HanSoloBlogs

Communication Design Online Journal

[hansoloblogs]

Overall Course Reflection

               With completing the first semester in this course (Communication Design), I was able to benefit from a variety of new knowledge from the class, as well as to refresh my memory on things that I have already studied before that just needed a little reminder about.

              The most difficult obstacle that I have to face in this class is my time management. I am a huge procrastinator and I always like to rush things almost at the end of most deadlines so, completing ­­projects on time was and still is quite a challenge for me. I may have not found a solution to this problem but I am trying my best. I quickly recognise that doing my projects outside of my house, back home in Indonesia is very helpful, such as in my dad’s office or a coffee shop, because when I am in my room, I would be easily distracted by phone notifications and my bed which will result in me in streaming movies and taking naps.

              These problems, made me realise how focused I can be when I am working in a rush. I’ve never thought that I can be very enthusiastic yet while having fun doing these projects. The outcomes of the projects would be better if I have more interest in it. Obviously, it is not a healthy and professional way because only energy drinks keep me awake at night and it usually clutters my mind the next day.

              The highlights of this course for me would be the creative section of the projects. I enjoy expressing my feelings and myself through art more so than I do in other courses, therefore it was fun to be able to portray my thoughts and feelings and turn them into a design.

              Another highlight would be this final project which is making a video for an old art object or a very popular artist. I’ve always wanted to make a video and had these special effects and edits as an assignment and here I am, sitting for my final assessment doing it. This project means a lot to me since I gave my everything to it. Yes, it was damn stressful, frustrating, and time-consuming. But it was worth it and I am happy with what I achieved.

              As for things I would like to learn this coming term, as well as the one after that, I honestly haven’t thought about it. Maybe to learn the subject more about how it relates to me as an individual rather than society as a whole. I’d like to also learn things that can be used more in other classes. Other than that, I tend to feel like I’m just here to finish this course. I also hope that this pandemic will soon come to an end because doing online classes makes me fall asleep since I am back home in Indonesia and have to encounter morning classes such as at 6 in the morning for some of my classes. Thinking forward for next semester, I think I would be lazy to go face to face uni since I and most of us I believe already adapted to this style of learning. We don’t have to get out of our apartments/house and we do not have to get ready and get dressed properly for Melbourne’s crazy weather.

              Overall, I enjoyed this course and the projects are very interesting. Clearly delivered and easy to follow the brief provided.

[jacquelinenath]

Zine - Final Work in progress

This is how my final layout looks like for my zine after I have discussion with Ben through email and in class. I was quite confident after I get feedback from Ben about my layouts. 

During the process for my final, I have changed some of my layouts from previous one as some of them looks lack of elements to support my subject and I felt like something is missing. I changed the arrangement of my elements (geoetric shapes/ lines and typeface) as when I exported my pages into spread pages and I realised that my layouts are not quite attractive. So, in my question 3′s layout, I have added some elements on the right part so it doesn’t look too blank. Same with the layout for my question 4, which I decided to move the ‘Basker’ type into middle so it can fill my entire pages in both sides. I have play with negative space but I didn’t left it a lot, in order not to look boring. 

[michellekarenw]

Wow! I love the layout page, it fits the aesthetic perfectly. Page design looks neat and easily readable. Great use of colour and I like the illustration on the cover. Amazing!

[hansoloblogs]

Nice work on the theme you have there! I like the idea of keeping it clean and simple as well as the colour. Easy to read and really engaging.

[michellekarenw]

I incorporated the same colour spectrum to suit the aesthetic I was aiming for. This does seem quite plenty to look at, however it was my intention to design a more chaotic dada zine rather than a calm-looking one. As I progressed through designing the pages, I had solidified my decision to stick to a neutral-brown colour palette and included a “Dada renaissance” theme for my zine.

I find that the colour brown suits the concept of dada very well - it was an art movement birthed a long time ago and brown seems like a “mature” colour; a lot of the artworks incorporate faded or pastel colours; generally bright and vivid colours (such as blue yellow pink) are leaning more towards more modern art movements. You might also ask me why I had chosen to create a renaissance-based theme for my zine. Going back to when I first googled about dada, I had been browsing the images to get the basic grasp of what the art looked like, and the first image which caught my eye was the painting of the Mona Lisa with a moustache. I had found it quite comedic and liked the idea of using renaissance paintings to be part of my collages.

[hansoloblogs]

Nice collage you got there! I also like the choice of fonts you’ve picked.

