design context

SETS AREN’T SO SIMPLE:I interviewed specific design studios and individual designers who have influenced my design practice during my FMP, to gain their own personal thought and application to craft design. In relation to this statement above, here is what they said:

Q. What is the usual length of time you put aside for making the sets?

A. The last set we created took 3 days, we were ambitious at the start thinking we could create something without having any idea of what we were attempting to make.We wanted the process to be completely organic and respond to the materials and space available.This didn’t work but was a lesson learnt, we eventually took what we thought was successful from this process and formalised it a bit more. I suppose this contradicts my previous answer, but this was an unusual, experimental approach for us.

We had put aside roughly 3 days anyway with a day either side to pick up the right materials & an extra day to make amends if necessary upon final inspection before the photographer came in to shoot it. The rest of our sets, which aren’t that numerous really, not for the purposes of a print anyway, haven’t had a specific amount of time dedicated to them, they took between a day and two I’d say.

Q. What is the size & scale in which you work on when building a set?

A. Again the last set we built virtually filled a room, it was roughly 10 foot by 10 foot, so pretty large scale, but again the majority of sets have all been different scales for different purposes.The Man Alive poster for example was only created in small scale because we couldn’t enter the venue beforehand to create a big version, so it was effectively a miniature model. We wanted to build a big version, as it was a night of music we were putting on and we had a camp fire theme, which we created in the venue on the night, the stage and venue was set up the same as the poster, but in real life.

Q. For the final production, do you work in a team or solo?

A. Production we work as a team, just the three of us Jay, Nic & Will, for the actual set, this is the case generally. We had a photographer and 3 helping hands for the final photoshoot.

INTERVIEW:Jay Cover, Nous Vous Collective


A. Maybe a day, maybe a week! its not the problem the times, because always when I start this kind of project I don’t think or better, I haven’t the pressure of the times.


A. If it is not bigger than a 2 x 2mts. But this when I work on my studio. Will be great to work on outdoors and have more flexibility. But I love to work on little scales.


A. Sometimes on my own, sometimes with help. But what I’m ding now, is have fun with my friends and mates that want to do a little installation too. so we spend the time together and help each others.

INTERVIEW:Pablo Alfieri, PLAYFUL Studio, Freelance designer


A. It completely depends on the project and what’s involved. The projects I work on do not have big budgets so they have to be quick. With a set it will be planned in advance, pitch sketches to a client and the shoot it in an afternoon. The smaller paper sets are pretty similar.


A. Smaller sets are as big as the plan chest I make them on - larger ones are lifesize.


A. Often as a team as you need a group of people to make it happen quickly. Always nice to have lots of eyes and opinions too

INTERVIEW:John Gilseman, Creative Director, I Want Design LTD

BELOW:Pablo Alferi, ‘Chu Play’

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5SETS AREN’T SO SIMPLE

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CONTENTS:

THE ART OFTACTILE:

POSTER 1 – The Art of Tactile

POSTER 2 - The value and beauty of craft design

POSTER 3 – Combining analogue with digital design, can they co-exist?

POSTER 4 – Commercial application of craft design

POSTER 5 – Sets aren’t so simple

POSTER 6 - Final resolution

Looking at a range of designers and design studios who apply this process.

Exploring the technical side of craft and set design.

Craft design has recently had a surge of interest and development of experimentation within the design industry. There has been a shift from solely digital design to incorporating more traditional methods of craft design.In its contemporary manifestation craft design usu-ally describes the process of creating something by hand. This could be collage to set design in the three dimensional form, to finally presenting it back into 2D form via the use of camera or computer screen. It is a technical process, one that may appear simple on the surface however it takes patience and good skills to produce. Hands on illustration I have always incorporated within my design practice, no matter what I have designed in the past. It is a process which I have always come back to and feel confident and comfortable using. For me it is the pure aesthetics which craft design produces, it is invaluable and original. Despite digital design trying to replicate these aesthetics they can never match them, due to the inevitable imperfections which craft design produces.For many designers who specialize in craft design, they say that they love being, ‘Hand’s On’. That the feel of raw materials between their finger and the mis-takes and imperfections make the overall design and process much more exciting and valuable than purely digital work. There has been a lot of speculation toward s craft design credibility compared to digital work. It is not

as slick, refined or perfect to look at. However I would argue against this assumption, producing a piece of design by hand has instant value attached to it. The design becomes personal, it cannot be copied or ma-nipulated by anyone else. Whereas digital work can be copied and changed with a click of a button.

