Vision ability Workshop:

My observations after the vision workshop made me realize just how frustrating it would be to have a visual impairment and people who do have these deficiencies are therefore very patient. Things were very blurry and hard to make out clearly such as reading the newspaper seemed impossible with the glasses on. bright lights and signs were more visible but not necessarily defined. People were shadows far away and even when they were closer they still seemed blurry and it was hard to tell when people were looking at you and such. Contrasting colors such as red really stood out against a neutral flooring to me on my walk. Overall light and contrast were the biggest factors that guided me throughout different spaces. I remember at the elevator I had to get really close to the buttons to even make out what was up from down. The whole experience during this workshop made me feel a little a dizzy and even at times nauseous. At the WSECU ATM it was very hard to see the buttons 1-3 because they were hidden by a cover that cast a dark shadow over the key pad. There was no Braille to help identify anything but there was red, green, and black markings for the cancel, enter and OK buttons. The sketch above shows the library stairs that include tactile black markings to help the visually impaired feel and see the contrast between the neutral step coloring and the edge of each step.

Artist Poster

Robert Kaindl has inspired my design philosophy through his colorful imagination and unique vision. His glass art shapes are very natural forms and he is known for his sea shape art. Also his use of color that is very bold makes a emphasized statement that I want to incorporate into my designs. He has transformed glass into sophisticated high end creations that are very aesthetically pleasing. The beauty found within his art translates to me an underwater world of magic and excitement. His vision depicts a world that is full of fantasy, color, free flowing movement and emphasis. His works of art really gives me the impression of the unrealistic which makes his pieces that much more interesting and impressive. The imagination and creativity displayed in his glass art really excite me and I can see color and natural shapes being a big inspiration in my design concept.

Context Poster

I researched the 1906 Lodge located just outside of San Diego. It was very interesting to learn how different B&B's are from hotels, inns and other resorts. A bed and breakfast is situated around a courtyard, in this case the lodge includes a garden and pool in their courtyard. Special amenities include pool side loungers and towels. Also they provide gourmet breakfast instead of just complementary breakfast seen at many average hotels. Also the rooms all have a different theme which makes every stay a different experience. I really like this aspect of a bed and breakfast because people do have different styles and definitions of aesthetics. This lodge goes from Japanese inspired rooms to patriotic American inspired rooms. The overall lobby and shared space of this bed and breakfast are more neutral, warm tones that will make people feel comfortable and as if they were at home rather than at a hotel. There is a great deal of thoughtfulness that went into the planning of such unique spaces that allow for multiple visual experiences. The rooms are very romantic and comfortable and allow the guests each their own access to a private balcony and spa tub. I would love to stay at this bed and breakfast to just experience the warmth of the environment in balance with the life on the beach.

Habitat for Humanity:

Above is the proposed floor plan for a 3 bedroom 2 bath Habitat for Humanity Home that my partner and I created around the essence of family. Throughout our design we wanted to provide comfort for the residents by dealing with public space first and then private spaces later. This resulted in an open entryway into the great room and then more private bedrooms off of hallways towards the back. This allows for the family to come together easily but also makes having independent free-time available to everyone in the family. This house is just over 1,000 sq ft, not including the garage or covered porch area. Within this space we were able to accommodate a fully accessible guest bathroom and add a second functional bath off the master. Also hallways are 4' wide allowing for wheelchair access throughout the space with 5' turning radius in rooms and in the kitchen.

Our color scheme derived from the warm hues in wheat stocks found locally here on the Palouse, which ties our houses interior in with the natural exterior terrain found on site. Overall this house gives off a warm glow that resembles the love and comfort found within a family.

This floor plan worked well for a small house design especially by opening up the living areas into a great room space which allowed this home to expand. For other projects like this I might think about providing a more family orientated living room furniture layout that has side tables and more seating available to a family. Also providing bar stools off the island kitchen counter would help bring the family together a bit more in the public spaces of this house.

Concept Development

"Home is the glow you hold in your eye."

This is the process work and my final concept model that has been built after further development from the above statement. I am happy with the quality of my work because the effect of gradation really worked well with the circles getting smaller as they recede back into space. I should have used a colored board or painted the surfaces yellow in the end instead of just coloring it with marker but I am pleased with the overall textured look. The use of positive and negative space within one solid form really shows in my model which is what I had been striving for since preliminary sketches. The use of both squares as solid structure and circles within their boundaries shows these forms being held. Ultimately I would have liked the board to be sturdier to really hold up and stay in place. I realized after I applied the marker the board got wet and slightly warped the board so they are not perfectly straight. I have been thinking about re-doing the same concept except for using thin wood for the structural support. I have grown as a model builder because I used to just use paper for all my models and that was it. Now I see that by the use of different materials and ways of thinking I can create a much more meaningful concept model. I still have a lot to improve on for making my models look just that much better but now I can see that for myself and can make adjustments as time goes on to pull it all together into my final project. I am going to rebuild this model using different materials to get my point across stronger. Overall, I have seen a growth in myself and my work throughout this semester and I am not just putting random things together, it all serves a purpose and has a meaning.

Resume

This is my resume that I made in InDesign which I loved using to create a unique but still professional looking resume. I incorporated my design logo that I created not too long ago to represent my design style and to give a creative feel to my resume. Using InDesign was a lot of fun to be able to do things that you would not normally be able to when making a resume in Microsoft Word which I typically used for this before. I could have however made my resume more creative with a backdrop maybe or just something more different than a normal resume. I used the color at the top to draw in the readers eyes to my name and contact information. I wanted to keep a consistent and organized layout for my text so I kept that very simple. I could have changed the text color to the dark purple to create more unity and variety within my resume. I am happy with the overall outcome of this resume versus the resume I had before which was a lot more boring than this one. In the future I will push it a little more to create more of an interesting resume and one that is very personal and one of a kind.

