough, just like a basic image”
“I feel that it will restrict designers’ creative intent and also limits space for experimental design techniques.” WHY NO?
“The more knowledge one acquires, the less experimental designs one would explore. If designers were to be more inventive and creative, then they won’t have to know whether a shape is popular or not.”
“I think forms and shapes should be used in graphic design to communication a particular message, not to be just a form and shape without meaning. Thus, even if a particular shape is popular, it might not communicate the proposed message well.”
“It’s somewhat interesting, but the message is a little difficult to get. In fact, I’m not even sure if I got it fully. Consider making it clearer - maybe even condense the info into one single poster? I’m not sure why there’s six posters.”
“Certain things should be left unknown, or the mind would be sculpted accordingly, killing possibilities” “But no because i feel that the choice of shapes used depends heavily the project itself. Like for the example the “Feel” that the project is supposed to take on, or lets say to keep a constant flow of the project.”
“Not really, i think designers can tell what shapes are ‘in’ at that time just by looking at works online. for example last time there’s a lot of design with circle in the middle, you see it everywhere. then isn’t it just pointing out the obvious?”
User.Testing: Evaluation One Fifty designers were chosen to participate in the user-testing to answer and evaluate the design outcomes.
76 %
24%
Designers agreed that the design outcome could be useful and essential for future designers when selecting a particular shape to design.
However, disagrees! As the information provided could restrict designers’ creative intent and limit space for experimental design techniques, killing possibilites.
They had described the infographic as a source of guidance and education platform about the choice of shapes, which they could be unaware.
In addition, even if a particular shape is popular, it might not communicate the proposed message as well.
Moreover, it could help to prevent mundance usage of shapes. It would be an essential and useful knowledge as shapes plays an important role in design trends.
Hence, the inforgraphic ranking about the most popular could be an advantage or disadvantage information for designers. But majority of the designers thinks it could be useful for them.
User.Testing Part Two Photo Ethnography: Little Shape Snaps A collection of photos based on six different shapes identified in our everyday life and environment.
50
designers
Fifty designers were chosen to participate in the user-testing to answer and evaluate the design outcomes.
18 Design Students
37 Females
40 Professional Designers
13 Males
49 ‘SAYS YES!’
01 ‘SAYS NO!’
Do you think the photo ethnography booklets have effectively display that by observing the everyday life and the immediate environment as an alternative source of inspiration, designers could derive fundamental shapes in graphic communication from their visual landscape?
In your opinion, what do you think of the design outcome above (eg. colours, font, art direction…). How can it be further improved?
01 -
Art direction is good, constant flow with the infographics just now. Message is clear in my opinion, it feels like there needs to be a frame for this, cause it can look more consolidated.
05 -
Maybe the presentation. Now it looks pretty unfinished because of the display choice. I think the art direction is okay, I like the choice of colours and fonts.
09 -
I think its pretty nice to look at and visually appealing. But maybe you could make them into book, like an encylopedia of shapes in your surroundings?
12 -
I really like the photography display, because it really tells things that we found everyday. It is already straightforward.
15 -
I think they look good, but maybe could be bigger.
02 -
The way it’s presented can be improved, perhaps think about putting them together in a large chart, compiled into a booklet.
06 -
Like the photography. maybe you can compile all the outcomes into one booklet instead of so many little booklets.
10 -
The execution could be on a thicker paper, so it doesn’t tend to look too flimsy.
13 -
Nice. Perhaps the booklets would look nice if they were bound with a spiral spine or a swivel pin thingy/ more flip book-ish, like pantone swatches.
16 -
I think you shouldn’t apply the different dark layer shade to the pictures, cause you’re trying to bring the shape of each picture out, It’s a little not outstanding if you were to cover.
03 -
04 -
07 -
08 -
A compilation or dictionary of interesting shapes that we can find at everyday life but we dont really notice.
Very interesting of showing how daily objects we see are of a from of shapes.
It’s nice to use layering and different color on each shape, so it’s clear and easy to understand.
Aesthetic Improvements really isn’t something that should be asked but explored. My 2 cents.
11 -
For me, I would prefer simplistic and minimal design layouts so I think this design outcome is overall straight to the point, giving a general picture of what the booklets are trying to show. A very thoughtful way of using colors to point out the fundamental shapes that we’ll never notice with our naked eyes.
