Tag: programmed design

Design & Color, Winter 2017 week 7

The seventh session of the Design and Color class for Winter 2017 was held on Wednesday, February 15. We discussed recent media coverage of innovative and influential designers; shared more On A Roll creations; critiqued the homework; and Dick revealed the final assignment for the class, Find a Design Need. Please view the whole post for photos, links, and class materials.

The seventh session of the Design and Color class for Winter 2017 was held on Wednesday, February 15. We discussed recent media coverage of innovative and influential designers; shared more On A Roll creations; critiqued the homework; and Dick revealed the final assignment for the class, Find a Design Need.

Homework assignment – Find a design need

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/DesignFinal.pdf”]

Class recap – some key ideas

Design stories and exemplars

We began class by sharing design stories, with Dick asking the class, “Can you think of a time when you invented something that filled a need for you?” A few people shared examples, while most students knew that they had, but could not think of a direct example off the top of their head. Dick asked them to think about something that had frustrated them, or a situation that called for a quick fix or a creative answer to a sudden problem. To alleviate frustration, or help people by making life easier in some way, is often the starting point for new inventions (or updates on existing ones).

This topic led one student to share her experience watching a recent show, “Abstract: The Art of Design”, produced by Netflix. It is a design docuseries with eight episodes that showcase one designer per segment (featuring well-known names in the fields of illustration, graphic design, set design, photography, automobile industry, product design, architecture, and interior design). As the tag line says, “Step inside the minds of the most innovative designers in a variety of disciplines and learn how design impacts every aspect of life.” In the episode that Christine watched (Episode 2 – Tinker Hatfield: Footwear Design), she was struck by the designer’s statement about his work: “It’s not about self-expression, it’s about problem-solving.”

This prompted Dick to talk about the article and video clip he had sent out to the class the previous week about a British designer, Thomas Heatherwick. This innovative designer is known for his striking creations, including a redesign of the classic double decker bus in London; a rolling pedestrian bridge that curls up to allow boats to pass by, and his ethereal “seed cathedral” at the World Expo in Shanghai 2010. But what struck Dick the most about his interview was Heatherwick’s playful and curiosity-fueled mindset, a way of viewing life that leads him to consider all the alternatives, and especially the ones that most people write off as being ridiculous, bizarre, or impossible to build. In Heatherwick’s own words: “There’s great benefits to globalization and things that are wonderful and fantastic, but it means you need to put very deliberate effort now into helping things have their own soulfulness … Why do something if it already exists?” As Dick pointed out, this exemplifies the spirit of What if?

Critique – On a Roll

Students then shared this week’s round of cardboard creations, with most students expanding or refining previous ideas they had brought in. Cindy showed us the latest development of her lamp idea, where she had taken several of her previous cut out designs and spray painted them copper, also adding battery-powered candles to light the interior. The combination of copper color and little “caps” for the tops made them look very earthy and brought to mind toadstools or mushrooms found in the forest.

Patt decided to use some of the techniques others had used before, and incorporated weaving, shibori, and wet cardboard to make a covering for an old vase that had lost its original coating. The result was an engaging study in contrasting textures, and a showcase for how beautiful the cardboard could be on its own (without added colors or varnish).

Linda had brought in more bowls, and shared a hilarious story about her and Mary working together to try and flatten the cardboard “mush” as much as possible by using Mary’s car as the weight. The story delighted Dick with its example of “What if?” and he said that he could never have imagined the things people would come up with as a result of this assignment.

The logo on Dick’s website

Keri shared a mobile she had made based on Dick’s logo (as seen on his website, which is also an interactive tool to explore color combinations and CMYK mixing. Click on the logo on Dick’s website and see where it takes you!). Dick led another discussion on the what if’s of Keri’s design, and also the considerations a mobile has that makes it different from other forms of design (such as being a kinetic sculpture, focusing on balance and movement).