Design Logo

This is a logo design I created in Adobe Illustrator to represent me and my design style as of right now. I choose the Fleur De lit symbol because I feel it represents me the most both as a person and a designer. I like to create designs that are bold, natural, feminine, and balanced. This flower and trinity symbol includes all of these elements as well as shows my interest in french and Victorian styles. The overall feeling of sophistication and femininity plays a big role in the overall logo design I wanted to create and feel like I have above. It is very dark however, and I may like to see how it would look if it were lighter to give more of an elegance feel versus such a bold design. I may want to play around with this logo some more until I feel it fully represents the designer I am destined to become. The purple color represents the feminine side of me as well, both being my favorite color but also a very emotional and mysterious color as well. It would be nice if I could use light purple as the highlights and a dark purple for the shaded areas. This could create more interest as well as breaking up all the darkness that is visible. In the end, I know that this is not the finished logo I want to use to represent my design style but I have to start somewhere and over time I will grow more aware of what it truly is that I want to express artistically.

Textile Pattern

This was done in Photo Shop by taking a small section from pictures I have taken and warping and distorting them until they are unrecognizable. Then by applying my 6 designs to a pattern I get this final look seen above which I really had a fun time creating from scratch. The overall design is pleasing to my eye and I think I balanced the purples well enough. I also wanted to create the focal point in the middle by surrounding the purple swirl with its complement yellow. I do however think the orange should have been bolder to draw your eye into the middle more versus bringing it outward. This was one of my first projects ever done in Photo shop however and I think this helped me gain more knowledge with this program as well as become more comfortable with it to. It is sorta weird looking back at this now because I know what each picture was before I distorted it but others would not guess that my purple graduating gown is the swirl design and the green pattern is part of the Eiffel Tower. It just makes this piece that much more personal to me and shows my passions in an interesting and artistic way.

Scotish/Irish Inspired Quilt Pattern

This is an Irish and Scottish heritage inspired pattern that reflects religion, fashion and history of these two cultures. The basic design pattern originates from a traditional Irish chain quilt block, using light and dark fabrics to create this contrasting look. The two different plaid patterns used represent the kilt that both cultures identify with, however the tartan fabric was first used as a fashion statement in Scotland, using a wide variety of colors. The Irish Celtic knot displayed in the center signifies a “shield knot,” which is said to offer protection form evil spirits. Overall the color scheme represents the green four leaf clovers of Ireland and the red tones stand for the Scotland red lion shown in the corners.

This quilt pattern was made in Photo shop and was fun to construct but frustrating at times. Ultimately I need to learn and practice more with Photo shop and just understand how it works a lot better. This design concept was not exactly what I had in mind but I am happy with the finished project. I like how the small squares come together to make one bigger square that is the same size as the center one. There are some little white areas that I did not want included in the design but I was having some minor difficulties with the program at that time figuring it all out by myself. Since this project was completed, I have used Photo Shop more regularly so I will keep learning new tricks to better my work. I did not like how the red was not as vivid as I would have liked it to have been then in the plaid, but I like how it turned out and created more tones to add to the complementary color scheme. Incorporating the two different heritages in this pattern proved a challenge but I believe I balanced both of them equally enough to create a whole.

Set of Keys

This is a set of keys with a key chain that I sketched with pencil and then did not even take the time to shade it at all. I really think this drawing turned out successfully but I really wish I would have shaded it earlier; I do not know what I was thinking. Again I really need to work on my shading. Also I need to work 0n size and proportions as well. This was sketched on a 8.5''x8.5'' sheet of paper and their is a lot of negative space surrounding the set of keys, which does not please me. I like this drawing, that is why I choose to show it to everyone but it could have gone a lot further. This sketch was also another from earlier on this year so I hope to really grow and hopefully I already have somewhat so far since then.

Accesories

This is a pencil and color pencil sketch of my Almay powder cover up and CoverGirl mascara. I think my shading here was done successfully; for the most part. The high lighting on the face powder is something I also believe was helpful to produce this final sketch. The mascara is not straight which really bothers me here. I also forgot shading at the bottom which would have enhanced my drawing a lot further. The overall design layout works for me, but I could have added a few more beauty supplies to create more interest instead of just looking at two objects. I do enjoy how the yellow and purple created a complementary color scheme which I just noticed now as I reflect on this sketch from earlier on this year. Overall I just need to work on my lines and shading some more and really just get more comfortable with it all.

A Corner in My Dorm Room

This is a sketch of a corner in my dorm room which is not perfect in any way shape or form. Looking back at this sketch now after a couple of weeks shows me that I could improve upon straightening out my lines and fixing angles. The outlets on the right wall for example are not at the proper angle to be correctly placed there. I need to work on my vanishing point, which would ultimately make everything straighter and right like they need to be to become more realistic. However, I do like all the little details I put into this sketch which was fun for me to do. I could have perhaps placed more on the right wall and on the front carpet space which seems very blank and bare creating a lot of negative space.

Overall this sketch was done in pencil with some variation in line weights and shading. In my next sketches I would like to see myself work on varying and expanding on both of this techniques more to improve my sketching abilities. I picked this sketch because it was so simple and just shows a corner of my room which was then barely decorated. This also will be a good sketch to later look back on after my sophomore studio drawings of more interior spaces.