Concept/Context Boards

Specil Note: The top image is the original image at the time of the critique. The lower two images are not the original image presented during the critique. They are the updated version containing changes suggested made during the critique.

The task at hand was to design two process boards which addressed (1) concept & sketches and (2) objects being presented in context. In the end, I chose to have my two boards read as one individual representation of both content and context.

I chose “Structured Living” as my company name because I believe that my designs do bring about a sense of order and organization within the living environment and the lives of those affected by my environments. I do more than build furniture, I create living habitats that provide basic needs for its dwellers. My designs are an extension of the environment.

INSPIRATION grew out of influences of process boards created by Bill More Design ( http://www.billmoredesign.com/). Their overall design presentation has an architectural presence through its layout. The use on a dominate color in monochromatic tones brought vibrancy to the poster while unifying the elements within it. Its use of geometric shapes and grid-like layout evokes a sense of order, a characteristic I seek to present through my design.

With my layout concept established, I then looked for inspiration on how I would show my designed environments. Searching images on http://www.cad.com/, I came across a line drawn work environment that caught my attention. It consisted of monochromatic shades of blue outlined with cartoonish white lines. This approach was different because there would be no realistic images of my environments. I would depend on the two dimensional drawing tools of illustrator to help get my message across.

In the end, I chose to design my boards as if one feeds into the other. The first board, the concept & sketch board, features monochromatic lines that taper from a bulbous and overpowering image into a more “structured” arrangement of horizontal lines. This affect was established with the use of a distorting mesh (object/envelope distort/ make with mesh) in illustrator. Small square boxes with drawn images in them are arranged mathematically in the upper right region of board one.

In board two, the out of controlled lines are now contained within a confined environment, symbolizing the effects my design has on the environment and the lives of those living in them.
Two context images displayed on this page show my furnishings being used in a dormitory and home environment. Below the images are the caption “environment” . As I created these boards, I thought of how its design layout could be used as a web page or portfolio layout. The little boxes on the left board, or board one, when selected would display the board two, the context board. In a portfolio, the left board would be the index page and the right board would be the grid layout for each image represented on the index page.

DURING THE CRITIQUE, several students pointed out that no actual images of the furniture exist in my boards. They felt their absence took away from the overall design of board two. Said one student, “the drawn images make the furniture in the boards feel like design elements and not actual furniture”.

Other areas of concern are the size of the two boxes in board two. With one larger than the other, it was pointed out that one felt more important than the other. Also, there was a concern that the grid layout of board one was not the same as board two.