To start off I would say my work as a graphic designer is instinct only. What I mean by this is I use my fine art background in a way that allows me to release my feelings and intentions on the page. My past professors were well schooled in metaphysical paintings and took every opportunity to push these beliefs on me. Like the juxtaposition of objects in a painting or trying to tap into your unconscious mind, which allows you to do your best work. I am currently working in a bomb shelter that was created in the late seventies, which is quite cozy. It is like my own little "sound proof booth"(Beanie Seagul). I do my best work when I can ignore my outside influences, focus on what I need or want to do, and can grasp the little things I have absorbed along the way; which make me who I am and want to be. And if you have seen some of my work this includes a lot of humor and awkward relationships that create humor. I also like to use my hands, ripping things apart or using them to craft a project that can be sculpturally solved. I will do research when it comes to doing a project but that isn't necessarily the thing that makes the design happen. I like to observe things in nature and for that you must have a good eye. The basic movement of an ant and the relationship it has with the sun for example, or just the movement of a cat ready to pounce. These are the things that trigger my creativity. It could also just be something said at the local diner that I thought was funny. Bringing on a stream of consciousness that I was not able to pin point due to the fact that, design surrounds us constantly. When you are so heavily immersed in it, something has to stop that connection for a bit and you are blessed with something that is as unexpected as it is pleasing.
Wabi........
In the Matcha Project, we were given the book Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers, a reading that helped us better understand what our outcome or solution should be for our project. The parameters were very loose but because we had the book to refer to, I was able to come up with a rustic feel for the project and incorporate my hands on learning from fine arts. I decided to use the most simple of forms, but destroy those forms to create a structural design that is both sound and pleasant to the viewer. I feel that when I am given total freedom to do what I feel is right for the outcome of the project, I flourish. First I gathered materials that looked worn or weathered to observe how they interact with the space that surrounds them. I took from those objects characteristics that I thought well suited the rustic or Wabi feel of the book reading. I then found some left over cedar for the lid and 2 x 4 for the container part of the project. I sanded and scraped the cedar top to look weathered. Then used some of the left over scrap cedar to carve a spoon for the tea to be scooped from its container. Then I drilled out the 2 x 4 to create a pocket for the tea bag and spoon. The outside of the 2 x 4 was much more involved, for that I first took a dremel tool and made many little holes in the wood. Then I stained the wood and sanded away areas to create smooth and unstained surfaces for a rustic look. The final step in the process was to wax the whole piece and let it shine.
Shameless Self Promotion
Doing the self promo card, I was also given very little parameters which enabled me to again do what I feel and not what was supposed to be the solution. What I mean by that is sometimes I, or many designers, get caught up in thinking the outcome will be too obvious a solution. Where if you allow yourself to ignore those thoughts or fears, and just allow the work to come out, the results often suprise you. The project was pretty much me just having fun with my hands.
TimeLife....
Now the last thing I would like to discuss would be my redesign of the Health and Disease,Timelife book from the 1960's. It was a lot of fun for me, learning how to break from traditional grids and let the theme of the book influence the flow of the book. I feel it is important to allow the type and image on a page to breathe, not only for the sake of the design but for the viewer. I tried to do this and I think the book turned out well being that I was a junior at the time. What I really loved about the project was that it made me process everything that I had learned at RCAD in the years before and really use it. What no one really knows is that I didn't use a grid at all, I just did what felt right and the rest my eye did for me. I've been yelled at many times for not using a grid but how are we to push design if we don't do things that are off the wall. If you're not willing to be bold and fall on your face, then you will never be a good designer.
