Busy Bee

hello hello hello

Been a busy sort of a fortnight. Zoo shoot, new job, internship, and a general update of things. Also dealing with somewhat disagreeable technology. That was fun. 

Here is some footage of Rex from the Wildlife Sydney Zoo. 

Bit of Boasting

Hello!

Its been a while. Today I thought I would boast a bit about Ash West. We both have been trying to get our feet shoved firmly in the hypothetical designer door. On more than ten occasions Ive decided to give up design and jump into clown college or marry rich. But that is a whole other commitment issue Im happy to avoid.

Anyway. She is focused on embracing "user experience design, visual communication, design strategy and content strategy. This is with a focus on creating human-centred design solutions." With a fair bit of travelling under her belt, and a conceptual brain to boot, her works are always layered with insight and expressions of her own design style.

Head over to her site: hello-ashleigh and have a squiz at her portfolio. 

Smokos Without the Smoke

Perpetuum Mobile is a reason to get some fresh air. Developed by O+R the outdoor funnels facilitate smokers and non-smokers to share the air. 

As an allergy-prone-belong-in-a-bubble type of person I am all for this. At the moment it is envisioned for Tokyo city, but if it wants to settle in Sydney, I'm all for it. More info at evolo. 

Street Art

Street Art Utopia is always a source of outdoor artistic inspiration. This image created by Dasic in NY is a particularly colourful combination, displayed under a bridge. 

By Dasic in Newburgh, New York, USA.

Found Street Art Utopia

Linking Madness!

Who is the idiot who decided to re-organise portfolio links? Me. 79 images renamed in new folders. See all the red question marks? Moral of the story: keep a standard naming system from the get-go!

On the upside I found an illustrator file of a typeface I created! Which means I can tailor it to my portfolio! 

Resume!

Finally finished my design resume. In order to finish my degree I need to complete an amazing amount of hours in a professional experience. Hopefully this will help me attain one! If you want a pdf please let me know!

Update!

Along with the paintings, I'm making a pamphlet & business card. And possibly website (for the future considerations category in the marking guide...I think there is one). These are some spreads and cover ideas for the pamphlet. The cover will have black disappearing paint on the cover with orange stitching up the spine. Once people touch the pamphlet it will disappear showing a print under it. As of this moment, it will be the orange finger prints to reflect ergonomics and how people actually hold it. 

These pics show how I hold the pamphlet and position the prints.

After questioning many many people about it, the handprint option is a winner.

Last Few Weeks

There are only a few weeks left until this project is finally over. There are a few developments, a few set backs and just general work needing to be done. 

Here is some more stuff. I've been jumping back and forth for the final designs in thermo/acrylic paint. The categories i've narrowed the ideas into include: photo, abstract, metaphor, icon and pattern. 

As the pigments of the thermo-dyes are powdered I went to the local art shop North Shore Art Supplies and bought a $30 bottle of clear medium to mix it. Hope it works well. As i still dont have the dye, and probably wont until the 13th, ive been working on how to display and make the prototype. The local $2shop is having a 40% off sale (YAY), so im going to run up to grab some large frames. On sunday im in the city helping a friend with prop design, so ill run up to Recycled Garbage too and find something great to print/paint on. Im having difficulty deciding what to print on as it needs to be heat proof and also be able to be touched repeatedly without getting ruined. So some solutions include:

- printed paper/board/card with a plastic overlay

- printed paper/board/card with a glass overlay (frame)

- printed plastic/glass

The heating element has been a bit of a head-scratcher. I was torn between using arduino to control it, but ended up ripping up an electric heating sheet. Which was not fun. Also - RE-USE!

This Sunbeam Electric Blanket was made in New Zealand with 100% Polyester. Its 250volts~1amp~100watts. The PVC plastic used in the wiring & control components is a polyvinyl chloride plastic which is used in everything from pipes, shower curtains, plastic outdoor furniture and childrens' toys. It can be recycled and re-used however it takes a crapload of time and effort to reduce it down and have it degrade. I did have to test is, as i didnt know if it still worked. It does. And heats up so damn quick.

The next couple things I need to do (start, end, middle):

- Designs & individual names

- Name the series

- Visual Identity

- Final product (life cycle analysis - materials & processes)

- Postcard type material to reflect important info for presentation

- Render vids/pics

- Timelapse vid (borrowing a friends' camera and expertise...bribe with candy)

- Possible shopping website 

- Presentation visuals(pdf) & general speeching things

What to do...

At COFA they encourage you to draw. Everything. I dont. I put everything on my mac. It just works better for me. Text, info, experiments, materials, inspiration etc. This is some of it.

Now I finally feel like the project is actually a thing. SO MUCH TO DO. Won't be sleeping for a while. Until the paints arrive I have a bunch to do:
WAITING:
- create the designs (as well as the colours/variations)
- borrow more screens for screen printing these designs (and clean them all off)
- expose and prepare the screens (it used to be $8 a screen for emulsion...not sure now)
- figure out what to print on (and also purchase/steal/commandeer these materials)
- figure out how to frame, hang, situate etc display (and also purchase/steal/commandeer these materials)
ARRIVED:
- paint like a ninja

- video time-lapse (borrow friends' camera...which the HD turbo charged greatness)
- edit said video (maybe an advert?)


