Diagnostic - Ella Preston UAL Foundation diploma in Design and Media | Ravensbourne University

I chose to draw these sculptures because they have missing body parts, which relates to my theme of error. I was drawn to them at first because their lack of a head or torso created a striking silhouette. However, when looking more closely, you can also see that parts of the bodies are misaligned. On a regular body this would be seen as an error but in this case serves to make the sculptures more detailed and intriguing.

Maquette of a Monument Symbolising the Liberation of the Spirit, 1952, is an idea for "The Unknown Political Prisoner" sculpture competition. The artist used this design because it "can be seen in it's entirety from any direction" (Tate, 2022) - I think this works well because it means the piece can also interact with the space around it, creating interesting new shapes and images. The circle in the centre surrounded by straight lines is meant to represent imprisonment. This could relate to the theme Error because it links to the injustice of captivity.

Research

I thought it would make my images more interesting if they weren't edited, and I instead incorporated errors into the photo taking. Using panoramas seemed like a useful way to do this - as seen in the photos above, panoramas are used to create street view on Google Maps, but they often make mistakes when stitching photos together. I want to use this to my advantage when photographing patterns I find.

This photo was more opportunistic, when I noticed the change in direction of the ceiling mesh, I thought that would be a good way to present error. I later closed the gap between the two panels with editing, so that it wouldn't distract from the shapes. I think this was successful because it makes the change in pattern more obvious.

The main inspiration for my character design was the porg from star wars - they have a round shape and simple but expressive face that I wanted to capture in my own design. I also chose to make him a bird because they don't move by bouncing, and I thought it would be ironic to give him tiny wings, as if he was trying to fly and instead bouncing along; I used this idea as the basis for my flipbook. The pointed tale is useful in showing direction and movement.

Writing for Character

Personality: my character is easy-going and lazy, although can be quite determined when he sets his mind to something. Others see him as a bit strange but generally likeable. His job is a carpenter - I chose this because it's so unexpected and random, it adds an element of comedy to his character.

Purpose: Although, he wants to be with his love interest, his main goal in my story is to learn to fly. This goal builds on the storyline for my flipbook, but I combined it with a romance subplot by making it so that he needs to fly in order to reach his love interest. This gives my story and character more depth.

Conflict: My character is quite likeable; I wanted part of his character to be that he has little/no enemies. Because of this, the conflict in the story is a problem that the character has to overcome, rather than a villain to defeat. In this case, it's reaching the top of a tall tree, even though he cannot fly.

Secondary characters: Since there is no villain, I decided to make the secondary character a love interest. This diversifies the story by creating new perspectives and gives the main character additional motivations.

Photography

The brief for these images was to take photos of people in the street without them noticing, in order to keep the shots natural. This technique comes with ethical issues, even though it's completely legal, since the people photographed are not consenting. Although many street photographers see no problem in using people in their art without permission, I didn't really want to do this, given that I wouldn't want to be the subject for someone else's photograph. To get around this issue, I decided to shoot people from far away so that you can't see their faces.

When taking these photos, I was particularly interested in capturing the silhouettes of people - fortunately it was bright out - and using the surrounding architecture to frame my sitters. I think the most successful photos are the first and last. The bright sunlight in the first one creates a strong silhouette, especially with the trees and buildings. I also like how one person is separate from the crowd, making them more of a focal point. The last one works well because it captures several different moments of people, in the foreground, midground and background. The two buildings also frame the scene nicely

These photos were done using a technique called sub-framing, wherein objects in the photo are used as a frame or border to other objects in the photo. I tried to use the interesting architecture in the area to frame the focus of my photos, which was mostly people. My favourite images are the last two; in one the glass door of a café frames a woman working behind the counter inside. I thought this made an interesting image because the intricate details inside the frame (such as the computer, rows of bottles, etc) and dark lighting are juxtaposed to the blank white walls on the outside of the building. Unfortunately not all of this detail was captured in my photo, and to improve it I would edit the image to make it more clear. The other image depicts a couple framed between the ground and a bridge. I think this photo was successful because of the composition - all the details are at the bottom of the image. The background is filled by a large block of flats and its blue hue makes it seem like a replacement for the sky, giving the photo and abstract sense.

Over the course of media production, I enjoyed learning new skills and my favourite was animation, because it combined my love of drawing characters and creating narratives. I also enjoyed film-making, particularly working with my group to brainstorm ideas and storyboard. However, I wasn't keen on making the film because of the time constraints and the fact that I dislike acting. I found photography quite interesting because despite the fact that I have little experience with it, I think I took some interesting shots.

