The Fantastic Five

During todays' session in class, we were assigned to complete a brainstorm including five main ideas for the area that interests us the most. 

I completed an ideas generation post in the previous blog where I roughly mapped out all my main ideas for the three themes. I really enjoyed that process as it helped me clear everything out in my head and understand which themes I prefer. This blog is the second step for deciding in which direction I want to branch out to.

I started leaning towards the two themes, 'Primitivism' and 'Ultimate Black' from the beginning of the process. I found more links, connections and interests in these two themes. Initially, it was hard to differentiate which one is most suitable. However, I quickly realised that this term, it is a goal of mine to primarily focus on pushing myself and exploring new possibilities. Choosing the ultimate black theme would be, in a way, repetition of the same concept I had the last term. Even though I enjoyed researching colour into detail, I found myself feeling very alienated and drained from it. Choosing such as a broad subject such as a colour, made me get lost and overwhelmed in research. A primary example includes the purple colour. I was so easily pushed on a tangent as I started researching the history, links, psychology, marketing. Additionally, it really restricted my colour pallet as I had to showcase one specific colour. 

This term, I want to challenge myself to complete something different. I want to be able to sculpt my own unique items with a designated colour palette that matches them. 

Looking into last terms project, I really liked the fact that I chose one specific movement, De Stijl, and then elaborated and researched on that. It made me feel less overwhelmed and more focused towards an end result. I am planning on doing the same this term.

With all that in mind, I started mapping out 5 ideas that could be my project for 'Primitivism'.

The first idea at the top of the brainstorm was sparked when we started researching about Teotihuacan masks in contextual studies. I can perhaps look at that era and come up with various shapes and sizes inspired by that.

The second idea, being the one that interests me the most, is the 70-80s theme. Even though my tutor did express some concerns about this topic not being considered as 'Primitivism', I think that I can make it fit well. I was not born during those times and it is definitely a ride to the past that I would love to research. 

I explored different tangents of that specific era. I branched my theme out to different events or movements that occured. I could draw inspiration from the music, disco, flower power etc. The first idea that came to mind was to create a collection of four chairs. Each chair would be inspired by a different concept of the 80s. 

Last term, I had 6 different products. I noticed that I did not have enough time to properly research each one. I ended up excluding research for the stairs or the shelves. I realised that by making 4 chairs this term, I could properly research all aspects of them. Last term I had a lot of research, however, it did not have a lot of depth on all the products. By applying this method this term, it will allow me to look at anthropometrics and ergonomics more carefully. 

I also added pop art as a concept for inspiration. This sparked my next idea, to primarily focus on the pop art aspect. I could look at combining this texture with my own unique colour scheme. I can create a collection of pieces or I could create individual products.

The next example was to create individual pieces of furniture using paintings. I could examine carefully each painting and then consider some of their aspects to become products. 

Last but not least, I thought of creating products using a colonial approach. I could copy the style of furniture, materials, textures and colour scheme and add a touch of modern to make it unique.

Additionally, it is evident that the previous terms I focused on the functionality of the products more. However, this term, I want to focus on the aesthetics as it is something that really interests me.

Moreover, I can always combine some of these topics. I can use the colonial approach when it comes to the structure of the furniture and then focus on the 70-80s for the aesthetics or the pop art. It is important to note that these are rough, incomplete ideas.

Conclusion: These are the first steps to my products. I will continue researching and thinking about the different outcomes that I could possibly look at with this theme. I do believe that this is a good start and in the next blog post I will include some research on these 5 ideas to see if anything truly interests me. I think that this is a perfect theme for me to experiment with. It is a broad topic which allows me to properly research everything before starting my project. I can choose to focus on one aspect of this theme to have more directly related research.