Metal & Glass Experiment

This week I have continued to play with materials, I went into the metal workshop and worked with folding, bending and cutting the metal to create interesting shapes. I wanted to also combine the tubing with metal so I created a 3D form which I feel works well. The contrast of material continuosly links back to the idea of synthesis. 'combining two compounds to create something new'  I don't feel like the 3D forms are enough on their own so I want to explore it by bringing them together and photographing them. This week I also received some colour changing glass from Prinz Optics , this is used in modern architecture for aesthetic reasons.  I am going to concentrate on making my project and imagery more 2D using photography to visualise this.

Week 2. Honeycomb & Parametric Structures.

This week I have been trying to make my concept visual. When researching new innovative materials in architecture I have found that many of these consist of a honey comb structure, when researching how these materials have been used in architecture the word parametric design kept reoccurring. This is where design is based on techniques of geometry where equal number of variations are designed, thus creating a similar honeycomb structure to those in fabric. I have been contacting numerous companies that create these innovative materials, I have received some positive responses where they are willing to send me out samples of their products. During the course of the week I have been trying to recreate these honeycomb structures using my own techniques and a variation of fabrics. I have also researched fabrics that change with a process, in keeping with my previous research of Morphogenis- a biological process which causes an organism to change its shape. I have been working with the material tyveck which is a versatile fabric, used in construction but also for medical purposes and protective clothing. Tyveck reacts to temperature and changes shape under concentrated heat. I have received a sample box from company Lamera called Hybrix. It is a stainless steel materia used in architecture and design. Its unique structure makes it strong and light, unlike  conventional lightweight materials it can be shaped into compound curves.

Parametric Structure

Honeycomb Structure

Week one. Materiality.

I want to start looking at the idea of materiality. Investigating new innovative material used in architecture and design , pushing their boundaries and seeing whether their qualities could cross over and be used within the fashion industry in design. I have been drawing this week using various material and using architecture as a context to draw from, I am happy with the abstractness of the drawings but I feel they are relating my ideas and making my concept visual enough.  I have started looking at materials that are used in architecture that change over time or work with other materials to create something new. I have looked at the word synthesis , which is the process of reaction and two contrasting compounds working together to create something new. I have also looked at Morphogenesis which is the biological process that causes an organism to change its shape. I have looked at things like bio light fixtures - lights that run on bacteria. I am going to continue to explore an work with these materials trying to push their boundaries using their qualities to make something new. I am planning on emailing various companies to see if they can send samples so I can work with these first hand.

Jessica Beardmore

In contrast to Hollie, Jess work is more  minimal, clinical and simple but nonetheless powerful. Her styling is very considered- but the image is much more about background- and placement of the model and product. Her trend book - also simple - is not over crowded with images, she also matches an image of the model with an element or detail on the next page.  Jess has created a trendbook and lookbook for her camapign which is what I hope too also achieve. Little colour is included but it works well for her brand. Jess is extremely brand focused, creating intangible notion which she is continuing to move forward as a creative consultancy company. She has created products to fit in with her vision and image- thus allowing her to create her own look book. Her exhibition pop up shop shows her ability to think professionally. I have been extremely inspired by looking at her work and portfolio’s especially by the way she lays things out, her imagery and her styling.

Degree Show . Hollie Davies.

Hollie is very colour driven, her colour palette's are original and fresh with bursts of unexpected colour.  She has done everything , including making garments from her prints. I like the idea of shooting and using displacement to place your prints onto garments. The same as she has done in her look book. I would be keen to enhance my skill of displacement on photoshop. Her styling is quite wacky and different which I like in contrast to some of her more minimal images. The poses of the model are very considered and are key to the strengthening of her images. This and her styling shows that her product and art direction together are extremely powerful. Due to this, Hollie doesn’t have to consider the background as much. Hollie has been extremely experimental in producing innovative imagery for her trend book. The visual layout of her boards are strong, she uses  found items to create colour palletes and mood boards. She also creates her own artwork - either from her colour palettes or she has created colour palettes from her original art work.

