Convergence. Continued.

This week we took a much closer look at the appropriateness and necessity of our design. While we had a sufficiently functional space planned, we realized that it was not the BEST possible solution to our design process. With our concept (Convergence) in mind, we reexamined our display system first. We did away with our baskets and wall shelving systems. We knew we could come up with something more successful. 

We took away our walls and have decided to suspend our ceiling from a central pole. We have designed a hexagonal booth/table that sits in the center of our space. Our employee will stand here. Upon the table we have created a series of displays that literally converge into each other around the perimeter. The peppers will be placed in the individual compartments (see below). I am very excited to have made this step forward. During our last crit with Professor Leshinsky, he told us that you know you have a successful design when one part of the design doesn't work without the whole. Our display system would not be appropriate for any other space, but for our design, it supports our entire concept. 

On each side of the table itself, we plan to have map images of various regions of the globe (examples below). On each map we will have pieces of red painted museum board glued to the image. The pieces will converge to a specific point on the map where the peppers displayed above originated. 

I believe my group made great progress this week. The final models are due this Thursday, December 9th. I am looking forward to sharing pictures of the rest of our design soon. 

Convergence.

This week my group singled out a concept for our design. Convergence. We want to design a space where diverse, exotic peppers from around the globe are brought to you. We had a lot of trouble coming up with this concept. My group and I were too focused on the cultural diversity of the peppers which lead us astray. We got carried away with various themes that had no correlation to our object - peppers. Our "Ah-Ha" moment came when took a step back and thought about the function of our space. Our retail booth reflects a coming together of cultures and their native peppers. Convergence. We are finally able to start designing!

We want to design a space that has a clear direction. We want to lead the customer toward the center where we will have a display of dry crushed peppers (the "convergence" of various pepper blends). Each design element will reflect our concept. We are playing around with different ways to best lead the customer into our space. In our first model, we designed angled shelves on the walls that point toward the center of the space. We also want to reflect a global, multicultural aspect to the chili peppers. We have design floor mosaics of peppers. Again, they point toward the center. On the ceiling we have an image of the world. It references the internationality of the peppers being sold.  

We have a lot left to do and little time but each decision is much easier to make now that we have a concrete concept. I can't wait to share more soon!

Concept Struggles.

Project Four. Kiosk.

Last week we were assigned groups and asked to pick a new object and design a kiosk/booth structure. As a group, we selected chili peppers. I am excited and sad at the same time to abandon my orange. I was finally in a groove with my orange. I enjoyed building off of my previous work with each new assignment. Now it's back to step one. Establish a concept.

The chili pepper is a fun and "spicy"object yet we have found it difficult to distinguish between a design "theme" and a design "concept" for the pepper. Our first idea was to design a kiosk that sells spicy peppers from all over the world. We selected four cultures widely known for their spicy cuisine: Thailand, Egypt, India, and Mexico. Our "concept" was to bring the experience of shopping in those four local markets for peppers to an American consumer. We designed a pentagonal-shaped booth. At the top of each side we placed an image of a universally recognized architectural structure from one of those four cultures (see image).

Mayan Temple - Mexico, Sphinx - Egypt, Taj Mahal - India, Pagoda - Thailand

My group was very excited about this idea. However, after getting some feedback from Professor Anderson, we realized that our concept was too complicated. She suggested either picking one culture and committing ourselves to it, or abstracting the entire concept and focus more on the "diversity" of the peppers and less on representing four different cultures. We realized that our entire idea was becoming more about showcasing exotic cultures and less about spicy peppers. 

Our next idea was to showcase the Indian culture and their peppers. We thought we could build a tent-like structure with an opening in the shape of the Taj Mahal (similar to the image above). We would then design the interior to resemble an indian food market with lavish Indian fabrics and decorations. After exploring this idea, we realized that this idea was more of a theme than an actual concept. What do Indian decorations have to do with their native peppers? Unfortunately for us, nothing. 

Back to the drawing board! I hope to have good news to report next week!

Final Display

As much as I praised the process of model-making in last week's blog post, I am sorry to report I have developed love/hate feelings toward it now. While I still recognize it is the best way to present a design solution to a client, I have also experienced the torture (both physical and mental) of making that solution a reality.


When it came down to making my final display model I completely underestimated the amount of time it would take. I constructed the chipboard frame of my model relatively quickly but then came the dreaded small-scale orange packages. 28 to be exact. A lot of trial and error went into constructing these mini cubes. Constructing them first out of chipboard with a balsa wood facade was a failure # 1. I realized that bristol board was much easier to work with at such a small scale (each package is 1-1/4" x 1-1/4"). I also attempted to adhere the balsa wood with double sided tape - failure # 2. In the end I glued together each bristol board frame then glued a balsa wood facade to each cube. 