[hansoloblogs]

Project 3 Video

Red Telephone Booth - Giles Gilbert Scott | Hananta Dharma 

This is my final work on the video and oh boy that took some time. This was my first time editing a video that is very detailed in all aspects such as sound, graphics, and effects. I found myself enjoying the process because I also learned lots of things in doing it from Google and YouTube. However, it was also quite frustrating and challenging at the same time. There were lots of times that what I did, did not match my expectation and is just different from the tutorials I watched on YouTube. Finding the right theme for this short documentary is quite tricky for me because I never actually made a theme for a video. Another challenge that I had to face was to find the information on Giles Gilbert Scott. There is just not much information about him and just a handful of YouTube videos about him and his works. It felt like the information I gave was very shallow and I did not dig enough. Making the visual effects also took me a long time. I had to make sure that it corresponds to what I am talking about.

All in all, I am happy with what I made and I hope it is informative as well as easy to be understood.

Link to the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SnBWlG4f7ZE

[hansoloblogs]

Adidas Futurecraft 4D

This is a shoe from Adidas which was debuted in 2015. This first original version of the Futurecraft used solid plastic and it this shoe was known to be less comfortable than the all time famous Adidas’ sneaker the Ultraboost. However, they decided to change the material used from plastic to liquid polymer to make it softer and lighter.

This shoe is interesting to me because it implements the use of 3D printing and it is the first shoe to use 3D printing technology hence the very dark price tag. It is said that it would be too long and complicated if using normal commercial machinery.

Woolf, J., 2017. Adidas Just Changed The Sneaker Game Forever. [online] GQ. Available at: <https://www.gq.com/story/adidas-futurecraft-4d-will-change-the-sneaker-game-forever> [Accessed 5 June 2020].

[clarinemarelika]

Project 3 

After the consultations and feedbacks I’ve gotten from Ben, here is my final design. I had chosen a natural colour palette to tie the pages all together. In the pages where the interview questions are shown and written, I had decided to keep the background white to represent with the colour of a canvas. This way it’ll represent how each questions were painted and crafted on a piece of canvas. Secondly, I decided to allow the zine to have two particular characters that I am interviewing to represent the rest of the paintbrushes. This way it’ll help the audience to understand the content of my zine better and to prevent the zine being overwhelming to read. Thirdly, to show what paintbrushes create, I decided put a number of different paintbrushes strokes to both decorate the pages itself and to what paintbrushes do and make in the art/design world. Finally, I tried to make my zine to have a fun atmosphere by creating a comic of scenes of what the paintbrushes have to go through every time they’re being used and also short dialogues of the paintbrushes’ opinions in between each questions. This way, it can also show the characteristics of each paintbrushes that I was aiming on showing on my last design. 

[hansoloblogs]

Really like the theme as well as the drawings you have there! I think it is really engaging and fun to read. 

[lattaegram]

Progress #1

29/5/20

This is my progress of the zine! Shayna said that I should make some changes but this is what I did so far. I think that I will change the layout.

[hansoloblogs]

I like the idea of the speech bubbles and the choice of the background. Really sets the theme. 

[hansoloblogs]

Week 11 Lecture

In this week’s lecture, Andy and Karen talks about “What’s next for design?”. This question interests me because I’ve been reading quite a few articles on this and it mostly talks about implementing technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics. I want to briefly talk about artificial intelligence since it intrigues me. Artificial intelligence was first found in 1955, and was officially given it’s name “AI” at conference at Dartmouth College in 1956. It was found by a couple of people that includes; John McCarthy together with Alan Turing, Marvin Minsky, Allen Newell, and Herbert A. Simon. Now, AI has defeated the chess grand master Garry Kasparov in 1997 and also has defeated one of the best Go (game) player from Korea, Lee Sedol in 2016. 

Technologies have been used a lot in design nowadays. Such as the 3D printing of high end watches,  the PAM578 by Panerai.

Wix is an example of AI that allow websites to intelligently design themselves; the customer is responsible for choosing the site’s name and answering a few quick questions, but AI will do the rest. This comes very handy for us that does not have any background in designing websites but also becomes effective for professional designers if they need to make a website quick.

Lewis, T., 2014. A Brief History Of Artificial Intelligence. [online] livescience.com. Available at: <https://www.livescience.com/49007-history-of-artificial-intelligence.html#:~:text=The%20beginnings%20of%20modern%20AI,%22artificial%20intelligence%22%20was%20coined.> [Accessed 30 May 2020].

Spacey, J., 2017. 20 Types Of Technology. [online] Simplicable. Available at: <https://simplicable.com/new/types-of-technology> [Accessed 30 May 2020].

Content, P., 2019. AI And The Future Of Design - Information Age. [online] Information Age. Available at: <https://www.information-age.com/ai-future-of-design-123486346/> [Accessed 30 May 2020].

