03
Period Elements

COLLABORATION NOTES:

1930s Style and Fashion: Han Rowe, Ray Jones, Emily Phillips, Sarah Lopez, Anna Southern, Rhona McLeod, Jack Edwards. Shared initial research with each other. Created a group presentation together for an output.

 

This project is about creating a set for a ten-minute segment of a morning show, about style and fashion in the 1930s, evoking the era through period elements.

 

I started by creating a mindmap with the other people in the course who had the same prompt as me, working out how much we already knew about the 1930s era. Talking to others helped me think of different events, design movements, media and people to look into with my design. I developed this research work further by looking more into specific design elements of the 1930s – for example: specific cuts like the bias cut, specific designers like Vionnet, Schiaperelli and Amelia Earhart’s line with her, as well as Frank Lloyd Wright and his Usonian houses. I decided to create mind maps for these different elements. I especially liked the work of Amelia Earhart and her fashion line, as well as Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture and work as a university tutor in the 1930s, influencing architectural design in America to a large extent.

 

To start with, I created abstract patterns based off of the photos of my moodboards and drew on them to generate ideas. I tried really hard to be free with my drawings. After that, I combined them into one design, and later on I used this to create ideas for my technical drawings. I developed my work further by creating a design sheet making different shapes based on elements from my research. I incorporated this in my design when building up off of my plan to create a white model and elevations. I came across a problem when I got on the minicam, because certain elements were too short for the set. At this point, I decided to edit my plan and elevations to create a better white model, that allowed for better camera shots.

 

I have used 1930s design elements to enhance my design and ground the model in the period. I think this is effective because it helps meet the brief of a show that doesn’t recreate the period but instead pulls from it and is more successful that way. I also think that my use of Photoshop to colour the flats for my rendered model was a successful idea and I will definitely be coming back to it in the future. The detail in my set once I had done the big design sheet was also a lot easier and helped me get over that barrier of set decoration especially in my visuals.

 

After my presentation to the class, the feedback that I was given was to pay attention to depth in visuals, by making the farther away parts lighter in value to the closer parts, even if that is exaggerated from real life. For design, I was encouraged to think about camera angles. I was offered solutions such as making the front two flats swinging or slightly recessed to the sides, and putting camera holes in the discussion area, because they wouldn’t be seen in the design. I was also suggested to turn the flats behind it to be white instead of black, to better reflect the lights I wanted to shine through the Perspex, and to better illustrate my idea of a TV screen showing the items on display at the front.

 

Overall, I am pleased with the design. I think I am getting better and more confident at modelmaking, and I enjoyed doing the drafting even though it was my first time. My visuals took less time than my first studio project, and I am happy with the feedback on them and that it did fit the brief and evoked both the 1930s and the modern era. I also am proud of the feedback that the design had a flow to it, as I worked hard on getting that flow established. Even though there was more to do this time around, I was complimented on my workload. I had a lot of fun with this project! I was able to create a really personal response that I am proud of.