Eleni's Design Canvas

 This artist was recommended to me by my tutor as he also includes the De Stijl pattern in his designs to create intricate and visually pleasing reflections. Small biography : Tom Fruin is a relatively small artist so I couldn't find many articles about his life. He was born in Los Angeles 1974. The main materials he works with include plexiglass, steel plastic and scrap materials. I will be showing some of his work in the following space: Water tower, 2012 This is probably my favourite design Fruin has completed. The first thing I noticed was that he encompassed a rectangular textured design in a cylindrical sculpture which created a very cohesive and contrasting outcome. The colour pallet used in the design resembles the one that I will be using for my own. I really like that there is an evident pattern in his sculptures where he incorporates either transparent or hollow elements. In this design, he added transparent elements with some being tinted with a colour. This design duri...

I decided on the material that would be used the structure of my design. This material is plywood. However, I still need to research the type of cushion that will be used for the chair, if I will laminate my objects and how I will paint them.  Laminate: I decided to look into laminating to see if it is a good option for my products. I have mentioned that plywood can absorb moisture which may not be suitable for a desk. Therefore, I need to ensure that when my cupboard transforms into a desk, and people sit and eat on it, if something gets spilled then it will not ruin the wood.  This blog will be divided in a few sections as I have a lot to cover.  Varnishing After looking at a source, I realised that laminate does not make the wood waterproof. As it does not meet my criteria then I decided to not include laminate. I googled other ways of laminating the wood and found epoxy sealing, penetrating hard oil and spray on latex. One of these 3 choices can be used for the top of...

After my cardboard testing, I wanted to try out one more testing to ensure that I am completely confident about this design moving forward. In last terms project, I decided to test out how big the surface of  my table was to see if it is convenient for the user. Referring to the people that gave me feedback, some are art students and need a lot of space for materials. From my own experience, the width of the table provided at my accommodation was not big enough to fit my A3 sketchpad. I had to constantly rotate it while working on it which was frustrating and created unnecessary mistakes. I decided to sketch out a 76x76cm which will be the size of the table once it is unfolded. I then proceeded on placing the items I usually have on my own desk.  I tried to place a few different items to see how it would look: The first step was to use a ruler and measure 76x76cm and mark it using tape. This will create the surface area of the table once unfolded. When folded, it will be 76x38...

 During my tutorial with my tutor, we agreed that it would be a good idea to draw my pieces in order to enhance my drawing skills and make sure that I explore more variety in my outcomes. I have rough sketches digitally on software, 2D pieces, rough testing cardboard and complete digital software outcomes which will include renderings, exploded views and orthographic drawings. I am really glad that I decided to complete a 2D view as it will ensure that I have a cohesive project which showcases that I explored many materials and outcomes. I was inspired to create a 2D piece by my art portfolio project 'colour theory'. Before creating my final outcome in 3D, I decided to create a 2D piece that would act as a guide. This looked better in my portfolio and ensured that I put in effort and time to completing a project with different perspectives using different processes. Additionally, the 3D prototypes I created were very rough and did not give me a great idea of the final outcome. ...

 During my tutorial with my tutor, he raised a concern about the legs of my table. He said that the manufacturing process might be difficult as the legs are in the way of the design. Therefore, we came up with a solution that slightly changes the final outcome.  These were the previous designs. I was planning on using extendable legs to form the legs of the table. However, rightly pointed out, this might halt or make the process of manufacturing difficult.  This was the previous design. This is the new design with the modifications. As seen, the top part of the cupboard consists of 4 layers. the first layer is the top of the cupboard. The second layer is the desk surface. The other two areas that are in the lighter shade are the layers placed in between the two legs to even out the area.  This is a sketch when it is open. The two new layers added are in green, These will only be in between as the ends are where the legs fold. Additionally, I added a green line on the...

 Even though cardboard is very thick and I will not be able to get a lot of detail in the designs, I decided to create really rough designs of my products to see how they look. I used cardboard and super glue to attach all the sides together. I did not take into account measurements as I am producing fast and rough designs to see the outcome. Once I added all sides of the chair together, it was time to create the stool. I used the same approach of cutting and gluing parts together. I made sure that the stool can fit inside the chair. I really like how this looks. It was hard for me to visualise the thickness and how it would look, however, I feel like it looks great. For the foldable top desk, I added some tape to make sure that I can replicate the function of the hinges. This will allow me to fold and unfold the top layer to visualise how the desk will move. This is how the final products look together. Even though it took me about 15-20 minutes to create these, I feel like they...

