Zach Design

Stonehenge

2008-05-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

I decided that I would try a little bit different approach with this drawing- I had never been able to master cross-hatching when we went over it in Suzanne's so I figured I would give it a try! Overall, I am pretty pleased with how it came out.

Cathedrals

2008-05-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some sketches of Cathedrals I did for Patrick's Class- I didn't get to spend quite as much time on them as I wanted, but I think they cam out fairly decently, all things considered

El Carreton

2008-05-03T14:13:00.000-07:00

Since Suzanne is probably the greatest teacher in the world, we went to a local Mexican restaurant for some food and a short drawing session- in between ordering and getting my food I managed to get down a couple of sketches- one out of the window and one of the bar:

Washington Sketching

2008-05-02T14:08:00.000-07:00

So I had a chance to stop and draw a few interesting buildings along the way, but I could only spend about five minutes on each:

Elsewhere

2008-05-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

Where to start- Elsewhere is a crazy place. Imagine the most things in one place you have ever seen. Multiply it by 30 or 40 and you have a rough estimate of the amount of stuff that is in this place. Everything for Good old Grateful Dead records to scarred mannequins. Not exactly the place you hang out on your first date, but certainly some... interesting things happen there.

We were asked to map out a space. Others started right away but I sat for a few minutes to try and figure out what it meant to map a space. This is a more difficult prospect than one might think due to the fact that everything in elsewhere can be moved. How do I capture a place if it may be completely different the next time I come back? Not an easy prospect.

I started with lists. I listed the names of every book that was in my space, then every fruit. I thought it would be easiest for me to simply list objects in an area and allow those who read the list to form their own conclusions involving the true essence of the area.

I followed this approach (which took forever) by trying to get some simple sketches of the area down. This was completely ineffective. While the larger, more permanent pieces remained, I had lost most of the movable items to other areas. I had to rethink my approach.

I visited elsewhere on my own, not to draw, but to observe different areas. I found that, more than anything, the people defined my space. A relaxed person made the space feel open, almost like it had spilled over. An uptight person might make the space feel like there was a sense of organization to the chaos that surrounded me. (I still don't know if there is) This feeling that people defined a space was further accentuated by the fact that the people literally DO define the space. They can shift from here to there, bring objects they like with them, and get rid of objects they don't.

Epiphany: The Space is truly defined those who are in it, to capture the essence of the space I am better off trying to capture the people who are in it.

Problem: I suck at drawing people. lol.

I started off with really sketchy people, because many people only breezed through the space, leaving little hint of their time in my area, other than a shifted object, or a new/absent object. I had someone who settled down in my area and she was lounged= my area thus became a lounging area. Thank you, Heather! My Elsewhere Map:

Stoel's House

2008-04-21T08:50:00.000-07:00

Sketchbook Assignment

2008-04-15T06:20:00.000-07:00

This week we had Household items for our sketchbook assignment- thought I'd try out a few different types of pens to see which ones I liked. Definitely think I like the Staedtler's the best

Random Sketches

2008-04-10T18:30:00.001-07:00

Just a couple of random things from when I had downtime in studio.

First Wall Thoughts

2008-04-08T06:27:00.000-07:00

So for the new studio assignment we are creating a habitable wall for a designer/artist- I have Noguchi. The artist must be able to sleep: work: socialize/entertain: and display work. I approached it by trying to manipulate the wall more than anything else, and then using this sense of balance that epitomizes Noguchi, along with strong elemental tones, and a clean, modern look. These were the first ideas:

Furniture Sketches

2008-04-04T21:22:00.000-07:00

I have some furniture sketches for Suzanne's class- here ya go!

Atypical Sleeping Quarters

2008-03-25T20:03:00.001-07:00

bottle caps

2008-03-24T07:25:00.001-07:00

We were comissioned in our latest project to design something made from the left-over bottle caps that the company Terracycle could produce. Not only can the guitar picks be punched from the tops of the caps, but the cap ring makes for a perfect container, with the teeth grabbing and holding the picks perfectly. We decided a simpler approach would be best, using the smallest amount of initial overhead as well as labor.