While making the miniature packages was extremely time consuming, my main concern was clearly conveying my heart-healthy message with my display. Prior to gluing a balsa wood facade to the shelving frame, I carefully glued orange paper squares to the chipboard, creating a heart shape. 


Overall, I struggled with the small scale of my models. There are slight imperfections with the models that keep me from being completely satisfied with my final product however I still believe that my purpose and intent are clear. I am also proud of the continuity between my work this semester. I believe this design is a successful way to display my heart healthy orange and it's crate packaging. 

Display Continued.

This week I buckled down and made some models. I am beginning to love the process of making models. They immediately show the strengths and weaknesses of a design. I am beginning the model-making-process much sooner on this project than the last. I feel as if my time-management skills have improved with this assignment.
Here are a couple of my sketches made into reality:




This group of sketches were made at a 1" = 1'-0" scale. It was beneficial to start my process here. This scale was very manageable.




This model is at a 2" = 1'-0" scale. This is the scale I will be working with for my final model. I plan to cover the chipboard with a balsa wood facade to create a crate-like cubby shelf. I plan to use orange paper (see model above) to block out the cubes that form a heart. I will then need to make 28 models of my orange packaging (see product below). I have a busy week ahead of me but I am feeling confident on the strength of my design's purpose and intent. I believe my display directly relates to my former designs. I am striving to create a cohesive message throughout the semester.

Project Four. Display.

Onward and Upward!


The next assignment in our series of projects is to create a display for our packaging. I have included a couple sketches to show my process of discovering the most appropriate and inventive display design. 

I started my process with a sketch and model of a basic cube-shaped crate. It is essentially a large version of my package. 

After seeing the pitfalls of sketch # 1 I moved onto drawing crate-like shelves that would contain one of my packages on each tier of the shelf. I want my display to appeal to an audience who is willing to spend more on their oranges than at a normal grocery store. The audience is similar to a Harry and David customer. I liked the idea of this design but I realized I was going in a different direction that I wanted. My display still needs to support my heart-healthy branding and package. It needs to convey my message. This display idea doesn't do that. 

My current design is a large (7' x 6') crate shelf that has cubby holes open to both sides. I plan to block off some squares of the grid with orange paper to form a heart shape. All of the other cubby holes will hold one of my orange packages. This design is a little daunting because of the number of small-scale crate packages I will need to recreate but I believe the design has a purpose and intent that coincides with my heart-healthy orange. 

Now onto models!

Project Three. Recap.

Sketch Model A

Sketch Model B

After circling around several different design ideas (Sketch Models A&B), I decided to go back to step one and define the purpose and intent of my package. I then created several models of differently shaped crates. The models were extremely effective in ruling out impracticalities or insufficiencies in my designs.

Sketch Model C

I settled on a cube-shaped crate with handles and open sides (Sketch Model C). I wanted the customer to be able to easily handle it, be able to fit it in a grocery bag, and see the oranges they were purchasing. I remade the cube with more exact dimensions and then glued a balsa wood facade onto it. I printed my brand image and text onto clear label sheets and stuck them to the sides and lid. I chose a text style that resembled real branding that you find on old shipping crates.

Overall, I believe my design was successful and practical. I do believe I could have pushed the boundaries of conventional food packaging further. This was my ongoing inner struggle throughout the assignment. I desired to create something new and inspiring yet, first and foremost, it had to be practical. 

Interior

Final Package

Packaging Inspiration

http://bit.ly/aps5JB

While researching ideas for Project Three I have come across a couple fruit packaging designs that I believe are creative and successful.



Industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa created these inventive fruit juice boxes. I like that the design visually and tactilely simulate real fruit. I leaves the consumer to believe that the juice must also taste like real, fresh fruit. 

http://bit.ly/TI2AB

Another inspirational package is Marcel Buerkle's design for Quick Fruit. For similar reasons to the design above, I believe this design is successful at presenting a fast, on-the-go alternative to fresh fruit.

Project Three. Packaging

The next "orange" design obstacle I have to face is: packaging. The purpose of this assignment is to develop a new, innovative package for our selected object. This has been especially difficult for me. Fruit has been packaged and sold the same way for centuries. I find myself asking... how can I recreate the wheel? 

Lost as to how to begin this assignment, I wandered around the super market in hopes of an epiphany. After passing countless displays of reusable shopping bags for sale, I realized that while many people have replaced "paper or plastic", everyone still use plastic bags for their fruits and veggies. This is where my thought process began. 

My initial idea is to create a reusable fruit/produce bag with my heart-healthy orange message on it. I purchased a bag am going to attempt to iron my orange heart image onto it.  

