journal;

communication design student, melbourne

[elizatilly-blog]

WEEK 13 FOOD EVENT 

At the food event we finally assembled everyone’s recipes into the binder ‘recipe books’. Everyone got a yellow binder and Andy had made some stickers which we used to decorate our binder covers. After everyone had completed their binder covers we went around and put our recipes in each other binders.

It was really cool to see the recipe books come to life and to see everyone’s final projects!

I was really happy with classes outcome and it turned out to be much cooler than I originally thought.

After I had completed my recipe book I went around and looked at the other studios classes. The work was so amazing and the experiences that some studios provided were really good.

The soft serve ice-cream was a highlight as well.

[jessieelizabeth-blog1]

[michaellaballas]

The role of the designer is not to ‘create’ something from nothing, but instead to transform what already exists.

Andy (via michaellaballas)

[bay--doucet-blog]

Reflections :)

This project was a challenge for me due to the fact that it had a very open brief. Over the past year of growing as a designer, I have learnt that often the “easier” projects have a very specific brief that outlines what is a desired outcome and what the theme ought to be. Open briefs present the challenge of limitless possibilities, a world of opportunity to stand out… or fall short. It was so difficult for me to pick my brain and choose one topic to include as the theme of my recipe, but of course eventually as deadlines caught up to me, I had to make a decision. Andy was extremely helpful throughout this project, by both being the voice of constructive criticism I needed to hear, to also being out biggest cheerleader. I do not think I could have made it through this project without his encouragement and reminders that all designers feel inadequate from time to time (or all the time) and that it is okay to have doubts about your work but important to push through.

Developing this project as a group was another very interesting aspect of this assignment. I loved our weekly discussions sitting at the long meeting-like table set up to talk about what direction we should go in to bind our work, whether it should be compiled in a screen-printed tote bag or filed neatly into a binder. Taking turns to present our work and critique each other’s progress was also extremely helpful — both to hear practical comments we could use to improve our work and also as a wake up call to the standard we had to bring our own work up to.

I think as creatives, having a sense of pride for our own work is something incredibly crucial, and it is something I’m still learning to be better at every day. This project helped me a lot in that sense, helping me build my confidence and style as a designer.

[euniceet-blog]

Concept Ideas for Recipe book

Malaysian Nasi Lemak (Coconut Rice with chilli) 

Traditional, historical, iconic yet authentic. 

[bay--doucet-blog]

And it’s a wrap! 

[bay--doucet-blog]

Test prints!

I then tested out different types of paper to print my design on. I really loved the look and feel of printing onto rough watercolour paper, but unfortunately it would have been very expensive to produce 25 copies of it in that way (would’ve cost $270 hah). When printed on watercolour paper, the printer ink rubs off slightly and makes the print look vintage and worn. The colours look very soft and the paper itself is like a dream to touch.

I created my design using Procreate (an app on my iPad that allowed me to illustrate and create the brush lettering for my design) and InDesign. I really enjoyed the process of designing it and I feel the hand drawn and hand written aspect makes it feel a lot more comfortable and cozy.

[bay--doucet-blog]

Frankenmodels

Here is a physical prototype I produced when in the process of deciding on my layout. Below is my first print out, just experimenting with how text would fit on the page and around my photographs.

[bay--doucet-blog]

Figuring out what hygge is to me... I guess it’s spending time with my housemate in our apartment - eating freshly baked muffins, cuddling our cats. It’s that golden hour right before the sun dips below the horizon that makes me stop and feel completely in the moment, just watching it set and listening to some of my favourite music. That is hygge to me. For my recipe, I compiled these as being the components:

Atmosphere This is what physical items you could bring into an environment to evoke feelings of hygge. Research showed that candles, soft textures (such as wooly socks and blankets), the sound of raindrops, the presence of loved ones and elements of nature (such as potted plants and flowers) could help to make a space feel more cozy.

Food Hygge food is slow food. Food that has taken time to boil and simmer and roast, prepared by hands that were filled with love. Warm, freshly baked cinnamon buns (or any other pastry), steamy mugs of coffee, tea or hot chocolate, thick soups with freshly baked bread, spicy mulled wine. These foods all make the tummy feel warm and cosy, and that feeling extends to the rest of the body.

Mood For one to feel hygge, they must truly embrace it and be in the moment. Practicing mindfulness, the act of focusing your awareness on the present moment, can help you to feel hygge. It makes you more aware of the things/people around you, therefore making you perhaps more appreciative. Taking away distractions such as phones and televisions can help. Practicing the mindset of togetherness can also help, as this promotes the building of relationships and celebrates having quality conversations with those you love. Finally, gratitude will help  you fully settle in to the feelings of warmth and happiness that come with having a hygge moment with your loved ones.

