Miranda Bené

A Graphic Design Communication student at Chelsea College of Art and Design

[mirandabene]

Final result, geometric, triangular lamp shades. For this project I found it interesting to combine my Graphic Design course with an Interior and Spatial Design course and see what things they have in common design wise. I wanted to do something simplistic but still something I could use on an everyday basis. I enjoy the process from research to final outcome and the journey it takes me on. Illustrator is a program I'm confident with so preparing files for lasercutting is something that I don't have any issues with. I think my final outcome looks like what I had imagined in my mind and therefore I think this was a success. Also, from the pictures I took of the lampshades, some of them look amazing as just a poster in itself. The one where the lampshades are lined up next to each other, shot from straight above, is channeling a bit of Bauhaus with the geometric shapes and choice of colour. Pattern as Expression will definitely influence me on later projects I will do in my Graphic Design and Communication course. 

[mirandabene]

Real lamp shade in the making. My technique with using masking tape and a syringe to apply the glue for less mess is proven successful. No marks from the glue and the trick is to not use too much! I'm pleased with the way the pattern turned out, it looks stunning through etched in to the perspex. This is the same way I did the orange lamp shade as well. 

[mirandabene]

Mock up with spare parts similar to the parts I need for the final lamp shade. I just wanted to try out the glue to see if it's strong enough and it really is! I been throwing this mock up around and pounding it with differemt things and it's super solid! Also checked how the light looks through the perspex and it's looking good, as I wanted it to look. 

[mirandabene]

I designed two different lamps, one table lamp and one pendant lamp. I did them first with paper to get the dimensions right. They are both based on the same pattern, the irregular triangles. I love 60's danish pendant lamps with their simple but strong scandinavian design so I decided to go for something similar. I picked a transparent orange perspex for the pendant lamp and a smoky black transparent colour for the table lamp. The table lamp will basically just be a pyramid shaped lamp. My next step is to take it to the 3D work shop and try and sand paper down the edges a bit so they will fit better together. Then I will use plastic weld applied with a syringe to not cause any mess. Good luck me! 

[mirandabene]

Looking back at the earlier stages of the course when we were doing paper folding, I liked the triangular shaped pattern that came out of the folds. Based on the folds I made at home I created this irregular triangle pattern in a bigger triangle. What I'm thinking of doing is to etch and laser cut this pattern on acrylic and create a lampshade. The light will reflect the lines on the surrounding area which could look amazing. I bought this Maroccan lamp on a trip to Marrakesh and the light and reflections it gives off is just amazing. It's a round brass lamp with lots of holes so when light shines through it reflects it bigger on the roof and walls. The second pictures is a photo I took with one of my friends holding an iPhone flashlight inside the lamp, pointing it towards the ceiling. 

[mirandabene]

Part of the Pattern as Expression course was to do some laser cutting as it is a good way of making precise patterns in a wide area, we were asked to do a William Morris design or our own design. I wanted to conclude a piece that I have been working on previously, which is more of a graphic design piece. It's a series of numbers and the pattern I have been using is a repeatable pattern of outlines, layered on top of each other to create an effect of moiré. The numbers came out lovely! For my final piece I'm thinking of doing something graphic and linear, working with angles and I like the transparent material.

[mirandabene]

Went to the William Morris Gallery, part of the Pattern as Expression course. I was very impressed by the refurbishment done to the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, it was beautiful. I loved his woodcarvings for textiles, that's something I would love to create. Great colour swatches. I think I would like to do something a bit more modern as a final piece. Modern with a classic twist? Research will go on. 

[mirandabene]

After bringing back the paper screens to Pattern as Expression class we were given a task of folding. Basically we had to cover a wine glass with paper, folded in different patterns, and try and cover as much of the wineglass as possible. I think our group did a really good job! The wine glass with paper has volume and I love the fact that you can see the other side of the paper fold through the glass. This is a method you can use in different types of design and I think it could definitely come in handy for Graphics research. You could take a photo of it and then trace it in illustrator to achieve a really interesting vector pattern!

[mirandabene]

In the pattern as expression class on we are exploring paper folds and how the way we fold and unfold something can create different shapes and interesting forms. We had to build five screens at home of an a4 piece of paper, and it had to be able to stand up. I tried a few different ways. Folding it very fine which worked. Fold it too fine and the paper will get too flimsy and can't stand up anymore. I tried various techniques, for example splashing it with water and then drying it with a hairdryer for some interesting results.

[mirandabene]

Font researching for LP Cover. We sell this book at work and I can't stop looking in it! It's called Retro Fonts by Gregor Stawinski, I highly recommend it if you are looking for something a bit different than your average typeface set up. I'm in love with this sans serif font called Steelfish and I'm gonna try it out for the cover of my LP album. 

[mirandabene]

Johnston mini golf hole going on the tube

[mirandabene]

Revamp the ChunkyFive typoface using only CMY. Me and Carl decided to go for a moiré effect so we edited the letter B in illustrator using the offset path effect. The result was surprisingly good and this inspired us to go further and develop a whole alphabet using this method.

[mirandabene]

One of the Baskerville pictures. It needs a bit of editing though but the result is great from just using different camera settings.

[mirandabene]

Baskerville Photostudio session. My Baskerville B has been busy again, today it was in the photostudio at uni. There were alot of random ideas involving those letter, some made a band, someone went fishing with the letter, used it as a drill, I used it as a shield in an epic Baskerville fight. 

[mirandabene]

It was a windy day and we got our exercise for the day by running after signs that the wind went crazy with but we managed to get there in the end. We filmed the whole day and the plan is to make a stop frame animation of the whole day. Everyone photographed their area at different times and later it will get edited into one big image. TBC.

[mirandabene]

A Creative Mind - a two day brief involving a massive head made of tape and loads of paper from GF Smith. Basically, the idea was to visually display what is going on in a creative mind using paper and people to shape a head. We separated the brain in to different sections, my section was "Distractions". We wanted to show the different distractions you are faced with working on projects so social media is probably the number one distraction. We created little speech bubbles to make it look like an inner monologue combined with a social media feed. 

[mirandabene]

Paper cutting as research for the revamp of an LP sleeve. Played around a little bit with different types of paper, weight, colour and shapes. I like the edginess of this style.