I am afraid that my reusable fruit bag may not be specific enough for my orange. I am also going to attempt to redesign the traditional orange crate. In Project Two I had an idea to use the tagline " an orange a day..." to allude to an orange healthy attributes. I am going to create a model of a crate segregated into seven compartments each holding it's own orange. I believe by packaging and selling oranges in 7's (one for each day of the week) with the tagline "an orange a day..." I can directly market the orange as heart healthy. 

I'll keep you posted!

Project Two. Branding.

The second assignment in Foundations of Design was to brand our object. We were to design an image that successfully represented our object's "unique qualities".  My first thought was, "Great...what unique qualities does an orange have?" But after doing some research I singled out two specific usages of an orange that I wanted to explore.

1.

The first usage of an orange that I investigated was all-natural orange household cleaners. Today, you cannot enter a grocery store or turn on your television without seeing companies promoting their products as being more environmentally friendly because they substituted oranges with other ingredients. I found this image on the left and came up with the tagline: "Go ORANGE!"

2. 

The second usage of an orange I investigated was its health benefits. The vitamin C found in an orange has been proven to reduce the risk of heart disease. After developing the a couple prototypes, I committed myself to this usage of the orange. I thought this usage was much more direct and clear than, "Go Orange!"  

I wanted to develop a graphic strategy to showcase an orange as not only healthy, but heart healthy. I found a great image of an orange in the shape of a heart and paired it with the tagline "an orange a day...". I loved the simplicity of the message. However, when I printed it out on 11x17 paper, the power of it was lost. The paper consumed the message. 

The image on the left was my next attempt. Again, the vastness of 11x17 paper swallowed up the message. 

As much as I liked the tagline, "an orange a day," I didn't know if it was direct enough. I didn't want people to concentrate on the calendar or focus too much on the play off of "An apple a day... keeps the doctor away". I wanted my image to reflect heart health. Unfortunately, this meant going back to the drawing board. 

Ultimately I created this image. I like that I was able to maintain the simplicity I had in the previous images. I believe it has a much more effective (heart-healthy) message. 

This project helped me learn a lot about the design process. As you can see, I did not take a linear path to developing my brand image. However, each avenue I explored helped me discover, piece by piece, what it was that I wanted to achieve with my final product. My brand is about the simplicity and directness of my message. 

Project One. Postcard.

On the first day of class, each student was assigned a category from which to select a specific, tangible object. We were told to choose wisely as this object would be the subject of each assignment for the duration of the class. I was assigned "fruits and vegetables" and after much deliberation, I chose "The Orange". 

The first assignment was to create a 4x6 postcard that best reflected the essence of our object. My first step was to make a list of every attribute I believed was essential to an orange. I tried to ask myself, "What makes an orange an orange?" 

Project One. Postcard. By: Kathleen Clarke.

Next, I began to think about how I could visually convey the essence of an orange. I purposefully selected a dimpled orange paper to tactilely represent the textured of an orange peel. I then found an image of a dissected orange and decided to fill each section of the orange with the list of attributes I believed best represented an orange. I was left with a lot of bare space on the sides of the postcard. In order to "fill the space" I flanked the card with images of an orange tree to show the derivation of the fruit. 

In hindsight, I believe I could have better expressed the essence of an orange. Instead of verbally communicating the attributes of an orange, I see now that I could have explored visual means. My choice of dimpled paper was an attempt at not being literal but I stopped there.

This project was a great first exercise in design and I thought it was very helpful to be critiqued so early in the semester. I needed a little nudge to start thinking outside of the box. 

impulse purchasing

http://www.whatisblik.com/

I suffer from impulse purchasing. Hence, my home is filled with seemingly random furniture and artwork that I have to keep telling myself go together. I fall in love with things way too easily.

My most recent purchase... this lamp-shaped wall covering (I learned about the company from Material Girls, of course). We'll see how it goes...

ready. set. blog. (initiation into blogosphere)

Hello Blogland!

When it came down to picking a design blog to discuss in my first entry, it was a no-brainer. For months now, I have been incessantly following one blog in particular - Material Girls Blog. I cannot get enough.

Pantone's "Amparo Blue"

As a new student to Interior Design, I find it to be an inspirational, fun, and current window into the field. The blog is written by five young designers in five very different cities across the country. The girls offer helpful tips and introduce new trends that they have encountered. The Material Girls track new fashion and pop culture trends that have had a direct effect on Interior Design.

In this post, for example, the "girls" blogged on Pantone's (international authority on color) new line of colors based on colors used by specific designers at New York's Fashion Week. The "girls" then paired that color with images of newly designed interior spaces that have been inspired by it. The world of Interior Design is affected by changes in fashion almost instantly.

I enjoy the informal feel to the posts and the array of picture they provide (which come anywhere from the runway all the way to their own, personal designs). I recommend this fun, vibrant blog to anyone interested in design!