Put these three components together, and there you have it!

[yungcurri-deactivated20180628]

Matija Erceg combines raw food with everyday objects

[bay--doucet-blog]

sketching ideas for my Hygge Recipe!

The design for my recipe is very simple, consisting of a double page spread, a front cover, and a back cover, with each page being A5 size (essentially a design that was a piece of A4 paper folded in half, to minimise printing costs). The pages consists of photos I took myself, either on an analogue film camera or on my phone. I try to apply hygge into my day to day life already, therefore I had a lot of photos that encompassed the feeling.

I then conceptualised how to present my recipe in an interesting way. How would I show hygge in a recipe format? I eventually decided to break my deconstruction of hygge into three parts, the atmosphere, the food and the mood. The idea was for it to be like one of those recipes that were made up of several smaller recipes (example: pancakes with poached pear and raspberry jam — one recipe for pancakes, one recipe for poached pear and one recipe for raspberry jam).

[bay--doucet-blog]

starting on my recipe...

As this project started in winter, I decided to base my project on something that helped me get through the cold months: Hygge.

Now what is Hygge? Hygge (pronounced hoo-ga) is roughly translated in English to “cosiness”. It is a feeling one feels when warm and safe, maybe piled under thick blankets, with a warm mug of hot chocolate, while a storm rages outside and the gentle pitter-patter of the raindrops creates a soft background soundtrack for the night. Hygge can be felt when surrounded by closest loved ones, when you are so in the moment and taken aback by how grateful and appreciative you are for the people in your life; when the only light in a dark room is the warm glow of candles and fairy lights; when the cinnamon-y smell of freshly baked homemade pastries fills a home. Hygge is anything and everything that encompasses “cosiness in the heart”. Hygge is the reason that despite enduring one of the longest and most gruelling winters in the world every year, Danish people are still amongst one of the happiest in the world.

I started off my research by reading one of the most popular books on Hygge, “A little book of Hygge” by Meik Wiking. The book talks about why hygge is so important, how it keeps the Danish happy throughout winter, and how to achieve it. I feel it was a good way to get myself launched into this project, making myself as well acquainted with my topic as possible so I could then design something that naturally represented it.

[bay--doucet-blog]

My recipe is going to be a mix and match booklet depicting how to create a feeling of cosiness (hygge!) in your home & heart - soundtrack to this incredibly cozy moment is Bloom by the Paper Kites while the smell of freshly baked cinnamon buns fill the air :-) 

[de-lumine]

My suggestion is to steal from a lot of different sources - and be open about it.

Andy Simionato (via de-lumine)

[yungcurri-deactivated20180628]

‘During the conception of “Contemporary Pieces”, I became enamored with the eroticism, presentation and charisma of paintings from the Renaissance Period. In the Late Renaissance, Italian and Dutch painters dealt with the middle and lower classes. In my opinion, Fast Food Culture represents these two social classes in the United States today. To eat healthy is expensive. However, one can buy large amounts of food at a fast food restaurant for a comparatively low price. — It underlines the concept that they are ‘Children of the Modern Age,’ having been brought up in the changing America, often defined by the culture of Fast Food. It was significant that many of my friends try to avoid Fast Food. In their eyes, Fast Food in the United States is comprised of genetically modified items that are designed only for mass consumption. To them, the food becomes a non-edible object and loses its value as being considered Food.’

I like this appropriation of Renaissance paintings and this is something that I’d like to also recreate within my Metamorphosis cards. This will create a good link between cultures, I want to showcase various Indian ingredients surrounded by cultural artefacts (saris, packaging, bindis etc…) similar to the Renaissance imagery. Each card will be vibrant and focus on an ingredient that goes into a traditional masala, with the final card being very whitewashed and plain, containing a single box of Curry Powder, symbolising and showing a literal “white washing” and stripping of culture. I’m unsure whether to paint these images or photograph them, although I’m leaning towards photography as I think it’ll be more effective.  

[bay--doucet-blog]

various fun ways of documenting a meeting in a nice place 

a bit late to post up our in class exercises of experimenting with different formats of documenting an experience, but better late than never. 

I really enjoyed the flowchart, it’s a practical yet visual way of presenting facts while at the same time allowing one to show the decision making processes that went into organising our little brunch meeting. 

[rubymeers]

PRETTY UGLY

Pages from the book Pretty Ugly

“For hundreds of years new artistic styles have been established through aesthetic upheaval—as the initial repugnance for now seminal works by those such as Picasso or Stravinsky demonstrate. But while art was allowed to be ugly, design had to function. Trends in graphic design and visual communication were, until very recently, all variations on what was generally considered to be appealing. It is only in the last few years that those working in applied creative disciplines started to rebel.”

Source: http://shop.gestalten.com/pretty-ugly.html