[hansoloblogs]

Week 10 Lecture

In this week’s lecture, Andy and Karen talks about “Why Design” or” What is design  for”. One thing that stood out for me most is the peace symbol which was actually a logo designed for a campaign for the nuclear disarmament by Gerald Holtom in 1958. I desiced to search it up on the internet because from which I know, this symbol shows the hatred and persecution of Christians (upside down broken cross), a satanic character, or even a Nazi emblem, However, it actually has a very clear history which is a logo for a campaign. According to Melissa Petruzzello, the vertical line in the center represents the flag semaphore signal for the letter D, and the downward lines on either side represent the semaphore signal for the letter N. “N” and “D”, for nuclear disarmament, enclosed in a circle.

Petruzzello, M., n.d. Where Did The Peace Sign Come From?. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/story/where-did-the-peace-sign-come-from> [Accessed 30 May 2020].

[hansoloblogs]

Week 8 Lecture

In this week’s lecture, Andy and Karen talks about futurism. One thing that stood out to me was the Bruno Munari Almanacco AntiLetterario. I decided to Google him and here’s what I found. Bruno Munari was an Italian artist, designer, and inventor who contributed fundamentals to many fields of visual arts in modernism, futurism, and concrete art, and in non-visual arts. 

His books are full of interesting collages that he made and on the top left and right corners, there is these holes that represents Mussolini, an Italian politician and journalist who was the leader of the National Fascist Party. These holes that shows Mussolini clearly tells the reader that it is connected with the pictures of each page of the book which means that Munari was showing political commentary. Munari was also capable of showing off his feelings and voice clearly through images that he put together. This is the idea of the design on how he had arranged the pictures that helps us understand clearly of what he was trying to express. Munari also showed how typography could have a voice, how it can also be visual and also all forms of elements in communication fro image to word.

Italian Ways. 2014. Munari’S Clever Ploy In The 1937 “Almanacco Antiletterario” - Italian Ways. [online] Available at: <https://www.italianways.com/munaris-clever-ploy-in-the-1937-almanacco-antiletterario/> [Accessed 29 May 2020].

[hansoloblogs]

Setae Flatware by Francis Bitonti

I was casually scrolling Instagram and I came across this unique set of flatware. I immediately wonder how they made these in mass production as it would be very expensive with highly precise measurements. After a little bit of Googling, I found out that Francis Bitonti, the NYC based designers has his obsession using 3D printers for the fashion industry. From gowns, dresses, heels and now flatware. He has not made lots of experiments but his work is highly known like the Mutatio 3D printed shoe that is featured by the United Nude,  a design company specialising in high heels. 

This flatware is made my metal 3D printers with algorithmic generated design. The uniquely interwoven design of the flatware seems to be inspired by Elven and Celtic folklore, looking fit for use at a royal Medieval dining table. After the metal 3D printed flatware is produced, a sterling silver finish is added to give it a shiny veneer.

“My design process is a collaboration with artificial intelligence,” he has explained. “We’re transposing these ideas from digital design methodologies to tangible consumer experiences and products.” 

https://www.instagram.com/p/5hhPtDG_aa/?igshid=hn9n2kv703ae

Koslow, T., 2018. Eat Like Elven Royalty With Francis Bitonti’S Metal 3D Printed Flatware - 3D Printing Industry. [online] 3D Printing Industry. Available at: <https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/eat-like-elven-royalty-with-francis-bitontis-metal-3d-printed-flatware-66420/> [Accessed 29 May 2020]. 

[hansoloblogs]

Week 7 Lecture

In this week’s lecture, Andy and Karen talks about Bauhaus and how it became a movement in the design industry. Here’s a brief introduction of The Bauhaus. The Bauhaus was  The Bauhaus was a school that was founded in 1919 in the city of Weimar by a German architect called Walter Gropius. It was a functioning school until all the personnel left for the United States due to the Second World War. This school accepts students from all backgrounds and commence them to a preliminary course in order to prepare for a specialised major. These specialised majors are; metalworking, cabinetmaking, weaving, pottery, typography, and wall painting.

One thing that stood out for me in this lecture is this Armchair MR 20/3, 1927, by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. This chair was a combination of industrial fabrication techniques that is mixed with architecture and design. This multi discipline approach helps the key figures in The Bauhaus to create something that is out of the box.  Just like what Andy said, a material wants to be a certain form. For example like the metal tubing, it wants to have it’s curves. It is authentic in terms of the materials.

Winston, A., 2007. The Bauhaus, 1919–1933. [online] Metmuseum.org. Available at: <https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bauh/hd_bauh.htm> [Accessed 29 May 2020].

