I think my research has been very effective as there are clear
links between my research and my design work. My primary research included
photographs of a stream where I decided to start focusing on the shapes and the
movement of the water and photographs of contemporary doors at a JSS
Installations LTD showroom therefore allowing me to explore the designs that other
company sells and gain a wider knowledge of this field of design outside of my
clients company. I also did secondary research into Distinction Doors current
range through their website, by comparing all of my research on existing door
designs I discovered what styles, colours and glass designs were most popular.
Additionally, I completed some artist research on the
architect Antoni Gaudi looking specifically at his work ‘Casa Batllo’ as Gaudi
uses sea influences demonstrating a relevance between his work and my own. I
found my artist research wasn’t entirely effective as I found it hard to
illustrate clear links to his work in my own work as I had to produce
contemporary designs therefore my influence from Gaudi is very subtle. I
focused on Gaudis use of unusual bubbled shapes which led me to look into
bubbled glass rather than use glass textures already provided by the company.
Furthermore, Gaudi is known to be extremely unusual therefore in my last design
I decided to take inspiration from him to create a complex unorthodox design. When interpreting the theme of ‘Let the outside in’ I originally began to look at woodland nature however I realised looking at woodland nature is too obvious as I found several other people looking into the same idea, I wanted to be different and stand out therefore I began to think outside of the box. This led me to look at water, at the movement and the shapes it creates, as water can be found extremely therapeutic and I wanted to create a calming aura for the homeowner to enjoy.
I found it rather easy going when designing for the
specified target audience as I had a good understanding of contemporary designs
and what the target audience would want from their design. In my opinion,
contemporary designs usually uses clean organised shapes and can often
interlink with minimalism. Therefore I combined my ideas of contemporary design
with all of my research to produce my designs, due to every part of the design
process being completed with the target audience in mind I was confident that
my designs were suited the target audience.
When producing solutions for 2D door designs I planned,
organised and prepared my ideas and research in order to meet the requirements
of the designs. When producing my first design due to research of existing
doors I used a repetitive pattern of circular glass panels which decreased in
size to replicate the imagery of water droplets. Inspired by Gaudi I found a bubbled
glass texture that wasn’t in the company’s current range of options which
provided the homeowner with privacy due to its obscurity and originality. The
second design had a tall thin glass panel as I found in both my primary and
secondary research that it was the most popular contemporary door design
however I adapted the shape to suit my theme of water, inspired my primary
research I distorted the vertical edges of the glass panel to make it appear as
though a stream was running down the door. The use of the Taffeta glass texture
further emphasised the idea of water running down the door. My third design was
my unusual design in which I decided to be like Gaudi and be original therefore
I designed a complex arrangement of glass panels that collectively appear to be
the ripples created by a water droplet. I adapted the shapes to appear more contemporary
and simple, the glass panels used a satin glass texture therefore toning down
the complex design and obscuring the windows to provide privacy. All three of
the designs used a palette of Sky Blue, Teal, Ultramarine and Sea Green as
these bold shades of blue would stand out providing the homeowner with a sense
of identity, also blue has strong connotations of water relating the designs
back to the theme. Furthermore, I planned out that in all of my designs I would
need to use a ratio of 1:3 for glass to door as I discovered by using the ‘door
designing’ feature on the Distinction Doors website that by using this ratio I
found that my designs were fairly energy efficient therefore my designs were
both functional and aesthetic.
Throughout this unit I have demonstrated practical skills
through producing backgrounds and layouts for all of my sketchbook and design
pages to make my work more interesting to look at. By producing successful
designs I have demonstrated my design skills and a good understanding of the
target audience and the brief. I have also shown that I have a good level of
knowledge and understanding of the product when planning and preparing designs
that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
One minor obstacle I faced during the research process was
that I struggled to think of how I would collect primary research of doors
knowing that I couldn’t just photograph neighbours doors. Eventually I found a
solution after speaking to a Joiner who works with doors often that I could
visit a showroom, I then looked online and found that JSS Installations LTD
showroom was really close by therefore I continued to visit the showroom and
photograph the contemporary doors that were on display.
The progression of my work was rather slow due to the lack
of ideas however I quickly caught up on all the practical work having a
sketchbook that illustrated my full thought process throughout this unit, three
design sheets and a prepared presentation. However due my slow start I fell
behind greatly on blog work and failed to submit an evaluation for the original
deadline however I managed to complete all blog work and an evaluation from my
resubmission date.
I found my experience of working with Distinction Doors was
quite enjoyable, I found the extra pressure of working for a client actually
pushed me to impress them and produce high quality designs. The idea of
producing designs with a client or target audience in mind was enjoyable as it
was a new experience and I gained a sense of achievement when they liked my
designs and I knew that I had been successful in meeting the brief.
I prepared for my presentation by having a completed
sketchbook and three design pages for the staff members from Distinction Doors
to look through whilst I presented my work. I produced a PowerPoint that had
Images illustrating my thought process as I talked over each slide explaining
my reasoning. I knew everything that I wanted to say during the presentation
however I wanted to be prepared therefore I bullet pointed my key points on a piece
of paper to remind me in case I forgot anything.
If I were to do anything differently during this unit of
work it would have been to think more originally at the beginning therefore I
would have started a lot more quicker and wouldn’t have fallen behind as much.
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