DSDN 171 Blog 5 Locovisual

The Dominion Building situated on the corner of Mercer and Victoria streets was designed by the architectural firm of Crichton, McKay and Haughton and was “purpose-built as a printery and offices for the Dominion Post in 1926 to 1928.” (para. 3, Wellington City council, n.d). The size and style of the building, its position in the city and the materials used in its construction point to the place newspapers had at the time as the prominent means of mass communication.
The Dominion was built during the interwar years, during a period of “dramatic technological change” that saw the increasing usage of electricity and access to more modes of transportation; the growing power of capitalism, and a need to move on from the devastation of the first world war. (Benton, Benton & Wood, 2003).
The building has a symmetrical façade that echoes the curve in the street and a central shaft “capped with a copper roofed turret” (para. 2, Wellington City council, n.d). There is a modernist influence in the use of rectilinear geometry of the vertical lines of the columns, mullions and dimensions of the windows that cause the eye to move vertically up the building and minimal surface decoration. (Wood, 2003). The decorative elements that there on the outside are geometric in nature: the dark, pressed-metal spandrels feature circles and diamonds; there is a pattern of squares around the main entrance, neoclassical columns and ornamentation, and two electric lights that bring to mind lady liberty’s torch. The interior has a feel of ancient Rome about it with its arched ceiling, columns, the archway framing the stairwell. The building features an imported Caen stone frontage and extensive use of Queensland marble in the interior. This use of multiple design styles, geometric decoration, luxurious imported materials and the period in which it was built are indicative of the eclectic nature of the art deco style with its mix of modern and traditional, use of pure geometric forms “such as the circle, the square or the line” (p.56, Wood, 2003).

References

Benton, C., Benton, T., & Wood, G.. (2003). Art Deco 1910-1939. London, England: V & A Publications.
Wellington City Council. (n.d). Heritage Inventory.
Retrieved from http://www.wellington.govt.nz/services/heritage/details.php?id=270&m=search&building=Dominion
Wood, G.. (2003). Essential Art Deco. London, England: V & A Publications.

DSDN171 Blog 4: Curatorial for Fluid Form

“We’re more into sort of fluid structures that are simultaneously the most efficient, the most beautiful, the most engineered. You know what I mean? We like the balance you can get in there.”                                              Sean Booth

The inspiration for this model came from the idea of capturing smoke and suspending it. This bought to mind the Anzac bridge in Sydney, a cable-stayed bridge in which the cables support the bridge deck the further out it gets from the towers. (Wikipedia, 2012). The idea of the cable used in the bridge design was taken and applied to the model as a straight line of steel piercing the vellum and stabilizing the form of the curve whilst suspending it as if like a bridge, and the vellum in turn holds the wire in its place. The cold hardness of the steel contrasts against the flexible and seemingly delicate nature of the vellum that forms the curve.

From the smoke, the fluid form was taken, and layers of vellum shaped in a subtle curve were built up to capture the essence of the precedent, the way it creates sinuous forms that look three-dimensional and almost opaque yet still transparent due to the way it scatters light as they flow through the air. (Wikipedia, 2012). The vellum is thin, not quite opaque and easily manipulated into a curved form, while the wire is solid and rigid in it’s line evoking a sense of the cabling used in the bridge and the white filmy quality of the smoke.

References:

Booth, S. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved May 10, 2012 from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/seanbooth242772.html

dgilder. (2009). Abstract smoke macro background. Image retrieved April 27, 2012, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgilder/3983542931

Sardaka. (2008). Anzac bridge, Sydney. Image retrieved May 1, 2012 from upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Sydney0009.jpg

Wikipedia. (May 10, 2012). Cable-stayed bridge. Retrieved May 10, 2012 from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable-stayed_bridge

Wikipedia. (April 29, 2012). Smoke. Retrieved May 10, 2012 from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke

Blog 3: Antiques Hunter

Trade Me item – Charles and Ray Eames DSX Chairs

This Trade Me auction is advertised as a pair of genuine Charles and Ray Eames DSX chairs, circa 1948.

This style of chair was designed in the years after the second world war. This was a time of strong economic recovery, an expanding middle class with an insatiable appetite for new products and a cultural environment of reconstruction after the war.  Industrial design expanded during this time, and military technologies were applied to domestic products. (Raizman, D., 2011). Mechanised  production and industrial technologies improved efficiency and new industrial materials such as plastic, fiberglass and plywood with production techniques such as molding were employed to create furniture that “implied comfort, technological innovation and the forms of modern abstract art”. (p256, Raizman, D., 2011). Designers defined their approach as “fitness for purpose”, and were interested in “designing for the ease and comfort of human use”. (p257, Raizman, D., 2011).

According to Bhaskaran, the Eameses’ were prominent figures in the organic design style (1930 – 1960, 1990 – present) and biomorphic esthetic (1935 – 1955) during the time the DSX chair was designed. (Bhaskaran, L., 2005).