Critique – Exploit geometric shape modular design program

Modular paper design
A modular paper design by a Punahou student

Before beginning the critique, we took time to view this image of a paper sculpture done by a student of Dick’s while he was a teacher at Punahou School. This piece was done by scoring and bending paper, with little to no glue or tape to hold it together. The design was achieved with the same methods of natural progression (module and program) that we have been studying in this series.

The homework discussion focused on the ways students had used last week’s critique comments to further develop and refine their designs. Much of what Dick spoke about last week was continued here, with more commentary on identifying your color arrays (identification based on color and value); integrating figure and ground; and making sure the entire design (including shape, color, value, orientation, etc.) is related to its original DNA or blueprint. This last concept was further elaborated on by discussing the way shape and color could work together as they change to enhance the visual result. Dick recommended maintaining consistency through shape, scale, and color, so that as the color changes, so would the shape (or the scale of the shape). For example, if the artist chose an array with 11 color steps (2 parents and 9 children), then the shapes would also follow a pattern of 11 shape or scale changes. This kind of consistent progression in both shape and color would help create a sense of completion in the piece, or a “logical conclusion” as Dick likes to call it.

Most of all, Dick stressed again the importance of KNOWING YOUR OPTIONS, and it is the educated person who has true freedom, while the ignorant person remains trapped by their lack of alternatives. To check your available options, the best thing is to have a list of all the formal elements of your work, and to go through it systematically and thoroughly. Dick has created lists to use as a starting point, and it is a fantastic tool to help artists see where they may be making design choices on autopilot mode, and have ignored other possibilities.

A comment was raised about the seemingly endless variations you can create using the Illustrator program, and how overwhelming it can be to have so many options to choose from. We discussed that as another consideration of the artist or designer: when do you Converge on an idea? When do you stop the Expansion phase, and choose to add the fence posts and decide on the boundaries? Knowing when it is time to move on to the Convergence phase will be different for every project, but it is imperative that you do move on. For something to take shape in the real world, it has to have boundaries and limits, and sometimes, more is better: remember, restriction breeds creativity!

View all online submissions

Roll the Die

Before announcing the last assignment for next week, Dick asked everyone to spend a few minutes filling out their What If sheets from last week. The worksheet had 7 categories, listing components such as Container, Material, and Durability, and spaces for 6 different responses to those categories. Once everyone had filled out a sheet, Dick rolled a die and called out the numbers. After we had gone through every category, Dick asked each student to read out loud their particular combination of items.

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/DesignOpts.pdf”]

It was a fun and entertaining way to get our creative thoughts flowing, and some of the results recalled the game ‘Mad Libs’, where the answers don’t always make sense, but can be much more interesting than the ‘correct’ answers would have been!

Dick recommended playing this kind of game whenever an artist is feeling stuck or having ‘artist’s block’. By taking elements out of context, and combining things that our logical mind tells us don’t make sense, you can form new connections between what you had thought were previously unrelated components. Again, this is where Dick’s Objective Critique Guide is the perfect list to use for this activity, as he has already given us several categories to fill in with options.

Final assignment

Our last assignment asks us to address a design need or problem. What bothers you in daily life, or what do you think could be improved? Where do you see a problem that could be addressed, or a common complaint that could use an innovative solution? This assignment is more about looking and listening and being aware of the world around you than it is about the 6 phases of problem solving. As Dick wrote in the homework, “Time won’t allow for full closure on this assignment, but especially if we are first unable to recognize a NEED.” What does the world need, in large and small ways? We will find out next week!

Class photos

Design & Color, Winter 2017 week 4

The fourth session of the Design and Color class for Winter 2017 was held on Wednesday, January 25. The new homework assignment is to explore opportunities for modular design using a geometric shape instead of a toothpick. Students shared more cardboard roll creations and modular toothpick designs, and Karen shared a clear and thorough presentation on understanding design programs.

The fourth session of the Design and Color class for Winter 2017 was held on Wednesday, January 25. The new homework assignment is to explore opportunities for modular design using a geometric shape instead of a toothpick. Students shared more cardboard roll creations and modular toothpick designs, and Karen shared a clear and thorough presentation on understanding design programs.

Homework assignment

Create a design incorporating a single module which, like the toothpick design,
is programmed to produce a larger system without preconception.

