Transforming Working Men's College

Our college has a rich history and for this project I decided to draw on this. William Morris had a great influence and as a starting point I decided that this was the best course to take for my project by gaining inspiration from his work. I felt his floral patterns and prints were quite interesting and wanted to work with these further.

From these prints I decided to experiment with wire and foam to create random shapes and forms so that I could have some sort of  idea of what to do for my final piece and which area of the college I could transform.

Looking at the results I really appreciated how the wires held the foam firmly and still had a natural effect. This formed an idea in my head as I thought the foam reminded me of tables or chairs. I then thought what would happen if I transformed the cafeteria of the college by linking all the tables and chairs together so that they would be fixed onto the floor itself through plastic tubing or metal?

I decided I was going to transform the cafeteria by using that idea and putting in lighting so that when the time of day changes the chairs and tables start to light up when it gets darker. Focusing on this idea I then made a model out of wire to bring my idea into 3D so I could see if it actually works or not.

To show the audience what I wanted the final outlook of the cafeteria to look like I created an illustration.

Event Project

My brief for this project was to come up with a product designed for a certain event. After quite some thought on the topic the event I chose to represent was the 'Mevlana' Festival in Turkey mainly because I have a deep interest in religion and this festival seemed suitable. My first thought was to research on the dancers themselves as I found the moves and curves in their dances pretty mesmerizing and wanted to look into this.

Whirling Dervish

Looking at existing products I decided I wanted to go ahead with the idea of making a pavilion that reflected on the costumes of the whirling dervishes. I researched into existing pavilions and also some of Davinci's inventions as they had the sort of same spiral effect and curves. I thought the bulk of research was successful however I believe I rushed into the idea of making the pavilion too soon and should have taken it slowly and looked into other aspects.

'Rumi Red Chair' by Sadi Ozis

Davinci's Helicopter

'Sema Table' designed by Alper Boler & Omer Unal

Davinci's Tank

From these ideas I started to sketch out my own and throughout the process tackled with the idea of creating sinuous lines within my work to best reflect the whirling dervishes in my final piece. My first idea I thought was very appealing in drawing however when I made the model in 3D it did not really inspire me in any way and I felt it didn't work well with what I wanted and my idea, although the model itself was very successful.

I took a trip out to the RIBA to gain more inspiration as I didn't think what I had would suffice in creating a successful final piece. The trip was eye opening and from the research that I gained I created another model that I felt was better at reflecting my ideas. I used tights and cardboard as I thought this would best present what I wanted the final pavilion to look like. The model was a good one however I think it felt unfinished like it needed something more which is why I chose this project to continue on for my final major project.

Collision Project

The idea for this project started with looking at conflicting elements like opposites, for example big and small or old and new. I focused on this while researching in the V & A museum and tried to draw inspiration by looking at the contrasting aspects in each work. There were some pieces of work that caught my attention these included a chest of drawers and a piece of Italian Jewellery.

'You Can't Lay Down Your Memories' by Tejo Remy

Italian Jewellery

After having done this initial research I decided that instead on focusing on the contrasts in the pieces themselves I could take a specific shape from them and turn them into something more contemporary in my final idea. Therefore the teardrop shapes in the jewellery piece seemed interesting to work with. I started drawing various furniture I could make from incorporating this particular shape into the idea. I thought my drawings were successful and helped me create a good sense of direction to where my project was heading and also the precise concept of my initial research helped form a strong starting point. Moving on, I transformed these drawings into models made from cardboard to see which idea looked the most successful.

I decided on using the last idea the 'seat sofa' as my possible final idea. I felt the cardboard models really helped me visualize how my drawings would look in 3D and was useful in helping me decide which piece of furniture would best reflect on my work. I think I should have experimented more with these models however to come up with a stronger final piece.

I then started experimenting with materials to make my final piece out of. I wanted to test out the vacuum forming machine as I wanted my final piece to be made out of plastic to give it a modern exterior, therefore I had to make a mould out of clay to be able to make the shape of the seat out of plastic. I first experimented with the clay on a smaller scale to test it out and then on a larger scale.

Unfortunately the outcome was not what I had expected, the clay mould created creases in the plastic while forming and I could not use plastic for my final piece. So therefore I decided to move onto using wood. However, now looking back the creases actually look quite appealing maybe I could have worked with this material and outcome further.

So I used plywood for my final piece, cutting out the teardrop shape using a hegna saw. I also used the sanding machine to smoothen the edges of the wood to give a cleaner effect.

I then had to paint the wood with glossy white paint to give it a plastic effect as my final piece will still be made of out perspex. I also cut out plastic legs and stuck on foil around them to give them a metal effect as my final piece legs will be made out of metal.

I was really please with the last result however I think there are small things I could have changed or experimented on more to create a more successful piece.

Final Major Project

For this particular project my brief was to bring a touch of contemporary design to a culture festival in Turkey, 'Mevlana.'

