British web of love.

My final university project was a mapping project. My design statement and project are as follows. The design statement appeared in a booklet that I hand sewed the binding of. This booklet displayed all 20 maps and was placed inside the envelope on the right of the presentation that is marked as the 'Legend' of the map.

Design statement
My maps explore the connections between actors within the British film industry. By limiting the selection to twenty films I was able to see the versatility of some actors, and their prolific nature. Twenty individual maps were formed, focusing on the actors that appear in at least two of the films chosen. From these, six (so as to represent the notion of six degrees of separation that supposedly exists between individuals of any walk of life) were then chosen due to the interesting shapes formed by visualising the data. The central graphic depicts the connections between all 64 actors that repeatedly appear across these twenty British films.

British web of love - presentation

British web of love - all connections

British web of love - Gosford Park

British web of love - Love Actually

British web of love - The King's Speech

British web of love - Sense and Sensibility

British web of love - Bright Young Things

British web of love - Brave

British web of love - Harry Potter (an example of the graphic maps)

Three sides to every story.

One of my final projects for university this year required us to do a site analysis of Macquarie Place, a small historical park near Sydney's Circular Quay.
From the site analysis we had to construct a 3D model, as well as a 3D component, that communicated our conceptual response to the space.
My overall concept was based around the idea of there existing three sides to every story. For Macquarie Place, it's first 'side' was its existence as the heart of colonial Sydney. To represent this I made a 3D graphic illustration of a human heart and used the red and blue colours of the heart (and that also relate to the colonial history of Australia by being the nationalist colours of England) within my 3D piece.
The second 'side' was its abandonment due to being overshadowed by towering skyscrapers and a modern city that was built up around it (and over it). This was represented in the second graphic, the symbol which is also used in the 3D piece and conveys the paths of movement around Macquarie Place. The most popular path is that on the side of the park, whilst the second most popular route people walk is one that rushes past the historical aspects of the site.
The third, and final, 'side' to the story was that there are some individuals who do see the historical monuments, albeit to use them as their own personal skatepark. This was represented in the final graphic which tracks the movement of a skateboarder that I filmed in the space, as well as the triangular monument aspect of the 3D model being spliced into sections by the blue paths, symbolising the movement of the skateboarders across the monuments.

Presentation

3D model

Macquarie Place, The heart of colonial Sydney

Macquarie Place, the abandoned heart

Macquarie Place, skating over history

Piano.

One of my university subjects is a computers subject in which I have been learning how to use Vectorworks. My most recent assignment using this 3D modelling program required me to model an object and then create a room in which to place the object. I could then also fill this room with already made objects (Plug-In Objects).
I modelled a piano.

Water Cart.

Another university project required us to come up with an innovation that altered a system within society in order to make it more sustainable (ethically, economically and/or environmentally).

My design innovation aimed to, at least in part, address the issue of society’s increasing reliance on plastic water bottles due to the ongoing, and increasing, culture of convenience.

In researching this assignment I came across some staggering statistics, as well as some brilliant awareness-increasing campaigns across the globe.

The key point, I found, that enabled plastic, disposable water bottles to continue to be sold was the fact that there is a culture of convenience present within society. This, therefore, had to be addressed and incorporated into my design for it to be successful.

The design that I came up with was for a water cart. It would be a small structure made out of plastic water bottles that sold stainless steel water bottles and that could be placed in different locations – one day it might be in a food court, the next day at a popular tourist site, and that evening at a concert.

In presenting our design we had to submit storyboards of our idea, mine are below:

Life Cycle Analysis.

Another recent university project was about sustainability and product design. The brief was to work in a group, take an ubiquitous product and deconstruct it into its parts, weigh each component, undertake a Life Cycle Analysis of it, and produce an  A2 poster with relevant infographics.
My group, consisting of myself, Eva, and Ali, decided to focus on a STABILO Boss Original highlighter seeing as it is a frequently used stationary item yet one that not many people think about the environmental impact of.
As well as participating in some of the research, I illustrated the process tree (to depict the journey from the raw material of oils, to the highlighter's final destination as landfill), and illustrated the highlighter (in deconstructed and infographic forms). Special thanks to Ali for designing the layout of the poster and putting it all together! 

A woven identity.

A recent project I completed for university was a wearables and visual storytelling project. 

Inspired by Australian Aboriginal possum cloaks, we were given a brief asking us to create a wearables piece that visually communicated a story from our own lives. 

I decided to focus on my identity as half-Australian and half-English and my obsession (for want of a better word) with Ireland (the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). I also wanted to challenge myself and use materials that I hadn't used before and in an unconventional way. 