SECONDARIES:
- re-name "I'd Tap That" to a lame, obvious, explanatory, descriptive name
- visual identity
- website
- product manual (life cycle analysis, use, info)
- packaging 
- presentation, speech, powerpoint, look-book

- 3D render the student accommodation and emulate the display in situ (aftereffect that up)


What has been repeated is that this project is supposed to be a read-to-sell prototype. So more things I must investigate:
- a "real" way to make and affect the heating elements (to alter designs)
- a "real" effective material that would withstand the displays being touched and used
- life cycle analysis

Countdown!

Last month until 30min presentations are due. 

I just bought the pigments to make thermo-paint. Itll take about 3weeks. From the states. To Sydney. Crap. After some research, relying mostly on the accounts from these two lovely sites: softcircuit2 & artisticjunkie, I've purchased the "dust" from solarcolordust and need to go buy a Liquitex Slow-Dri Fluid Retarder Additive from my local-has-everything-ever-imagined-artshop North Shore Art. For the presentation i'll also need to get a heating pad to put behind the displays in-order for the designs to change. 

Inspiration:

Face 37 - September Poster 
"September is typically regarded as a month of transition in the Northern Hemisphere as the dying embers of Summer are replaced by the cooler and greyer chills of Autumn and the onset of early darkness. It is often associated with melancholic self-reflection as if heat and sunlight are a temporary physical and mental panacea. inspired by the physical reality of changing seasons and simple emblematic change of colour of falling leaves, I used thermochromic ink that alters colour dependent on room temperature."

You can purchase it here: face37

Another Example: Im not sure of the name, or who created the design but it can be found here: miafranceskennedy.

This is just damn great. Again, no idea who created it. Has nothing to do with thermoes but its could be applied.

Experimenting

Experimenting with the idea of photochromic paints:

- how imagery appears with 'black' lights

- where to place it 

When researching photochromic/thermochromic paints, I immediately thought of this:

Glow worm caves in New Zealand or indoor star gazing.

So now I have to figure out how to use the paints:

- what colours to use

- how to eg handmade painting or printed

- figure out how "blacks" can appear whilst in normal light can be invisible

- when presenting: use a large page or "peel off" 

- when presenting: large black light or torches for interactive

- interested in thermochromic paint - added interactive elements however it changes the way "energy usage" develops or reveals the imagery.

Alicia Ingruber designed these posters about the Stitchbird in New Zealand. Its the kind of graphics works I like to do and appreciate the style. 

Now I have to figure out the actual design and decide how parts of it will glow.

Hydrochromic Things

Amy Winters, a British/Swiss artist made her first ready-to-wear printed collection where garments are able to change colour to sun and water. 

Another wearable by SquidLondon.

Entire rooms dedicated to water.

Advertising and Movie-making

Coopers "Light After Dark" campaign launched a "handcrafted" luminous UV painted billboard.


Another great use of the glowy paint was in the construction and design of Lord of the Rings' scale models of Minas Morgul.

Open Brain Storming

After researching photochromic and thermochromatic paints and their uses I've been thinking about the final presentation...Not long now. And I want to present something other than printed materials. I came across these handmade wall decals on facebook a while back. Just a bit of corn starch or a pre-made stick and boom instant wall art or wallpaper.

pistachioproject, sewingforscarlett & curbly have some good tutorials. 

While I wouldnt be allowed to paint a wall at cofa, perhaps I could stick it on and peel it off.
Crazy walls crazy walls crazy walls

Photochromatic Stuff
The museum goudA redesigned their torture chamber using UV. Illustration - Jos Verwer, and Type - Trapped in Suburbia

Internal Philips Design Metamorphosis document. The bookcover uses photochromic and thermochromic ink. 

Calignosity by Andreas Pohancenik - UV Varnish and invisible UV ink screen print on ebony plike, A1

More Examples

Thermochromatic Projects!!!

Hug Prints, by Catherine Sarah Young, is a project about Hugging. She sought to investigate "our perception of touch". Her site: theperceptionalist

These were her results:

At the end of the session, I had two conclusions:

1. A responsive garment made people pay attention to the act of hugging in the sense that they had the feedback of the vest to observe after the hug. In normal circumstances, people would just hug and then carry on. Here I felt that they were aware of the vest’s thermochromism, and thus affected the pressure and duration of the hug.

2. Having a garment that responds to touch can make the person want to hug the wearer more. But it can also turn people away; I had an incident where the person refused to hug (I was a sad puppy), even though we’ve hugged on other, more informal, occasions. I suspect that if I kept doing this, I would encounter people who would not like the idea of calling out this particular interaction.

There are two directions in which I can take this project:

1. Investigate how this vest can affect specific relationships, such as parent and child, or husband and wife, etc.

2. Investigate how this can play out with strangers in public spaces.

In any case, I have a lot of hugging to do.

Jay Watson's "Just a Little Longer" (jaywatsondesign) is an oak table finished with thermochromatics. Simple and effective. And out of my price range.

Francine LeClercq has an exhibition using painted cells that react the environment and audience. 

Another project of hers, "No Picture Available [081122]"