Patrick's Precedent Pages

2008-03-23T18:22:00.001-07:00

Produce Production

2008-03-06T06:56:00.000-08:00

We had to select a piece of produce in the beginning without being told the end reason. We had to draw some pictures of our fruit (mine was an orange) and then create some patterns from the pictures. We then had to enact a tool on the pattern (I used a clamp) to alter and transform the pattern. The pictures with the blue border were the major role players for me because they were what led to the next part of my project.
The stippling was the perfect shading technique given the texture of an orange.
This is merely a zoomed in view of an orange- I liked throwing it into sharp light, to get a nice contrast over a small area.
I focused on this action for a lot of my following pattern, but it was not what I ended up going with in the second half of the project
This drawing ended up being the inspiration that I used for a good number of patterns as well as in the second half of the project.
This pattern ended up being one of the important ones in my process.
In this pattern and the following pattern you can see the action of the clamp at work, squeezing different parts of the patterns to transform them into something new.
Below are some shots o our group presentation boards- I worked with some people that I really like so it came together fairly easy for us- despite some differing opinions These are some shots of my 3d model off of the patterns that I had created from my patterns the first one was fairly basic- I decided to use cones because it allowed me to give this illusion of volume and mass while still keeping the linear profile that stuck to my patterns
I moved my next model onto its side to give it a more linear quality to help accentuate the main part of my pattern. I pulled several details fro here and made several models trying to emphasize different aspects and I ended up going with my sixth.
The model below is my sixth model and represents some aspects of the former model that I like. This is also my first architectural statement so I tried to give some real thought to a lot of different concepts. I pulled this idea of reaching from my last model, hence the use of blue to emphasize this play on proportion and oversized balance. I also looked at Saarinen's shell structures for inspiration with my curved "roof-like" forms and tried to keep the linearity of the model by looking at the cantilevered feel of much of the prarie style. This long extending roof also helped me play with the sense of scale and balance. To further play with the sense I stuck with the cone shape to give this dramatic and huge entrance that became steadily more intimate as one was to enter the space. I thought that this was a very solid project and wanted to move in a different direction to prove to myself that I was actually headed in the right direction with this one.
This leads me to my eighth and final model which is quite a bit different. With this model I focused on the interior space more than the exterior and tried to establish a sense of repetition and rhythm with the overhangs layering in front of and behind each other. I turned to the Sydney Opera House for inspiration in this phase of the design and I was quite happy with it. I feel that this is a separate project from my previous line of models and both have merits and qualities all their own. If I absolutely had to latch on to one I would hold on to my sixth model as my architectural statement, but its hard because of how different they are.

I cannot say that I like this project until the very end and I was glad that it was over, but I did like the final product and am very proud of what I did.

Mossman- the process

2008-03-03T07:14:00.000-08:00

The final outcome pleased us all. We thought (and over-thought) every decision to the last detail- but the result was a cohesive and well presented board. I personally was very pleased with how we came together and took care of business.

Here are some shots of the group getting together and putting the information on a board for presentation. Decisions aren't easy in a group (as we all learned) but we were able to move forward.

Drawings based on some architectural illustrators that I liked. All images courtesy of www.asai.org The first inspiration image is from Nairi Haran, the second is from Frank Costantino, and the third is from Henry Zeng. Different things attracted me to the several styles, but I mostly feel as if they fell short of the goal- I do like the way that Haran has drawn trees and I think that I may attempt to incorporate the style into my drawings more.

Drafting Scans

2008-03-02T13:20:00.000-08:00

here are the rest of the digitals for Stoel's class that I don't have posted yet

Scale Figure Explorations

2008-02-26T17:43:00.000-08:00

I still haven't really developed a style that I like- I think that I need to find someone to emulate before I can turn them into my own

Entourage

2008-02-21T06:39:00.000-08:00

Suzanne asked us to take some earlier drawings and experiment with adding some scale figures to them- I am playing around with a couple of forms, mine tend to be highly stylized, they are in the order that I did them in, from the first figures I was messing with to the final figure- I think I like the last one the best, but it only seems to be working from a fairly frontal or rear view, making 3/4 view pretty hard for me- we'll see though

Scale Figure Examples

2008-02-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

I found the first three of these through a search at ASAI. This first example is from an illustration by Stephanie Bower.
This next example is from an artist named Chen Wenjie.
Next we have some examples by Melissa Colson

This next example came off of a blog by Iain Stewart

This last example is from a blog called YKBK

Frustration Practice

2008-02-19T12:02:00.000-08:00

After my massive frustration with the Coffee Shop drawings for Suzanne I got online and googled sketch tips, coming up with a bunch of different things, Above are my two favorite, one is a bowl and napkin and the other is the city of Nantes, France from a photograph I had.

Coffee Shop Drawings

2008-02-19T11:56:00.000-08:00

Suzanne had us do some coffee shop drawings and none of them seemed to come out right, I don't know if it was the many distractions, but they just weren't coming together.

hit and miss

2008-02-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

While these drawings weren't exactly off base, as far as relating to my inspiration images, the inspiration images weren't the greatest because this was a hard drawing to apply these principles to. In other words, the drawings nor the inspiration images were bad, they space and the style just didn't gel

Thumbnails of Mossman

2008-02-13T07:12:00.000-08:00

Some quick Sketches of the Mossman building done for Suzanne.

Wood Project

2008-02-07T08:53:00.000-08:00

For my inspiration for this 2x4 project I looked at the stain glass of Frank Lloyd Wright, The juxtaposition of geometrical shapes was very nice and used to create a dynamic feel. The lines on the side are for aesthetic and functional purposes- the longer line was used to set the depth of the cylinder, and the shorter line was added to help strengthen the visual power of the lines.

