?That Time of Year Again?
Image from coochicoos.
Design can be found anywhere. Good design is a bit harder to find? but it could be argued that it could be pretty much found anywhere too. What is really hard to find are the moments that facilitate the execution of good design. October is at least a moment in the year when we can count on having such opportunity.
The activity of pumpkin carving, though it can sometimes be simple, can serve as a canvas for creative development, witty communication and design thinking. Even though many of us may associate such experience with childish associations or community related ideas, there are others the push the limit of the medium to an extreme to create unexpected and innovative results.
Can you think of another activity, like pumpkin carving, that might be culturally grounded to us, but that could be re-shaped from a lens of a design thinker? How do you think that this approach of re-thinking existing processes might affect, aid and influence your work and creation of new projects and ideas?
While society usually enjoys participating in family-friendly activities such as pumpkin carving, the designers will always take the average activity a step further by incorporating new and unique elements into their own work, such as the pumpkins pictured in the article. In other words, a designer's thinking outside of the box allows him/her to define their own style by taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary.
One example of cultural activity that is often taken a step further by design thinkers is the creation of snowmen. As a child, I personally enjoyed building the traditional snowman (the three stacked spheres of packed snow, the eyes, carrot nose, and a scarf) and similar structures in my front yard. But, as I grew older and I realized my interest in design, I began to make more complex snowmen that actually were one solid structure with arms, facial expressions, and other human characteristics. However, I have seen many amazing structures created out of both snow and ice, particularly ice sculptures by chainsaw artists.
Creating snowmen, however, is just one of many cultural activities that can be transformed into an amazing art form by both artists and designers. Similar activities include everything from building sandcastles (and sand sculptures) to decorating Easter eggs. Over the years, these activities seem to have increased in popularity and led designers to explore every possible medium by taking it to a new level with each exploration.
By engaging in cultural activities and exploring the possible uses of design in different mediums, the re-thinking of existing design processes would inspire me to explore new territory in the design world. In other words, I could take inspiration from the existing works and combine it with my own ideas to create a whole new concept for a design or project. This would be especially beneficial when attempting to produce unique ideas for a design, such as taking the traditional pumpkin "scary" or "happy" face and placing a completely different and complex design on the surface by exposing the various textures of the pumpkin and exploring the ability to incorporate intricate details into the work instead of the simple shapes.
Posted by William Ryan Mayo on October 24, 2008 at 12:41 AM EDT #
Sometimes it is important to push an idea to its extremes and squeeze every aspect that we can out of it. This concept reminds me of how filling a bottle with rocks, then sand, then water fills it completely as opposed to simply filling it with rocks. The idea of pumpkin carving is continually squeezed and pushed farther as an art form, but this is one of many art forms which we don?t often think of as being pushed to its extremes.
The arrangement of food and catering is often an underrated form of art and design. You don?t often hear of a slab of meat being carved, shaped and sculpted to be shaped like say a car, a building, or an animal. Cake design can often be elaborate, especially in weddings, but I don?t believe this is explored to its full potential either. Cakes could be used to artistically depict many things, and they are a definite three-dimensional form waiting to be manipulated by creative designers. Though pumpkins, wedding cakes, and all sorts of food are edible art forms which can be further explored, they are just a few of many which have enormous potential. This potential is especially relevant in today?s times with the media and the ability to spread an art form quickly through the world.
These art forms have often been an inspiration for me, and I would especially like to see graffiti become an explored art form where it is not condoned, but encouraged in certain places. The freedom of expression tunnel is an excellent example of encouraging an obscure art form.
Posted by Scott Nelsen on October 27, 2008 at 07:19 PM EDT #
Nearly every child who has been to the beach and has seen the extraordinary stretch of smooth, warm sand curving away into the horizon, has transformed into a miniature architect, and built a sandcastle. Sandcastles are a symbol of pleasure and simplicity that almost all Americans recognize and appreciate, as a familiar icon, a fond memory, or a fanciful pastime.
While many people think of building and shaping sand as a children?s game, sand sculpture can also act as a tool, for conveying a message or promoting a cause, for exploring creativity or representing a concept, for commercial publicity or recreational release. Team Sandtastic, a group of sand sculptors based in London, England, provide perfect examples of sand sculpture used in advertising with their three-dimensional logos for companies ranging from Wendy?s to Microsoft. Sometimes, even commissioned sand sculptures evolve into brilliant works of art and creativity, such as Team Sandtastic?s sculpture for the Coca-Cola company, where the finely carved motif ascends into a towering medieval castle complete with dungeon and drawbridge.
Sand sculpting is an innovative, economical approach to an old idea. The materials are natural, impermanent, and ecologically friendly. The results are impressive, dynamic, and esthetically pleasing. Moreover, a person who sees a spectacular sand sculpture often reevaluates his concept of the possible forms and uses of sand, and immediately begins to explore potential alternatives in his own mind. As an artist, I myself am encouraged and inspired by the creativity and diversity exhibited by sand sculptors, and by the extensive demographic open to buying, displaying, and appreciating the finished products. If I were to look at a traditional manner of creating a piece of art, or producing a product, as sand sculptors have done, and I were to try to devise an alternative method, what innovations and adventures might I discover? If Americans were to search for imaginative alternate means of transportation, fuel, or health care, what solutions might we find? If the world, as a whole, were to pursue alternates to communication, warfare, and hunger, what might we accomplish?
