THE PROCESS Josie Miller Tad Carpenter Visual Communications Fall 2012 University of Kansas
part one
As graphic designers we are responsible for not only representing a form in its literal state, but also conveying a specific message through the image. Every figure is connotative and denotative; it portrays the literal meaning but also shows the suggested meaning of the work. In order to create work that is connotative and denotative, Tad Carpenter gave us an assignment to explore methods and strategies for representing a three dimensional object in two dimensions. For the first part of the project, we were assigned to draw endless amounts of an animal of our liking. We were told that we would despise this animal by the end of the project, so I contemplated what animal I wouldn’t mind hating. I picked a camel. To help prompt our drawings, Tad gave us a series of parameters for our first session of drawings: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
find or take a photo that best describes your animal must be gestural must be painterly - system of thick and thin strokes, calligraphic must be graphical: use only right angles, straight lines and (only two stroke widths) must use only circles, triangles or squares you must use the photocopier + cut/paste paper by hand use alternate marking tool, nothing traditional (no pencil/pen, brush, marker) must convey a specific meaning (use only one line) must convey a specific meaning (a behavioral characteristic) must express the texture of your thing hybrid (two or more designs cut and pasted into a new form) must explore making marks on “another surface” icon of your animal (think stereotype and cultural references) index of your animal (think of an inspiring word: tall, long, wide) radical an extreme abstraction of your animal must be entirely typographic (use a word that sums up your animal, real or made-up)
I found out quickly that drawing a camel wasn’t the easiest animal to draw. I could have picked anything- any animal under the sun- and I landed on a camel? Had I temporarily lost it? I kept asking myself:
okay, they’re not so bad...
First of all the word camel means ‘beauty.’ A camel is an even-toed animal in the genus Camelus. Camels have fatty deposits known as ‘humps’ on its back. The humps store up to 80 lbs of fat and it the fatty deposits lessen heat trapping around the rest of the body. The two surviving species of camel are the dromedary, or one-humped camels, which are native to the Middle East and the Horn of Africa; and Bactrian, or two-humped camels, which inhabit Central Asia. Both species have been domesticated; they provide milk, meat, hair for textiles or goods such as felted pouches, and are working animals. Life expectancy of a camel is 40 to 50 years. A fully grown camel is 6’1’’ at the shoulder and 7’1’’ at the hump. The humps usually grow about 30’’ above the body. Camels can run up to 40 miles per hour in short bursts and sustain speeds up to 25 mph. Other fun facts about camels are that they: • lie down to sleep and rest.
• can eat anything without damaging their mouths. • can kick in all four directions with each of their legs. • can lose 25% of their body fluids without getting dehydrated. • have coats that reflect sunlight and insulate them for desert heat. • eat green plants to gain the water they need without drinking. • will throw up on you as a defensive mechanism. • have been used in multiple wars throughout history. • run using both legs on one side at one time, producing a swaying motion that stimulates seasickness, which gives them the name “Ship of the Desert’. • can weigh between 551 and 1500 lbs at maturity. • walk on their toes like women in high heels, which creates a fatty deposit underneath it’s foot, making the camel silent when walking and running. • camels have a thin third eyelid that moves front to back instead of up to down. Bactrian camels can carry loads up to 600 pounds over a rough terrain at about 40 miles per day. So by the end of my research, I found that camels are quirky and awesome!
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final sixteen
PART TWO The next portion of the project was assigned after drawing about 200 animals in conceptual and physical form. Tad gave us our assignment sheet for part two, and our jaws dropped. The second aspect of this body of work would include creating a brand by expanding on our animal explorations. We weren’t creating just any old restaurant either, we were creating a food truck. Our challenge was to make a unique food truck that would stand out if put next to other food trucks and to give the truck an identity of it’s own using strategy and brand attributes. Tad encouraged us to think kinetically about our brand and create a logo that could be broken up into separate parts to be used on different materials. Final deliverables would include one final logo, a fully designed food truck, two business cards, a menu, and two or more applications such as packaging and ads that associate with the identity of the restaurant. At the end of class, we were left with these words:
- TAD CARPENTER
image boards
Tad assigned these so that we could start thinking about what we would want our brands to look and feel like. Our Image boards were to be entirely separate, with distinct variations between the boards.
