FSN 221 - Design Literacy II

Kevin Li

The Swamp Rose Mallow on the top left is the original line drawing. I traced out the texture of each petal of the flower to create depth and include the details in each petal. All the colours of each motifs were selected from my mood board. The gradient effect was done by gradient tool that I discovered during the designing process. The pink and blue flower were created by using the split complementary colours and the photos down below is the process of how I created the effect with the gradient tool. 

I tried different approaches when it comes to designing my non directional design. The first one design that I created is optical illusion as seen in the first photo, I like the visual attraction of optical illusion but I was aiming for a simplistic style and it does not work really well for my piece. I continued to research until I saw one table cloth design and I decided to create an bezold effect with check board style. When I was looking the design in the second photo I thought is looks too plain and lacks of creativity and then I decided to incorporate the gradient effect that used for my motifs to create an depth and 3D look. 

These two are the repeat design that I created. The repeat flowers was created by the repeat grid effect, I went to object - repeat - grid - brick by row and then I placed it on top of the non direction design. The design in the second photo is a little bit different, all the small sizes of flowers was placed onto each square one by one and the repeat flowers in the middle was created by the repeat radial effect. I experimented by going to object - repeat - radial. 

           As winter is coming to an end, I had an idea of a theme that came to my mind which is spring. The species that I picked, Swamp rose mallow often blossoms during the period from april to july and I believe it symbolizes spring and vibrancy in a certain way because flowers often exhibit vivid hues and lively appearances. This vibrancy is often seen as a representation of energy, vitality, and liveliness, qualities that are commonly associated with springtime and the awakening of nature. 

            During the creation process of this piece, I was inspired by a combination of the silk scarves of Hermès and table cloth designs. The part that I like the most and it worked really well is the gradient effect that I have done for both the flowers itself and the Bezold effect of the nondirectional design. The gradient effect was done by the gradient tool that I discovered during the experiment process and it turned out to be the results I expected. Before that I was overwhelmed about how to make that gradient effect because this has never been taught in this class. In the process of creating the non direction design, I was putting myself in a position that challenges myself to achieve a more complicated and aesthetic design with two or more motifs, eventually it didn’t work out and instead I went for an simplistic approach. I really like the final product and I enjoyed the time of working on this project. It allowed me to try new things and to push myself to think outside of the box. With that being said, I see there are some improvements that could be made with the final product. I would like to incorporate more motifs to compliment the flower in order to have a more detailed and aesthetically pleasing look.