20th Design Century

Mid Term Review

For the module 20th Design Century, i had learnt so many facts about arts and history of an era of art.

Besides, this module is about the 20th Century and the design methods and quality in 20th Design Century. For facts and learning curve,this module leader had lead me to discover on some nihilistic arts and about Cubism, Dadaisme, Surrealism, Conceptualisme and Postmodernisme.

The design term in this module is to try out the concept of each era that has been stated above. 20th Design Century module, are a good way to learn historical facts and art of design. I had learnt on how all these and future artworks had and might be an influence for the world to observe and criticize. 

20th Design Century

Surrealism

           Surrealism is a style in which fantastical visual imagery from the subconscious mind is used with no intention of making the work logically comprehensible. Founded by Andre Breton in 1924, it was a primarily European movement that attracted many members of the chaotic Dada movement. It was similar in some elements to the mystical 19th-century Symbolist movement, but was deeply influenced by the psychoanalytic work of Freud and Jung.

            Surrealism originated in the late 1910's and early 20's as a literary movement that experimented with a new mode of expression called automatic writing, or automatism, which sought to release the unbridled imagination of the subconscious. Officially consecrated in Paris in 1924 with the publication of the Manifesto of Surrealism by the poet and critic André Breton (1896–1966), Surrealism became an international intellectual and political movement. Breton, a trained psychiatrist, along with French poets Louis Aragon (1897–1982), Paul Éluard (1895–1952), and Philippe Soupault (1897–1990), were influenced by the psychological theories and dream studies of Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) and the political ideas of Karl Marx (1818–1883). Using Freudian methods of free association, their poetry and prose drew upon the private world of the mind, traditionally restricted by reason and societal limitations, to produce surprising, unexpected imagery. The cerebral and irrational tenets of Surrealism find their ancestry in the clever and whimsical disregard for tradition fostered by Dadaism a decade earlier.

An image of a Surrealism art by one of the famous Surrealist :


'The Persistence of Memory'

'Dali claimed (like most surrealists) that his images were “dream sequences” or inspired by his subconscious.'












                                                                                                                                 Salvador Dali


The Impact of Surrealism

Surrealism is known as a cultural movement originated in the early-1920s.  The movement became recognized all around the globe and affected various media, including the visual arts, literature, film, and music, political thought and philosophy.

Surrealism movies include Entr'acte (René Clair,1924), La Coquille et le clergyman (Germaine Dulac, 1928), Un chien andalou and L'Âge d'Or (Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí), L'Étoile de mer (Man Ray, 1928), by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, 1930), Le sang d'un poète (Jean Cocteau, 1930). Surrealism influence is present in a number of films. Such filmmaker as David Lynch due to some aspects of many of his films is also regarded as a Surrealist. Surrealism in movies is recognized due to the sudden emergence of the uncanny into the "normal" which may or may not be further explored in the rest of the film.

Surrealism has greatly impacted many fields. Surrealism in art is a creative act of effort to liberate imagination. The Surrealism style dynamic and as dialectic in its thought, is present in the works of the obscure poet Samuel Greenberg and the hobo writer and humourist T-Bone Slim. Clark Ashton Smith, Montague Summers, Fantomas, The Residents, Bugs Bunny, comic strips are also referred to the style. Surrealism has had an impact on radical and revolutionary politics, both directly and indirectly (the New Left of the 1960s and 1970s and the French revolt of May 1968).

Originated at the beginning of the 20th century Surrealism movement goes on developing. These days a lot of artists worldwide created their works being influenced the ideas and techniques of Surrealism style. The movement has transformed into many other artistic styles and nowadays there are lots of painters whose works can be referred to this very style.

reference   :

(2012) The metropolitan museum of art. [Online]. Available from : http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/surr/hd_surr.htm [Accessed 29 August 2014]

Reflection :

From Surrealism, i understand that it is about creating arts which is influenced from the past or the current issues by subconsciousness idea and view. For now, most arts and artists are still up to the concepts o surrealism in a different way of design. These impacts to the society too by the messages from each and every art of surrealism. Some people in certain place of a specific country accepted surrealism as in a positive point, but as same as some on the negative point.

Critical Thinking

Task 3

 Navigate Me !

Task : Create a Directional Map base on typographic elements showing the direction the said / planned destination. Incorporation of visual images besides typographic elements is strictly prohibited.


During the weekend,I spent my time at my relative's house at  Jalan Bukit Belimbing, Ladang Bukit Talang (River Side Estate), Kuala Selangor. On Saturday morning, I headed to the nearest Seven Eleven shop to get my Airtime Prepaid. On my way to Seven Eleven, there are few shop along the journey.