Exploration
The next step in the project was exploring two of the image boards that we created. I picked my desert-themed direction that would sell smoothies and pastries and my African-themed image board that would sell African cuisine. We were instructed to explore with logos and also with overall brand theme.
TH
LE E W AT ERING HO
critique It was during this critique of my Desert Edge and Watering Hole themes that I realized how important group critique is. My classmates looked over my work and liked the general ideas, but it the brand wasn’t coming together as they had thought it would. In class my group and I brainstormed what I could do instead of smoothies and pastries or African food. I wanted to keep my African color palette and refine a line drawing that I had done in the earlier stage of the project, so we brainstormed about foods that I could sell with those directions. After throwing ideas back and forth, we came up with a shishkabob truck theme. I thought the idea was fun and lively, and the colors would work great for shishkabobs. Though it was a great idea, I knew this new direction was something I had created no foundation for yet, so:
remember this guy? Tad was completely right when he said that we needed to let our earlier drawings influence us. This drawing was in the Painterly category. I had loved drawing it and using thick and thin lines to create the form. Who would have known it was going to become the inspiration for my logo? So I began creating my entirely new logo and theme for my shishkabob restaurant. I wanted my brand to relate to camels indirectly since my clienele is America; we don’t eat camel too often. In coming up with a name for my restaurant I tried to think more about the shishkabob than the camel. I came up with the name Stacked. I wanted to have a logo, supporting kinetic objects, and a descriptive and fun tag line.
STACKED
‘bob own
ur
build yo
STACKED
d your own ‘bob buil
B R OWN ‘BO
FIRST DESIGN
josie miller OWNER 913.226.2449 stickittobob.com
josie OWNERmiller 913.2 stickit26.2449 tobob. com
SECOND DESIGN
josie OWNERmiller 913.2 stickit26.2449 tobob. com
913.226.2449 stickittobob.com
FINAL
josie own miller 913.er stickit 226.24 tobob 49 .com
josie own miller 913.er stickit 226.24 tobob 49 .com
913.226.2449 stickittobob.com bob kabob driver 913.246.5678
913.226.2449 stickittobob.com 913.226.2449 shishkin’ & bobbin stickittobob.com
1. BEEF 2. CHICKEN 3. VEGGIE 4. FRUIT 5. HOT PEPPERS 6. BUILD YOUR OWN
1. WATER 2. COKE PRODUCTS 3. TEA | SWEET TEA 4. BEER
1. BEEF 2. CHICKEN 3. VEGGIE 4. FRUIT 5. HOT PEPPERS 6. BUILD YOUR OWN
1. WATER 2. COKE PRODUCTS 3. TEA | SWEET TEA 4. BEER
kabobs- 3.95 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
BEEF CHICKEN VEGGIE FRUIT HOT PEPPERS BUILD YOUR OWN
drinks- 1.95 1. 2. 3. 4.
WATER COKE PRODUCTS SWEET TEA BEER
wrap it up
Tad Carpenter assigned a project that considered conceptual and physical form through branding a food truck. The first part of the project consisted of creating around 200 drawings or computer sketches of an animal of my choice. We were encouraged to explore various methods of representation through 16 different drawing prompts. The goal was to represent our animal iconically, indexically, and symbolically through direct or indirect means. The second stage of our project was to take those explorations and apply them to a food truck brand. Our food truck was to include a kinetic logo, business cards, menu, applications, and a mocked-up food truck. The assignment made me think about the overall process of brand design. I learned how to think about objects and apply separate aspects to other materials such as packaging, napkins, menus, etc. In this project I created a brand from start to finish; from thinking about what my company would stand for to the final stoke on a shape. I came up with a food truck called STACKED. STACKED is a food truck devoted entirely to shiskabobs. They serve all kinds of shiskabobs with any kind of fruit, vegetable, mean, and pepper you cant think of. The brand is fun and lively, with a fast-pasted environment, shown through the vibrant colors and linear designs. The company is energetic and playful, which is displayed through the small graphics and active typeface. STACKED stands for healthy food, fun, and optimism.