Evaluation of Unit X

At the beginning of Unit X we were given a brief to come up with a presentation representing a trend we had researched and developed. Alice, Sophie and I decided to look further into the problem of overpopulation in today's society. We came up with the name Multiple Division, thus looking into the growth and spreading of things, as a result of overpopulation. We were inspired by the opportunities and areas we could explore from the starting point of this issue. We decided that the most exciting area of all our research was science, we felt as though we could produce refreshing and inspirational images while working with this theme. 

Our aim from the very beginning was to create an inspirational high end resource for creative companies.  Our ambitions were to be innovative and continue to create visually exciting and intriguing imagery.  Continuous research, brainstorming and working together collectively led us to the final outcome. We soon realised our individual skills, from this we worked on separate areas of the book , whether this was illustration , layout or art direction. But continuously coming together to ensure our work flowed and worked as one. Our decisions were always considered, we briskly refined a consistency in our work. This enabled us to maintain a pace and standard of work which we were content with.
Working in a group can be one of the main challenges you face when collaborating, getting your ideas to sync and making sure the workload is evened out but forever maintaining the creativity of the project. Sophie, Alice and I quickly overcame this challenge, we get on extremely well but also have similar ideas and enthusiasm about how to approach a brief like this. We regularly conversed about ideas, supporting and strenthening  each others opinions and visual conception, thus I feel empowered us and was one of our strengths throughout Unit X.
The fundamental challenge we encountered during this project was adjusting to working within a new software, as a group we were determined to build on the skills we had learnt form the workshops. It was extremely exasperating feeling like a beginner. It was difficult to to be creatively productive, being so unsure of how to do this correctly. I enjoyed learning how to use InDesign , but with the short space of time we had to pull the trend book together, I didn't feel we could afford to waste time mastering it.
Before we were able to produce the content of the book, a lot of research was done to contextualise our work and for us to establish the standard of work we wanted to achieve. For me the exploration of the blog 'Federated Unity' was a turning point. The minimalism of the layout allows each image, a lot of which have a twisted nature to them, to speak for themselves. Most of the images in the blog tell a story making you want study them further. I wanted this to be accomplished with our own imagery, constructing a body of work which is innovative, original and contemporary. As talked about previously in the blog we wanted to achieve a book of inspirational imagery, a similar sense to the trend book 'Bloom'. We took inspiration from 'Bloom's' vision which focuses on visual concepts rather than text. Our trend book shadowed this incorporating suggestions of how this could be translated into a trend.
We picked up our trend book from reprographics today, I was extremely happy with it, the pages were of good quality and the images had been printed to a high standard, allowing the colours to be represented correctly. Unfortunately the pages had been printed the wrong way round , which wasn't the original plan. This means the pages don't match up and don't read as a book, due to being so close to deadline we haven't been able to correct this. For next time we have learnt to take the book to reprographics earlier so a test print can be done.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this project and I now feel extremely confident within my practice, I have developed invaluable skills which I can further in future projects. I want to further my knowledge of working with trend books but also involving my practice of digital print for fashion.

Rianna Phillips Pitch

Running alongside our trend project was a live brief. An opportunity to work with Rianna Phillips curating her new look book. Working on two briefs meant Sophie and I had to work quickly and effectively. From Rianna's initial research we chose some key images we felt we could expand on and take further. This research was one of the strengths of our project and enabled us to come up with an original concept. We loved her images of the textured, transparent and reflective surfaces. We found materials and surfaces that translated this same effect , from these we created our own modern and contemporary backdrop. Once we had our concept we worked extremely hard to show Rianna our ideas visually. We created a number of boards every week for her, each one thoroughly covering everything from initial research and inspiration through to styling, poses and test shoot boards.  

We presented these boards in our pitch, we were confident and happy with how it went. On reflection I feel we could've expanded on some of our initial research, looking more into the e-commerce side of the client's brand but also concentrating on the contemporary concept of flat lays and product placement.  

Rianna uploaded one of our boards on her Instagram , which was extremely exciting for both of us!