The Nature of Design Rachel Stover, ART 130, St. Norbert College, Fall 2020
“If you can design one thing, you can design everything.�
— Massimo Vignelli
This book is dedicated to the family, friends, teachers, and professors who have challenged me to become a better designer.
Vocation
One thing that I have made in the last two years that I am proud of are my little linocut prints I did in printmaking class. This follows up on my previous response I think a ‘good life’ covers a big umbrella of on the difference between a good life vs a things. Someone might be considered as significant life. Art made solely as a class having a good life by many if they make project tends to have no real significance a lot of money, have a lot of friends, get or purpose other than developing skills, to travel often, have a nice house with which of course is a necessary thing to many luxuries, etc. The list goes on, but do. However, with this project I did feel a just because someone has a good life sense of significance at the end. We had does not mean they have a significant to distribute our prints and I decided to put life. A significant life is one that makes a one in the mailbox of each person at the difference for others and for the world. place I work. I included a note on the back This could be on a very small scale or to explain the project a little bit and what a very large scale, but they are doing my design represented, and also what something that matters and makes the I hoped they would take from it. Finding world a better place. I think that is why I the right words to say to fully describe like art and design. Making things for other something I had spent so much time on people gives me a feeling of significance was challenging when I only had a 4 by in the world. It is amazing how something 5 inch rectangle to write it on, but after a I create can have such an impact on few drafts I felt I had said what I needed someone even when it seems like a to say. The responses I started getting small thing to me. That is just one small back, in emails or in person, after people example of doing something significant, started finding the small print in their but I think it is important to fill the world mailbox warmed my heart. Hearing how with beautiful things, or help draw greatly this small piece of paper I gave out attention to the beautiful things that are affected them was unbelievable. People already there. It is also one of the reasons thanked me for giving them hope and I want to be an interior designer. To be reminding them to look for the beautiful able to go to work each day and help things around them even when life gets someone create a beautiful place to come tough. Someone even said they were home to, raise a family in, or make life moved to tears. I never imagined that a long memories sounds like a very fulfilling class project would end up having such an career to me. impact on people, some of which I hardly even know. But that is really all I could ever hope for. Being able to make that difference in someone’s day, week, or life and making them happy makes me happy and confirms that I am doing what I am meant to do.
Crash C
Course
Crash Course
Crash Course We were assigned a partner who we had to interview and get to know. Then, we created a product for them to solve a problem they were having. We discussed and made many sketches until we came to the final product. This exercise encouraged us to work fast and loose as we discussed and presented our ideas to our partner and then edited and refined them.
Sketch of crash course product to solve my partners problem.
By engaging in person with my partner, I was able to get to know her a little bit and come to understand what she was interested in and then use that information to create a prototype that was more personal and customized to her. After illustrating 5 original ideas and sharing them I could pick the one I thought would work best and that she would like most.
Crash Course
Showing unfinished work to others always feels a little uncomfortable and maybe even embarrassing at times, but I think I personally have become more comfortable with this over time and have come to realize that, knowing the work is incomplete, they do not expect to see a masterpiece necessarily. It can be a helpful step in figuring out where to go next or what to do, or not do, in order to elevate your art to the next level. Normally if I am working on something without a hard deadline or just a personal project I prefer to take my time and be very detailed--sometimes spending upwards of 100 hours on a painting or whatever it is. The first few times I was required to work very quickly and create many fast artworks, spending no more than a few minutes or even a few seconds on each, was pretty uncomfortable for me and frustrating because in my mind I knew I could do ‘better’ with more time. Then I realized the point of those types of exercises is not to create the best art you have ever done, but to get comfortable with the medium/ process/ subject/ etc. I still prefer to really work at something until I know I made it as well as I possibly can, but I have also come to appreciate being forced to do these quick exercises once in a while too.