Of course craft design has its draw backs. If a big mistake is made which doesn’t look good then the only solution is to try and cover it up or start again. So naturally using this process it tends to be laborious and time consuming. However its advocates feel pas-sionately about it that there is, metaphorically as well as literally, an extra dimension to the process.The section of posters in this publication will explore this trend of innovative craft design. Looking at work from designers that utilize there hands on practice to the outstanding possibilities that are created using this process.It will continue to explore how designs have not been limited to simply personal or artist endeavours, but also their application into context and commercial use. Looking at how a hand on illustration is readily being incorporated with digital design to achieve this.This will leas me to examine the technical side of pa-per craft and 3D set design. Looking at how sets have been erected to work successfully, number of individu-als involved, time taken, the intricate attention to detail and their scale.Enjoy.

RIGHT: Pablo Alferi ABOVE: Julien ValleeRIGHT TOP: Chrissie Abbott & Chrissie McDonald

1THE ART OF TACTILE

COMMERCIAL APPLICATION:Craft design has had a serge of interest and use within the contemporary design industry – especially the music field. Here are snippets form interviews from featured designers who put craft design into practice. Explaining their thoughts and views on it current application:

Q. A sense of craft design has come through the work of students recently: why do you think this is?

A. I think the recent explosion in craft among students and its application has come about due to an advance in technology and as a rebellion against the computer. I think digital camera have bridged the gap between working outside and inside the computer. They enable students to easily capture imagery and work on it digitally without losing quality.

Previously, the whole process would take a lot longer, using negatives, photo development and scanning. I also think tat suing the computer has become a default among designers, especially in my won case!Therefore it can b more exciting to work on something physical, something you can manipulate by hand; its liberating. I think its important to remember that the computer is a means to an end; it’s a toll that shouldn’t dictate how you approach things.

Q. When you start a new project. do you already have a clear concept of the final image in mind? And could you pick one of your works and briefly describe the creative process involved and application?

A. I genially have an idea or concept of the final image before I set out to work; I have a visual in my head of how I think the work will look. However, what’s great about working outside the computer is that you often end up going down avenues you wouldn’t have thought of. For example, with my 12” vinyl’s for ‘Sectors’ indie band, I had originally set out to print a collage onto tomes triangle and take photographs of those in pattern. However once I’d created the collage I realised it be more visually interesting than the [previous idea. The artists who I was designing for loved the impact of the collage too, so I left it at that.

Q. You operate in as many different media as you have creative outlets. What’s their relation to each other when designing for commercial use and how does craft design play different among them?

A. We work for everything we can build a relationship with. For instance, at the moment we are developing a useable architectural sculpture in Berlin. And we juts finished an interface design for a music programme. For every job, there always a different solution. We always try and find the strongest one form these. But the concept that you develop for the brief guides you to the technique you have to use to visualize the idea.I think you can include it in nearly every process, such as branding, motion, etc. sometimes there is a relationship between all these different jobs we ate doing, but it is not a strategy or a system

INTERVIEw, IDN Craft Issue:Ciara Phelem , Freelance Designer

INTERVIEW, IDN Craft Issue:HORT Design

Q. Being both a musician and a designer, how do you view the relationship between visual art and music?

A. I think lots of creative media absolutely live side by side. As we design a lot of record sleeves we have been asked this before and its difficulty to answer. When designing for music we try and create a representation of the record, but we are also trying to make something that can stand alone.

Something that works independently of the music, but when put alongside it has some sort of association. I think there are obvious correlations between the two, but the biggest difference Is that music is mostly made as a creative expression whereas design is generally commissioned for a commercial purpose.

