Specific Inspiration Research & Idea Development

Specific Inspiration Research 

The past research post I made covered a wide range of folding and crafting techniques, but non were specific to the direction of how I wanted my final product to turn out. It just gave me a flavour of the options I have in terms of linking a construction method to a certain concept idea. 

Now I have my concept idea based on "complex simplicity" covered more in the previous blog posts. I can begin to go back to the drawing board in terms of the construction method through the body of inspiration I have below. 

The main thing I was looking for in these examples was the use of color, shapes and constructions that appear simple when folded up or from the outset yet have lots of complicated elements within the outcome. 

Highlighted key points in red.

Bringing back this example for its construction technique, I love how when constructed it looks like a simple cube it hides all the complex angles, folds and shapes within the folded document. 

The 2 different main colors is nice too the pink and gold contrast in tone and color but the fact gold has a more luxury aspect and pink is more contemporary shows another element of illusion. The outside appears high end through the simple black strap and gold gloss stock, the inside contrasts with a bright pink tone. 

Back to GF Smiths tearing notebook, brought this back up as I wanted to use shapes win my outcome. I like how all these shapes are random in there appearance but mathematically all make up the shape of the rectangular page. 

This idea of all shapes interlocking to create one complete shape inspires me to look into other mathematical ways of how shapes all come together to create a simple shape like a rectangle. 

All these shapes add up to create a simple square outcome.

Mentioned in my crit I said that I was considering using patterns and colors to emulate the stages of the design process and explain these patterns and color in a key. This construction made up of triangular fold fits the bill for my concept in the construction due to the idea of repetition of a shape to create a complete outcome of simple aesthetic.

The color block and patterns work great too so this is something I am going to take forward into the content idea generation stage. 

I chose this example for the folding technique, I wasn't keen on the minimal loose aligned type on the pages, I don't like the use of colors they seem to clash alot but maybe the concept allowed this sort of clash. 

I like how when folded the shape of the leaflet is a simple thin rectangle but is made up of 3 shapes. Again fitting the idea of all elements coming together to create an overall shape. 

I love the use of a dark tone and a contrasting pastel sky blue tone it creates a very contemporary and precise feel making it have a feel of importance to the document. The ornate fold is relatively simple and portrays abstract shapes within the construction when folded out but it is just made out of a simple A4 piece of paper. Again showing how complex elements come together to create something quite simple, or it could be seen in the reverse perspective depending on the viewers interoperation but thats the beauty of art. Its open to interpretation so presenting this in my work would be cool.

In terms of typography the delicacy and simplicity used here would work well in my outcome as I want minimal typography and concentrate on the patterns, shapes or colors that explain the design stages through the keys definition. 

Nice use of a neutral stock and 3D box construction that fits the company its promoting. The fragile inspired logo and airplane is a nice addition to the content to join the concept of the construction and the imagery and type used. 

I like the interactivity within the construction it allows the user to create something there self, this is a nice idea to take forward.

Going away from construction inspiration I began looking into inspiration for my visual content. I mentioned in the crit I wanted to use either shapes, patterns or colors to communicate my design process alongside a supporting key translator. 

This example from Berlin & Rome studio Mjölk is a nice visual identity using shapes and colors and appears to be a sort of system of shapes and colors that almost appear to have movement through the different designs. Typography again is clean and minimal to not intrude on the imagery which is the main aspect of the design.

I said I wanted to use patterns, the patterns these have created are of very simple aesthetic but work very well in conjunction with block color and a well defined spacious grid system, allowing lots of space lets each pattern be appreciated and doesn't create an overall busy and crowded design. 

Nice contrast of monochrome colors with brighter tones here. 

Blok Design created a nice identity brand design for production company Lucky 21. The identity takes influence from the brands character which is said to be humor and passionate about there services. I think they achieved this through the use of geometric patterns and a simplistic toned down color scheme (grey, orange and blue) that isn't garish or clashy its subtle and works nice on a contrasting basis. It has a very light hearted feel but has a precision and accuracy too it. This is important for my design I want to present precision but I don't want a whole corporate feel going on.

Hey Studios Graphic Identity for Art Fad: Contemporary Art & Craft Awards is a great example of considered use of pattern, typography and colour. The products are intended for use of invitations the company used 100 different patterned materials and applied them to over 500 invites to create completely individual outcomes. I love this idea of using analogue materials and digital printing, but its a shame my time scale and materials at my disposal doesn't allow this. The colors used are very basic, block colors in a more pastel tone keeps the simplistic aesthetic flowing. 