Architectural Detail Skecthes

2008-02-05T09:25:00.001-08:00

Just some sketches from around the studio that Suzanne had us do of some architectural details

Scan of Drafting Copy

2008-01-30T11:30:00.001-08:00

Done in two parts to get it up here, but I got most of the image to show!

What a Mess...

2008-01-29T06:21:00.000-08:00

We had to draw some mess sketches for Suzanne this week- I haven't been able to be excited about the material, add that on top of the fact that I was really sick and we don't have a winning formula. For some reason, I can't quite get the hang of hatching- I've tried longer, shorter, darker, lighter, etc. I just can't seem to quite grasp it, these sketches took me forever, and they still aren't right. Frustration. Much frustration.

Furniture Design

2008-01-14T11:50:00.000-08:00

Just got back from break- wasn't long enough, of course, but I'm ready to get back into the normal swing of things. I was sketching some random things over break and started to put down some elementary ideas for furniture pieces. Still rough, but it would be fun to develop them further.

Done

2007-12-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

Finally finished with drawing for the semester- here are some sketches of a small magnolia leaf that they had us do.

Foreign Magazines

2007-12-09T15:41:00.000-08:00

PingMag was actually a cool Japanese design magazine, but it was different than what I expected. Not only is the majority of the magazine online, but it focused less on design and more on new products and how they are made. The issue I looked at was featuring a prototype convention. Everything in the magazine was very high-tech in its design, but the facade of the designs varied from traditional looking Japanese design and other was futuristic in its look. Very eclectic mix featured in this magazine, I am not sure if this indicates and eclectic mix of design in all of Japanese culture or whether this is an eclectic magazine. But the high-tech theme seems in line with the high-tech image that Japan has managed to build through years of innovation and invention.

Domus magazine is an Italian magazine which I found by someone else's suggestion. Everything that I flipped through the magazine and saw seemed very slick and cutting edge. A really nice thing about this magazine is that it is in both Italian and in English. It seems that, based on the designs, the up and coming companies and the innovative companies seem to be based in Italy. It also seemed that a lot of the design was furniture and the like, leading me to believe that Italy seems to be one of the leading modern furniture areas.

This issue of Interior Design Magazine focused on China- Some things that I noticed were that it focused on the urban areas mostly- leading me to believe that the current trend in the population is urbanization- the design in the magazine seems to indicate this same trend as everything seems very urban in its design- sleek and modern with a lot of clean lined metal and design. Interesting- similar to what I had imagined Japanese design would be like

Solar Power

2007-12-09T15:32:00.000-08:00

Solar power, or energy from the sun, is becoming more and more commonly used in the world today. A close example is Guilford College, they have used solar power to provide complete energy for an entire dorm. Solar power can be used for anything from agriculture to cooking, to architecture. Solar power has little to no negative effect on the environment and is probably the best outlook for a future energy source to replace fossil fuel as the leading energy provider.

Geothermal Energy- Flash Steam

2007-12-09T15:14:00.000-08:00

Flash Steam geothermal plants seem to be a future answer for our heating needs. Although the first geothermal plant was built in 1904, it still only accounts for 1% of energy provided. In a flash steam plant the water is held below ground at a temperature above boiling, though the additional pressure causes it to stay in a liquid form- when the water is pumped above ground the reduced pressure causes the water to turn or "flash" into steam and turn a turbine to generate electricity- the unused water is then flushed back for reuse later. This method does emit some gases into the atmosphere, though only 5% of the amount that fossil fuel burning does.

Media- Album Covers

2007-12-09T07:30:00.001-08:00

I am sick of seeing Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of The Moon" cover- everywhere I look it seems to be. With that being said there is obviously something that is effective about it. While I don't personally like it I find that this is an effective cover because of the rainbow which emerges with the penetration of the prism- the color against the bland background is something which is very effective. The colors really pop against the black background. Not my favorite, but effective.

Miles Davis' "Tutu" is a simple cover which uses this large portrait of a face to make a large impact. The complexity of the shadows and the intricacies of the face ar highlighted in this album cover, which is unlike most other covers on the shelf. A simple design with a large impact- nice.

So this is the first out of three times that Jerry Garcia shows up on our list with the album "Cats Under the Stars", this cover is effective because of the simplicity of the black background, the contrast of the circular shape and the triangle, and the use of the sphinx figure to add an edge of the exotic and the unexpected. With Jerry Garcia the unexpected is always expected.

I had to include Frank Zappa's "We're Only In It For The Money" because of its blatantly hilarious spoof of the ultimate album cover "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by the Beatles. The designer used comedy as a large attraction for this cover while also using the wild success of the original to help attract interest in this album. Pure Comic Genius.