Final Prototype
After making the prototype for my partner what I would probably do next if I was continuing on with the design is take her feedback on what she like/ dislike/ think could be improved about the product and edit the design a little bit to make it work better for her. Other people’s thoughts and opinions can be very helpful and constructive when creating art. I think you just have to keep repeating this process and refining the work until everyone is satisfied with it.
Dot L
Line
Dot Line
Dot Line In this project we were encouraged to work abundantly and iteratively with words and images. We had to create three compositions using limited combinations of grey or black dots and lines to convey a word without illustrating it. Strong craftsmanship and abstraction were key elements of this assignment.
Gestalt is a theory or school of thought that explains that humans see things as more than just a sum of its parts, so we can recognize pictures/ scenes/ objects even if they are a little distorted or we cannot see the full picture. I think it relates to this project because we can apply the principles of it (like figure ground, proximity, etc.) to our compositions to make them more successful. It also helps explain why we can see things like stability or energetic from a 4x4 white square with a few black and grey dots or lines on it--because we see things as more than a sum of their parts.
Making a well crafted object is not difficult for me. I definitely prefer to spend extra time on things and get the small details right than make things quickly. Craftsmanship is very important to me and I think it takes time to make something with good craftsmanship and presentation. When your work is up against others in the real world I think those are the things that can set you apart from the rest. This project helped me learn and become better at the idea of conveying something with an abstract image without illustrating it. That is a tricky concept because I feel like we normally gravitate towards more illustrative styles when trying to show people something because that is the most obvious solution, so it was a good challenge to have to do that with such a limited range of options.
Dot Line
Stability
Energetic
Oppression
At first I had a hard time distinguishing between illustrating and representing, but after the in-process critique, I understood better what was too much of an illustration and was able to rethink some of my compositions to better fit the project requirements. I think this exercise with rearranging shapes to find the most effective composition to relay the message best is a useful skill when doing any type of design. You will need to find the best arrangement of pictures, letters, shapes, furniture, etc. I also liked getting feedback in-process and hearing what worked and what did not so that I could fix things if it was not working for the audience and find the most effective design. That is also a good exercise that applies to any design project. The ideas of gestalt are good to keep in mind too with design in order to make it most effective.
Letter
rforms
Letterforms
Letterforms This project was all about learning how to handle text. We carved out lettering in linoleum and hand printed words to get a better understanding of how negative space, leading, and kerning can affect text. Then we experimented with different manipulations and variations of our word to deepen the viewer’s understanding of it. The project required one straight and clean print, one with typographic variation, one with a manipulation, and one more of our choosing. We were tasked with finding creative solutions to the challenges that each iteration presented.
Next time, I would like to try playing around with the copier more to get different effects with the letters. I also liked putting together the collage one I did so trying more like that or using other less typical materials would be interesting. Using the ink washes to make different patterns behind the word to enhance the viewers understanding or interpretation of it would be fun too. I liked using ink washes on the splash piece I did and the effect they created.
I learned to be more mindful of the spacing and placement of letters in a composition with this project. I also learned many ways in which you can manipulate the letterforms to create interesting layouts and designs that I probably would not have thought of before. You can do a lot of different things with just a few basic letters and one word.
Letterforms
Animal It
terations
Animal Iterations
Animal Iterations This project was twofold and required us to work iteratively with a specific animal for a longer amount of time. We created many images of our animal using different mediums and exploring different styles. After making several physical images of our animal from a variety of angles, we edited them in Adobe Photoshop and combined them on a 12 by 18 inch poster in InDesign. We were challenged to find the best way to clearly communicate the essence of our animal without having too much or too little in our final composition.
Through this process, I became more familiar with the shape and features of a humpback whale. I found out that the bumps on the head and pectoral fins of the whale are actually hair follicles called tubercles and they are the size of a fist.