Found this example of design work of a new blog that will turn into a regular resource for me FPO (for print only). 
These designs are very conceptual in elements that you overlook wich links strongly to my concept idea of how people view work but don't appreciate everything that went into it. 

The invites are for an event run by The Design Institute of Australia, the year this was created 6 designers presented 6 of there favorite projects. So design studio Büro North created the layout based on a 6x6 grid with intersecting lines on each laser cut card creating shapes of the letterforms. Another example of how complex elements can create something simplistic yet has overlooked elements within it. 

The idea of 6 is carried through with 6 different color stocks again keeping conceptually relevant and to get even deeper the designers laser cut a set of colors at the university they were taught at. Every angle as considered and this simple design has so much that went into it I am definitely using it as a main source of inspiration for my idea generation. 

Took a trip to the Baltic in Newcastle to view the Daniel Buren Exhibition who's contemporary take on fine art makes use of bright colors, tones and squares exploring lots of different materials that interact with both the viewer and the environment there placed in. Learning from this element of interaction and how things react in different contexts would add a more informed context to my work. 

Much like the cube illusion fold I made this room is one big optical illusion using mirrors and stained glass windows to create abstract shapes, shadows and reflections. One huge interactive installation. 

Idea Development
Taking forward main points of this inspiration I began to develop from the crit feedback keeping the concept idea going on and the idea of using colors, shapes and patterns to communicate the design stages within the final outcome. 

I specifically avoided the sketching phase of my usual development here as with these physical constructions it was hard to sketch out mockups of how it would look folded and the translated net so I stuck to an experimentation through lots of folding and cutting. Like the design process you don't know were your going to arrive and this stage really outlined that. 

The main focus I want to achieve though is bringing together lots of complex elements to create an outcome that looks simple from the outset. 

Tried a simple reinterpretation of this fold but its far too fiddly to fold it up into its closed up form resulting in crumpled and damaged paper so this idea was scrapped straight away.

Taking forward my main aim relevant to my concept idea for the construction experimentation I began trying to play with shapes within folds trying to make a construction that uses many different shapes but all add up to create a solid and structured final outcome.

I had no real guides to follow so it was al guess work so lots of failures happened. 

Beginning to get somewhere now, multiple layers and folds made up of a combination of shapes all enclosed within a rectangular frame when folded up. 

A more simple folded construction that only uses 3 shapes to make up the fins rectangle shape. 

Internally it had interesting shapes too when it was unfolded. 

Adapting existing constructions to extend the structure.

Adding extra panels on a new adaptation of the previous fold I made giving the construction extra depth with the addition of more shapes. 

The thickness of all the different sections doesn't allow a very clean fold to keep the construction shut. 

A simple strap keeps everything tight together and adds a horizontal linear addition that interacts with the 45degree angular lines within the fold. 

The final mockup I arrived at after lots of swearing, cut fingers and scrapped ideas. Its a shame i couldn't document all the failed attempts as I was in the zone a little too much to worry about photographing every mistake I made I just binned the idea and started a new one. It was hard doing this due to not following any existing folding guides as folding is relatively new to me so it was a huge learning curve. 

The simple paper strap that holds it all together will allow for a simple element of type, maybe information for the key I am using to translate the patterns, colors or shapes that represent my design process in the later stages of this ideas development. 


Folded out it has an element of complexity to it compared to when its folded up it looks simple and clean, this construction has presented my concept idea perfectly as I wanted to show "complex simplicity" to emulate how when a piece of design is looked at often all the complex stages that have gone into it through the design process are overlooked. 

I then split the structure down into its 3 main pieces and photocopied them and placed them in adobe illustrator.  Like the 6x6 invites it shares a similar construction process where its more of what you don't see than what you do see, the 3 sections are all a combination of different shapes and when grouped together begin to interact and create even more shapes. 

I created precise and accurate reproductions of the shapes and now have the sections saved for when it comes to adding content to them.

Everything now lines up perfectly thanks to the accuracy illustrator allows you to achieve through its tools and guides. 

Presented here is the final mockup that I will begin planning my content for. I chose Red Blue and Yellow due to them been the primary colors within the color theory. These 3 primary colors link to the 3 main elements of my personal design process, Research, Development & Final. The yellow is the inside cover with the larger surface area when folded out because if typography is going to be used the lighter tone of yellow will allow better legibility and readability of text. 

The addition of tracing paper came from advice people were giving other peers about the interesting aesthetic it can create with solid color stocks. I will experiment with this tracing paper strap and solid paper. 

Next stages are to begin developing my visual content (Layout, Patterns, Shapes, Colors, Type) and look into other shades of Red, Yellow and Blue.