Lack of Focus!

Well, I think maybe I’m a little pre-occupied by my impending stay in hospital, because I am having great difficulty staying focused on anything at the moment.

Tomorrow I am meeting Michael so that he can brief me on the Realisation module, so I really wish I was in a more positive place and therefore able to tell Michael what I plan to achieve during the module – but I’m not. Whilst I’m in university tomorrow I plan to take a piece of acoustic foam with me and visit Julian in the workshops – I’m hoping that Julian will have the time to use the laser cutting machine on the acoustic foam to find out how well it cuts. The ease with which the foam cuts may help me to decide upon a direction for this module, although I still haven’t tried dyeing the foam!

Having done so much research into acoustics it would be very satisfying to do something with the information I’ve gathered during the Realisation module, but not if the final product has no aesthetic value because, after all, I wish to design surface patterns rather than purely functional objects.

I have looked in to coloured acoustic foam and it only appears to be coloured as part of a finished object e.g. a tile, rather than sheets of the material to be bought and worked with. But, at the same time, the fact that manufacturers produce an end product made of coloured acoustic foam implies that there is a method of colouring it.

http://kestrel-acoustics.com/acousticfoam.htm consulted on 7/2/11

In the meantime I have been working on images that could be used in the logo design for Whimsy & Quirk. I thought it might be interesting to have a few alternative designs rather than only one… but I haven’t made a final decision yet. As a starting place I have been using a circle as a template and just filling the space with different finishes and images. I have found this very therapeutic and have filled several circles, I have even been playing with overlaying one with another…

Some of the images work better than others but it may be possible to develop some of them into wallpaper/stencil/cushion cover designs too. I will be continuing with this whilst I’m ‘temporarily out of action’!

Hmmmmm!

We haven’t been briefed for the Realisation module, but I have decided to start thinking about what I hope and plan to achieve during the module. 

To begin this process I have been having a brain dump! I am a little confused because I have been researching and thinking about acoustics during my Creative Interaction module and I am unsure as to whether I wish to continue with that or return to my hand-printed wallpapers.

So, brain dump…

1.    Logo Design.

I wish to design a logo for Whimsy & Quirk (http://whimsyandquirk.blogspot.com/). The logo I have been using was just a temporary design and now it is time to give serious consideration to a definitive logo. This must be achieved in preparation for business cards etc are dealt with.

2.    Acoustic absorbers.

I need to establish answers to some questions in order to make decisions upon whether to move forward with this. a) is it possible to obtain acoustic foam in a variety of colours or only grey? b) is it possible to dye acoustic foam? I will have to attempt this if there are no other colours apart from grey. Further to these questions, and if I am continuing with this topic, I need to 1) find images of acoustically designed restaurants 2) reflect upon styles of interior and how to approach a combination of acoustics and spatial design for different restaurant styles 3) think about sharper and more contemporary patterns/images for use in the design of restaurant interiors – flowers aren’t always appropriate!

3.    Research up-cycling and recycling.

Another consideration for the Realisation modules is stencilling my own upholstery fabrics, making some 3d appliqué cushion covers and ‘tarting up’ old furniture. I have an old Lloyd Loom chair that I could start with.

4.    Manufacture of frames.

As part of my exercise in considering my options I am also considering making canvases based upon hand stencilled fabrics and 3-d appliqué, but for this I have to be able to obtain frames…or do I want to make them sound absorbers?

Further to these questions and considerations that I also need to give attention to such as 1) if I make canvases would it be worth putting a layer of acoustic wadding behind the fabric to absorb surplus sound? In what depth sizes is it available? 2) which textiles will work well with making canvas art? And which will paint well? hessian? wool felt? canvas? calico? I may need to do more experimentation. 3) what are the best fabric paints to use? in what size containers are they available? What are the different fixing methods available?

So, what am I doing for Realisation? Am I still doing hand-printed wallpapers? appliqué? furniture? canvases? or acoustics? I need to decide and then get on with it, as a matter of some urgency!!!!!!

Phew!

Well, that is the Creative Interaction module finished...just have to wait for my grade now! Fingers crossed. I'm feeling totally exhausted, I think the adrenaline rush, caused by finishing everything off and presenting my work today, has faded and I think that it will be an early night tonight. 

I almost had a total disaster though, I hadn't noticed that we also had to submit a 500 word reflective report about what we felt that we had learnt from teamworking - so I had to write one in an hour - no pressure at all!!! Anyway, it's all done, and hopefully I was sufficiently reflective.

So now I have a little break before starting the Realisation module, although I will start making notes and preparing. I'm going to be having an operation next month and may get behind whilst I'm recuperating, so it will help to be a little bit ahead to start with. I think I will begin by looking at a logo design for Whimsy & Quirk.

Anyway, my bed is calling to me so I will say 'Goodnight, sleep tight'

Almost finished!

Well, that has been a 'full on busy' 2 weeks! I present my project and submit my work on Tuesday afternoon. Fortunately I am more or less finished. My report is written, its bibliography and appendices have been added, it has a front cover and has been ‘pdfed’ ready to be printed and bound first thing on Monday morning. I have put my portfolio of evidence together. My sketchbook contains 165 pages and is ready to be copied on to a cd on Monday, along with a copy of my report and presentation. The only thing left for me to do now is prepare my PowerPoint presentation. I have decided to create a template background in Photoshop so everything looks unified.

