new strategy…

So, those of you who see me sketching in the next few days might notice something different… No, I didn’t injure my wrist; I’m wearing a wrist brace to try out  a new technique.

I borrowed David’s copy of Conceptual Drawing by Kevin Reeder, and it was a powerful resource. In the book, the author insists that there IS a correct way to hold a pen while sketching. You should grip the pen lightly between your thumb and forefinger, resting it on your middle finger. The wrist should be held straight and locked in place, and the drawing motion comes from the shoulder. Also, your hand should be kept off the page the entire time. I’m not going to say that it’s easy to even start drawing this way. I got the wrist brace so I’m less tempted to draw with my wrist, and I’ve been really focusing on using a lighter grip and keeping my hand off the page. At first, I was a lot worse. I spent a few days practing my lettering and drawing profiles, and now I’m starting to get used to it. I can definitely tell a difference in my control of line weight and overall line control. It’s an effort, but I think it might pay off.

There was a line in the book that really got to me…The author was talking about students who feel insecure in their drawing abilities saying, “don’t look at the drawing, look at the design!” I think that was my motto during sophomore year. He urges that this is impossible. You can’t ask your audience to look past your bad drawing skills. The entire point of a sketch is to visually communicate what you can’t verbally communicate. So, it just makes sense that you can’t try to verbally communicate what you’re supposed to visually communicate because, well, the whole idea is that it can’t be verbally communicated in the first place. I realize that’s a pretty convoluted explanation, but I hope you get the idea. I’m eager to see what kind of a difference I can make in my sketching. I’d say that’s the area where I have the most room for improvement…

trying to hang on…

The past few weeks have been fast and furious, and I feel like I’m barely hanging on anymore. I’m sure those following my blog have noticed… My apologies. I’m going to do my best to catch you all up.

Let’s go chronological.

Three weeks ago was our spring break. I spent several days just browsing modern furniture stores, drooling. I went to DWR, Ligne Roset, Bova, Cantoni, By Design, & Domus. I always feel inspired and motivated after a few hours poring over beautiful design…

The next week was our infamous ATLtoNYC trip—what an experience! That trip has really changed the way I think about design, school, and life. I really feel the urge to produce more compelling work and develop my skills NOW. Every single day we spent there was one eye-opening experience after the other. We saw it all: amazing model making techniques at Utley’s, manufacturing on-site in Brooklyn at NuLux, a first-hand look into the designer minds at Crush+Lovely. Everyone we visited had something unique and new to offer us, and it’s really helped me define what I want to do in design: research-based design. I want to take the time again to thank everyone we visited:

Crush+Lovely

Smart Design

Curve

NuLux

Utley’s

Rockwell

Ecco

Material Connexion

Frog Design

Core77

and Scott from Karim Rashid’s office.

I hope you ALL realize just how much you have meant to our class. It’s so valuable to see so many different facets of design in work. Thanks, y’all!

To wrap up the three week crunch, last weekend was the IDSA Southern District conference down in New Orleans. I went to last year’s conference in Savannah, and I’m glad I came back this year. I saw some thought-provoking lectures on sustainability and design for the other 90%, witnessed a nearly life-changing demonstration of a 3D CAD package called Solid Thinking, and had a good time with some fellow students at SCAD and Auburn. I also managed to get some feedback on my revised portfolio, and it went much better this time. Thanks to Isaac from SCAD, Paul from Auburn, and Maureen from Creature, I got some new perspectives and suggestions to help make my work really stand out. I was also delighted to hear that some things are working well for me! Things are on the up and up…

So, now that I’m back, I’m hitting the grindstone hard and heavy! I’ve got 9 projects due in the next 4 weeks, so it’s really time to get things moving! I know I’ll be able to put a fresh spin on things with all the new things I’ve learned in the past few weeks. I’ll take some time to stop and  blog along the way.

the clock is ticking…

This is what my plannner has looked like for the past three weeks! Lots and lots of things to do…Fortunately, next week is Spring Break, so the pages are much emptier. However, since next week is Spring Break, that means there are only two weeks left until our trip to New York! We still need a lot of things: funds, gifts for our hosts and sponsors, and sweet Stop-The-Bus t-shirts. I’m planning to spend a good bit of time in the coming days to make sure those things happen. It’s going to be such a rewarding experience, though. I really cannot wait!

Last night, I went to see the final round of senior merit presentations at Philips Design. (Their office was so cool!)

The presentations were also really interesting to watch. What I liked the most was how some of the presentations were more about their work framed in the context of their design philosophy, rather than just presenting their projects. It’s so interesting to hear about someone’s inspirations and motivations in relation to their work, especially when they’re practically your peers. It left me wondering who will standing up their from our class next year. I can think of a few people off-hand. It’s both exciting and terrifying to think of us being seniors next year! In many ways, I can’t wait to graduate. In others, it’s pretty daunting.

I’ll leave you today with a picture of my aunt’s new cat. I haven’t seen it in person yet, but the picture is a little freaky. Some animals are so ugly that they become cute again, but I feel like this cat is beyond that…

Here’s Belle:

busy, busy, busy!

