#alkhadesign

[alkhastudio]

More Bespoke Design!

// 11 March 2020

Continuing from my last blog post, I further developed the seat into a bench/daybed sort of seat. I am a huge advocate of daybed and I believe we should use more of them as designers! This design begun as a daybed but in its final form, it looks more like a three seater sofa, but is quite elegant. Additionally, I developed a light I designed in first year into another drop pendant style light that I placed on the sides of the sofa. I designed the plant pots and table so that their styles matched with the rest of the space.

This was the first render, I spent some time getting the soft shadows correct and included a carpet from Ligne Roset to bring more personality into the space.

I did some editing on the render to bring a more pink glow.

I went back and centred the carpet, and made the scene more symmetrical with the plants. I think this design was successful and has my signature warm feel.

[alkhastudio]

Manifesto development

// 19 March 2020

When I first began creating my manifesto - a poem - I kept mulling over the idea of a coffee table; the things we'd find on a coffee table. For me, a coffee table is a symbol of tranquility and relaxation. I mulled over this idea for a while and was drawn to creating a vase. After some failed attempts at vac-forming, I went back to what I knew would work, clay.

I just let my hands and instincts take over to create pieces which were truly myself and decided that 4 "ring vases" were enough to choose a favourite from.

I took small pieces of air-drying clay, rolled them into a ball, then worm, then flattened into a rectangular piece of clay that I could twist into shape.

After drying for over a day, I went to coat the vases in varnish, but realised that I couldn't find the varnish anywhere! Despite this, I quite like the unfinished and raw feel of the clay - although this may not be best for coffee table items, I do think being uncoated is a better representation of myself and the things I believe in as a designer.

As I was unable to access the photography studios at university due to corona virus closures, I created a small studio in my garden with some black card.

Here are some of the edited photos of the ring vases...

I adore how these photos came out! I am so pleased with the vases and I think the black and white filtering and contrasts I layered on the photos really captures the essence of the vases.

The vases show who I am as a designer as they are hand made, lovingly crafted and have very fluid and natural figures.

[alkhastudio]

Business Cards!

// 16 March 2020

Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that business cards would be so difficult to design. 

I spent hours trying out different colourways of my logo with different shaped business cards and I think I have finally found the one. 

Front 

Back

As I am a designer who uses a lot of colour, I thought it would be better to stick to a monochromatic scheme. I incorporated some of my art into the cards - I think the leaf motifs soften the harshness of the black and white contrast and add some visual interest. 

I used a business card printing service called MOO to print my cards and the final pieces will have a chilli red trim that will give the cards a nice touch. 

Choosing a font for my business card was a careful choice too. I chose a font that came from a large family, so that I can use it for other branding purposes.  

[alkhastudio]

3D Print Installation

// 16 March 2020

Last week I convinced a colleague to visit the GK Gallery and Tea room with me so that we could see the 3D print installation in its gallery space. I believe it is important to take a break from working in the same environment once in a while, so that we may perhaps break repetitive thinking cycles and prevent boredom.

The installation looked quite delicate in parts, yet robust in others. I liked how one piece could create multiple shadows in the space because of the lighting. This  creation of shadows is an important thing to consider when designing (in my opinion) because shadows belong to the objects they are made from and are vital in creating a sense of place as much as the physical entity.

In this case, I was much more drawn to the shadows of the 3D-printed forms than the forms themselves. 

The layering, stretching and strength of the shadows here had had an animate quality which I found truly enchanting. Although this reaction I had to the art may not have been what the artist intended, for myself this appreciation of shadows was a far more valuable realisation. 

[alkhastudio]

Hilson Moran

// 17 February 2020

This visit to a Gold standard Well certified space was the Hilson Moran office in the Neo building in Manchester.

I sat through a presentation on what the Well Building standards entail and learned a great deal about the concepts measured through this form of building regulation. These seven concepts in the Well v1 are centered around wellbeing: air; water; nourishment; light; fitness; comfort; mind. I think that as a designer these seven concepts should always be on our minds when working on any project.