The Map to the nearest Seven Eleven

The road trip to the Seven Eleven is about a 5.8 Km distance from my relative's house. On the way to Seven Eleven, there are a Mini Mart, a Mosque, a 24 hours Operating Clinic, a new neighbourhood housing construction, a big Tyre Shop and a Market.

The navigation to a particular area should be clear, so that the person who need to be navigated are not confused and corner at a dead end. As a reflection from this, I had learnt on how helpful the combination of map and typography are to somebody. The typographic elements gives additional information in a map for the direction to a particular area.

Development on the Map (Navigate Me)

sketch of the Map after surveying the surrounding area.

Methods Of Investigation

Mid Point Review

Methods Of Investigation

In this Semester, for the module Methods Of Investigation, we had gone through Methods Of Investigation clearly one by one. The methods are  Visual Anthropology and Primary & Secondary Research, Formative & Summative Research and Observational Research, Demographic Research, Psychographic , Ethnographic and Literature Review and Research Methodologies & Qualitative and Quantitative. 

Besides of Methods Of Investigation only, referring books relating with design are being used to learn design terms in many ways and from many point of views from people around the world. At a minimal 10 books are explored using the E-brary tool. A passage from a book explored and followed by the summary of it :

Book                           : Solid States: Concrete in Transition   
Author                         : Bell, Buckley   Buckley, Craig   Bell, Michael   
Publisher                     : Princeton Architectural Press
Date Published            : 11/2010 

"As le Corbusier’s befon brut phrase emerged in the 1950’s and 1960’s, pushing well past his steel and glass smoothness into the roughness of the politics or every day life, the term brutalism was invented not only tangibility of experience surface in an heavy way. Life is hard. Through brutalism architecture become obdurate, even unyielding in its mass, crushing the effete protect of steel and plaster with its overwhelming commitment to exist forever. Yet, with structional possibilities of reinforced concrete in hand, the most apparently ponderous period of modernism had instantly become a discource on architecture’s most famous incongruity; the heaviest material had become weightless and infinitely plastic. No longer simply organised around grids, columns, beams, and the lingua franca of dry, piecemeal construction, concrete escalated a formal agenda predicted of wetness and fluidity, a material sensibility that not only defied the morals of international modernism. It did so by becoming plastic. Experience could finally be poured in place."

Summary:

Life is hard. Through brutalism architecture are obdurate, even unyielding in its mass, crushing the effete protect of steel and plaster with its overwhelming commitment to exist forever. With structional possibilities of reinforced concrete in hand, the heaviest material had become weightless and infinitely plastic. Concrete escalated a formal agenda besides a material sensibility that not only defied the morals of international modernism. It did so by becoming plastic. Experience could finally be poured in place.

Next task for website design experimentation, we were asked to explore on 5 website and the style on how features and themes were selected to attract audience and to avoid failed visual communication.

Moreover, group discussion in this module is another way how we share thoughts and review of the overall topic that we go through. Critics and feedback are interesting at most of the time. Share of thoughts in this module are useful for  all the module. This is because each methods and topics that we see, are relating to most of the topics that found in other modules for this semester.

Current issues such as Baby Abandoning, Drugs and Alcohol. These issues are covered in this module to gain more points which might relate to the next task for this and the other modules.

My conclusion for this Module is perfect topic recovery, issues , articles and practices.

Tasks from this module relates all the modules in this semester and it makes the information flow on other modules easier and this goes the other way around too.

Critical Thinking

Practice Task

In this task, Mr. Kamarul instructed each of us to look for 1 nature environmental object and another was a man made object. Then, we were told to take step by step change the design of the nature object to the man made object that had found before.
 As i found a small branch of a plant and in another hand to represent man made object is a pencil.
so, i must show on how a part of a plant can become a pencil. Minimum of 5 frame of transformation is required. 

this sketches was actually not completed.
But what i would like to share is the elements that need to be focused in this task is imagination and inovating things according the limitation that we have. Even when the limitation is greater, but the creativity and imaginative spec is way too beyond in this practice.


For additional practice, we were required to look another pair of object to practice on skills in visual arts.
I selected a lady bird and a shuttle cock for explore the transformation process.

 in modern days and ancient time, man made goods are idea from the environment at least about 75%. This task were very enjoyable and interesting to explore shape of the nature goods and the man made goods. Practicing such an activity are very helpful to learn transformation from one to another.

