Learning Portfolio Artist Statement Reflection
Write a short bio to set the stage. Introduce yourself, your major, where you’re from, and primary art/design interests.
My name is Lauren Ouaknine, I am a Communication Design major from Queens, New York. My primary design interests lay within the realm of using design to solve other people’s problems. I believe that there is a difference between art and design where design can be a medium for art, however, fine art solves the artist’s problems while design solves someone else’s problems.
That being said, I like designing in areas that require design, particularly the STEM field. I think that specifically graphic design focuses a lot on organization and hierarchy of information; using layouts to display information in a manner that helps others understand the material more efficiently.
Describe your work. What do you make? What are the formal qualities?
I really love classic typography and clean design that functions well from a formal standpoint. Additionally, a lot of my work focuses on forcing people to interact with the design, whether it be really large margins to promote annotation, or ripping apart a package, or even participating in a chat room.
Formal qualities include traditional typography, knowledge about printing, paper materials, and backend and front end coding.
Describe your aesthetic values. In what ways do your projects communicate these?
My aesthetic values lie in clean typography and functionality that is elegant and warm.
Through color, materiality, printing process, digital implementation and manifestation, as well as projection in the physical world.
How do you create your work? What tools are essential? What are your methods of making?
Most of my work is digital, printed, and coded. I create my work best under pressure, in short time spans, and while working with a team of people.
I consistently utilize the Adobe Creative Suite (particularly InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, & Premiere) as well as various text editors (Sublime & IDLE).
I sit in my room in the dark on my bed with music blasting late at night. I very tiredly print my work out the next morning in a rush.
Why do you make what you make? Why is it important to you? To others?
I make what I make to help other people or to try and help solve a problem. It’s important to me because I think that there should be a balance between making money/profiting yourself and helping others.
I’d like for it to be important to others, but can’t myself exactly say why it is important to them. But I like to believe that it helps them in some way: communicate something (pure information, or who they are) and it contributes to a community that is void of designers and needs one, rather than contributing to an industry that is already
How do your research interests inform/intersect with your creative practice?
The internet is a little unavoidable in terms of searching, but I try to find inspiration from other place. Things I see on the street, things I hear, things on the internet that other people show me, magazines that i see outside of the art world. I think it’s important to be well rounded and that means grabbing inspiration from places outside of the design world.
Looking forward, where are you going in your art/design profession? What do you hope to achieve? What specific steps will you take to work toward these goals?
I think I’m going in the direction of problem solving rather than art making. I hope to achieve making someone’s life easier or making something more understandable. Or I hope to further studies in another subject with the influence of design. I’ll continue to educate myself outside of design and use that knowledge to better my design skills and try to make a difference in the world.
