Sunday, October 26, 2008

FTL


Picture unrelated.

The sun is setting. Tired men and women are leaving work, fighting the rush hour traffic as they flee to their homes. Street lamps flicker once or twice along the slow university streets before striking a warm orange glow. The buzz of machines began to die as the work day comes to a halt slowly from the construction site. Little white hats of construction workers bob and weave around the maze of fences as the make their escape--a tiring day is finally at an end. A slow dust cloud rises from the dusty plains, reaching toward the last traces of sunlight as they streak across the sky. It blows and curls, becoming one with the night; a final sigh, a death knell sounding the end of the day. There is nothing... Except...

The eyes of Wallace Industrial Design Building, the gaping sheets of glass littering its facade, burn bright with incandescent light. Tired fingers and sore backs work within, melting plastic and sketching furiously. When all others have retired to their beds, letting out long deep sighs that seem to say, "Ah, what a relaxing weekend.", the ants of Wallace continue to build. Design, sketch, build, tear down--The dreaded cycle that keeps the ants entranced, the hypnotic spell that keeps them thinking that if they can just go for one more day, life will be worth something.

That moment is not far off, however.

Weeks of work have piled up to one cataclysmic moment, a moment that holds promise of an eternal salvation, the 89.5 rounded up, or the damnation that is Eastman's disapproval. The odds seem to be piled against the ants, working tirelessly, is their nothing and no one that can help them succeed?

There is one.

Birthed from the sins of inferior products, fueled by the shattering of acrylic sheeting, tempered by Windex and Lysol, he emerges--a lone hero; resistant to screwing, heating, chemicals, pressure, and scratching. He is a light in darkness, a hope in despair, and a force that will change the Wallace ants' lives forever.
He is Spectar-Man.

Feasibility

The back stretch has been a tedious and time consuming journey, but overall, the concepts that my fellow colleagues and I have been able to generate is very gratifying. Hands down the hardest thing that comes to mind during Phase 2 is making sure that the concept is structurally sound. This part is where design is crucial and helps the designer earn the big bucks. It is my intention demonstrate the feasibility of my concepts at the next presentation.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Over the past couple of weeks, I have spent time trying to find a way to work out the mechanics in my fabric display so that the whole system of buying fabric becomes easier and isn't so much of a hassle. Just recently have we started to work on our models. I have experienced some issues related to my design and how well the plastic can form to it. These are just obstacles that have been worked around and I think they have helped me to design the displays better.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Since the first meeting I have spent time refining my two concepts. Refinements have included going back into the retail space, more problem solving investigation, addition of aesthetic elements, and places for graphics. Attention to detail has been the focus this week. Figuring out how our displays will actually be built has made our initial ideas seem very real. Learning how to assemble our displays has also posed a few challenges. Knowing the limitations, but also advantages of Spectar has definitely influenced many of the aesthetic elements and structural elements of my designs.


I have spent the past few weeks refining the two concepts that were selected.  Much of the refinement had to do with the mechanics and inner components of both ideas.  With a few tweaks, I can now focus more on the aesthetics of my concepts.  

Concept Refinement

Since our meeting, I have started making adjustments to my SmartCard design, and looking at different ways spectar can be incorporated throughout the display's facade. I'm really hopeful for this concept, as I feel it can push the greeting card world into a more positive direction.



I have also begun reseaching the movement and axis associated with the golf swing and have been looking at ways to apply it to a display system.








Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Light Sculpture










I laser cut three pieces of masonite with different size circles and offset the holes. Then with some help, stacked the all three layers in the vacuum form.

The excess spectar was cut with a ban saw and then the flat side sanded with a DA to frost the spectar.

The two ends were bent using a heat strip so it will clip around the lights in the studio.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Light sculptures and the studio space








In continued our efforts to explore the Spectar material and "enlighten" our work-spaces, we students a series of sculptural lighting elements that employ various means of fastening, adhering, thermo-forming.

These sculptures are designed to fit the 2'x2' area over the existing 2'x4' fluorescent fixtures in our space. In addition, straight sheets were hung to create "post-walls" for sketches and other visual information such as white board markings.