[hansoloblogs]

Week 6 Lecture

During this week’s lecture, Andy and Karen discuss about pagespace. After watching the lecture, one book caught my eye and it was Albe Steiner’s book; one of many example of books produced in the mid 20th century. Karen discussed on how this book is a collaboration between designers and those who had a political or social stand. It shows how they can make these designs to produce messages and ideas on how posters and propaganda in print can be shown more in that era.

Another information I thought was interesting in this lecture is that how typefaces are smuggled in for printers, also limitations on the number of typefaces imported. The idea of these limitations for these typefaces that can be used is funny to hear now because I can just search and download them for free on the internet now. Looking back at their era, I cannot imagine how hard it would be for them to print these books that needed different typefaces and to think of what will happen if they were caught smuggling these typefaces for printing.

[hansoloblogs]

Week 5 Lecture

In this lecture, Andy and Karen Ann talked about industrialisation of print. One thing that stood out to me in this lecture is that the fonts made long time ago needed grid lines to make shapes and to perfect each word. It was interesting to know how people made these letters using these techniques in order to make equal angles for the curves.

During the lecture, Andy mentioned a name which was Claude Garamond, an apprentice of Geoffroy Tory. I decided to do a little bit of Googling and this is what I found.

Claude Garamond is a French type designer, cutter and publisher. He is famous for being the first type designer and punch cutter. By doing this, he was able to influence many typographers, punch cutters and publishers to create and sell. This led to more and more types of fonts created by type designers hence he was one of the leading type designers of his time. His work allows printers to print easily due to the very clear harmony of design between capitals, lowercase and numbers and also how his individual characters can be easily distinguished from another. However, Garamond was not recognised for his work due to other type designer that frequently use and copy his work. But, he became famous after his death due to his wife selling his original artworks.

Willetts, B., 2019. How Claude Garamond Changed The Type Industry. [online] Medium. Available at: <https://medium.com/@brandywilletts/how-claude-garamond-changed-the-type-industry-d287200bef2f> [Accessed 28 May 2020].

[hansoloblogs]

Week 4 Lecture

The moment Andy said the Blackletter I immediately thought of this drink in the back of my head; Jagermeister. As the lecture goes by, this bottle appeared and I was waiting if Andy was going to put it inside the lecture XD. I then did a breif research on blackletters after the lecture and this is what i found.

Black letter was first used in the Guthenburg Bible, one of the first books printed in Europe. This font is easily recognised due to its exaggerated thick and thin strokes with curves. This font started evolving in the Western Europe region from the mid 12th century. Gutenberg had initially though of using this font for the bible but overtime, it was used as printing. In the 1500s, this typeface became less popular in many countries except Germany because they are difficult to read but romans and italics was easier. 

These are some examples of the blackletter typeface in modern usage.

Farley, J., 2009. The Blackletter Typeface: A Long And Colored History — Sitepoint. [online] Sitepoint.com. Available at: <https://www.sitepoint.com/the-blackletter-typeface-a-long-and-colored-history/> [Accessed 28 May 2020].

[hansoloblogs]

Week 3 Lecture

During this lecture, Andy and Karen Ann talks about how letter forms and writings evolve overtime. This is one of a couple of things that stood out to my eyes, the religious text of Islam; Qur’an. This caught my eyes because it just didn’t look like a normal Qur’an text but it shows the spacing and how it is very abstracted with differently stylised words. These words started in the 13th Century BCE and it is still used until now. However the difference that the present Qur’an has is that now, the writings are packed together unlike that. 

[hansoloblogs]

Video Progress

Video about Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (The Red Telephone Booth)

The editing software that I use is VegasPro. I am just half done with my video and honestly, I am stressed :). The editing process takes time since I am not very good at it and the detailing just takes so long. I haven’t touched on the color grading yet and it honestly takes more time than I expected. Haha. 

I have decided to record my face and use my own voice because it will be more informative and easy to understand rather than reading a text. It can also be more persuasive. I recorded myself in my mini home studio whereby I just set up a LED light beside me and another one behind my camera. I did not have a microphone therefore what I did was to record my sound first using my phone, record myself just for the sake of the video, and finally to edit/mix it together. This part honestly took quite long because my mouth was not totally on sync with the voice that I took, therefore I needed to adjust and cut here and there which takes so much time. But finally, I finished mixing the sound and I started editing the video.

My initial plan is to make a video that is informative yet pretty for the audience to see like its  worthy for a YouTube content. Haha. I started off by looking up different kinds of background music that suits the video. Then, I edited some pictures of Sir Gilbert Scott for my introduction. Just making the intro took me hours and hours and yet, I haven’t finish it. 50 seconds of the video is done and boy I am dizzy and my eyes are watering soo much.