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.

Eight

AS WE MOVE closer towards our second presentation deadline, this week was spent finalising surface designs and deciding which colourways worked best. With regard to surface designs, last week's musings were taken seriously and a print involving an abstract bamboo grove was developed that also mimicked a stripe. The graphic simplicity of that is juxtaposed against a more elaborate large-scale repeat based on a chrysanthemum motif.

DURING A PREVIOUS critique, someone in class remarked that "space does not equate simplicity" and it struck me that I found the chrysanthemum print to be just as appealing as the bamboo stripe even though it was more elaborate. There, again, lies some form of tension.

Fin.

Six

WITH ALL OTHER ELEMENTS somewhat in place, this week was spent finalising the colour palette. Reflecting on the process, it was interesting to note that both palettes represented different propositions or paths that the final product could take. The former was more subtle and nuanced while the latter focused on the vibrancy that comes with contrasting the mute with the bright. From past experience, it appears that there is a marked preference for contrast and dynamic symmetry that is embedded in our contemporary aesthetic. While there is a place for that, I often like to explore the alternative which may seem less energetic but does not necessarily mean that it has less life.

PRESENTATION is, of course, important and I thought it would be interesting - not to mention slightly humorous - if I presented the colour chips as icons of Shinto priests.

Fin.