It is a redesigned âchochinâ or paper lantern. The designer looked into Japanese Arts and Culture because it is the lampâs origin. Since Ukiyo-e is said to depict narratives like daily lives and nature, the designer decided Koi Fish will be the motif hence, the fins and scales.
Design Process
I had this lamp since I was in high school and the exterior/lamp shade slowly got damaged through the years. When my professor mentioned this plate I thought it was the opportunity to revive or repurpose the lamp.Â
The design concept is straightforward, it is a koi. While I like to pretend that I have a profound reason to why I chose it as a motif, I donât. I chose Koi because it has relations to Japan, and when I first saw the lanternâs shape I automatically thought of it.Â
Going back, I wanted to push this agenda because I am fascinated by marine designs recently - special mention to the Genshin Impact character, Kokomi Sangonomiya.
Following this plate, our last requirement was a room makeover wherein the lamp we made will be displayed and we, ourselves, are the target audience.
I have always wanted a Muji styled space which combines Minimalism and Japanese Zen because I was influenced by tumblrâs aesthetic phase from 2014-2016.
ABOUT THE USER
I am currently 22 years old and a design student. I was always interested in arts and crafts since I was young. I used to buy excess art materials and hoard stationery in my younger years.
I was previously an interior design student too and I had a drafting table rather than a desk. When I switched to using a desk, I was unsure how to decorate it but I did not have to think about it because my pc takes up the space. I need the desk space because I collect merchandise and do product photoshoots. Here is an example image to end my post.Â
A formal wear for a Filipino Celebrity attending the MET Gala. I infused 60s elements such as mod fashion (short skirts, tights and geometric shapes) and took inspiration from Filipino icons and designers. The dress is an envisioned modernized Filipiniana. Ridiculous and bright yet easy to wear because it is a terno. The wrap is a makeshift panuelo but it also gives the impression of butterfly puffed sleeves. The motif of the gown is the Philippinesâ national flower, Sampaguita.Â
Our second plate submission tackled on Fashion Design. Professor Rino Datuin instructed the block to stick with same era as the previous Visual Communication plate. Thankfully, the timeline we chose had a distinct style and world-renown designers, even considered pioneers, like Mary Quant.
In the 1960s, London was the center of Fashion and they called the era Swinging Sixties. Their fashion is characterized by bright color and a-line hemlines as seen in the moodboard (img.1).
I chose to do formal wear and nothing much went on with my initial designs (img.2). I made 2 designs for the sake of variation but regardless they are bland. Undoubtedly, it is evident that I was confused how to do this.Â
Img.2 - Orchidâs Evening Gown Initial Design
Our member, Deya, was the presenter for our concept presentation. She begun with the line from Foalle and Tuffin âwe donât want to be chic, we just want to be ridiculousâ which changed direction of our designs after.
Design Process
To explain my initial design, it is an evening gown meant for any occasion. Made from satin, layered with floral lace as accent. The design on the right is an envisioned modernized Filipiniana. I added a boxy jacket made from satin and lace as terno for the a-line skirt.
According to research, while 1960s fashion became progressively casual and there were trends for womenswear - formalwear, however, still emulated the 1950s with the tea length dresses and elegance so I did the same.
On the right corner of the initial design image are my professorâs comments that I noted down. He said to the team that our designs were a little conservative and we could be more ridiculous! He also mentioned that we should not merely be replicating or making designs for the era rather giving new takes.
Img.3 - Formal Gown 2nd Revision
This is my second design (img.3). I like to think itâs ridiculous but it feels casual to me. It made me question whatâs even is considered âformalâ.
For this concept, I used nearly all the colors of the moodboardâs palette. I made the skirt shorter and balloon shaped as my professor suggested. The Filipino elements in this is the single butterfly puffed sleeve and the sampaguita embroidery on the satin top and colorful lace skirt. I wanted to go all out floral that is why the colored lace layered on top of the skirt are petal shaped, even the collar are petal shaped fabrics. I chose sampaguita because it is the Philippinesâ national flower.
I was not able to attend the 2nd consultation with my professor so instead I watched the recording and I tried applying his feedback on my team membersâ outputs to mine. I also asked feedback from my team as well.Â
img.4 - Evening Gown Final Design
For my final design, I changed the gownâs style or shape of the skirt yet again. It is a-line but still above the knee because miniskirts, shift dresses that donât have defined waists were the trend of the 1960s. Mary Quant was the designer that popularized the high-hemlines and contributed, if not, defined the fashion of Swinging Sixties.
If there are fashion designers then there are fashion models as well. To complete the mod fashion, I referred to Twiggyâs wears. I paired the dress with ridiculous tights with circle prints and cuts, and mary jane heels.
For the Filipino elements, I looked into Drag Race because if there is anyone who knew what it meant to express themselves it would be Drag Queens! They are highly creative people and it is evident in the outfits they designed and created themselves.