Design Studio Conceptualisation

Task 3 

Modular System

Explore and design modular units that are flexible for arrangement.
(FORM-DEFORM) : Shape/ Design

a) For this task, what i understand is to Form a Shape or design bu using a selected object with the units more than one.

My understanding in this task is to make something that is nice to see in the spec of shape and design. My selection in this task is a Styrofoam plate.

What can a styrofoam form into?????

This was the question i ask myself before starting this task.....

I decided to cut the inner platform of the plate in circular shape, then cut some spaces to interlock 
other cut out of the Styrofoam plates. The reason why i use Styrofoam plate in this task is due to the flexibility of it and it is easy to carried from one place to another.

styrofoam plate fan

Since the shape of my Styrofoam design looks like a fan, and it works when the wind blows. Main point in this design is Form and Deform. My design could be assembled and disassembled as shown above. Besides, it could be flattened and deflattened. 

b) In this Task, another required to Explore and design using the same material used in previous task (Task 3.a.). For this task (b), the function is the main element to be focused on the design that is produced.

Initially, my design by using styrofoam plate in this task is a Photo Frame, which never satisfied me at all. And it looks like this :

styrofoam photo frame

After few days I were up to solve my problem in my living room where i face problems in placing letters and reminders in a secured place. Later on, i decided to make a Pocket Hanger which made of Styrofoam Plates. 

styrofoam plate paper pocket

During my progress in this task, i had some confusion in choosing a good material for my design.

According to Miss Tiffany's comment, i decided to keep going through in use of this Styrofoam Plate.

• sketches that i have done to explore on how to put the styrofoam parts into something that might look nice or might be useful for our daily life.

Exploring and experimentation is very important in making an object or a design. A design will not just be perfect when applied directly on the material. Sketches are essential here to explore and develop ideas even greater and better. 

I have learnt so many things from this task. I have learnt that a designer should have alternative ways in solving or making this that helps around us.

Critical Thinking

Task 2

 Word as Visual Expression

In demonstrating my characteristic or profile, the words that i have chosen are :

1. Active
2. Ambitious
3. Playful
4. Helpful
5. Hard work

These words are given to me based on my studiomates point of view on myself. With a brief by Mr. Kamarul, we discussed in studio to voice each person's character instead of saying our own. As we all knew, each person has their own characteristic which will never be the same with somebody else. So,in this case I were required to design the word of character which to express myself.


So, my first word to express about me is :

 

The font of this word expression is ALLAN ROOSTER and as clearly shown,the typeface is Active. Style of this word is regular.

Definition of Active : a person that moves around and does so many things.

The color of this word is blue, orange, purple, dark blue, green and yellow. Each letters is positioning inconsistently to say that an active person is energetic and spry. Using these colors for the typeface due to represents participation in any activity in any situation. In short, the color is to say that activeness on anytime anywhere.

Moving to the next one :

 For my next characteristic which is AMBITIOUS, font that I have selected is BRUSHMARK. The word ambitious means that a strong desire to achieve something. My selection of color for this word is brown,and the color gets brighter from bottom to top. This is due to expressing the achievement is at the top. This word is designed as a hill for the reason on showing a higher dreams of achieving something in life. The style of this word is Regular. 

My next word that expresses Myself is :

 Hard Work. For this word, the design that i gave is a concrete hard look with a strong and stiff color to express the sustainability of the characteristic. Font of this word is HIGH JINKS. The definition of this work is doing something with full of concern and appropriate with no waste of time. The style of this word is regular.















The fourth word to express myself is the word HELPFUL.

  To express the word HELPFUL, i designed the word hanging by each letters relying on the letter before it to highlight that there is helpful element in the word. The colors are differentiated to show that being helpful not to specific and in a certain situation only. The font that I've used is AGENCY FB. The adjective of this word is "able to help in anything and any how" or "a handy person that never refuse to help".

The style of this word is Regular.

Last but not least of my Word Expression :

PLAYFUL

For this word as expression, The font that used are BRUSH OF KENT. The color for this word is to show that the playfullness  which the colors are blue, light blue, pink, purple, yellow and both green and light green. According to dictionary, it defines that playful characteristic is a lively and cheerful character. The style of this word is regular.

sketches during this task:

since each word has a typical meaning, a suitable font had to be selected to express the word which this might show the characteristic of a particular person by the way it is presented.

Reflection :

Characteristic that we can find in ourselves can be expressed through different type of fonts, design, color and features. Each characteristic can be designed by experimenting it in design terms. Playing with fonts and design of letters are helpful in many ways,for an example in creating a cartoon character, besides it makes visual communication to be much interesting.