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ModularPartIIa.pdf”]

Class recap – some key ideas

Critique – Ongoing assignment: On a roll

Before the class shared their recent On A Roll creations, Dick spoke for a moment on his observations of the week before. He had noticed the class seemed to be more focused on the idea of a final result (a finished object) rather than exploring the “what if’s” of the cardboard roll. He mentioned this as being indicative of a mind set that is trained to be productive and not waste time – the “Puritan work ethic” – versus having fun with the cardboard without expectations ­– the “playground”.

He asked us to focus our thinking along those lines of play and curiosity, and reminded us that the habit of asking “what if” will cause you to look at the world differently. This habit will help you “not get locked in with these [self-imposed] barriers, or fall in lockstep” with what the rest of the world is doing. His directive? KEEP PLAYING.

Check out the photo gallery to see what students shared. Some explorations were inspired by what other students had shown last week, resulting in a synthesis of ideas. Others were inspired by a spirit of “I wonder what would happen if…”

View all On a roll assignments submitted online.

Discussion – Design or Decoration?

One student mentioned planning to decorate a roll creation later, which prompted Dick to ask, “When is it decoration, and when is it design?” (See handout in Class Materials section below.)

Mary related that her daughter is an interior designer, and her daughter does not appreciate it when people refer to the job as ‘interior decorator’. Mary sees an interior designer as designing space, in that the design has to respond to the flow of events and movements that occur not just in a room, but the whole house. An interior designer is not merely matching the color of the wallpaper to the curtains, which would be along the lines of ‘decorating’.

Chris commented that decorating is more about surface treatment, while designing goes to the core of the situation. She summed it up succinctly as, “Design is about relationships and problem-solving.” This is exactly what this class is about.

Design is about relationships and problem-solving.

Critique – Assignment 3, Programmed design: Toothpick module exploitation

Karen presented her design program exploration (see the full presentation in the Class Materials section below) before the class shared their toothpick designs, which was an excellent segue into the homework critique. Dick asked the class to identify in each design: What is the module? What is the program? And does that program continue, or does it deviate at some point?

One of the most successful results came from Patt, who had designed a very simple system. She glued her unfolding progression to a black board, and then photographed it so that she could continue the sequence on her computer. She had realized that the final result would be huge if she tried to do it all with actual toothpicks, so it was easier to finish the complete design using digital means. And it was a “Wow!” Her design showed beautifully what happens when we follow a program through to its logical conclusion.

View all Toothpick module exploitation assignments submitted online.

Class materials

The following slide shows and videos will be very helpful as we move into the next homework assignment, which adds the elements of shape and color. Instead of the toothpick, students will have the freedom to create their own shape/module, while also using color in a programmed and systematic way.

Presentation: Understanding a design program

The class listens to Karen’s presentation on modules and programs

Karen spent time last week figuring out how the Punahou student toothpick design from last week was built, and gave a presentation making the modules and programming explicit.

Summing up, she said that modular design programs:

  • Are based on inherent qualities of the module
  • Have initial conditions / setup
  • Have rules, with elements of change and restraint
  • Repeat, following rules – this is the program

We are studying them because programs can be a powerful and creative tool in your artistic toolbox.

 

The PDF below contains the slides and speaker’s notes (17 pages, 5 MB).

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Programmed-Design-w-Notes.pdf” height=”460px”]

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Design-Decorate.pdf”]

Videos

Array and matrix concepts

The assignment requires that module color changes be programmed according to an array or matrix. Watch these brief videos to become familiar with the concepts of color arrays and matrixes, which Dick has found guarantee creating colors which relate, sometimes to magical effect.

Modular design Illustrator tutorial

Here’s a 10-minute video, in which Dick gives some tips on setting up an Illustrator workspace, working with shapes and colors, and demonstrates creating, duplicating, and transforming a quarter-circle module, and arranging it into a possible larger module.

