24/02
Archway Site
Today essentially consisted of looking at a specific site and analysing it. Although our final outcome is placed in Granary Square, as a practice we used the Archway tube station. The Archway tube station is just like other tube station. It's dirty, white tiled walls, and has that heavy air of bleakness when you go inside. But I began to notice how the entrance to the tube station is quite small. Most stations that are in central London are considerably big and noticeable from a distance but the Archway one is rather discrete. We wouldn't know that trains stop here unless we see the tube logo.
The forms of communication around this area mainly consists of a few posters that are fitted around the architecture. We spotted newspapers: placed in a box so that people can grab them freely, for free. But during class discussion, I realised how much more we can do with the Archway site. How much more space there was for communication. The tube garter space could be used for content as passengers often look down to their feet rather than the wall in front of them. Posters on escalators, bar codes that can be scanned by phones and directly sends you to a website. The floor, or even some small posters/stickers on lamps posts.
I learned today that almost everything could be turned into a form of communication, but it is us, designers' job to create communication works that are successful and impactful.
26/02
Sketchbook Page
I saw these set of flags and thought the idea of hanging one or two pieces of fabric. It would be quite effective because it moves with the wind, thus being noticeable by people on the street of King's Cross. I would have to think of the content that would be printed on the fabric: something that goes with my theme and blends with the location well.
26/02
Visualising Project
I would like to explore printing on fabric for this site project.
27//02
Narrative
deciding the text...
First One
- It was winter and cold (too direct)
- It's winter and cold (too direct, the same as the first one)
- The sun has been distant lately, rising up late and dipping early (quite nice, personifying the sun)
- It snowed (too simple)
- It snowed recently ("recently" might be too vague, it could have been 1 month ago or 1 hour ago)
- It snowed a few days ago (this one is better)
Since the story is from the point of view of the fabric, maybe the text can have a certain tone and style
- There were white ice flakes falling down from the sky (too abstract and I do not like the term "flakes")
- Ice flakes fell down from the sky (again, I do not like the term "flakes")
- I saw snow crumbling from the sky a few days ago (the best one)
28/02
Ideas for Illustration
During my tutorial, our tutor advised me to focus on illustration. So I made some drafts/proposals for each piece.
First
29/02
Sketchbook Pages
illustration tests for piece number one
01/03
Testing on Fabric
Did not turn out as well as I expected. The ballpoint pen creased the fabric and did not make it look good. In addition, it was tiring to draw on it.
03/03
Final Drafts
in calligraphy ink
before the printing...
04/03
Final Drafts
part 2
in pencil
before printing...
06/03
Drafts on Tracing Paper
part 4
before printing...
12/03
Outcomes part 1
I quite like how this came out. Although snow is not black in real life, the faded effect highlights the delicacy of snow. However, I do think that it seems like it's lacking something. There's not much sense of depth. I do hope that with the text it fills that gap and makes the piece complete.
I am a little afraid that the audience would think this is rain instead of snow.
19/03
Stitching
I decided to stitch the text and add some small details over the print. It's a time consuming task but achievable in times of quarantine.
It seemed to be a good mix of fabric and in case it feels wrong, I can take it out.
23/03
Stitching
I started stitching some letters as a test.
second method is better as it won't pull the fabric, however, it would take more time
25/03
Testing
26/03
Printing Letters Day
The first piece of fabric went well. But it's from the second one onward that it became more difficult. There was residue paint at the back of the cutout paper, which would transfer onto the fabric, leaving a thin, but distinguishable letter that was not supposed to be there. I was able to camouflage some by placing the words on top of them or by wiping the back of the cutout paper. However, I was afraid to rip any of the details in the cutouts and did not rigorously took off the paint and I did not manage to cover every erroneous letter. Some I left as they were not vey obvious but some I covered them with paint. For example the piece with the snow falling, I imitated one of the blotches of snow and covered the letter. Not the most effective method, but still, worked.
As for the piece with the light appearing in the middle, I could not find a good solution to how I can improve. I decided to finalise the project with 3 pieces instead of 4.