Paolo Ballesteros was the host for Philippine Drag Race and for the announcement of being the TV showâs chosen host he wore this gown (img.5) with Manila landmarks designed by Job Dacon. I thought this was what my professor meant when he told the team to add Filipino motifs or icons.
Img.5 - Paolo Ballesteros Gown (2022)
I established in my 2nd revision that sampaguita was my main motif so without hesitation, I used the Hasmin Sampaguita Rice print and replaced the idea of using embroidered Sampaguita on the satin top.Â
The scarf wrap is a makeshift panuelo and made puffed to replicate the butterfly sleeves of a Filipiana. This is inspired from Ditta Sandicoâs brand. She is a Filipino designer that collaborated with indigenous weavers and created the fabric Banaca, made from banana and abaca.
RepubLIKHA Company Web Design | Psychedelic 60s Theme
âRepubLIKHA Creatives is a team of designers formed in 2022. This company website design concept is created by Claire Dauz. The team believe that there is always something to learn from history especially now when there are a lot of contested meanings and off shoots of different advocacies as resurgence of youth consciousness. It is good to trace the roots of social movements, a lot of which popped off in the 1960s.
RepubLIKHA Creatives help identify their client's purpose and brand, build their business and relationship with customers, and create a statement for them in the form of their services.â
Our Design History (AAV-104) course under professor Rino Datuin wherein we focused on the relation of history and design, how they have influenced another and how we can apply them in different design field.
Our first plate submission was focused on Visual Communication. For this, we as a team were required to choose an era and create a mood board (img.1) wherein our individual outputs will be based off.Â
Img.1 - RepubLIKHA: 1960s Visual Communication Moodboard
1960s History Overview
Our team went with 1960s. An era of Counterculture. [insert more explanation here]. We were introduced to the PESTLE Analysis (img.2) that helped us identify the timelineâs situation and how community (and design) responded.
Img.2 - PESTLE Analysis Concept Presentation
The first concept presentation happened on October 26, 2022. Our team thought we had to submit the final output on that day so we tried to complete our works within 5 days. I believe we did well and we only had minor revisions. I chose to create a website UI and this is my initial design (img.3).
Img.3 -Â RepubLIKHA Creatives Initial Design
This plate was my first design output after taking a gap year and I really found it difficult but our professor recommended us videos and podcasts that could help us! One of them was Netflix Abstractâs Paula Scher, a renowned graphic designer. She specializes in typography, revolutionized it even. In the documentary she said that âyou need to be in a state of okay to designâ and I clung to this statement, I constantly thought about it to get through.
Design Process
I had one main concern besides the branding. It was retaining the characteristics of psychedelic art when website user interface is minimalist in design for legibility. I asked myself, âhow do I make this dynamic or have a sense of movement?â. The solution I came up with was applying elements and principles of design on the typeface or objects.Â
Image.4 - RepubLIKHA Creatives Final Design
Regarding the color palette and typefaces used, my groupmates had a consultation with our professor for the moodboard and he said to them that we should be historically accurate thus my reason for strictly using colors found in the moodboard and Goudy Heavy Face and Helvetica throughout. They were fonts created in 1960s according to our research.
For the Landing Page, I envisioned it to be eye-catching similar to psychedelic posters that are highly contrasted and a dissolution of matter. I wanted the page and the brand to appear like a statement in relation to Counterculture, a time of social and political movements.Â
I drew this on Apple Procreate and I specifically referenced or took inspiration from the Ford HI-Performance Parts Ad 1969 (img.5). I also looked into Islamic Art and its elements because the organic and floral motifs I saw in Hippie Fashion reminded me of it. Made me wonder if there is a connection, and the answer is yes. While Psychedelic Art is a resurgence of Art Nouveau, the movement that came before this was Arts and Crafts â which was influenced by Islamic Art.
Image.5 Ford HI-Performance Parts 1969
Moving on to the About Us Page, I wanted the members to be presented uniquely. I thought it was an opportunity to utilize text warp! I made several sketches (img.6) and first decided on doing radials for emphasis but when I did, it felt constricted. Instead I focused on âMeet The Teamâ text, played with Coreldrawâs existing warp or Envelope Preset, and ended up with that. IÂ
If this was an actual working website, I imagine clicking on the members would direct you to another page of their portfolios.
Image.6 - About Us Page sketches
I imagined the Services page to be a scrollable. I had no original works to present so I settled with images that defined the kind of service and washed or multiplied it against the background. I used text warp again then added below the service type title (i.e. videography) a view button to imply that the user can see sample works.
There is nothing notable with the Contact page, I just patterned it to the About Us page. Even the footer is simple because I wasnât sure if it was alright to add elements - if it was, I would pattern it to the Landing Page.
I decided on a specific target audience last when this should have been first. I really just envisioned that the company can cater to all.
In conclusion, the final design is not far from the initial design. I improved the design by adding website elements like headers and footers to functional as feedback by our professor. I also added âclickableâ buttons because in my research, it said that website need to have a âcall to actionâ, interaction with the viewer is important. I had to resize the layout to the standard size 1920 x 1080px.Â