For my starting point I looked at existing pavilions which I had researched in my previous Event Project, more so pavilions which reflected on the sinuous lines of the whirling dervishes in the festival. This research allowed me to come across an artist named Yunwoo Choi who uses rolled up paper and distorts paper into other shapes to create these big installation sculptures. I thought this was clever and wanted to take this approach in my work, and thought it was possible that my final product would be made out of paper completely. To experiment this I rolled up A4 pieces of paper and with a glue gun stuck them all together in a circle. I found the light coming out of the holes through the paper was really successful, therefore I decided to research further into furniture made from paper. Looking back now, I feel I should have researched something different as well to broaden my ideas and make my project background stronger. Probably should have spent more time on research rather than going straight into the idea, maybe then I could have prevented some of the complications that occurred later.

Model inspired from artist

Yunwoo Choi

I wanted to try new techniques of making forms from paper so then I started manipulating paper, rolling them up and joining them in triangles to make up a miniature chair. I thought this model was also successful, helped me decide which technique I felt was better for my project.

Model exploring paper techniques

Having done that I then drew up a sketch of a possible design idea for my final piece. I then rolled up paper glued them together in a rectangle and cut a curve through the middle using a saw. I was pleased with the end result and decided to go ahead with this idea for my final piece. I feel I should have experimented on a larger scale before starting on the final piece, as I didn't think about the complications that would occur on a larger scale that didn't necessarily occur on the smaller scale.

Small model of final piece

During the making process many difficulties occurred which was a result of not having tested the materials I was using further and not having planned out the tools I was using. I rolled up newspaper and stored away a few to test on. The band saw gave me the cleanest cut however unfortunately I could not use it for my final piece. Therefore I had to find an alternative. I used a japanese saw and this gave me the flexibility I needed, it's cut wasn't as clean as the band saw but it was a massive improvement from the rip saw I had used before it. If I had used my time right I think I could have found the time to use the band saw which would have made my product look more aesthetically pleasing.

After the testing was done, I stuck all the rolls of newspaper with PVA in a rectangular shape like I had done with my smaller model. and waited for it to dry. Then I drew out the curve and used the saw to cut it, painted the tops red as to draw out on the whirling dervishes and covered the product in PVA glue as a finish. The outcome of my final piece I think came out really well considering the fact that I had planned for it to be cut by the band saw but unfortunately had to go for the alternative. That is one thing I would do differently which is use the band saw.

Final Piece

Transforming The Everyday Project

Stuart Haygarth-Cosmic Burst

In this particuar project the brief was to use materials to create something that would transform an object or environment. This brief was pretty wide as there were many things I could do. We were shown artists/designers who used this idea in their work and one designer that stood out to me was Stuart Haygarth. I particularly like the way he used unusual objects to create chandliers, lamp shades etc. So for this project I decided I wanted to work with light. I first thought of painting balloons with glow in the dark paint and hanging them to create an illusion but I didnt feel a personal connection to  this idea. So I then thought about what my everyday activities or things were and films, music and games are a big part of my life so this made me thinks of using CDs/DVDs in my work.

Experimenting with the idea of CDs and Light:
To investigate this idea I used fishing wire to hang several CDs around a light just like Stuart Haygarth had done, to see what sort of shapes or light would be reflected. Even though the outcome wasn't so successful I thought this eperimentation helped me realise to develop this idea of CDs even further and use different variations and other materials to help with development.

Development into Final Idea:
After the experimentation I then thought about combining what Stuart Haygarth does and my idea of using CDs. This made me think of using CDs to creat a chandlier. To explore and make sure that my idea worked I experimented on a smaller scale and superglued a couple of CDs aroundmy ceiling light. I did this in a dark room for better results and the outcome I achieved was spectacular. The image created form the reflected CDs onto the wall was almost holographic and very interesting. I decided that I would make this into a chandlier on a bigger scale, therefore this was my final idea.

Process of Creation:
The first thing I did was to buy a lamp light with a plug. I then tied a wooden dowel to the cable using fishing wire as I needed the cable to be straight and upright. I thought this would be the cheapest and most efficient way to make my product.

I then painted the wooden dowel wiht white paint. I put three coats on which took me longer than I expected as I didn't think I needed three. I also used gapha tape to fix the wooden dowel onto the joint. Professionally I should have been using a plastic fixing. The presentation of this looked as professional as it could get with the materials I had, maybe if  had used more expensive materials or a metal/plastic pole instead of the wooden dowel the presentation could have been improved.

Afterwards I cut a line into several of the CDs using a hack saw. This was to create platforms for the different levels of the chandlier where the CDs would be sticking onto the wooden dowel. I stuck  these on using a glue gun. However the support of the glue was not strong enough as I wanted so this is something to think about if I wereto do this project again.

I then layered the CDs around the platforms in the design I wanted using superglue. There were quite a lot of setbacks with this as sometimes if something were to hit the CDs they would fall off or crack.

Create Something That Flies Workshop

Flying Carpet

Drawing in Space Project

The brief for this project was to create an illusion using the environment and colourful tape as equipment. This project started off really well my group had alot of ideas however further on we found out our ideas were a bit too complex to carry out. Therefore we focused on cracks and how to make the ennvironment seem as if it were breaking apart. We carried out a miniature idea first, creating an illusion on a window to make it seem as if it were smashed. We first used a hammer to create the cause of the impact in the photo however that didn't work so we used someones fist instead.

When that was successful, we moved onto our bigger idea which was to make a beam in the classroom seem as if it were cracked down the middle. Planning this took ages but we managed to create the illusion nethertheless.