Overall I am content with the outcome. It is minimalist so I will not try to add more in the future. I think the most successful one was the piece with the wind and the hands.
25/02
King's Cross Site
I arrived at King's Cross around 15:30. It is important to note the time because the "audience" can change according to the time. If it is around the morning there will be students and businessmen. However if it is a weekend, there will be more people interested in shopping. Anyway, I felt like people were walking towards station rather than the CSM campus. There was no water form the fountain area (maybe because it's winter? Saving up water?). Most of the pedestrians were alone, not in groups and were just walking, focusing on themselves. No children. Mostly adults or UAL students.
The CSM campus itself is industrial looking, made out of brown/maroon bricks and more of a classic structure, not much embellishments or originality. Glass windows. I did not think the fountain space or the campus itself would be effective for my project work. I have seen the Saint Laurent perfume commercial projected on the building but I was not sure if I wanted to do something at that scale.
The bridge and the water area was interesting. The fact that water in not tangible and ever changing is nice, in addition to its flowing movements. Unfortunately, very few people were looking down the bridge or were sitting at the bank, the staircase area. I guess because it's winter (again).
Coal Drops Yard was full of information as there were numerous forms of communication. Posters that were collages, Banners hanging. lightbulbs, logos etc. As Coal Drops Yard is on a lower level as the Main Street, there are bridges and barriers that could be used to hang. I saw some flags on the street and thought of hanging pieces of printed fabric.
26/02
Sketchbook Page
27/02
Testing on Fabric
- testing on white cotton
I quite like how the lines turned out. They look organic yet spontaneous and give a natural flow.
- testing on transparent-like material
I really like the texture of this fabric and how it feels light. It will be more effective if the fabric is something that is flowing in the wind and delicate.
27/02
Narrative
deciding the text...
Second One
- The wind gives a piercing ache to my body these days (the best one, I like the word "ache" employed in this phrase)
- Shivers (too short)
- The wind pierces through my body (prefer the first one)
- Rain keeps splattering onto me (the portrayal of wind would be too similar to snow)
Third One
- I am merely a being that warms somebody up" (too diminishing, the word "being" does not fit well)
- All I can is wrap myself around someone (I quite like this one, simple but convincing)
28/02
Illustration
Second
29/02
Sketchbook Pages
illustrations drafts for number one
I tested inverted colour so that the white of the snow stay true to reality. However I feel like the black is too strong and the snow feels more like crystals. Between the two below, I prefer the first one. I definitely think I can improve on some aspect.
01/03
Sketchbook Pages
illustration drafts for number two
The grass of the first piece looked like seaweed which is the reason why I did not like it that much. The second was quite nice and I was able to finish it, however the wind looked to stiff and it was not smooth enough.
02/03
This one is better. I achieved the wind movements better. Instead of using watercolour, I used calligraphy ink to achieve this deep black. Added salt for some layers and voilà. Done.
06/03
Drafts on Tracing Paper
part 1
before printing...
10/03
Print Day
accidental outcome on A2 paper
12/03
Outcomes part 2
I think these two turned out nicely and they are definitely the best outcomes. I love how the some edges are rough and others more fragile and I think I managed to fill the space quite well.
20/03
Stitching
I think the stitching might be effective in this project because how thin the thread is. It further pushes the idea of delicateness and how emotions are subtle yet present
24/03
Change of plans
While I was playing around with stitching, I realised how much time I would have to spend for each phrase. Plus I have 4 pieces that I have to complete. It may not be very efficient time wise. I started looking at other methods. Simply writing in ink with a fountain pen, or painting the letters etc. I recalled how I was supposed to screen print the phrases by a film with the words types out. But due to this pandemic situation, I do not have access to the resources. However I am able to print letters with cutouts and paint. I decided that this was the best option that I can do. Although, I was also thinking of glueing black fabric cutout letters as well, I did not have enough fabric.
Fortunately, I have previous experience with printing cutout letters. Although I am worried that the cutout would not be perfect (as I would be doing them by hand), I also think that it may be better if they are imperfect. It might add a ephemeral tone.