The Rolling Stone's "Exile on Main Street" does well with its use of black and white photography, rather than using color to distract the viewer from the pictures, the designer used the black and white contrasts to create another depth of visual appeal without detracting from the photographs

The Beatles' self titled album is as simple as it comes- one of the hardest to pull off, yet most effective design strategies is stark simplicity on an album cover. This album stands out among other albums with more complicated covers- instead of the white plain on the cover of this album being boring it actually draws the viewer in, beckoning them to explore behind the cover

"American Beauty" is an album which is well organized geometrically- the circle in the center contrasts the square shape of the album, the words in the circle are equaly balanced on top and bottom, and the rose is at the center of the circle, drawing the attention in- The Grateful Dead did a great job with this simple, yet effective cover

A plethora of psychedelic colors hit the eye on Cream's "Disraeli Gears"- yet somehow an order and theme come out of this chaos- a great example of the graphics conveying the culture which surrounds the band and the time- this album grabs attention on the shelves and screams for further investigation- a great marketing strategy

Bob Marley's "Catch a Fire" is effective not only for its obvious play on words with the zippo lighter design- but because of its simplicity- this is a recurring theme with effective album covers

The Grateful Dead's "Aoxomoxoa" is a great album cover- the vibrant colors grab the eyes attention and the psychedelic feel of the graphics hint at the culture surrounding the band. Aan example of a very effective use of graphics on this cover are the green plants towards the bottom which point upward, directing the eye back into the center of the picture.

Colors

2007-12-05T13:12:00.001-08:00

So I decided to try and add a little color to some of my gesture drawings- It was a pretty bold step for me- having obviously never worked with color before, but here it is- more coming soon

products

2007-12-05T12:38:00.000-08:00

Ellips has designed a shelf called Big Jim which took me awhile to decide if I liked. I finally decided that I did- I like the way that it appears to be a ball coming out of the wall- my main draw back was the size of the shelves- I understand, though, that you do not need to fill the shelves up, and there are alot of varying sizes, allowing quite a variety of objects to be stored on it

I think Uhuru Designs missed the mark with this table- the base looks dangerous to be near- mimicking a barber wire fence- I don't understand how something so cold and threatening could find a place for itself in someone's home or office- both of which are usually supposed to be inviting or impressive- never threatening

I came across a table in Interior Design Magazine called Sevn, it was produced by a company out of Raleigh, NC and is called Meld USA. I really like this table- it gives the illusion that the table is held up by three fingers, or tendrils- but they are thick enough to ground the table- I really like the deisgn- and some of the colors sound like alot of fun

I really hate these pieces done by Straight Line Designs- I don't get the point of having this spider-like piece sitting in the corner of your room just waiting and, obviously, serving no real purpose as they range in height from 48 to 84 inches tall- talk about anemic design

Niedermaier has put out this table that I find amazingly attractive- its sensuous curved body hinting at an hourglass shape and capped off by a thin and clean glass plane- I really like this- and I like the fact that it is available in some wild colors, not just the black

Knoll has put out a desk which I must say that I hate, but I don't know why- it might be its anemic look, it might be its childish colors, or it might be the fact that the wood grain on the drawer doesn't match anything else about the desk- or it might be all of those things- who knows?

Hartcorn Furniture + Design have put out this desk inspired by the dragonfly- while I was first attracted to this desk because of its clean lines and curved legs- my friend suggested that it looks like an interpretation of Noah's ark- an idea which I cannot get out of my head everytime that I look at this now

This coffee table from Roche-Bobois isn't unattractive- but I have to wonder what its intent is- It looks like a good place for chips and salsa during your next party to me- I would love to know the designer's intent in this cocktail table

This is a table that bothers me- while I like bringing in the outdoors as much as anybody, I can't understand how this table could be practical- it could no longer serve its original function as a table- thus ceasing to truly be a table and becoming a planter box- No thanks Nondesign

I like these tables from Chista, most notably the organic textures and holes- but the thing that makes me like them the most might also be the thing that makes me dislike them the most- that being the function of having tables with holes in them- I think a piece of glass may solve alot of problems where these tables are concerned

Buildings

2007-12-04T15:59:00.001-08:00

Lloyd's of London- I love this building- I consider it to be the epitome of sexy urban design and is bold- containing the "wow" factor. I like circular tubes which run along the exterior of the building- they add a dynamic design feature which really is attractive to the eye

Roanoke Art Museum- a bold design for downtown Roanoke- I found this by coming across a discussion of what type of architecture should Greensboro look to move toward- I really like the geometric planes which seem to stick out at interesting angles and the very reflective surface of the glass-I find this building very appealing

Dancing House- This is one of the more tolerable of Gehry's works to me- I can see the representation of the dancing couple within it, but I feel like it is out of place and I am not sure how well the space functions inside the "Ginger Rogers" tower- more of a sculpture than a building

London City Hall- I like this design alot- I find this much more appealing than its phallic counterpart (the Swiss Re Tower) I like the curve of the building, it seems graceful against the stark straight lines that seem to loom over much of today's architecture