14 -
I find the technique and approach used is highly effective both creatively and achieving the intended purpose. Using compositional skills and a comfortable color palette to organize the different components of the whole design further strengthen the intended message.
17 -
I like how it is design to look like Polaroid films it really gives the idea of taking photos on the go. Maybe make it to the standard size of the wide poloroid and the words could be bigger? So that when displayed on the wall it might be more helpful as you can read and see from far in a big scale rather than going up close to have a closer look each time something catches your eye. I rather if it would be able to open up to something bigger with all the pictures you can see in one go then looking at pictures individually.
Any suggestions of using shapes as an inspiration and create new possible outcomes? (eg. typefaces, magazine...)
01 -
Typeface or book covers.
05 -
Typefaces would be interesting to see, especially using the shapes that are not being commonly used!
09 -
Typefaces would be interesting or maybe mainly on buildings of our environment etc.
13 -
Hmm, a typeface is a good idea actually. Combining all shapes together or using the shape designers use the most and the least?
17 -
If your message is that it can be inspiration for shapes can be derived from anything, I think the applications can be conceptualized in similar spirit.
02 -
Typefaces is very possible, or maybe a series of posters or small booklet, it can be interactive and encouraging people to take notice of those shapes in their everyday lives.
06 -
I say TYPEFACE! LETTERINGS!
10 -
Maybe create patterns or identity?
14 -
Shapes can be made into pattern, in which can be applied into so many other things like example typeface..
18 -
Patterns! Shapes are great for patterns.
21 -
Thinking to make some documentary video? Might be interesting to gather more people to notice about it.
03 -
Maybe you could come up with some interactive digital stuffs?
07 -
An interactive platform where people can play with shapes.
11 -
Create interactive stuff.
15 -
Perhaps using shapes to illustrate portraits.
19 -
Perhaps the shapes don’t have to follow the traditional ones we’ve learnt during childhood playing with the shape sorter toy. Perhaps more organic forms could be explored or, created and introduced to the user.
22 -
Maybe you can try categorizing the shapes inspired maybe from nature, man-made objects, machines, human, daily objects etc.
04 -
Logo for your project.
08 -
The shapes and forms evoked by music?
12 -
Packaging? Like different kinds of packaging for the different booklets in the shape they are made to convey.
16 -
I think maybe can explore the use of shapes in a more complex way, like putting different shapes together, and highlighting it, because I think shapes are less obvious in design when they become more complex.
20 -
I think shapes can generally be applied to everything, since baseline grids are inherently rectangles after all.
User.Testing: Evaluation Two Fifty designers were chosen to participate in the user-testing to answer and evaluate the design outcomes.
98%
Designers greatly agreed that the design outcome had effectively displayed that by observing the everyday life and our immediate environment, it could be a source of inspiration. Some praised the art direction of the design outcomes were consistent with the infographic and the design approach was highly effective in creativity and achieving the intended purpose. On the other hand, many also commented to compile the booklets into a larger chart or dictionary of interesting shapes that could be found in our everyday life. A designer even suggested to create something bigger with all the pictures taken rather than having to look at the snapshots individually from each booklet.
New possible outcomes using shapes suggesed by other designers: • TYPEFACES • PATTERNS • INTERACTIVE • ILLUSTRATION • PACKAGING • VIDEO • LOGO Interestingly, majority of the desingers suggested creating unique typefaces and patterns using shapes, which would be taken into consideration :)
Sem 2 . Week Seventh Design Responses After conducting research and identifying shapes in our environment through photo ethnography, it has proven that our surroundings could be deconstructed into the basic shapes. Therefore, the next phase of the project would be the application process of shapes into visual and graphic communication. The photo ethnography gathered would be used as references and inspirations to develop and explore interesting design outcomes. As such, the skeleton of the 6 identified basic shapes would also be used to create typefaces, patterns or grid systems.
Circle
Repetition process of the shape was developed to form a stencil to create alphabets.
Semi.Circle
The process of creating a grid pattern for semicircle was rather tricky and difficult due to the origin of the shape. Hence, I’ve decided to try other reptition methods using semi-circles as shown.
Rectangle
Repetition process of the shape was developed to form a stencil to create alphabets.
Square
Repetition process of the shape was developed to form a stencil to create alphabets.