25/03
Testing
25/03
Testing
I tested first on paper to see how the letters would look like. To my surprise, the outcome was better than I thought. I quite like the gradient around the edge as well as the slight ink around the letters around them. The letters themselves are bold, yet they seem to have that fragile quality to them. Additionally, I am able to control the gradient with the intensity of the sponge and the amount of paint I use. As for the paint, it is a mix of acrylic and fabric paint.
I tested on fabric to see how the texture would be. Acrylic gets quite hard and rough when it dries and I was afraid that it would make the fabric coarse. Thus, I tried to print on a small piece of fabric. I did not have to worry so much as it dried just fine without changing the texture of the fabric.
26/02
Three or four fabric pieces that have follow a narrative on compassion. Either photography with text or illustrations with text.
For the illustrations, they will be monochromatic, drawn with ballpoint pen. I made some ballpoint drawings in the past and I believe that I work quite well with them.
Ballpoint pen's texture convey fragility and they are easy to work because they allow gradient.
For the photographic works, I was going to make them Black and White with a lot of contrast. It has to feel fierce and powerful, transmitting a lot of emotions.
Some references are Neva Hosking https://www.nevahosking.com an artist active on social media that utilises ballpoint pen. Her illustrations feel like water and I think she is the one that gave me the idea of printing on fabric and testing drawing.
Another one would be Daido Moriyama for photography, as his street photographies are very expressive. I particularly like how he uses the light and he would more of a technical reference if I were to do some photos.
27/02
Narrative
I had to think of the story that I was going to portray in this series.
Some of the ideas I had are...
The main idea that I came up was personifying the fabric and indirectly showing how people that show love may not be receiving it. How a little gesture of compassion cannot hurt a little.
The narrative is told by the illustrations/photos and the text.
27/02
Narrative
deciding the text...
Fourth One
- But I wish somebody would wrap around me (this one would be too similar as the last one, repeating "wrap")
- But I hope someone would warm me up one day (better than the first one)
- But I hope somebody would give me warmth (I prefer this one compared to the previous one for its usage of "warmth")
- But I wish someone would bring me a little bit of warmth (the best)
Final Picks
"I saw snow crumbling from the sky a few days ago"
"The wind gives a piercing ache to my body"
"And all I can do is give a little bit of warmth to someone"
"But I wish one day, someone would wrap themselves around me"
28/02
Illustration
Third
Fourth
01/03
Sketchbook Pages
illustration tests for number two
01/03
Washing Ink
I was doing some spontaneous calligraphy. I started to wash my brush and the ink came whirling down. It was interesting to see the movements of the ink in the water current.
02/03
The washing process was quite decisive in how I would proceed next. I now understand that was limiting myself, using ballpoint pen and only that. The ink washing made me think of other mediums and how I could use watercolour or water based paint/ink.
This first one is not very satisfying. Abstract and too much black. I also used some blue for a melancholic tone but I preferred a monochromatic look.
04/03
Final Drafts
part 1
in pencil
before printing...
06/03
Drafts on Tracing Paper
part 2
before printing...
10/03
Print Day
accidental outcome on A2 paper
12/03
Outcomes part 3
I think this is the weakest outcome and my least favourite one. The only part that's effective are the edges with the accidental brush strokes but the overall seems dull. The black was too strong in my opinion. Initially, I wanted to have a more faded effect by diluting the ink with water. However, I was not sure how the ink was going to transfer with the UV light (when exposed) so I made it quite dark. As a result, it just came all black. The accidental outcomes on the A2 papers were actually better than this piece.
I might have to add some details in.
21/03
Stitching
I managed to finish the stitching off the last piece of cloth. I might not do these details for the other ones because they do not seem as incomplete as this one did.
25/03
Testing Printing
I simply typed the alphabet on Microsoft Word exploring different sizes and fonts.
The best option in font was Times New Roman, a simple yet classic one. As for the size, I had to physically print them out to see which one would go best.