MADE IN KINGSWOOD 2 0 17
DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY
A RT
The Design Department’s aim is to challenge students’ understanding of Design history, their own capabilities in the workshop and their understanding of how the real world of manufacture happens. Students are encouraged to explore and investigate individual contexts that give them the freedom to explore avenues of Design that will assist them in their university applications. The ability to analyse a problem, contextualise the need of the user and have the creative flair to produce a prototype through differing mediums of sketching, CAD drawing and making sets Design students apart. The evolution of the Department continues as each new student pushes both their and the Department’s boundaries; this year has been no exception. Challenging design is good design and this year the students have undertaken a wildly diverse range of projects. They are also moving on to a wide range of future possibilities. We are hugely proud of all of their work.
The Department continues to evolve and develop each year, promoting the visual arts and developing opportunities for creative expression. Pupils enjoy both the challenge and the accomplishment of making artwork that is often personal and imaginative. Following the Fine Art specification within Art and Design, pupils freely explore drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, photography, digital imaging and textiles. The Department provides a balanced art education, meeting the needs of each individual pupil and providing the opportunity to gain confidence and excel. Independence of thought is at the center of pupil learning alongside the development of practical skills. Academic achievement remains very strong and results are exceptionally impressive.
BARNEY BROWN
STEPHEN BROWN
JESS My designing process is primarily focused on the functional aspect rather than the aesthetics. I have really enjoyed coming up with inventive ideas to solve problems that people have on a daily basis. This year I have honed all my skills that I have learnt in both computer-aided design and workshop machinery to create a table that I feel manages to get the balance between both function and aesthetics. My decision to continue with design in the future has truly stemmed from all the enjoyment I have had over the years in the DT department.
SUSA NNA H My project aimed to create a table light which was aesthetic, but focused mainly on mechanical features. This involved me designing and printing my own ratchet mechanism as well as incorporating other ways in which the angle of the light could be adjusted. The product was originally inspired by my work experience week at Rolls Royce, so I wanted to incorporate a motor vehicle feature to represent the history of the company. To do this I used an old headlight as the lampshade of the product. I also used a variety of materials which contrasted to successfully make the product in an industrial style as specified by my client.
A NDY My work explores the relationship between form and function, considering the architectural principle ‘form ever follows function’. Primarily through my interest in oil painting, I have considered a variety of outcomes, extending from Abstraction to Hyperrealism. My passion in photography has allowed me to offer a different perspective of otherwise ordinary views. I have investigated the impact of form on the environment through experimenting with the distortion and fragmentation of everyday benign objects.
RUBEN I am both an artist and a filmmaker, using equipment that encourages me to be dynamic with my approach to film making. My videos investigate personal connections; for example, the feelings created within different spaces or the satirical nature of friends and family. My work invites the viewer to feel an emotional response through the narrative. The editing process provides me with a creative opportunity to review my ideas, challenging my own intentions and extending the limitations of my own imagination. www.vimeo.com/rubencleghorn
RORY My design piece is based on the influence of Danish design. I also used post modernism as part of my inspiration. This is because I wanted my piece to be a strong statement. I used a wide range of process when making my product: steam bending, 3D printing and CNC routing. I also added a bright colour in order to add contrast and character to my piece, in the belief that this will make it stand out more.
NATH A N My work has branched out from underlying themes of femininity to social identity, investigating people’s ‘blindness’ towards one another. Much of my work has, therefore, being largely focused on society’s views of people. I have painted on several different surfaces to accompany my idea of manipulating the malleability of oil paint to produce a visual representative of my theme, ‘Translucency’. I want my art to reflect prejudices of others. Hence, I have crossed out the eyes in my paintings. This epitomizes the surface level at which we look at each other. This project has been very personal to me, and I aim to continue addressing this idea of social judgement through what I love doing: portrait painting.
OLI V I A In my last two years doing art at Kingswood, I have been able to take full advantage of the variety of skills I have acquired from Year 7 upwards. I have really enjoyed exploring the diversity of different mediums in my work. From using cling film to explore layering with paint, to dying material using avocado skins, my work always comes back to the human figure. I love the challenge of depicting the mental or physical state of the subject and representing their passion and energy through the use of colour and mark making.
JA H I believe that a good design should follow the ideas of “form follows function�, which is something I have tried to implement throughout my time in the Design department. My primary intention has been to make a functional product which has a simplistic design but is unique. In my final year, I have made a bedside table which turned out to be quite a challenge as it required me to develop a range of new skills. I believe that my major project is a perfect showcase for all the skills I have developed during my years studying Design at Kingswood.