Organic design is characterized by soft, flowing ergonomic lines and sculptural forms, “holistically conceived designs that relate to their surrounding environment”, and the use of natural and synthetic materials “that can be easily molded into organic forms”. It is “inspired by new manufacturing processes and new materials” and a belief that the piece “should connect visually and functionally” with both building and interior. (p146, Bhaskaran, L., 2005). Biomorphism was characterized by its use of high-tech materials, flowing natural forms, sympathy to the human body, and in the 1940s the formal aspects of biomorphism were revealed through the use of new manufacturing and production techniques and new materials like plastic, fiberglass and plywood, which saw it regarded as an “integral part of the machine esthetic”. The Eameses’ “pioneered the style through the use of plastic materials in furniture manufacturing”. (p160, Bhaskaran, L., 2005). The DSX chair exhibits the use of new materials and manufacturing technologies at the time through its organically shaped molded fiberglass seat with “waterfall seat edge” designed for comfort and extended use. As such it manages to fit a number of the characteristics of both design styles, due to the very similar characteristics of the two styles.

References:

Bhaskaran, L. (2005). Designs of the times: Using key movements and styles for contemporary design. Switzerland: Rotovision SA.

Raizman, D. (2011). History of modern design (2nd Ed.). New Jersey, United States: Prentice Hall, Pearson Education, Inc.

MrMoney, Trade Me. (2012). A pair of genuine Charles and Ray Eames DSX chairs. Listing #: 468867129. Retrieved from: http://www.trademe.co.nz/antiques-collectables/furniture-woodenware/furniture/19001949/auction-468867129.htm

Design Within Reach. (2012). Eames molded plastic 4 leg side chair (DSX). Retrieved from: http://www.dwr.com/product/eames-molded-plastic-4-leg-side-chair-dsx.do?sortby=ourPicks

DSDN 171 Blog 2: Research Statement and Annotated Bibliography

To explore the style of Art Nouveau, covering its development and characteristics, the style influences behind it, and the major proponents of the style.

Greenhalgh, P. (Ed.). (2000). Art Nouveau: 1890-1914. London: Victoria and Albert Museum .

This book explores the history of the style, looking at the designers and artists who championed it, and the architecture, decorative arts and ornaments that were created during the art nouveau period.

LWL State Museum. (2007).  Hermann Obrist: the Lone Cyclamen. (Original in possession of the Munich City Museum). Image retrieved from http://www.lwl.org/pressemitteilungen/mitteilung.php?urlID=17592

Hermann Obrist: The Lone Cyclamen

This image of embroidery by Hermann Obrist is an example of the “whiplash” curve which is a feature piece of Art Nouveau. The image was chosen because it shows this characteristic curve.

Madsen, S. T. (1975). Sources of Art Nouveau. New York, NY: Da Capo Press. (Original work published 1956)

This book reviews the influences behind art nouveau and it’s development, ideals and leading figures of the style. Looks at the style’s application in a range of fields, from architecture to the applied arts.

Marinica, A. (2011). The influence of art history on modern design – Art Nouveau [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.pixel77.com/the-influence-of-art-history-on-modern-design-art-nouveau/

This blog article covers the history and use of art nouveau in architecture and design, and looks at how it influences modern design today.

Silverman, D.L. (2011). Art Nouveau, art of darkness: African lineages of Belgian Modernism, part I. West 86th: A Journal of Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture, 18(2),  139-181. doi: 10.1086/662515.

This article focuses on Belgian art nouveau and seeks to show how it was inspired by “Congo motifs – the vine, the lash and the elephantine.” (Silverman, 2011). It focuses on the works of Belgian architects and designers of the time such as Victor Horta, and  suggests a relationship between the “whiplash” curve and the lash/whip.

DSDN 171 Blog 1: Design Persona

Me

I am Kezia Page-Sinclair and my decision to enrol in the Bachelor of Design Innovation came about while I was working on an assignment for an information systems course I was doing as part of the Bachelor of Information Technology at Weltec. Well, at least, that was when I made the conscious decision to go to design school and then a few months later I worked up enough courage to enrol. I was writing a paper on how companies can remain competitive through the use of usability design and reading a book about innovation called Little Bets by Peter Sims  for personal interest, and I realised that while what I was learning at the time was useful, it wasn’t taking me in the direction I wanted to head in and it certainly wasn’t creative or challenging enough.

What I desire to achieve in design lies very much in the world of information technology, I want to design interfaces for software, for hardware and for the internet that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also are a pleasure to use, and make people want to interact with them because they are intuitive and fun and beautiful.

I have found inspiration from a number of sources. For the artist in me, there is the sculptor Anish Kapoor who makes fabulous sculptures out of materials such as powder pigment and highly polished metal, and for my tech-loving gadget freak, there is Apple. I feel Apple has designed products, such as the iPhone, that are the epitome of everything I aspire to achieve. I feel they are beautiful and intuitive to use, and the technology behind their products never seems to get in the way of being able to just use the product, something that I feel is incredibly important.