Studio Brief 2 - Research - Inspiration

Studio Brief 2 - Individual Practise - The Leeds Library Book Cover

Research - Inspiration

Ecology

As part of my research I was encouraged to look at influences beyond the realm of book design. I started by research further into the concept of ecology to better understand its concept and hopefully become inspired by this and introduce a sense of this into my concept. The literal definition of the word is 'the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms' to me this gives connotations of the environment including sustainability, cells and green conservation. The other range of connotations that this gives me is how something fits into to its environment, looking at adhering to its atmosphere. I liked the cell structure of this leaf, the seemingly natural and unstructured lines all join up to for the bigger organism. I feel I could incorporate this pattern into my designs as I feel it is eye-catching and clearly relates to the topic of ecology and by extension the book itself. 

Similarly to the leaf (seen above) I also liked this magnified image of a cell structure for similar reasons. I love the interconnecting circles that have a natural quality to them. I think the use of colour here is particularly strong, the tonal blues complement the stark electric blue that makes this image vibrant and pop. 

Having researched natural forms such as cells I was inspired by the image above to see how objects can have really intriguing chemical make-ups, following this I started to research the physical structure of materials to see if any other unique patterns could be identified. Most of the materials I researched for example paper and cotton formed no distinct eye-catching patterns however I found that silk had an extremely interesting physical structure that I felt could be developed into a unique aesthetically pleasing design.  I then further explored these material theme experimenting with other material and found that similarly to silk the physical structure of lace had been previously used in architecture for a natural structure in Armenia inspired by lace called 'Lace Hill'  

http://www.archdaily.com/58797/lace-hill-forrest-fulton-architecture/ this is a good example of how design can take inspiration from nature and create some unique and eye-catching designs. 

Physical structure of silk

Moving away from the environmental inspiration I had previously been researching I decided to look at the other concept of ecology identifying how things fit into their environments as this brief is being exhibited in the Leeds Central Library I decided to visit the exhibition space to observe the surrounding with the concept that I could tailor the design to the buildings architecture and design to ensure that my resolution fits into the environment in which it will be displayed. The library is a beautiful building with a vast range of unique design features that I feel I can take inspiration from, This included the large terracotta arches, the vast display of mosaics present throughout the building and stained glass windows. I felt this was a good concept that I could develop into a range of strong resolutions that I would be happy to display in a public environment. 

Finally I came across a project that was undertaken at the Royal College of Art as part of London Design Festival which was in celebration of 40th Anniversary of Papenek's seminal publication, Design For The Real World. This exhibition featured work from recent graduates  focused on Human-centered sustainable design. I found the results of this exhibition inspiring to see how other students have interpreted Papenek's book from different perspectives for example students submitted works from Textiles Arutecture and Product Design courses. This gave me a better understanding of how the resolutions does not always have to be a linear result of the text itself but can be inspired by other components. One of my favourite pieces from this exhibition was  'the polyfloss factory' which transformed plastic waste into a new material with multiple future applications inspired by candy floss, I think the concept is original and quirky and could be developed within the medium of Graphic Design to create a Bold and interesting concept. 

Having carried out a range of research from a breath of different background I now feel I can comfortably create a set of initial ideas that will have a diverse range of concepts and inspirations behind then which I can then develop and present to a group of students in the Interim critique for further feedback as to which designs they feel have the strongest concepts and will make the best resolutions to the brief.