Q. How do you connect your work with representing a band or musical genre? Who approached who?

A. In terms of music I’ve always been approached by the artist, I guess because they thought that my work would visually interpret their work appropriately, which is an amazing compliment when I like what they do too.

Usually we have a bunch of conversations about visual direction and all the things behind that, what they want to achieve and their vision and it goes from there. Its by no means an easy process but I feel that the stuff that I’ve done for music projects has had the most content and depth.

Q. Your work has become really fashionable these past couple of years. You seem to have tapped into something with your intricate, maze-like, tapestry doodles that you see high school kids trying to do in math class but never getting quite right. What is it about these time-consuming pen and ink drawings that drew you in in the first place?

A. I think I started drawing more intricate, time consuming images when I worked full time as a designer. It acted almost as an escape, a place and time to zone out from doing often mundane work that I wasn’t massively into, so working on my own stuff after hours was a form of escapism and a creative output that during the day was a bit stifled. As much as I was learning loads initially and was in a high paced environment I definitely needed to do my own stuff. There’s something really therapeutic about spending ages on a drawing, and at that point it wasn’t for an audience or particularly communicating anything. I definitely wasn’t trying to be trendy, and I never thought it would amount to anything, I just enjoyed it. I still do.

INTERVIEW, LAND Oct 2009:Chrisse Abbott, Freelance Designer

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INTERVIEW, IDN Craft Issue:John Gilseman, Creative Director, I Want Design LTD

Q. Before you start designing do you normally have a visualized ideaof what the final outcome will look like?

A. To us that’s part of the process of designing, we always attempt to visualise something before we invest time in creating it, just to make sure what we’re creating will be right for the job at hand. Alot of the more scultural work we do in a commercial context, often references things we’ve created in our personal practice.

INTERVIEW, Own:Jay Cover, Nous Vous Collective

4COMMERCIAL APPLICATION

2VALUE & BEAUTYOF CRAFT DESIGN

THE VALUE & BEAUTY OF CRAFT DESIGN:There is an element of beauty and satisfaction when working with your hands than digital design cannot replicate. A selection of designers and studio explain there own personal views as to why this is:

Q. What kind of power and beauty have you found in design works done by hand?

A. I find that when I work by hand, sometimes I feel a greater sense of satisfaction when it is complete because I have worked on it more physically. I also find that work created by hand has an added tactile quality and depth that you don’t get with your work on the computer: there are so many more textures and imperfections that add originality to the piece.


A. There is without a doubt a different quality in work produced outside the computer and I think it’s the random factor that gives such work strength. When you create something directly on the computer you make al sorts of decisions, about colours, atmosphere, angles, whatever.

When doing things outside of the computer you can leave a lot of that to chance and its often this that supplies the random factor you may not have previously considered. There are also the tactile characteristics of hand made work that make it more human, more accessible, maybe.

INTERVIEw, IDN Craft Issue:Ciara Phelem , Freelance Designer

INTERVIEW, IDN Craft Issue:I WANT Design LTD


A. I believe that hand made works often incorporate lot of personality into the end result – the imperfection of hand drawn illustration, the imprecise 3D shapes, the sketches to the paper cut outs. I like the fact that images re created without the pretension of being perfect at the end, which is harder to pretend in a digital image.


A. Well, I cant speak for others, but if I had to talk about what appeals to me about the materials I use and the way I work in general, I guess I like the humility of it.

It always ends up looking slightly rough around the edges. There’s a great deal of primitivism in the large pieces of paper – torn, ripped, cut and assembled – covering the bodies, wring with big brushes and bold black ink.The process itself is full of movement. I never have enough space when I work, my desk always gets filled very quickly with tonnes of sketches and materials.

INTERVIEW, IDN Craft Issue:Jean Jullien, Freelance Designer

2INTERVIEW, IDN Craft Issue:Jullien Vallee, Freelance Designer

INTERVIEW:Jay Cover, Nous Vous Collective

Q. What does ‘craft design’ mean to you as a designer?

A. Means to do something analog, leave the computer, work with my hands, get fun and don\t worry about the perfection, because in this world The details on the imperfections are the key.

