Adieu Avril

I consider one of my biggest accomplishments is the four hard years I spent working towards a undergraduate degree here in Atlanta, Georgia. Granted, I am still in the midst of that uphill conquest, but am close enough to humor the idea of completion. On the same note [of not being done quite yet] I am wrapping up my schooling with my final Senior project. The hours and mornings and nights spent contemplating [the perfect solution of an interior space] has reached the halfway mark and I am giddy.  Knowing that the design is about to start, I am reflecting and rejoicing [almost] in that floor plans are being drawn up and sketches are filling the pages of my sketchbook.

 My passion is the betterment of life [I could get into altruism]. After working for ten weeks, I have a lot of research to show for this project to push me in the correct direction as far as design goes. I put together a re-cap of the major points [extracting the codes, grueling text, and existing building information]  that help to visualize a path. 

"Breeding social thinkers" is almost a mission statement. It comes from the thought that in order to interact with something differently you have to see it differently. The project is driven on change for the better- if we could breed a mass of thinkers that think of not only themselves, but others, we might fix a lot of social issues [issues everywhere]; "will yourself to tread lightly" is something I came up with that symbolizes the personal willingness an individual possesses + the ability to do something less dramatic and detrimental, softer, lighter, and better for all.

Because the project is a research based project, the interior must be the result of a problem.
The solution came about because of the thought process diagrammed here. Change was the solution to the identified issue, Education was the solution to change.

The project is located in Atlanta, GA off Marietta St. Fortunately there was a vacant building in close proximity to a lot of green space [centennial Olympic park] that both residents and visitors frequented, as well as Museums, restaurants, and hotels. These establishments close to the building provide a heavy foot traffic and exposure for the project.

The users are staff employees, volunteers, individuals, children in field trips, children in families, parents, single, married, widowed, adults in workshops, children in workshops, teachers and educators, teenagers, and the list goes on and on... The goal was to create an environment that is inclusive not exclusive.

An ethnographic study of my users walking in off the street, be them residents of the Atlanta community or visitors from afar. If the project is about thinking and those thoughts materializing as positive actions, then thought is a major component and value of this process. Thought. In recognizing this, I wondered then what did the average person, the median, mean, mode person THINK about sustainability and personal initiative. I compared and contrasted the two ways of thinking in order to assure that I was consciously aware of their journey.

Facility Overview

Facility Overview

Concept

Color Direction/Mood

Principles & Elements

Principles & Elements

Principles & Elements

Branding

The Smell of Success

Design Intelligence ranked SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) #1 for Interior Design for both Undergraduate and Graduate programs regionally. And now, as finals conclude tomorrow, I am feeling the weight of that title. My newest feat has been putting together a digital portfolio. As with most things, it will be a progressively changing process. As more projects find their way onto my work resume, the portfolio will morph itself to fit its new form.

I enjoyed the capabilities of having your business card in a stamp.Or some part of your branding package incorporating into something so flexible and reusable. Potentially a branding move in the near future....

The result of what I came up with came from a stringent process, of SCADs curriculum, and of my portfolio preparation class, was really figuring out who I am as a designer, as a person, as an employee offering a company my services. It was, for the first time in my collegiate process, that I saw myself as a product arranged on floor fixtures for buyers to peruse. Up until now, I had a misconception that all the hard work I've produced and the hours of sleepless nights endured would somehow sell itself to potential employers. I did not see my services as they should be seen as. It was a really interesting but gradual epiphany for myself.

 Still, I challenge myself as to why we market ourselves the way we do?

I think its good to ask yourself this as you design your brand. Asking what message you want to send, and how you come across initially. Some approach the topic in assertive colors with lines that suggest dominance, others Asian background affect the organic nature of their logo. Interestingly so, the brands (as they should be) become a graphic transformation of who we are, not only as designers, but as people. It might not have been the initial motive when creating a brand identity, but in seeing the finishing products of both a print and digital portfolio, there is a consistency with the design and the designer. I like this. I enjoy exploring how we can more accurately, better represent, ourselves visually.