Animal Iterations
Animal Iterations
The most challenging media was probably the text collage because it was hard for me to find the right kinds of text to get the values I needed. I also found it to be the most boring one for me to do compared to the rest. I enjoyed doing my Van gogh master artist iteration the most. That was more in my element and also ended up being my favorite finished product too. I like painting the most and Van gogh’s post-impressionist style is a favorite of mine; if I’m not making something realistic, I like to do impressionism. I learned a lot about Photoshop (and InDesign) because I had never used it before so I had no prior knowledge of it. It was very confusing and hard for me at first to remember/ figure out how to do what I wanted, but also felt rewarding once I did figure it out. I think I will use everything I have learned in photoshop so far going forward, in school and in my job eventually, so even though it was a lot at first, I am glad I now have some experience with it. It made me excited for what I could do with those skills in the future. I used curves, quick mask, the brush tool and multiply, and the mixer brush tool to shade and refine my iterations. Shading was very hard for me to figure out and I had trouble with trying to shade with curves also being used and how to blend the different shades, but I eventually figured out how to make it work. If I were to continue working on this for a year, I might focus more on specific parts of the whale like the tail, fin, or mouth and work with those aspects in greater detail than I could with a view that was farther away.
Animal Iterations
PSA P
Poster
PSA Poster
PSA Poster For the public service announcement poster project we began by choosing an issue of importance to us and researching it to put together a creative brief. We then traded briefs with someone else and we created their poster while they created ours. Throughout the design process our partner provided feedback on what they liked or wanted to change until we ultimately created a PSA poster they would want to post about their issue. This assignment gave us insight on how to effectively work and communicate with a client.
PSA Poster
“Art has saved my life on a regular basis.” – Carrie Mae Weems Making things is an important part of being human and a great practice to adopt in a global pandemic. Come flex your creative muscles in an art or design class and satisfy a core curriculum requirement.
Art Courses in the Core Curriculum (Spring 2021) No prerequisites! ART 110 – History of Western Art (Core: WT) ART 115 History of Modern Art (Core: WT) ART 134 Basic Drawing (Core: EI) ART 205 Art, Technology and Society (Core: EI) ART 224 Introduction to Sculpture (Core: EI) ART 240 Introductory Painting (Core: EI) ART 310 Non-Western Art History (Adv. Core: BB)
“Art has saved my life on a regular basis.” – Carrie Mae Weems Making things is an important part of being human and a great practice to adopt in a global pandemic. Come flex your creative muscles in an art or design class and satisfy a core curriculum requirement.
Art Courses in the Core Curriculum (Spring 2021) No prerequisites! ART 110 – History of Western Art (Core: WT) ART 115 History of Modern Art (Core: WT) ART 134 Basic Drawing (Core: EI) ART 205 Art, Technology and Society (Core: EI) ART 224 Introduction to Sculpture (Core: EI) ART 240 Introductory Painting (Core: EI) ART 310 Non-Western Art History (Adv. Core: BB)
TALK TO YOUR ADVISOR about where you might fit in an art or design class. Email Katie.ries@snc.edu with questions.
TALK TO YOUR ADVISOR about where you might fit in an art or design class. Email Katie.ries@snc.edu with questions.
“Art has saved my life on a regular basis.”
“Art has saved my life on a regular basis.”
– Carrie Mae Weems Making things is an important part of being human and a great practice to adopt in a global pandemic. Come flex your creative muscles in an art or design class and satisfy a core curriculum requirement.
– Carrie Mae Weems Making things is an important part of being human and a great practice to adopt in a global pandemic. Come flex your creative muscles in an art or design class and satisfy a core curriculum requirement.
Art Courses in the Core Curriculum (Spring 2021) No prerequisites!
Art Courses in the Core Curriculum (Spring 2021) No prerequisites!