Q. Do you think there are certain elements which digital design cannot capture, which craft design can?

A. The value is on the handmade! on how we can’t control everything, on the real textures, the behind the scenes, the lights, the set, the papers, the lovely times! The value is that we could leave for a moment the computer, the tool that change everything and the one for hat we are so vulnerable.

INTERVIEW:Pablo Alfieri, PLAYFUL Studio, Freelance designer

Q. What does ‘craft design’ mean to you as a designer?

A. Craft design or 3 Dimensional design, is something we use occasionally as an image making method. We generally use this method when it’s an appropriate response brief to the we’ve been given, although it’s something we started experimenting with whilst at university as we’ve always been keen on a hand made aesthetic. It’s a method that has developed and made a big impact on the design trade over the last couple of years.

Q. Do you think there are certain elements which digital design cannot capture, which craft design can?

A. Well there’s an inescapable sense in hand crafted imagery that someone has made it, giving it personality and character, which is sometimes absent in digital design. I’d find it hard to say either was more valuable than another though, as this depends on the use and application.LE

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This section will examine through a series of snippets from interviews the application of combining hand craft with digital design. Asking why it has become such an effective process wihtin the contemporty indusrty:

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Q. Some say that analogue and digital design are totally opposed, while others believe that technology and traditional art can co-exist: what do you think?

A. I believe that as designers, we are actors who are playing the role of storyteller in a project. I think that other clearly than co exists in the same image, as long as it tells the story is a clear and interesting visual way.I also think it is important to conceptualize first, and to choose the appropriate form that will best represent the idea afterwards. I don’t think it should be a matter of favouring a method one or the other, it depends on the project and we should not be scared of wearing different hats.

Q. Hand-made objects and graphics are closely connected to the person who created them’

Do you believe that there are certain things that that technology cannot capture, especially in the design field?

A. Technology cannot capture the tactile aspect of design yet. Digital design I soften very clean but not touchable. We think materiality is a very important part of design. This is not only the case when working in three dimensions. When you design a book, the choice o paper is a very important aspects for the character of the final product. We always regret that materiality cannot be simulated when we do a layout in InDesign.

INTERVIEW, IDN Craft Issue:Jullien Valle, Freelance Designer

INTERVIEW, IDN Craft Issue:Pixelgarten, Design Studio


A. I think it is defiantly more beneficial to embrace both disciplines. Analogue and digital are different methods of working, but I think you should use them to inform and compliment each other.

For the majority of my work, I will create elements by hand then take a digital image into an application on the computer to enhance it further. By doing this you can change elements and add effects in a way that wouldn’t of been possible by hand. This way of working can take the project to a completely new level that you might not of previously considered.

INTERVIEW, IDN Craft Issue:Ciara Phelem , Freelance Designer


A. Personally, I don’t think they have to be opposed. Some designers have done great things by mixing them – loads of them have actually. Take someone such as Pierre Vanni for example: he creates fantastic geometrical paper illustrations. They are so complex that he uses special software to create a digital mock up, then prints it and fold it according the marks. The results is incredibly craft like.

INTERVIEW, IDN Craft Issue:Jean Jullien, Freelance Designer

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3COMBINING ANALOGUE & DIGITAL

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

BOOKS:Tactile: High Touch Visuals, Robert Klanten, Dgv; illustrated edition edition (November 2007)

Tangible, R. Klanten, Die Gestalten Verlag (January 2009)

Stereographics: Graphics in New Dimensions, Viction:workshop Ltd., Victionary (November 2008)

Three D - Graphic Spaces, Gerrit Terstiege, Birkhäuser Architecture; 1 edition (November 2008)

Papercraft: Design and Art With Paper, R. Klanten, Die Gestalten Verlag; Har/DVD edition (September 2009)

MAGAZINES:IDN International Designers Network Magazine, The Craft Issue, Volume 16, Number 1, 2009

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6 FINAL RESOLUTION

design context

Documents