Furniturland South- I wanted to do a local building so I chose the Furnitureland South building- I hate it. With that being said its because I hate themed architecture/design. This is just hideous- I do think, however, that it serves its purpose. Nobody driving by the building can debate what industry resides there- since its main attraction is that it is the world's largest showroom and it needs to attract as much attention as possible, then I have to say it is effective- effective, but ugly

Sheth Tower I really like this design- I feel like the building is precariously balanced, and I also feel like the building is perched or positioned to be on display- The half-egg shape is nice contrasting the rounded side with the flat side- I enjoy this building quite a bit and think that it is a great example of modern architecture

Space Needle- I think this is a great landmark- built for the 1962 world's fair it provides a great viewing deck from around 520 feet. I think the most effective part of this skyscraper's contsruction was what it added to the Seattle skyline. It is now a trademark of the Pacific Northwest- Its slender legs holding up a saucer (complete with restaurant). I think that the positiong of this building is as masterful as its architecture

Louvre Pyramids- I enjoy these more than most- I can understand that they don't exactly fit in with their surroundings(a recurring theme with IM Pei) but I believe that and argument could be made otherwise- there is something pristine about the glass and how the light and fountains reflect off of them- they allow one to look through to the classic architecture while embracing this newer modern design- almost in a meeting of ages- Their simnplicity against the detailed fronts of the original buildings are another nice contrast- I do not believe that they are ill designed at all- I think they fit very nicely

Guggenheim- I think this is a very effective building in its own right- while serving its purpose the neat thing about this building is how it differs from much of what Frank Lloyd Wright did throughout most of his career with that being said- it is still very strongly a Frank Lloyd Wright piece- I believe that this is the mark of a master- the ability to do anything, yet still have it resonate your name- while its curved and graceful walls and walkways seem to be different than what he normally would design, the building's cylindrical shape and extruding square platform are steeped heavily in the geometry that dominated his work and the mission-style

The Beijing Airport- I can only imagine the awed impression that this airport must strike when flown over- I first thought of it as a wild banjo or guitar, but I love the design- the circular end and the rectangular "extension" are nice contrasts to one another, yet they do not seem to be merely stuck together, somehow the designer has managed to marry the two different shapes together into one overall effective design

Designers

2007-12-04T13:41:00.000-08:00

Robert Siegel- Here is an architect who I am on the fence about- I like some of his work but none of it really "wows" me I feel its success is often in its understated design- spatial movement and lighting for example. I think his designs of a lounge at the JFK airport are a good example of this

Richard Rogers- I love Rogers' work- it is modern and bold. He is one of my favorites! His Headquarters for Lloyd's of London is really awesome and he doesn't hesitate to make a statement- he just seems to go for the WOW factor. I really like his modern, urban design.

Michael Graves- I like Michael Graves' architecture, but I find his product design the most interesting-I love his ability to take normal, everyday objects and overhaul them into something sleek, modern, sophisticated, and sexy. The nice thing is that the majority of his stuff is very affordable

Sir Norman Foster- I did not used to like much of Norman Foster's work (probably a fallout from the Swiss Re Tower) but I have grown to like it (even the Swiss Re Tower) I like the modern, urban feel rooted in his work- my favorite by him would be his design of the City Hall for London

Alvar Aalto- here is a guy I did not know much about but whom I think I am starting to like- the picture included is of a church he designed and is actually quite interesting, I like the geometry of it- reminds me alot of FLW but sleeker and more modern

Frank Gehry- here is a famous designer who I do not like- I feel like he is more of an abstract sculptor than an architect- he doesn't take much in to account when designing buildings, function seems to be completely lost- he is being sued over a building at MIT (image below) which he designed because it has problems with rain and snow buildup, leaks, mold and mildew, etc. I really think this guy is overrated-the difference between bold and stupid

IM Pei- Pei holds a unique place for me- I really enjoy alot of his designs, but I am not sure that they are appropriate for their surroundings/purpose- take for instance the rock and roll hall of fame- I love the design of this building, however, for a building dedicated to the gods of guitar I am not sure that it was the most appropriate design- the same can be said of the Louvre (though I actually like this design and don't din it as inappropriate as some do)- how the glass pyramids fit in with the classic French architecture, I am not too sure.