I conducted some initial research, including material research and experiments in weaving Australian gum leaves together. However, it was when I was altering my 'inspiration wall' that I came across the form of an Elizabethan ruff. I conducted further research before I decided to construct an open ruff as opposed to a closed ruff.

The more I thought about this form the more I realised how appropriate it was to my concept. A ruff, in the Elizabethan era of 1558-1603, was typically worn by Her Majesty and other members of the higher classes. Elizabeth's position as the reigning monarch and, indeed, 'membership' into the higher classes, came through family. Hence the ruff was well suited to my exploration of my dual cultural that is formed due to my familial background.

Additionally, having previously studied the construction of history and, in particular, how Elizabethan portraiture and imagery was constructed, I was aware of my own subjectivity and that in being given a project in which we are to depict our own stories, the designer is able to present themselves as they please. 

The actual construction of the ruff took days to make but was well worth it in the end. 

The base of the ruff, the fan element, was formed with gum leaves that symbolise the Australian landscape which I am physically connected to. 

The basic form

Through this I have woven through elements symbolic of British and Irish culture and my connection to family. These elements include an emerald green ribbon which represents Irish culture and history and my experiences of travelling through the Republic. This, when the ruff is worn, becomes a dandy bow (as seen here on the dandy and all-round incredible Irishman, Oscar Wilde) to further symbolise a period of history and an ideology (that of the Aesthetic Movement - I highly recommend this short video!) that I am highly interested in.

The woven layers start with leaves made from pages of Jane Austen's novel Emma, chosen due to my connections to the novel because of my name and also to represent my deep interest in Jane Austen and her writings.

Above this is tartan from the Clan Buchanan. Whilst I am not of Scottish heritage, this tartan reminds me of a time spent with my grandparents in England and of my interest in Scottish culture.

The third layer is a calico strip hand-sewn into a medieval-style banner shape. Hand-drawn onto this are 19 Saunders coat of arms to strongly display my family history and connection to England. These were then painted with a small blue or red border around each of them, to draw in the typically British colours.

The final layer, meanwhile, are more leaves sewn together. Instead of pages from a book, however, they are made from film promotional materials (which I collect) for British films that I have seen and greatly enjoyed. These include my beloved Bright Star, An Education, Amazing Grace, Nowhere Boy, and Brideshead Revisited.

Front view

Back view

Here are a series of close-ups:

I also drew accompanying storyboards.

Parents, Physical connections and emotional distance

In the National Gallery (Gainsborough), Reading Austen (Persuasion and a pile of others)

Watching TV (Monarch of the Glen, Doctor Who, Sherlock), Listening to the greatest band (The Beatles)

Together

In presentation mode:

Being worn:

Endotopic and Exotopic.

My most recent university project was to explore endotopic and exotopic forms through balsa wood sculptures. The project brief stated that an endoptopic form was one that implodes within a frame and an exotopic form explodes externally from a frame. For this project our endotopic model was to use geometric shapes, forms and ideas, while our exotopic form was to be organically driven.

In designing our two sculptural forms we had to use different weight of balsa wood, develop our visual diaries, construct sketch models and undertake measured drawings of the form. Balsa, and glue, were the only materials that we were able to use. 

As I began to undertake research I thought of the idea of winter and hibernation, and the simply act of curling into oneself to make one warmer. I came across an image of a squirrel huddled in snow, it's paws tucked into it's body and it's tail curling upwards and wrapping around itself. From this I decided to base my endotopic form on a squirrel and my exotopic form on flames.

I formed both through cutting the balsa with a scalpel and stanley knife, and curling some of the balsa in boiling water and glass cleaner for long periods of time before drying the balsa curled around multiple wooden spoons (see below), and on the inside of bowls - one piece took five days to dry! 

Here are the final models:

Here are some of the technical drawings for the squirrel:

Different Trains.

I recently completed an assignment for university which involved us having to choose between three resources and then creating two dimensional and/or three dimensional works.
I chose Steve Reich's 'Different Trains' and aimed to explore the notions of travel, childhood and music.
I found Reich's composition (performed by the magnificent Kronos Quartet) incredibly interesting and, having watched a university lecture and completed some readings, decided that the contrasts between travel - specifically trains of course - and childhood was of strong significance to the piece. Certainly, Reich himself had recalled that a major influence in writing 'Different Trains' was this famous photo of the war due to the fact that, when a similar age, Reich closely resembled this boy in looks yet had vastly different experiences.

My presentation of my work.