Polygon
Repetition process of the shape was developed to form a stencil to create alphabets.
Circle Grid Pattern Repetition process of the shape was developed to form a grid system to develop various typefaces.
Follow the pattern and create unknown typefaces.
Polygon Grid Pattern Repetition process of the shape was developed to form a grid system to develop various typefaces.
Follow the pattern and create unknown typefaces.
Image Typefaces Alphabets traced and developed using the images collected from the photo ethnography.
Alphabets created were uneven and inconsistent. A set of constant grid would be needed while developing the letters.
Design.Response Feedbacks & Suggestions Lecture: Stanley’s Comments Jacq, it is good to see you considering and designing the more practical ends of your project. This is important because you want to demonstrate that the hypothesis is a practical and useful one, not just an intellectual argument. However, the presentation of your outcomes can be more professional and finished. Right now they are looking very raw and sketchy. I understand that it is a necessary stage but you need to being thinking about how to present them in a more finished fashion. The experiment with the typeface inspired by the surroundings is interesting but the design of the face needs to be more controlled as they are rather haphazard right now. Even though it is experimental, there still needs to be a system or guide that the typeface is following so as to ensure consistency.
Your inspirations you’ve collected are interesting, you need to draw influence from there and move on your creating something in your own voice and art direction. The circular fan-like object is interesting however, it is still hard to see the link between the environment and design application with that one. Remember to continue to document your own process of how you dissected the environment into practical applications because it is this documentation that will inspire people to do the same or to see our surroundings in a similar fashion
Sem 2 . Week Twelveth . Design Responses
Circles
In Phase 1, the photo ethnography conducted have gathered and captured tons of shapes in our daily environment. Circles are considered the primary and infamous shape known to man-kind. By analysing the images, I’ve managed to identify a common circular form to further explore and be creative with circles. It’s called the ‘Double Circle’.
The idea of a ‘Double Circle’ would be used to create circular patterns in different sizes, postitions and repetition. Ultimately, a pattern would be chosen to act as the grid to develop unknown typefaces.
Sem 2 . Week Twelveth . Design Responses
Semi.Circles
In the infographic chart ranking, semicircle was chosen as the least favourable shape among designers. Moreover, browsing through the images from the photo ethnography research, this particular shape certainly rare and not easy to work with as it might result into a circle.
Sem 2 . Week Twelveth . Design Responses
Semi.Circles
Once a pattern grid has been identified, typefaces could be developed. First, the pattern was exported into Photoshop to fill areas that would be suitable to develop the alphabets. This process would help as a guide before creating the vector version in InDesign. It could be quite time-consuming but certainly useful to a certain extent.
One Hundred & Twenty! In Semester 2, it’s time to look into graphic application of the shapes identified. Thus, one of the proposed outcomes was a grid pattern guide book.
A total of 120 grid patterns created using only 6 basic shapes in design to compile the ultimate book called ‘Shape Shift’. The book comprises - 20 series of grid patterns from each golden shape. Each would be accompanied with a simple illustration on how the master piece was developed and repeated into a complex and spectacular spread of grids. The following pages would showcase thumbnail sizes of the grid pattern of each shape that were explored and produced.
Shape Shift 120 Grid Pattern In the book, it would consist of 120 french folded printed grid patterns. Each print would include an insert page with pagination and illustrated development of each grid with the chosen shape.
Inserts 6 coloured inserts to differentiate each shape used to develop the grid pattern. Indeed colouful and THIICK! Content Page Brief introduction about Shape Shift Grid Pattern Book
Pages Multiple pages of the grid patterns folded into A5 sizes. Ready for binding process.
Circle The 6 chosen grid patterns from each shape to further develop possibe and interesting typefaces!
Polygon
Triangle
Semi.Circle
Rectangle Square
Typeface 01: Circles Galore Circle Grid Pattern
No. 13
Typeface 02: Semi.Circles Galore Semi.Circle Grid Pattern
No. 29
Typeface 03: Triangles Galore Triangle Grid Pattern
No. 50
Typeface 04: Squares Galore Square Grid Pattern
No. 71
Typeface 05: Rectangles Galore Rectangle Grid Pattern
No. 81
Typeface 06: Polygons Galore Polygon Grid Pattern
No. 101