What is Good? Rationale.

The Brief

A collection of Balinese inspired homeware

To create a luxury homeware collection inspired by Bali. I will be influenced by the shapes, textures and colours of Balinese architecture and will apply these to the products. I will create a range of items including wallpaper, soft furnishings and crockery pieces that will be displayed across a variety of formats such as a catalogue, website and app. I will also experiment with creating an on shelf presence and look into packaging design. To develop my practical skills I will incorporate some relevant processes into my work that relates to Balinese design. These will be foiling, to reflect the use of gold to adorn items of pride, embossing to incorporate textures and laser cut to exaggerate shape and form.


Target Audience

Men and women but prominently women as they are the most common gender to but these kind of products and usually have the control over how a family home is decorated. They will have a disposable income that allows them to buy more expensive options of products, where buying luxury and high quality products is important to them. They will also be interested in having uniquely designed products that gives their home a different look and stand out from more neutral items.


Considerations

I will have to consider existing products and how they incorporate colour and texture into their products to give me inspiration. I will also have to recognise things that they don't have in order to make my items stand out to the audience. I will also look into these companies brands and how they display themselves to the audience and what type of people they attract.


Background

My background research will be into Bali itself and predominately image based to help inspire pattern designs and colour schemes. For more direct research I will look into catalogue and web design to influence what I need to include in my own and how to lay them out so that they are clear for the audience to use. It will also help me to realise what formats and other aspects that will help it be more successful.

What is Good? Concept Development.

Theme: Bali

Unique selling point: Themed around Balinese architecture, textures, include related processes

Possible products:

• plates
• bowls
• cutlery
• table mats
• table cloths
• wallpaper
• cushions
• curtains
• duvets
• quilts
• pillows

Associated words:

Bali:

• architecture
• landscape
• stone
• wood
• texture
• culture
• colour
• decorative
• beautiful
• tourists
• creative
• climate
• rice
• green
• volcano
• dancing
• costumes
• gold
• religion
• worship
• temples
• crafts
• hand made
• beach

Homeware:

• luxury
• homely
• fabric
• soft
• house
• nest
• burrow
• crockery
• utensils
• furnishings
• textiles
• embellish
• texture
• relax
• useful
• comfort
• familiar
• dwelling

Balinese words for:

• home > griya, jero, umah, pondok, kubu

Indonesian words for:

• pattern > pola
• texture > tekstur
• home > rumah
• architecture > arsitektur
• decorative > decoratif
• collection > koleksi

Name: Kubu Collection

Bar Concept Development.

Name: Meeting

Unique selling point: Underground cocktail bar

Location: London, Shoreditch

Audience: Young, working professionals

Concept:

• vintage underground tube station
• networking of tube lines, networking of people
• 1930's spirits and drinks

Aesthetics:

• old tube station signage and branding
• brick and tile walls
• painted lines on floor
• dim and low hanging lights
• old tube ads as artwork
• exposed drain pipes, coloured to represent train lines

Branded products:

• ticket master uniform
• old train map for drinks menu
• cocktails named after train lines with corresponding coloured straws and stirrers
• ticket loyalty card that gets stamped

Bar Concept Initial Ideas.

Name: Meeting

Type of bar: Underground

Branded items:

• signage
• menu
• uniform
• coasters
• napkins
• toilets
• glass ware
• table cloths
• promotional material
• cloak room

Metting

Associated words:

• affair
• assembly
• audience
• company
• reunion
• clash
• collide
• connect
• greet
• network

Opposite words:

• avoid
• ignore
• leave

Situations for meetings:

• street
• bus
• underground tube
• trains
• pre-planned
• supermarket
• cinema
• school
• uni
• dating
• dog walking
• work
• online
• chance
• face to face

Underground

Associated words:

• buried
• covered
• shady
• concealed
• hush hush
• private
• mysterious
• unknown
• obscure
• blocked
• below the surface

• rats
• insects
• drains
• skeletons

• rebel
• alternative
• experimental
• social radicals
• non-conformists

opposite:

• overground
• visible
• uncovered
• obvious
• lit
• sky
• public
• loud
• exposed
• open
• unblocked
• defined
• clear
• known

What is Good? Concept Workshop.

On Wednesday we got into groups and we each presented three concepts to the others. I found this process very helpful and it was interesting to see what everyone had come up with as every theme was different. Here are three concepts that I presented:

Concept One:

Publication - Journey across the island, traveling to different points of architecture

Highlighting:

• architecture/temples
• Balinese family home
• natural aspects - wildlife
• landscapes - volcanoes/rice fields

Will use techniques such as embossing and foiling to accentuate the textures and design style of the culture.

Concept Two:

Brand/create a resort/hotel/spa

Based in London it would be an experience and themed hotel where residents could get a feel for the island and its culture and customs.

Would create:

• logo/branding
• hotel ephemera
• artwork
• promotion

Concept Three:

Create a selection of greetings cards, accessories and stationary inspired by Balinese landscapes, architecture and dance/costume.