Posted by Bethany Minervino on October 27, 2008 at 09:55 PM EDT #
It's extremely common for landscape architects to use trees, bushes and other vegetation to compliment a public place. Many times, the choice in plants can make or break the feeling of the environment, which is what landscape architects strive to master. While it can have a nice effect introducing a tree that beautifully accents a park bench, it is another act entirely to create that park bench from the tree itself. Because of the urge some have to be at one with nature, trees and other plants have been used to create works of art. Whether it be functional or purely aesthetic, the interaction with the natural world has become part of the artistic spectrum.
Peter Cook and Becky Northey, an artistic duo in Australia, have created a style of gardening that they call "Pooktre." Through experimentation, they have not only learned how to give artistic shape to their trees, but how to mold them into something with recognizable form and function. From the four-legged coffee table made from seamless piece of wood, to a mirror frame, to a living chair, the partners have given a new meaning to the phrase landscape architecture. Instead of using lumber from the tree to make their furniture, they have crafted it to their liking.
This way of thinking about your materials drastically changes the way in which projects can be made. It gives light to a much more organic process of production. Rather than simply painting a tree, why not use the tree as your canvas, working with the bark to create texture? Why can't the template for our designs live and breathe as we do? Through this design style, doors are opened all around us as to the resources we have at hand.
Posted by Craig Maxwell on October 28, 2008 at 12:20 AM EDT #
Traditions are events and activities that are present in our everyday lives whether on a large or small scale. Sometimes we fail to notice that the significance of these occurrences and overlook them as somewhat elementary in nature or as mere formalities. In reality, many of these culturally tied activities can be viewed as templates for potentially complex design work. As a designer, it becomes our job to take ordinary tasks such as carving pumpkins on halloween, as mentioned by the article, and turn them into extraordinary, and unbelievable spectacles. Instead of simply repeating the same basic patterns repeated throughout time, a true designer sees an opportunity in the redundancy and seizes the chance made available to stretch the canvas of established preconceptions.
Reinventing the physical image of what a jack-o-lantern looks like is only one cultural event that takes place in the United States where practicality and relatable design allow us to open up our minds on a completely different level. Other ways in which we are able expand the boundaries of design in relation to our cultural customs can be addressed when one considers activities such as building sand castles, dressing up in costume for halloween, decorating birthday cakes, painting easter eggs and baskets, graffiti tagging, painting high school rocks, and making birthday cards.
One activity that is widely participated in is the tradition of decorating the Christmas Tree. This specific project can range from being very bare, basic, and simple in intention to being very ornamental and complex. The latest trend is to explore the relationship between the size and shape of the christmas tree and the amount of ornamentation. Also a designer can pay close attention to the natural coloration of the tree as well as the colors of the decorations put on it. Each tree can convey a different feeling or emotion depending on what kinds of ornaments are placed on it, where they are placed and whether they are gaudy, glittery or tiny and unembellished. Lighting on a tree can also serve to create an interesting dynamic. Certain lighting combinations give off impressions of elegance where as others are more along the whimsical and fun side. These are only a few of the several ways that a designer can completely revamp and rethink the way in which we ornament our trees during the holiday season to.
This newly discovered approach to decoration reinforces my belief that it is essential to look at everything with an artistic eye. It is necessary that we take the time to make ourselves aware of the little things in life that are beautiful, and aesthetically pleasing to look at, whether they be mundane, ordinary or stand out in a crowd. Design is about function, purpose and most of all, life. Now I am even more aware of how important design is to our everyday lives and I am encouraged to refer to some of the more casual events in my life for inspiration in my upcoming studio projects.
Posted by Meredith Morrison on October 28, 2008 at 09:46 PM EDT #
There are always opportunities for people to take a simple everyday activity and create an outstanding design with it, but when reading this post the first holiday that came to mind was Ramadan. During Ramadan, lanterns are set around the country (Egypt) and little kids cut out paper stencils of them to hang on their walls. While one may simply cut out the simple trace of a lantern, the more creative begin to create designs around the sides, and if the lantern where to be real a silhouette of geometric shapes would cast off the walls. This indeed would be a very spectacular sight to see. This opportunity could be taken further. With the simple act of cutting, people with the mindset of a designer have the capability of conveying an endless amount of symbolic and/or religious messages. And in fact this can be seen by the more talented of kids who choose to express their ideas through their cut outs.
When thinking about this I realized how an example such as this could relate and help us as designers. In taking something that has been culturally embedded in a society for so long, and has been often overlooked, you have the opportunity to embellish it and take it to a new level. As designers I believe we should seek to do that with all things. We can take what is often overlooked and create something far more beautiful than expected with it. Just like the jack-o-lanterns, people can choose to express their art in what is often seen as a simple and childish activity.
Posted by Heidi Northcutt on November 03, 2008 at 12:32 PM EST #