Indeed, Reich grew up as a secular Jewish child in America, regularly taking train trips between New York and Los Angeles on Pullman trains to visit his divorced parents. This experience is explored in the first section of the piece, suitably titled 'Before the War - America'. I explored this through an abstract pencil drawing of smooth lines, referencing the steam of the trains, leading up to a darker point that symbolises the passage to war and America's involvement in World War II. For this section I also created a postcard with a single red thread marking out the route taken by the composer when he was a child.

'Before the War - America'

The second section, 'During the war - Europe' was depicted through another abstract drawing. This time the drawing sought to reflect the chaos and turmoil of the war through following the wails of wartime sirens. As my tutor remarked when I presented this assignment in class, to make this clearer I could have drawn these using charcoal or ink, the stronger lines more effectively reflecting the heightened experiences and negative consequences of war. 
Nevertheless, to further the contrast between childhood and travel, I made a cattle cart carriage out of felt. I aimed to convey the contrast between cattle carts and Pullmain trains and, by using felt, hand embroidery and filling the 'toy' with newspaper, sought to create a rough, hand-made feel to it, to suggest that a child or parent made it to release a child from the horrors of the situation.

'During the War - Europe'

I depcited the third section, 'After the War' through an abstract drawing closely linked to the lyrics of the composition. This section begins with the declaration that war is over and the subsequent questioning of such a declaration due to disbelief. It then moves into reflecting upon the war. In the bottom left corner I used dark lines to represent the war. I then drew lines moving outwards, hesitantly, questioningly, before becoming stronger, longer, and more confident and then arching back on itself. I aimed to explore the act of looking back on the past before, and whilst, moving forwards, hence, the delicate feathers of the top right, moving slowly onwards. The object to support this was a small cello made out of balsa wood. I felt that it was important to draw attention to the fact that Reich's composition itself was an act of reflection and a way to memorialise the war and to commemorate the lives lost. The red strings of the cello symbolic of the bloodshed of war and the idea that, as the Kronos Quartet are performing the song, they are reaching out and connecting with the war and peoples experiences of it.

'After the War'

The drawings are all formed using only lines, no tones, shading or colouring, and each of the objects uses a thread. This aims to reinforce the idea of the common thread of humanity and empathy that connects us all despite our varied experiences.

The drawings in order from left to right.

World Wildlife Fund.

For one of my university subjects we had to design and make a poster for the World Wildife Fund using only Adobe Illustrator. It had to contain three drawn animals, a graph, a re-drawn WWF logo, and at least 100 words of text. My text was taken directly from panda.org with the information for the graph coming from animalinfo.org.

'Illustrator WWF poster'

When drawing the zebra I had a bit of a Martin Sharp moment and drew a ‘vivid zebra’.

'Vivid Zebra'

Spatial design.

The final project for my other studio class was to pick a specific site within my university, and, having analysed it through applying ‘Goethean scientific methodology’, improve it.

My space chosen was effectively dead space, a place where no one felt welcome to relax or to meet, and a place that lacked suitable seating despite being well positioned as a mid-campus ‘pitt stop’.

We were to undertake an iterative process and to develop our ideas specifically through model making.

My key aims were to provide: seating, a welcoming area, and shelter.

My first model provided bench seating as well as a ‘wind shield’ due to the area often resembling a wind tunnel.

Moving on from that I created an Olafur Eliasson-inspired tunnel to make the path nearby more interesting and engaging. Thus tunnel also came about due to Paul Jackson’s 2011 book Folding Tecniques for Designers: From Sheet to Form.

Moving away from that idea, and after experimenting with folded cardboard I formed this shape.

When I moved the two side elements of this design around I noted its resemblance to a moth and so decided to enhance this. The lines in the ‘wings’ were experiments for in-built seating.

From the moth idea came the notion of having a light bulb moment, yet initial drawings of a giant light bulb monument revealed this to be impractical. Nonetheless, I liked the idea of creating some kind of sculptural form along with seating.

I moved away from cardboard and began to experiment with geometric forms and balsa wood.

Yet I still wanted the area to be practical and so I returned to a simple bench seat with a cover.

I then combined these ideas, albeit in a chaotic kind of way.

I once more returned to the idea of benches and created two variations.

From this I formed a frame with sheltered areas. With this formed, I experimented, again, with types of seating.

I was pleased with the frame and so built a copy on which I attached the reclining seats of the final model. This model provides seating and shelter while also being site-specific within the university and due to its placement outside a bookshop, as the frame and shape of the seat reflects the shape of an open book.

And finally, here are the presentation boards displaying an A1 abstract spatial analysis, photographs of the site, plans, elevations, sections and renderings of the final design.