Additionally to the history class, I finished as of a few short hours, my studio class is wrapping up beautifully. It is a exhausting sigh of relief to know that in a short 30 hours I will be exhaling the sweet breath of completion. This being one of the more meaningful quarters of my education, has given me the opportunity to choose a design problem and solution specific to my interests. Similar to the brand identity observations between the design and the designer, the problems we chose to address as designers seem specific to our interests and extendability. I am going on break soon and look forward to updating on the process of the Atlanta project for my Capstone!

Adieu SCAD, hello [short] break!!

Materials

"Welcome to Makeup 101. Today we will be learning about the characteristics, durability, and clean ability of materials and their effects to cosmetics."

This was the introduction to a studio class at SCAD the fall of 2011. The ten of us in the class went to the materials room on campus and sat around large flat surfaces to dive into what this entailed.
99% of the class were females, 1% men. This being noted, there was a plethora of options for makeup. Those who had access to the cosmetics were asked to bring them to class. The nine women brought in the daily cosmetics they use. This entailed foundation, mascara, lipstick, etc. We then as a group selected materials from the selection offered at SCAD to test these cosemetics on.

The selection of materials varied. Some where harder surfaces,
some fabrics, vinyl, glass, the list goes on and on. We wanted to test the
cosmetics on the most diverse selection of materials to provide
the most accurate response for our research.

A photograph of the classmates testing
their products on the materials

The relevancy of these tests came about with the assignment we were currently working on. The project was a cosmetic fixture for a chosen brand of cosmetics. Some of the brands chosen were Dior, Chanel, Illamasqua, Art of Shaving, Elizabeth Arden, and NARS. Individually we pursued these projects to ultimately create a fixture that was no bigger when expanded than  3' X 3' X 7'.

Here is a maquette of the final product alongside
dimensioned sketches of the fixture. The design needed to be realistic
for the specific brand, and by understanding the brand we
understand the proper proportions and dimensions required.

Front Perspective

Back Perspective

Below is a final rendering of what the fixture would look like when built

DMC::: Digital Media Center

SCAD is always trying to use interesting textures
and concepts to make the experience unique. This
deer with its blankie is an example of this. And the deer balls
strike my interest too...

This is the DMC where our next STUDIO IV project is.
The Digital Media Center (DMC) was renovated in the early
1990s from it's 1950 foundation. 

The new finishes are out of this world. This curved
wall is bent metal that has been treated to
look rustic and totally worn. Behind its walls house the
DMC theatre where lectures, events, and movies are
often present.  

The user experience is incredibly sensory. From the existing steel
structure columns that are exposed and begs the
user to touch, to the mounted goldfish swimming parallel
to the white wall, or the textile commission hanging from the ceiling the space
invites creativity and I LOVE it.

Take these pillows. I touched them and can vouch that their
comfort level is not on the best, but their unique made from wood
shavings. I can honestly say this is the first I've seen it, and again... I LIKE ITT

Our next project in Studio works on the first floor of the DMC. Currently, the space is gutted. We took a field trip last week & took notes and photos of the condition of the walls and how the windows were placed, where structural columns exist, dimensions, window placement, etc. 

Upon entering...

Upon entering the space this is what you see immediately to your left. A large open space
previously used for shooting, the lighting track on the ceiling still exists.

This is a photo of the space they're using now with elaborate
cameras and lightings, a set, and greenspace. I expect the vision
was to create a duplicate room looking something like this for the gutted space.

This shot was taken from the previous lighting area

This is also a view from that space and a view of the enter/exit door.
There is great natural day light in the front corner!

Parallel to the room with the existing lighting track, on the other side of the space sits
an expansive space. The door at the end of the room is a stairwell
with a small space behind the egress. 

This shot is deep into the space looking back on the expansion

This is the space behind the stairwell, to my left.

This is the furthest back room that sits next to the previous space
and behind the first room with the tracking.




In revisiting this blog post, I wanted to put some finish renderings of the project once we finished!! See below for some final renderings. More process work is available on my cargocollective account.

 Reception Area to the left and Printmaking/Painting Room to the Right. The walkway directly in front of the user in this photograph would be led around the interior in a rectilinear path. The drawing below
shows the print room that shares a sink with the printmaking department across the room. The two spaces are spaces within a space that share visual and some acoustical room, but acquire separate square footage.