JA MES I had always envisioned using the materials which were eventually used within my final design, as they best suit its modern and contemporary style. I have aimed to incorporate this throughout the last three years, at GCSE and A-level. My focus has changed wildly through the years ranging from sustainability to user comfort. But one constant within my designs has been wood working and I have developed my techniques with the different tools in the department to create design I have always been proud to call mine. My last year in the department has been very enjoyable. I am extremely pleased with my final project; it showcases all that I have learnt about design during my time at Kingswood.
LI A NE Throughout the past two years of studying Art, I have had the chance to further develop my interest in architectural design. The main focus of my first project was the relationship between light and structure. Even though my final piece consisted of one repetitive model made from card paper, I tried to use the composition and the patterns to direct light in a more interesting way. This sculpture was constructed using a laser cutter to ensure the shapes would be identical and precise. My recent project continues to explore light, using paint to convey direction, pattern and value.
OLI V I A Fashion in design technology has allowed me to discover social and economic change regarding gender and sexuality. In my own designs I want to represent the intangible strength of women in today’s society. The silhouette of an hour glass figure has tereotypically denoted the female shape. With great emphasis on the curvatures of the female form, I have structured a symbolic armour from metal materials. I sought to contrast corsetry, a construction originally associated as oppressive, and reinvent the old with a new expression that represents freedom, dominance, femininity and power.
OLI V I A My work explores how couture fashion interprets “masculine” and “feminine,” and to what extent a “trend” can impact on gender. My focus is on structure, texture and colour, a clear analysis between the gender traditions, and the extent that designers have subverted gender stereotypes. My garment sculpture utilised preconceived ideas of society’s understandings through a conception of de-coding. My final piece is inspired by the Garden of Eden, commonly depicted as a utopian fantastical world. Underneath this first surface is a world of disenchantment. Both the feminine lace I had burned and my garden of decaying florals manipulates the original perception of beauty. The dark tones symbolise a life neglected by sun, mirroring a version of hell.
SOPHI A My artwork reflects my curiosity and passion for the strong contrasts between black and white in a bold and graphic style. I have used contrast as a vehicle to explore the dark emotions that everyone experiences, but few discuss. The black and white tones represent both the contrast of the two emotions and their continuous interplay. The focus of my most recent work has been using fast shutter speed to capture the conflicting change of emotions, from laughing to feeling pain.
INDY I have always been interested in architecture, not just for its aesthetic benefits, but also in the design methods used in which the psychology of spatial perception generates structures, and how these, in turn, influence people’s behaviour. I also like my art to reflect on society; thus my A level project is an installation art about the contrasts in Thai society, which I represent through a confined and open space, between two boxes. This sculpture enhances the difference between the affluent and the less economically developed in Thailand, allowing both elements to interact.
JA K E I have developed a true interest in combining artistic and constructional elements to create my artwork. My coursework project involved the insertion and painting of over 3,000 screws on a metre square board, producing a portrait of Mr Matthews in a pixelated style. For my exam piece, I explored the fusion of sculpture and portraiture. The concept was to complete a pencil drawing of a boxer behind plaster cast arms wearing boxing gloves. Kingswood has given me a strong understanding of art, and has enabled me to become more creative both conceptually and through the materials I use.
JA K E For my coursework project I was tasked to produce a contemporary bar stool for my client. The final product utilises metal and timber elements in a black finish to draw focus to the laser cut tan leather surface. I have made use of numerous workshop tools, most notably the newly installed CNC router, which I used to develop a profiled curve in the plywood seat. I really liked the meticulous approach necessary for the project, from anthropometric research to CAD rendering. Kingswood has enabled me to have the freedom to make my design concepts become reality.
TOBY Over the course of my time at Kingswood I have really enjoyed the challenges that have come from Design projects, looking at new concepts and ideas on how to combine aesthetic ideas whilst making sure that my product still has a high degree of functionality. I have tried to explore new areas as seen by combining industrial design and modern contemporary design, both of which appeal greatly to me. I have enjoyed most using a mixture of different manufacturing techniques over the years in order to create my products, learning new ways to materialize my designs. Although my product has not turned out exactly how I envisaged it this year, I have enjoyed the process and analysing what could have been done to improve the quality of the design.
K ATE My design work explores the relationship between product design and my family background. I began to become interested in this topic whilst on holiday in Cornwall. This work was inspired by an area of woodland which has great significance to my family, as well as by the rivers running through that area. I have worked with an unusual combination of the materials such as resins and timbers to create my design. Using new techniques of resin casting and computer aided design I have produced a product which emphasises the importance of this area for both me and my family.