Throughout the office, there were notices that explained how different elements of the space aided the office in reaching it’s Well certification and I think these were useful notices that make one realise that there is depth to the design decisions in the space.

The carpet in the office was green in more relaxed and informal spaces. This was to mimic nature in a very obvious way. A running theme through the office was very obvious visual cues to wellbeing and nature - I think this was effective in this case as the office wasn’t very big.

The kitchen cabinetry was made from potato skin with hay and plywood that helps with the Air concept as it reduces VOC levels and incorporates natural materials. I think this was a nice touch since the kitchen area was small, however I don’t think it would be suitable for much larger spaces, unless it was used alongside other materials. 

The office featured more natural cues with preserved moss in an area used for brainstorming and collaboration. 

Overall, I think that this visit aided my professional practice as it made me even more aware of how I can design a space with the wellbeing of the end user in mind.

[alkhastudio]

Mix Interiors!

// 04 December 2019

As I was headed into university, I got an email about the annual Mix Interiors event taking place at the Hilton, so I decided to take a day-long detour.

I wandered through every part of the event, got stuck into the VR experiences, sat through two panel talks, however the Living experience struck a chord with me.

As soon I stepped into the room designed by Basha-Franklin, I felt that this place was for me. To put it in words, the room held such powerful emotional quality that I could help but immerse myself in it. It reminded me of the reason why I love interior design so much. 

There was a nostalgic intimacy to the room. It was cosy and almost looked lived in. 

Above this chair in the corner of the room, there was a sensor underneath the seat pad that turned on the light above the seat once a person sat in it. Furthermore, once seated here, speakers embedded in the chair began to play the first line of famous novels. The technology at play here created a really memorable moment and I think this is an example of how we can use technology to enhance our spaces in subtle ways.

Another interesting feature of this room was the display around the digital screen, This was made from stacked vases from Vitra. 

I really liked the continuity of forms in this space. The backrest on the sofa resembled a pebble to me which echoed the the carved lavastone placed above it.

Networking through an event like this is my preferred mode of meeting designers and manufacturers. As a student I did feel a little out of my depth, however when working in industry it would be nice to experience taking part in an exhibition like this.

[alkhastudio]

Ardmac Site Visit

// 03 February 2020

During the summer, I spent quite a bit of time nearby Barbirolli Square in Manchester, so it was nice to visit it in a different light.

The construction site was just as expected - cold and dusty. After watching a presentation given by some builders and an architects working on 101 Barbirolli Sq., we put on our PPE and were given a tour of the space. 

The architect used an IPad and software called Kuula to show us virtual renderings of what the spaces in construction would look like once done. In the photograph above, the visual is of the atrium space. The use of this method of visualisation showed me the importance of being able to communicate the design vision to people who aren’t involved in the process, and as virtual reality grows, creating 360 renders are something I will have to get better at.

Below, the image shows an extension being built on the roof of the building. This is to increase the Net Internal Area which is important for coworking spaces such as this building. 

As the architects had designed the space with a stripped back and exposed aesthetic, the builders spoke about how it was important for all the exposed pipework and wiring to look neat and be arranged in vertical lines. This helped me to understand that whilst stripped back interiors may seem simple, there is an added level of precision required to make such schemes look successful and not shabby.

[alkhastudio]

Bedrock Tiles

// 24 February 2020

This morning at university we had a visit from Bedrock TIles in what was an informative talk about regulations surrounding the finishes on tiles and slip-resistance. 

Aside from the nitty gritty, law-controlled parts of designing tiles, there were some pretty things to look at!

In their latest catalogue, I saw some small tiles arranged so that they looked like snakeskin - I think this is absolutely beautiful (image below). This has given me major inspiration for my NMP and I may do something similar in my design.

Another thing that caught my eye were the range of grouts the owner of the company had brought along. I think this small box of coloured grout samples is something useful to have as a designer as grouting can be made a feature of.