Range:

• cards
• gift wrap
• gift boxes
• gift tags
• pens
• notebooks

Would also include related processes such as foiling, embossing and laser cut. To enhance the design of products and also to give them a luxury and high end look and feel.

After discussing my ideas a lot of points were raised and people had a lot of different opinions on why certain concepts were better. Some preferred the publication as they liked how the processes would enhance the design and it also gave me the chance to look into new techniques. Although it was argued that I had already done a lot of publications and gift cards and that I should experiment with something different like the hotel. Although after some discussion a new concept was decided that incorporated different aspects from each:

Re-worked Concept:

Create a home wear collection inspired by Bali. It would include western items with an Indonesian influence. I would also create a catalogue/look book that would display the collection, the processes discussed previously could also be used. I could also look into web and promoting the products that way as well.

Products:

• Dining
• plates
• cutlery
• table mats
• table cloths
• Bathroom
• tiles
• General
• wall paper
• cushions
• curtains
• Bedroom
• duvets
• quilts
• pillows

OUGD503 Final Evaluation.

What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

I feel that a major skill I have improved through this module has been my research skills as I have tried to push the areas that I have looked into and branch out. It was a weakness within my last module so I felt that it was important that I tried to work on it and improve. I have aimed to look into not only aspects that directly relate to the product I am creating but also more abstract examples that could still inform my practice. I have also developed my ability to create professional looking design boards, as before this module it wasn't something that I placed much importance upon. I have now come to realise that how these boards look could influence strongly how the audience reacts with my work. I have spent a lot longer considering the composition and the type of images to include that would put the work in the best light possible. Linking with this, especially during my collaborative brief, my photography skills have got better. Using the studio was a great experience and I feel that doing so benefited the overall look of the project a great deal. I have also improved how I work with other designers within the collaborative aspect. I found the partner contracts and recognising each others strengths and weaknesses to be very helpful. Mutual time management between two people is something I have never really had to do, so during this brief I feel that I have got better at communication and getting work done on time.


What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

I feel that an aspect that really helped me at the start of this brief was creating my idea generation boards. This is something I have never really done before but I am glad that I have tried to get myself into the habit of doing so as I think it made my time at the start of each project more productive. This is because I had a lot more focused idea of what I needed and wanted to do. It made things a lot quicker as I didn't have to deliberate about unnecessary things further down the line. I have also done short evaluations at the end of each project, I think this reflection at the end of each brief made an impact on the next. In relation to improvements that could have been made.

What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

I think the most obvious strength I have developed though this module has been pattern design. It has been an aspect of every single project and I feel I have gained a greater understanding of it after each one. Because I have looked into it in such great detail I believe this has enabled me to experiment with a lot of varied styles and approaches. Another aspect I have been really happy with have been my mock ups as I think they look very realistic and professional. It was also something that I really enjoyed doing as it was great to see my designs being put into context. Also my interaction with other people has gone really well, from working with Tani in the collaborative project and also within the same brief getting our wooden boxes constructed. I think this is a good example because we were interacting with another professional from a different field that we met up with to check progress a number of times. During this process we had to decide on what materials to be used and also specify the dimensions and what we wanted the design to be like.


What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?

I feel that during this module I maybe could have taken part in a larger number of briefs to increase the variety of my work. Although from this I have learnt that I much prefer taking part in longer projects rather than ones that last just a couple of days. I feel this is because during the shorter briefs I felt that designs were never at the standard I would have liked or developed far enough. Leading on from this I feel that in some of the briefs I could have pushed them further than I did, for example create a larger product range or do more work on web and promotion. I also feel that some of my concepts could have been more extensive, to give the audience something more interesting and with more depth.


Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to change from doing these?

1. Choose less female orientated briefs - I feel that this would benefit me because during this project the majority of my target audiences have been women which has led my designs to have a similar look. I think that by looking at more projects that are aimed at men would expand my design practice and develop my audience understanding.
2. Use more print processes - This is something I could have done a great deal more. Foiling was something that I did do but I feel that I could have expanded this a lot further. I think that a lot of my products could have been enhanced if I had taken this into account less far down the line.
3. More printed products - With some of my briefs this has been done and I think that it has improved the overall level of the for. Even though I think my mock ups are a strength, sometimes it is good for the audience to be able to hold the item and get a feel of it.
4. Deeper research - Even though this is an element that I have improved from the previous module I think that never enough can be done and is some aspects there were still alternative things I could have looked at to inform my practice.
5. More range - Again even though this is something that has benefitted me I think that if I had taken on more briefs I could have looked at something not pattern based and experimented with a totally different style and outcome, like a website or branding.

How would you grade yourself in the following areas (5 - excellent to 1 - poor):

• Attendance: 5
• Punctuality: 5
• Motivation: 4
• Commitment: 4
• Quantity of work: 3
• Quality of work: 4
• Commitment to the group: 4

OUGD503 Project Report.