Spider : Nature study

Nature and Form A Course Document

Submitted by: Saswat kumar Dash | Guided by: Sekhar Bhattacharjee

CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Generic Study 3. Physiological Study 4. Psycological Study 5. Making Form 7. Conclusion

Introduction Form

Design and Nature

Form is the shape, visual appearance or configuration of an object. The form of an object is the first interface that we perceive. Form gives meaning to an object.

It provides an interpretation to the function of the object. It can arouse and fulfill desires. It shapes human interaction with the object.

Design is implicit in nature in even its simplest forms.

People are conscious of the beauty of a flower, a leaf, or a seashell, the wonderful world of the microscope is frequently familiar only to the scientist.

Designers create forms by deliberately shaping data into information and then into the coherent argument that is the product. This argument is, according to Richard Buchanan, its “ability…to fully engage a human being in support of a particular activity.”

Form should not be thought of as simply the physical or aesthetic properties of a product. It rather includes all aspects of an object’s character and the values of the culture to which it belongs. Form is the manifestation of the object’s usefulness, usability and desirability.

According to Philip Meggs, form gives a design its cohesive composition that gains order and clarity from the relationship between the elements.

Through magnifications we discover the most fundamental truths about design and many of the most fascinating patterns and space relationships existing everywhere.

The cycle of creation and disintegration illustrates the great basic fact of nature, the characteristic overall relationship of elements identified as Unity, or harmony. As physicists and other physical and biological sciences point more and more toward the oneness of the universe, one realizes that this is what philosophers have been trying to convey for centuries.

Inspiration from nature Nature is regarded as ‘Mother’, it teaches us, supports our living and inspires us. We modify nature, intervene

it with new technologies, make resources and utilise them for our growth. There are innumerous objects, animals broadly classified as flora and fauna that shows grace, boldness, evil, love and many to all other emotions by their way of interaction, for example a group of ants going on a line shows good implicit coordination can result in a organised outcome.

Likewise everything in nature can be looked upon with a varied perspective for desired learning. The exploratory learning process, urged me to look upon the charachteristics of Spiders. Being such tiny creatures, they are well known for hunting skills and strategic approach to construction of web. Apart from this they have tough imlicit competition for mating, where mostly the male is killed after mating.

This document features the process of creating a static and a dynamic form, inspired by Spiders, through a structured approach which can be reffered to in need, while exploring, ideating or creating inspired abstracts.

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Generic Study General examples of form derived from nature

Abstract structural form (Physical inspiration)

A human hand

Ocean

Pirouette

Harp

Torso of a Muse

Mobeus Strip

Human and Technoloy

Lion of the cyclades

Abstract structural form (Emotional Inspiration)

Sensual

Strength

Some Direct usages of Spider form

Elegance

Love

Mythical

Anger

Song

The Kiss

Physiological Study

A Wolf Spider

Anatomy of Spider

Golden Orb Spider

Schematic Drawing of a Spider

Spider with egg sac

Spiderlings

Habitat - span across water stream

Psycological Study Camouflage (a crucial aspect of spiders and other organisms)

Hunting (spiders overkill)

Making Form Existing Forms

Other spider inspiration and appearance Popular culture

Explorations through sketches

3D Models

Final Form Static

Exploring dynamism (Visually as well as physically dynamic through board game)

Conclusion Our actions are a reflection of our thoughts. We think, sometime consciously and sub-consciously other times.

And those thoughts are developed, nurtured through learning by many different ways such as through experience, through reading, through imitating, through visualisation and contemplating.

This module gave an exploratory and thoughful process of learning. As we looked upon nature as inspiration, it slowly changed the prespective of looking at things (not to be quantified but the change was significant) from just the surface identity to its features, the intricate structural and physical details, the simple and complex ways it interact with its environment, how it adapts, fights, survive and create meaning to its existence.

Iterating through mediums like sketching and discussion followed with reviews helped bring out the essence of spider into a non-living tangible object.

This part was tricky, as everyone associate differently to objects, and there cannot be baised opinions as otherwise the form would not convey the meaning.

The process of making a dynamic form was taken

upon with different approach as the conventional approach aims to make a form which shows a visual dynamic, that is related to the 4th dimension of time (with time there is a change on what the viewer is looking at) . A board game was prototyped and tested based on characteristics of spider, which was amied to give the feel of spiderness to the player, it is dynamic in different aspects such as visually, strategically, emotionally.