Since last week was our review, I pretty much neglected everything that was due this week. So much for resting—I’ve been staying up all night trying to finish things up. It’s all worth it, though; next week is spring break. That means Jeff is coming into town—hooray!

He’s a real hoot..

.

At some point in the coming week, I’m also planning to make a t-shirt design based on our sweet chariot to NYC: the activity bus!

It’s going to be a real adventure!

on why I need to get more sleep.

Apparently, my brother called and talked to me tonight while I was taking a nap. I have no memory of this. Here’s a transcript from our Gmail chat about how it went down…

10:56 PM wlbryant@gmail.com: I apologize for making you wail in agony.

me: ?

10:57 PM wlbryant@gmail.com: When I called while you were asleep?

me: …?

do i not remember this?

wlbryant@gmail.com: LOL!

me: was it today?

10:58 PM wlbryant@gmail.com: Yeah, I called and asked you when you said you were free this week and you just kinda made a couple of noises, then I asked if you were okay and you just went, “EAUUGGHH!!!!” And I was so flustered I just hung up.

Nicole is witness!

So, um, that’s hilarious. Apparently I’ve finally mastered answering the phone in my sleep. Somehow I imagine that this will only work against me…

just a placeholder

this is just a placeholder post. i will post again soon with something real and inspired, and i’ll reply to tricia’s wonderful comment then, too. i’m moving tonight, so i probably won’t be back by midnight.

when it rains, it pours…

I just got back from the IDSA portfolio review, and I don’t think it could have been worse. I don’t really know where to begin… I’m just starting to put together a new portfolio, and I’m not completely done. I do have two projects in it now, and I made sure to tell people that it’s just a work in progress. I just wanted some general feedback and advice. Apparently, that advice is just that I suck and should probably give up. Someone literally said to me that out of ten people, they wouldn’t hire me, and I should spend every single day from now until graduation trying to get better at sketching. Actually, that last comment was prefaced by looking at a page which had some sketches on it, asking me what year I am, and then telling me that I suck at sketching…probably in the meanest way possible. I mean, I feel like that review went beyond “critique” and more into the “attack” category. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m so tired from staying up all night so much working on projects, or if it was just that bad, but I did go cry in the bathroom after that review. It’s a little shameful to admit it, but I did. I mean, I’ve been struggling with some of this stuff for so long that I feel like I won’t ever be able to get it right. A few posts ago, I was questioning whether or not I’m really cut out to be a designer–maybe this evening was a definitive “No, you’re not.”

I don’t want this to hurt my progress on the current project. I’ve just got to keep pushing for another week, and then I’ll have a little rest. I don’t want to let this evening stand in the way of finishing the project I’ve worked SO hard on for the past few weeks. I just don’t know how to deal with this. It would be nice to have a job where I can actually tell whether or not I’m doing a good job and not have to rely solely on someone else’s opinion. I mean, I seriously thought I had some solid work to show in the portfolio review, but I got ripped apart in a whole new way.

I hate everything right now.

so much to do…

I’ve started getting a reputation for always being in studio. That’s a first for me. My typical approach is to get things done as quickly and efficiently as possible, meeting the minimum requirements. This project is going much differently—I’ve been up all night in studio, just trying to start bringing some things together. I feel like I’ve probably inhaled at least a few ounces of pink foam.

It’s finally starting to come together, but there’s still so much to do! I think it’s because I’m designing three products, each of which has more than one function. That’s a lot to tackle, and I don’t want it to be a crappy project. It would be so easy to just half-heartedly crank some stuff out, but I want this project to be really solid. I need something that can really make my portfolio, and at this point, this has to be it. None of my other projects are at this level. Stressful, anyone?

This afternoon, I took a trip to look at some other kitchen appliances. I wanted to do some benchmarking—see how my concepts stack up to the competition. I looked at interfaces and little mechanical details that will help make my concepts seem more realistic. At the risk of identifying myself as the creepy person taking pictures in Target for an hour, I’m going to share some of what I saw…

I’ve got some big plans and lots of things I want to have done by Friday, so I’m off!

oww….

Guy Uses Laser-Etch Machine to Tattoo Himself

That’s insane…and probably really, really painful.

so much for knocking…

…opportunity is pretty much beating down my door. Yesterday, I got some fantastic news–the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and there will be a big celebration/bonanza/party at the end of the semester. For the event, Tristan Al Haddad will be creating another installation for the Architecture building, and my furniture design class will be designing, fabricating, and installing the seating for the event!  The overall focus of the class is to design parametrically, so that a design can be easily adapted and customized while maintaining design intent, and the installation will be focused on reactivity, kinetic motion, how the body exists in space, and “first spaces.”

Some questions to drive our design:

How can one systematize not so that the design becomes fixed but so it becomes flexible?

How can we define structure? Structure is simply parts and the relationships between them.

I feel like this opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime deal–also like our studio trip to New York. I never imagined how rich this semester would be… I might not sleep much between now and April, but I feel like these next few months are going to be some of the most rewarding ones of my life!
Over the weekend, I need to work on building a portfolio, finalize the form for my kitchen appliances, develop the interface for the appliances, create a mood board for the furniture project, finish up my Alias project, and study for the materials exam. I better get to work!