ART 110 – History of Western Art (Core: WT) ART 115 History of Modern Art (Core: WT) ART 134 Basic Drawing (Core: EI) ART 205 Art, Technology and Society (Core: EI) ART 224 Introduction to Sculpture (Core: EI) ART 240 Introductory Painting (Core: EI) ART 310 Non-Western Art History (Adv. Core: BB)
ART 110 History of Western Art (Core: WT) ART 115 History of Modern Art (Core: WT) ART 134 Basic Drawing (Core: EI) ART 205 Art, Technology and Society (Core: EI) ART 224 Introduction to Sculpture (Core: EI) ART 240 Introductory Painting (Core: EI) ART 310 Non-Western Art History (Adv. Core: BB)
TALK TO YOUR ADVISOR about where you might fit in an art or
TALK TO YOUR ADVISOR about where you might fit in an art or design class. Email Katie.ries@snc.edu with questions.
design class. Email Katie.ries@snc.edu with questions.
Work in progress poster iterations.
PSA Poster
It was a little challenging to be limited to type only because you had to convey a message and make an interesting poster still, but you had no images to break it up or show the viewer what you were talking about. I think it did present an interesting challenge though that was good practice and a practical exercise, so I am glad we had to do it. I made sure the headline and other important bits of information were highlighted in some way so they would stand out to create visual hierarchy. Some things were larger in size or bolded/ italicised. I also used lines or colored rectangles to break up the page a little bit so it was easier for your eye to follow and look at. This project enhanced my problem solving skills and forced me to be creative even when my options are very limited. It was also good practice with communication between a designer and a client and required me to be open minded and attentive in order to understand my client’s needs and work through problems with the design so that the poster would work best for them. I think these are all useful skills in general, but also more specifically for me and what I want to do as a career.
PSA Poster in the wild.
PSA Poster
“Art has saved my life on a regular basis.” – Carrie Mae Weems Making things is an important part of being human and a great practice to adopt in a global pandemic. Come flex your creative muscles in an art or design class and satisfy a core curriculum requirement.
Art Courses in the Core Curriculum (Spring 2021) No prerequisites! ART 110 History of Western Art (Core: WT) ART 115 History of Modern Art (Core: WT) ART 134 Basic Drawing (Core: EI) ART 205 Art, Technology and Society (Core: EI) ART 224 Introduction to Sculpture (Core: EI) ART 240 Introductory Painting (Core: EI) ART 310 Non-Western Art History (Adv. Core: BB) TALK TO YOUR ADVISOR about where you might fit in an art or design class. Email Katie.ries@snc.edu with questions.
Pre-Critique
Post-Critique
20x20 Des
signer Talk
20x20 Designer Talk
20x20 Designer Talk These presentations required us to research the work of a contemporary designer and present our findings to our peers. They included facts about the designer, our interpretations of their work, and our enthusiasm for it.
Dana Tanamachi in front of Desert to Garden.
One thing that drew me to Dana Tanamachi was her intricate line work. I always pay a lot of attention to details so I appreciated that about her work. She has now begun to shift from working with type to including more ornate floral patterns in her work which also caught my eye. Nature tends to be a recurring theme in much of my work so that was something I had in common with her and was intrigued to find out more about it. I also just love the natural world in general and the beauty and peace it brings and I found a lot of her work to be very soothing/ satisfying to look at.
20x20 Designer Talk
Obama Foundation: Global Girls Aliiance Video
I was a little intimidated by the idea of doing a times 20 slide presentation in class at first, but after I got my presentation put together and had the chance to practice my script many times I was not nervous at all for presentation day. I was pretty comfortable presenting to my classmates. Nobody was going to be too critical or judgemental because we were all in the same boat. It was just nice to learn about many different designers and see their work in everyone’s presentations.
Instagram Headquarters Instullation
TIME Magazine Cover
One designer from my classmate’s presentations I might want to research further is Debbie Millman. I thought she had interesting work, and I liked her hand written style and creative use of text to convey powerful messages.
Starbucks Mural in San Fransisco
This book was made as part of Introduction to Design at St. Norbert College in the Fall of 2020. The fonts used include Helvetica and Georgia. It was printed and saddle stapled at the college’s print center.