Le Corbusier- The jury is still out for me on Le Corbusier- I really like some of its work, but I tend to grapple with the intent of some of the things that he does- for example, I have included a picture of the Ronchamp- I like this building, but I can't help but wonder why does he angle the corner of the roof, etc. I belive that everything he did has a purpose, I just don't know what it is.
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Santiago Calatrava- Calatrava really impresses me because of how bold he is in his design without sacrificing function- I have included a picture of his design for the rotating torso- I think that this is the epitome of his design- bold and practical- probably one of the best modern designers and my personal favorite designer

Frank Lloyd Wright- I really like the geometric feel that is a huge part of Frank Lloyd wright's work- it is timeless and classic- I have included images of Falling Water- because it is one of my favorites- and of the Guggenheim- to show a piece of his work that worked away from his usual angular style but took to his geometric ideals

Sustainably Green

2007-12-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

the Lo-Speed Bench from Peter Pepper is made from 30% recycled material and the majority of it is recyclable- I really like the design of this bench, moreso for a retail or corporate setting than a residential setting- my biggest hesitation is how comfortable the aluminum material would be for sitting

Barcode is a wall covering that is uses recycled ink over and acrylic skeleton- it seems to be quite attractive, I wonder how much coverage you get and what the cost is- The textured look and feel could be a nice touch in a bland room

Here is a fun container made by Alesina Design and fashioned out of an old mailing tube. There is a laser cut hole made out of it and then the interior is varnished with bold colors- quite ingenious for reuse of a mailing tube, but can only be used for small items- wonder if it hangs on the wall

DWM Interiors is taking old pieces of furniture and recovering them in such materials as acrylic, glass, and plastics- I'm not sure how much of a consideration comfort is- nor am I sure that its look is for everyone- but certainly inventive

Meld USA has created a material made out of aggregate glass and poured cement- available for LEED points in 2 categories- I am not sure about this material because I do not know how rough the material is- it doesn't say if it is sanded or not and it also doesn't say if the material is porous or not

The company Dirtt had a good idea- they decided to eliminate the environmental impact of demolition with these temporary walls, you can simply take these panels down and move them around- since they are available in a variety of finishes they can be used in almost any setting- very smart, and very convenient- just take a look around UNCG's campus if you need proof that this is an intelligent technology

Teknion has created a storefront/window system that is LEED certified- it consists of aluminum framing and 3/8" glass panels- the really nice thing is that it is actually visually attractive

this is fabric developed by Duralee- it is 100% eco intelligent polyester- they seemed to have a variety of styles and, with the amount of fabric used in the world, I would imagine that this could make a huge impact

this is a company which does elevator interiors that are 100% recyclable and are made of 90% recycled material. They are LEED certified- I don't know how much of a difference this small amount would make, but I guess every little bit helps, and a whole bunch of littles can add up to a lot

sphere ortho

2007-11-29T12:38:00.000-08:00

so an orthographic of a sphere is pretty easy to do. The scanner is acting a little funky on me, might be because I tried to rig it to fit the whole thing on here, still didn't work though, lol.

Location Location Location

2007-11-29T08:56:00.000-08:00

We had to pick a location in which to place our time capsule, and then try to draw it in the space. I chose the second floor by the balcony, in the corner next to the water fountain.

Process Booklet for Time Capsule

2007-11-25T19:20:00.000-08:00

I like this project for several reasons: I like the varying ideas which have been tossed around with varying interpretations, I like the process of it, and I like the idea of it being a way to pull us as alumni back into the program. With that being said there are some things I dislike about this project, but the one that stands out the most is I felt like we were groping around in the dark as to what this project was- both us, the students, and the teachers- I feel like not enough time has been alotted for the current period: in which we know have some semi-clarity. I also am upset by the fact that I do not have the resources available to me to allow me to portray my idea thoroughly and/or accurately. I have enjoyed this project but I am ready to move on.

Corbusier

2007-11-19T12:39:00.003-08:00

A shading assignment of a view of a Corbusier building

Another Shading Still Life

2007-11-19T09:16:00.000-08:00

Here is a bone folder that just happened to be sitting on my desk when I noticed the really bright highlight that ran along its length, I thought this odd because there was a shadow over the rest of the bone folder, like a sliver of light was getting through- I had to give it my best shot

Sketch Model Sketches

2007-11-15T10:32:00.000-08:00

more shading practice...blah

Another Shade

2007-11-08T10:02:00.000-08:00

So we had some more shading to do for drawing with three cubes- I still am not thrilled with the work, but Kurt gave me some tips- so I am going to try those next time

The Bagel Train

2007-11-08T05:35:00.000-08:00

iida is hosting a bagel train this Friday, check it out at the iida blog!

more shading

2007-11-06T08:51:00.000-08:00

here is some more shading practice for drawing class

Shading Pt. 1

2007-11-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

The stairs were actually fun! Even though it doesn't look quite right I had fun trying to figure out how the light would hit them. I still hate shading. With that being said, I decided to experiment with some charcoals, having never worked with them before. I wasn't too unhappy with the sphere- I'd like to work and experiment with charcoal some more.

