Fifteen

THIS IS THE last post for this project. A process that began three months ago, the end-product has been satisfying indeed. Certainly, there have been key elements of my personal design process that have come under scrutiny as a result of this project. I end this with an image of my final product - a distillation of my work that I bound in an accordion book format.

AS I AM writing this before our final critique, I do not know how it will be received save that I enjoyed making the final product and am excited to continue my personal exploration of ways in which the digital may be combined with the analog.

Fin.

Fourteen

THESE ARE the interpretive drawings of the finishes that I had previously done. Since the project's emphasis has been on surface designs, I chose to do abstract figures and then applied my surface designs in loose strokes. The mood is very different and less formal when compared to the conventional fashion drawings. For all that fashion drawing is supposed to be loose and expressive, it has its own conventions and gestures.

Fin.

Thirteen

AFTER LAST WEEK's reflection on the surface designs, I did a number of drafts and redid the 'bamboo stripe' print. It was interesting to note that the same decorative elements might be reconfigured to such different effect.

A further requirement of the project was to create an interpretative version of the traditional fashion figures that are used to illustrate surface and structural designs in fashion. Coincidentally, in a separate drawing class, we were recently called upon to experiment with other illustrative styles. I personally liked what was done in the class and wondered if it was possible to translate the style in a different medium. If anything, Digital class has suggested that it can.

Fin.

Twelve

AMID ALL the craziness of finals, I coloured the illustrations I made with the surface designs that I had created for Digital. While I do like them, I might revise the bamboo stripe print (placed on the lining of the tunic - the format for displaying that print will have to be rethought) because upon reflection, they appear to lack the energy that the chrysanthemum print has.

Fin.

Eleven

OVER THANKSGIVING BREAK, I was afforded the chance to reflect upon this project so far and it is remarkable to note the form and shape that the design process can take. This is especially true in regard to the manner in which we are taught to apply a common design process to various mediums.

TAKE FLATS, for example - the rudiments of which might be easily grasped but perfection takes plenty of practice and a critical eye for detail beyond the aesthetic flourishes of illustration. Doing flats digitally have the benefit of precision but when precision - a hard-earned quality in hand-drawn flats - becomes a matter of connecting points, the conventions of flat-drawing have to be expanded. And so, adding colour and texture to digital flats might not be as verboten as it had been in hand-drawn flats.

THE DESIGN PROCESS comprises a myriad of steps, some of them smaller than others. None of them is negligible.

Fin.

Ten

THIS WEEK WAS SPENT working out the finishes for the final presentation in Digital class. In keeping with the feedback from the critiques and the continual re-evaluation of my aesthetic from other classes, the finishes reflect my revision to the way in which I might use surface designs in my work.

AT THIS POINT in the project, the apparel design appears to have become a component of the final product in which other design elements become just as critical. There appears to be some sort of lesson in this with regard the role of apparel design vis a vis visual presentation.

Fin.

Nine

     AS A MAJOR PROJECT in a different class draws to a close this week, I found myself with more time to devote to this project. Reflecting on the variations of prints and colour ways that had been developed, I thought about the role of trial and error in the process. Just this week for example, the final product for the Gap/Banana Republic competition had been twice revised and redone.

     Given the multiplicity of variations that a surface design's outcome could take, the process of elimination was important not only as a way of de-cluttering but also as a means of mining available material for new insights. Drawing from another class, the kimono jacket for Integrated Studio had undergone two mock-ups before it could be cut in fabric - each version yielding new insights and provided a solution for future improvements.

     Reflection without an eventual outcome ceases to be a creative process, however, and given the exigencies of the school semester, the final surface designs should be decided this week so that going forward, they can inform the final designs.

Fin.