Here are approximate time codes for some of the topics:
0:00 Setting up the workspace, grids
2:40 Shapes
4:00 Colors
5:15 Quarter circle with pen tool
7:40 Scaling, duplicating, reflecting, arranging

Array and matrix Illustrator tutorials

This video details how to create an array from black to white in Illustrator. The concept can be easily extended to create arrays between any colors and/or shapes.

Extending the array concept into two dimensions creates a matrix, in which 4 corner colors generate a family of colors which all relate to each other.

Design & Color, Winter 2017 week 3

The third session of the Design and Color class for Winter 2017 was held on Wednesday, January 18. The class shared more cardboard roll creations, producing several new objects that exploited and synthesized some of last week’s discoveries. Dick critiqued the toothpick designs, and we discussed in depth the concepts of a ‘module’ and how that turns into a ‘program’, and what exactly that means in terms of our design work. Remember, it all comes back to RELATIONSHIP. Please see the full post for class materials and photographs.

The third session of the Design and Color class for Winter 2017 was held on Wednesday, January 18. The class shared more cardboard roll creations, producing several new objects that exploited and synthesized some of last week’s discoveries. Dick critiqued the toothpick designs, and we discussed in depth the concepts of a ‘module’ and how that turns into a ‘program’, and what exactly that means in terms of our design work. Remember, it all comes back to RELATIONSHIP.

Homework assignment

Dick emphasized the programmed aspect of the toothpick module design assignment in this week’s critique, resulting in another chance at the assignment.

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ProgrammedDesignToothpick.pdf”]

Class recap – some key ideas

Critique – “On a Roll” assignment

Class began with another round of students sharing their latest cardboard roll creations. The collection included more holders (for cell phones, cords, glasses, pens, etc.), woven mats, sculptural objects, and even a musical instrument! What was most apparent was that many students had either exploited ideas discussed in the previous class, or had combined concepts and ideas from other sources to synthesize a new use for the cardboard roll (drawing on sources such as a past class with Dick, or a technique learned elsewhere, etc.).

A few of Dick’s comments during the discussion:

“Are you keeping track of your thinking? What are your decisions? What did you decide?”

Dick continues to ask us to slow down and pay attention to our thoughts. Many of our decisions and choices are made so quickly that we don’t notice we are even making a decision, and this kind of mental autopilot hinders us from noticing all the options available at each turn. If we never stop to ask ourselves what else is possible, we will eventually find ourselves in an artistic rut that we keeping repeating.

“When do you know when to add, or when to subtract? When do you know when to stop? When is it too much, and how do you know?”

This was a question Dick posed to the class, without finding a definitive or singular answer. This is part of the Evaluation stage of the creative process, and again calls our attention to being aware of our options and being conscious of why we choose what we did. The answer to these questions is unique to each project and its goals, and Dick likes to use the metaphor of a bridge with girders: “As a builder, how many girders is enough?”

“By picking one idea, you can go deeper – instead of going vertical [‘what else can I do, what other ideas are there?’], go lateral [‘what else can I do with this one idea?’].”

By ‘vertical’, Dick was referring to the phase of Expansion: when your mind and the page are blank, and you are playing around with ideas and elements (such as a color theme, a subject matter, a material or process) without any thought of a final design. This is where research comes in handy; or leafing through books or a magazine, waiting for inspiration to strike. Once you have found something you that captures your attention, it’s now time to go ‘lateral’: take your one idea and use that as a starting point for further development (the Convergence phase).

“Does the design work as a vertical [orientation]? Always ask, what if? This whole course is [points back to that]: ask continuously, what if, what if, what if.”

Again, pay attention your thought process, and recognize all the options available for each step along the way. When you rule out a choice (I will make this a circle, not a square; I will paint this red and not blue; etc.), you will being doing it with full awareness of the why behind it.

“The most important [aspect] of being a designer is the recognition that there is a cycle, and that everything exists in relationship [to everything else]. … It all comes back to RELATIONSHIP.”

See more solutions in the “On a Roll” homework submitted online.

Critique – “Toothpick module exploitation” assignment

Some students brought in toothpick designs they had glued down; others submitted digital photographs of their work.