Website Design Research

2007-11-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

www.ai3online.com -Ai3- This website is actually pretty decent, the tabs at the top make it simple to navigate, and the online portfolio is easy and fun to browse. My main critique of the website is that when it first opens there is nothing that pops on the page; it looks kind of bland. It plays a short intro movie and then a nice block of green hits you from a photograph. If there was a way to have this green from the beginning I believe it would vastly improve the website.

www.davidsmall.com -Small Design Firm, Inc.- This website is okay at best. The color scheme is nice, but it really lacks in interaction. The links aren’t flashy- they are all the same color and, at first glance, look like a paragraph on the side of a page. The images they have of their projects are nice, but overall it is not what I would consider to be the height of design.

www.deodesign.com -Deo Design- A great first impression that leaves much to be desired. This website requires member access to the vast majority of its website and only provides a tiny sampling for the rest. The tabs/links at the top are simple enough- almost too simple- and don’t lead the viewer to anything supremely interesting, with images that are being repeated from the home page. It is a façade of fun.

www.iida.org -IIDA- This is not what I would expect from a major design organization. The color scheme seems to have never been decided on, with these really nice slate/dark colors that are violated by the various shades of blue. The links are in a simple list form on the left with, no real interaction- the website doesn’t respond to the viewer in any way. The tabs at the top are much better, with a drop down and sub-menu. Overall a boring website.

http://gamma.ixda.org -IXDA- This is an organization I found that is pretty interesting. The interaction design organization’s home page is a nice color scheme with some good graphic design. As is appropriate to its title, the website allows for much user interaction, including a member discussion are with many topics listed near the bottom of the home page. The only drawback to this is the presentation of these discussion boards look more like a blog and less like a professional website. The buttons, archive search, and links make this a fun website to click around on.

www.dreamclosets.org -Dream Closets, Inc.- Probably my favorite that I have surfed- this website at first has a van which glides across the bottom of the screen, a really nice color scheme (which I found after I tilted my screen back), and a really interactive website. This webpage belongs to a local company and is really fun to surf. I can’t really find anything to critique off the top of my head.

www.ia-global.com -Global Interior Architects- Another one of my favorites, this website is just plain impressive. The color scheme is vibrant and everything moves, the portfolio is one of the coolest things, and they talk about employment!(always a plus with a budding design student) I really like this website and encourage you to visit if you get the chance!

www.c-p.com -Cuhaci and Peterson- This is one of my least favorite websites so far. The homepage looks like a family photo album from Leon’s Seafood Buffet. There is no real color scheme to speak of, and the portfolio is a collection of ugly buildings. My dislike may stem from my dislike of their work, but the website itself is too basic and too bland.

www.spine3d.com -Spine 3D- A very cool firm- The website starts strong but leaves the viewer with a desire to see more quickly. This thirst, however, is easily remedied when scrolling through the tabs. A very effective tool is the changing of the background color based on the link selection. I really like this companies work- they assist with modeling and rendering in 3D, and they are good at it.

www.alloydesign.us -Alloy Design- An industrial design and product development assistance company that has quite a boring website. This website is a vast white plain with unremarkably plain text. One of the annoying features is how the pictures on the right hand side are faded and you cannot make out what they are trying to show you. Another thing that annoys me is that they claim to have a web design department- I hope this is not a sampling of their work!

Shade

2007-10-25T10:05:00.001-07:00

So it is no secret that I hate shading, I feel like I want something to look good and my shading experiments never seem to. Jake gave me some advice during this last foray into the shading world and it helped a little bit. Now its all about practice.

Gestural

2007-10-19T05:38:00.000-07:00

We had to do Gestural drawings in class this week and I had never done them before. I really like them overall but I think two minutes per drawing is more appropriate than one minute, I could just never manage to get them finished. The drawing above was my final drawing for the day and I am really happy with how it came out.

iida

2007-10-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

So the iida here at UNCG has a blog that is just getting up and running, but it is where you can find out about the goings on of different things during the month. I am the first year representative, so if you are a first year and have questions or you want anything to get to the board meeting just let me know, or, even better, you can come to the meetings! For now, check it out!

Unbelievable

2007-10-14T06:47:00.001-07:00

I was looking at some other blogs today and I cam across this guy named Peter Callesen.
His does paper sculptures and his work is really incredible. Check him out!

Metamorphosis

2007-10-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

In this project I had to combine Troy Link and Alexandra Camacho's projects into one more defined project. I had some thumbnails drawn up of different ideas, the above image is my interpretation of a middle mix of the two, an object which heavily favors Troy's project, and an object which heavily favors Alexandra's project, pictures of their projects.

Self Portraits

2007-10-10T07:18:00.001-07:00

I always hated drawing self portraits, but this was a bit more fun because we could get a little bit abstract with it. This project had a big aspirations- it was originally a rolodex type of thing where you spun the tube. When the base for the tube collapsed I had to think of a quick fix for the project. I then tried to go to a distorted feel with the project, and the tube was supposed to magnify the effect, it didn't quite work out like I had planned, lol. But, for better or worse, this is what I have. I think I will play with this a little more later.

A New York Memory

2007-10-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

So these are some pictures of my final memory container- I actually liked the way this turned out, I just wish I had been able to make the city a little more dense. The buildings are on the underside of the lid and on the bottom of the cube, so I had to work with the negative space quite a bit. I also had to figure out the way to support the lid with the added weight of the buildings on it- thus you have the industrial styled brackets. I wanted to keep the construction lines for some of the buildings on the outside to keep them architectural and industrial as well. Hope you like it!