 During one of the classes, we were assigned to draw out a man inspired by the following text. Our tutor then combined all the images into one gif.  Unfortunately, I was not feeling well that day so I did not attend the class. However, I still decided to do it in my own time as I found the brief very interesting. The text: My outcome: In one of my previous blog posts called 'Ice breaker: Self portrait', click here to access, I looked at an artist called Adam Riches that uses scribbles to convey emotions and characteristics. I wanted to use the same approach for the face of the man that I would be creating. I started off by creating the eyes. I wanted the eyes to be the only colourful feature of the man as it says 'piercing, shining, looking right at you, seeing into you'. I wanted to achieve the effect of piercing eyes which is why I enlarged the eyes and made them colourful so they can be the focal point of the design.   'Grizzly and marked'. The grizzly refe...

We were assigned to present a 10-minute long presentation about our set project. We were supposed to showcase the work and progress throughout this term. What did I include in my presentation? I mostly added visual aids as I wanted the viewers to understand what I was talking about through images. As art student, I believe that most people are visual learner, including myself. I find power points with many images very helpful and less boring. The content: In my power point, included images of initial ideas, research, brainstorm, inspiration, final designs, colour swatches, materials and components. In my opinion, these were the most important factors to include for a 10 minute presentation. I added everything from the start till the end of my blog posts. I had to filter some information out but the basics are there.  This is the link for my power point presentation:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-w03ERAwWgKTm7a-j0zqYNerpPi1eS-7/view?usp=sharing We were also given the follo...

 During our class today, we were assigned to create an action plan that consisted of 5 steps for the upcoming weeks until the submission deadline.  I wanted to be as specific as possible to plan out my time correctly as it would be very beneficial to have a guide. This will allow me to see if I stay on track with the tasks I have to complete. The last few weeks are crucial as we have to ensure that we perfect our projects as much as possible. We used a website called visme to create this as they offered multiple layouts and designs for free:  https://www.visme.co/?ref=vismeluv The first step was to choose a layout. We clicked on 'infographics' and each one had to choose their desired layout. This can be slightly overwhelming as they have multiple layouts for you to choose from. However, there was one that stood out to me.  The first one stood out to me a lot. I really like how they displayed the timeline as it looks very modern and elegant. I like the vertical line a...

Before starting my initial ideas, I completed a table with specifications to note down my goals and objective. Now that I have a final outcome, I decided to see if the outcome fits my specifications. This is the completed grid: The letters that are green are the ones that fit my design and I have successfully completed. I was scared to complete this as I felt like my designs would not fit certain criteria. However, I am very excited to see that I met all my goals with this design and I ticked off very important features. Was this beneficial? It definitely helped me realise that my design will be effective. This is a short blog post as I only wanted to add the image with the descriptions on the side. This suggests that I am on the right track and I cannot wait to start developing my products on software. I feel like this was an important blog post to complete as it showed me how much progress I've made since the beginning of the initial ideas. I am happy with the progress :) !

 After finalising my ideas, it was time sketch out some patterns and finalise how my products would look. I used an app called 'procreate' to try various designs and see which one is more suitable. I decided that I was going to test out all the designs on the cupboard and then adapt the final pattern to all my design.  My first design was to include the De Stijl pattern on the front of the design. However, I thought that the rectangles were very small and distracting. I did not like the outcome so I decided to draw inspiration from one of the research products I discussed. Mondrian De Stijl Cabinet, Pastoe- 2000S (2000) This design has larger rectangles that make it look more cohesive and less distracting. It looks more aesthetically pleasing and fun. Red Blue Chair (1918-1923) Additionally, the legs of the desk have different colours in each side as it was inspired by the arms on the red blue chair designed by Retvield. This makes it follow the De Stijl pattern. I decided to ...

 For our collaboration project, we were assigned to create any piece of work. This was a very broad assignment which allowed us to think creatively and out of the box. I was paired with Martyna Cygan and Klaudia Osinska. I was very excited to create this project as we had the opportunity to bond more and get to know each other. However, this was bitter sweet as it would have been so much better to work with these girls in person.  Before creating our project, we decided to discuss a few possible outcomes. All 3 of us have different progression routes. I will be following product design, Martyna will be following graphics design and Klaudia will follow animation. For this project, we decided that it was a good idea to create something that combines all 3 of our progression routes. The first thing that came to mind was to create a leaflet. However, we realised that many people were aiming to produce a leaflet and we wanted to create something more unique and personal. We thought...