I have been doing some fabric stencilling this week and added some appliqué to it – the results have definite potential for development.

In addition to this I have also been working on some mobile phone wallpapers too – this is all experimentation at the stage. I use the same design over and over again but with the mobile phone wallpapers I have been experimenting with textures. These images are 960 x 720 pixels. This is larger than most phone screens but, my phone crops images for wallpaper so if I make the image 320 x 240 pixels I lose a lot of definition. Anyway, just experimenting as I say – what do you think?

I am feeling exhausted at the moment and am relieved this module is almost over – I need to spend a weekend with my husband instead of my laptop!

Drat!

Ho hum! I’m feeling a little bemused at the moment and so have decided to start writing my report in the hope that by preparing and sorting everything in my mind and on the screen I may understand what is needed to complete this module to my satisfaction.

I had decided that I was not going to continue with research of acoustics because of the size and depth of the subject – but Michael feels that I need to continue with it and carry it on through the Realisation module. My confusion arises, partially, because I already had a commission to design a ‘vintage’ style wallpaper for a friend’s tea shop, in Australia, as the main part of my realisation.

Now I am panicking a little, because the subject of acoustics is so immense, but hopefully my plan of sorting and compartmentalising everything as I prepare my report will help me to re-focus and regain calm.

In fact, writing this down has already made me feel more calm and in control. I think my next research issue is acoustic fabrics and foams and also acoustic wadding – what are their functions? Do they all do the same thing? Can they be bought by the metre like textiles? Right, time to get on with something constructive!

The next step

Having cast the knitting off, yesterday, I decided to take some photos of it today – oh dear! The knitting was curling up so badly that I couldn’t get any pictures of the design, so I ironed it. Now it looks like a deformed rag. I’m very relieved that I didn’t waste any more time on this.

I am excited about designing my mobile phone wallpaper. I think that I will design this initial wallpaper for my phone model, then when I have made it and uploaded it I can also get photos of it on the phone. My phone is a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini, so I went on to the Sony Ericsson website http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones?cc=gb&lc=en  consulted on 9/1/11 to check the pixel size of the screen – it’s 240 x 320 pixels. Once I have developed a first design I can then re-make it for different screen sizes, so that it will be suitable for other phone models.

The next stage is experimenting with textiles to see which ones photograph best – I need to be able to capture their texture. My camera isn’t spectacular though – which is a worry because the photos will have to be good. Anyway, onwards!

Another change of direction!?

Since last writing here I have expanded my acoustics research to include Restaurant and bar design and the acoustics requirements for those environments, the books that I am using to research this aspect of the subject are Successful Restaurant Design by Regina S Baraban and Joseph F Durocher, Restaurants, Clubs and Bars: Planning, Design and Investment for Food Service Facilities by Fred Lawson and Hospitality Design for the Graying Generation: Meeting the needs of a growing market by Alfred H Baucom. I included this last book into my research because I feel that any hearing issue that we may suffer in a restaurant would be increased for a diner with a hearing problem too.

At the same time I have been continuing with my research into the history of applying decorative surfaces to interior walls and alternative methods of applying my designs to surfaces. I have also been working on converting my design into a knitting pattern (and knitting it at the same time), cross-stitching the same design onto ‘aida’ and I have also experimented with 3d appliqué!

I went in to university on Tuesday 4^th January and had a tutorial with Michael. During the tutorial Michael gave me several ideas to consider. At the end of this consideration I have made some decisions.

·         The knitting pattern and knitting can be stopped – my design is not translating into knitting successfully, so I am wasting precious time.

·         My plan to design a sound absorber is good. I wish to continue with it – but as I research the subject I realise that there is a lot more research to be done, far more research, testing and development than I could possibly achieve during this module. So, this is a subject that I will study and develop into a side line within my business. It has potential and merit.

·         I have failed to consider the most obvious ‘Applications’ of all – computer and mobile phone applications. Why do I need to stick to wallpaper design for walls? Couldn’t I also design wallpapers for mobile phones and computer screens? This is something that I am very excited about – but I am running out of time with only 16 days left before final presentation of work! So I need to get on with some thinking and designing.

So, thinking about mobile phone wallpapers, mainly because mobile phones are so popular and personal, I have been trawling through Google images looking at wallpaper designs that catch my eye…

  

  http://www.screentreats.com  consulted on 8/1/11

   
http://vi.sualize.us/view/bdeepu/2afb35f63fdfe2bf244cfb737ff7f899  consulted on 8/1/11

http://www.neudesignmedia.com/wallpaper.html  consulted on 7/1/11

I find all these images exciting due to their tactile quality – I want to touch each one to know what it feels like and maybe how it was made. Are the Christmas trees and owl make with pieces of fabric (yes, I would think so) or are they cleverly made Photoshop images? Certainly the two lower images are, to some extent, the sort of images that I would like to produce – an interesting or attractive image with a tactile and/or 3d quality, but preferably with a hand-made element added to the mix. Almost as an antithesis to the fact that it would be associated with such cutting edge technology as the latest mobile phone!