First Iterations

2007-10-03T04:53:00.000-07:00

So these are the first few iterations of my memory container. I knew they were kind of rough, but I didn't want to build the whole thing due to the fact that I knew I was going to rebuild it all anyways and I didn't want to waste several hours. The difficult thing was figuring out how to get the box to support weight while still opening and closing fully.

Zine Zing

2007-10-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

So I decided to do something about office spaces, because I had a couple of Interior Design Magazines which concentrated mostly on office spaces and products. I liked doing it, but I think that I would choose something different next time I did this.
-Thanks to Interior Design for the pictures, you can check the rest of them out at www.interiordesign.net

Composition

2007-09-27T13:18:00.001-07:00

Above is my sketchbook composition for Suzanne's assignment. I found two different layouts that I liked a lot so I selected them and tried to unify them with a couple of different elements. The main thing that I did was to make the lines on the top and bottom of the text on the left page align with the lines on the right hand page

Shadow Light

2007-09-25T10:12:00.001-07:00

So I enjoyed this drawing a lot, despite the fact that it did not come out great. I think that I would like to do it again and mess with the angles of the light some more.

Pencil Box

2007-09-20T14:56:00.000-07:00

Our second studio project found us building pencil boxes. Above is my final for it. I felt like the more you could play with a product, the more you felt like you wanted it. I therefore tried to make everything that moves stick out by making it in white to contrast the black that made up the main structure of the box. The slide on the front is for use when you are carrying pencils at less than capacity you can slide the tab over and it keeps the pencils from rattling around and breaking the tips off.

Profile 2

2007-09-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

These new profiles were harder to draw because I decided to draw people who didn't know I was drawing them, this means they moved around way too much. Its okay though, they don't look horrible, so I'm not that upset about it, I just need to have a still model or learn to capture them more quickly.

Improvement

2007-09-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

I am getting much better with the profiles that I have done. I have found that all you need to do is trust the system. I've done quite a few of these now, but I have posted an earlier attempt and my most recent attempt. I am fairly pleased with the direction that they seem to be headed (pun intended).

People Person

2007-09-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

as far as drawing goes I have to say that I am not a people person. I cannot do it. I tried drawing the original two sitting at lunch today and I am not happy with them at all. After I vented my frustration for a time I came back to the assignment and drew a girl in the computer lab. I spent a little more time on it and it came out a little bit better, but not good. I spent the most time on my girlfriend (to try and be safe). Here they are, but I definitely need some more work, or a miracle, whichever.

Raleigh Revisited

2007-09-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

So I went back to Raleigh this weekend, where I went to high school. I hadn't been downtown in about two years since my family moved, so I enjoyed making the trip back. We needed to do some contours of a downtown setting to I spent some time on Fayetteville Street, Harget Street, and Salisbury Street. It was nice to sit out there but I was getting really hot as time passed.

What I really liked about the above view on the right is the repetitive feel of the picture. The trees and everything were lined up perfectly, I just had to draw it.
I know that this picture came out looking like crap, but it was such a cool building I had to attempt to draw it. I now know that the cooler it is the harder it is to draw. I couldn't quite grasp the flare out on the building, I think I may revisit this building in the future, I feel the need to beat it.

Bike

2007-09-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

We had to do a negative space of a bike turned upside down in the lobby today. I tried something a little different when I drew this by using light dots to try and mark my places.

Ferguson

2007-09-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

So we had to do a contour of Ferguson during class the other day, and I felt like it came out decently, but I wasn't thrilled with it. After we came back to class and talked about it a little bit I decided that I would redo it with less detail, just using lines that defined form. While it did not come out like I was hoping, I think it may be the next direction to take it. I like the limited detail approach, I just need to practice some more.

Negative Space

2007-09-05T09:49:00.001-07:00

These were some negative space drawings done at my house. I tend to lose proportion in negative space and it comes out looking kinda weird- but I really like the silhouette effect that it produces. Its really tough to make simplicity work but I find that this is one of the sure ways to get a really good picture (if its done right).

New Things

2007-08-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy week in class and it has definitely been tiring, but fun. I must admit that I get really frustrated with all the blind contours- but I think we are done for the time being- the hand above should be the last one. I thought I was sick of blind contours until I had to move on to regular contour drawing- I am a novice to say the least (see above city view from window)- but hopefully it will come together in the end. I am looking forward to a nice long weekend just relaxing with my girlfriend. Maybe we will do some cooking, we like to do that for fun, plus as an added bonus you get to eat it at the end!

2007-08-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

I was browsing some other blogs today and I came across a blog by Tommy Kane. I really liked his artwork as well as his comedic nature which shines through in his posts. I like a good deal of his work because the lines are so precise and clean- like it all has a purpose.