We moved on to the toothpick critique, with students sharing the multitude of designs they created in the last week. Before beginning the critique, Dick asked the class to break into teams and go over a worksheet that asked questions based on two designs (see the worksheet in the Class Materials section below). The issue was to notice the differences between a naturally occurring design (one that had been ‘programmed’), and one that was done arbitrarily by making ‘imposed’ decisions.

“Don’t just impose something to make it more exciting – if you encounter a problem, or you’re bored with the design, go back to the source and change the program.”

One student asked how we can tell when is a change imposed (forced), versus when is it part of the program (natural)? Dick answered that “Everything is an imposition in the beginning,” but by the time you have made a few design decisions (what to change and what will stay the same), the program of those decisions will continue to make the design without you needing to force anything to happen.

“The curve [in this design] is not imposed – it happens as a result of the toothpick changing in a set program. DO NOT CREATE A SHAPE: create a program, which in turn will create a shape [as a secondary effect].”

“What can change? How many factors do you have? How many variables? … [For each decision, you say] ‘I’m going to impose a change, and an element of restraint’.”

We also discussed further what it meant to have a module and a program for this assignment, and how essential that is in order to create designs that we would otherwise never think of. There is a certain magic that takes over when we work within the limits of what the toothpicks are (the inherent qualities), and instill a deliberate and methodical amount of change that is not haphazard or accidental.

A module is defined by Google as, “each of a set of standardized parts or independent units that can be used to construct a more complex structure, such as an item of furniture or a building”. Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “one of a set of separate parts that can be joined together to form a larger object”.

A program is defined by Merriam Webster as “a sequence of coded instructions (as genes or behavioral responses) that is part of an organism“, and by Google as a noun: “a planned series of future events, items, or performances“, or as a verb: “arrange according to a plan or schedule“.

“It has to have some kind of built-in change. You have to get the hint that every 3rd or 5th toothpick is going to do something. … The design has to constantly evolve.”

See all toothpick module exploitations submitted online.

Programmed design example

Dick showed this elaborate toothpick design, created by a Punahou High School student during Dick’s time there.

The homework assignment is to go back and continue working on the toothpick designs with the concept of ‘modules’ and ‘programs’ firmly in mind. Dick repeated that the design should be like a strand of DNA, and if the program is followed correctly, it will yield a complex, yet completely natural, final result. This is how we ensure that everything in the work is related – nothing is random, artificial, or erratic – all elements are in relationship to each other, just as in Nature. It doesn’t copy nature, but copies how nature works.

A preview of next week

Dick showed a portion of an Illustrator tutorial video that will be helpful for next week’s assignment. It will be uploaded to the web so everyone will be able to access it.

Class photos

Class materials

Dick provided this handout for students to compare an arbitrary toothpick design with one that is programmed.

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/I-DidntCitComin2.pdf”]

Supplementary materials, sent out after class

Dick shared his analysis regarding why the latest toothpick studies didn’t seem to exploit the programming aspect of the assignment.

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/What-went-wrong.pdf”]

Here is one toothpick study, annotated to direct the student toward programming. This advice accompanied it:

In general, try to focus on “the toothpick as the measure of all things”. Rather than progressing via some mathematical concept, explore the toothpicks and their qualities – length, width (which is different at one end vs. the other), what happens when you put them next to each other with different orientations… Just play around with them, ask “What if?” and don’t settle for one until you get to one that’s interesting or surprising. (I know they’re really frustrating and fiddly to manipulate, and when you place one you invariably bump several more. See if you can find a surface – rubber? felt? – that keeps them in place a bit while you experiment. It can also be helpful to have a T-square or triangle or ruler or template of some type, especially when you get to the stage of final assembly.)

Also, think of the programming as very mechanical – a machine should be able to follow the rules. Or, if you are arranging them, and telling someone the steps on the telephone at the same time, they should be able to come up with the exact same arrangement. Describe placement in terms of toothpick measurements. Do you knit or crochet? You’re following a program. Traditional quilts have programs within programs.

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ToothpickCommentary.pdf” height=”430px”]