Contextual Studies

To what extent does Thamesmead Codex by Bob and Roberta Smith promote diversity and inclusion?

While at the Tate Modern, I saw the Thamesmead Codex exhibition by Bob and Roberta Smith, which features 18 paintings depicting either abstract scenery or bold text. I was initially drawn to this piece because of it's bright colours and size - filling almost a whole wall made it quite striking. The illustrations, while visually interesting alone, help to diversify and bring attention to the text when presented alongside it. The typography used is also clever because it allows lots of writing to be included whilst remaining easy to read. There are also certain phrases larger or in bold, aimed at catch the viewer's eye - this could be to emphasise their importance or meaning. Upon reading about this piece, I learned it was made using interviews with people who lived in Thamesmead. This area was chosen because of its history - built after the War to alleviate a housing shortage - although the artists realised "I thought I was making a painting about a housing estate, but actually I’ve been painting about the desire to be heard." (Thamesmead Codex by Bob and Roberta Smith, 2022) This can be seen as a way to promote inclusion because it's giving a voice to those who feel unheard. This piece also reinforces a sense of community; the bright, cheerful colours used could suggest a sense of pride in the area. Diversity can also be seen in this piece because it brings attention to average people from an area of London that's generally seen as poor and dangerous, and therefore not presented in a positive light.

Visual Communication & Design

We were tasked with creating illustrations/typography for words that would reflect their meaning.

Calatrava's work interests me because of the way it combines curved structures and straight beams, creating unusual textures. He also uses a limited colour palette of mostly white, making his structures more striking against the blue sky.

I chose to look at the Campana brothers' work because of their unusual material choice of stuffed animals or ropes (shown above) Through these materials they have created furniture that looks both comfortable and unsettling, which I enjoy. Their work is also a good example of different ways in which you can use materials.

I find Jantzen's work interesting because it's architecture that isn't isn't entirely functional. I like the way he uses lots of jagged edges that make his buildings more like sculptures. The second two images are photoshopped, the artist has blended or repeated part of the building - this method leads to unusual architectural structures. I find them interesting because they appear real, making them more like optical illusions.

I find Eliasson's work interesting because of its abstract nature. The use of brightly coloured lighting makes them immersive and all-encompassing for the viewer. The strong colours he uses also make his work striking and exciting.

Structure

For these photos, I was looking for spanning and stilted structures in the area. I chose the stool as a stilted structure because I like its simplicity, being held up by a single leg. The ceiling is a spanning structure - unlike the stool, it has no stilts, and is held between two buildings.

We were given the project brief of building a bridge using cardboard, bamboo sticks,, tape and rubber bands that met the following conditions: it only touched the floor in 2 places, it was tall enough for a "boat" to pass underneath and sturdy enough for a remote-controlled car to drive over the top.

Our plan was to create two V-shaped stilts to hold up our bridge - they would support the bridge in two places while providing a gap for the "boat" to pass underneath. The cardboard roads were also reinforced with bamboo sticks underneath, to prevent them drooping under the weight of the car.

After constructing the first three pieces of bridge, we realised that our initial idea would not be successful - the bridge was only supported on one side, causing it to lean, and tape was not very effective at holding the materials together. Due to time constraints, we were forced to start again on a new design.

For our second attempt, we tried to use rubber bands to attach the bamboo and cardboard, in order to make the bridge stronger. Since we were previously building the bridge in its entirety altogether, the construction of this one involved various different stages: bamboo was tied to cardboard sheets, then these sheets were tied together and finally legs were attached. These tasks were all carried out by different members of the group in order to make up for the time we'd lost - a strategy which turned out to be successful.

We were tasked with building a structure out of spaghetti and hot glue that was capable of holding at least 3 balls off the table, as well as other objects. To do this, I started with a grid of spaghetti to act as the base. I then suspended this base using legs, so it was taller, and finally fenced around this raised platform to prevent the balls from rolling away. I overcame some problems during my building: one of the legs bent inwards (meaning it couldn't support the spaghetti) but I didn't want to remove it and risk damaging the frame. To get around this, I simply added another, straighter leg next to it. I also felt that my spaghetti platform was weak, so I tried to reinforce it with diagonal strands.

These photos show that my object was successful because it held 4 balls as well as various stationary. My only design flaw was that the balls were touching, when they were supposed to be separate - in future, I would resolve this by adding spaghetti dividers to separate the balls.

The miniature people are used here to imagine my object as an architectural structure. When putting a human under my piece, the structure appears more closed and cage-like. However when tilted on its side, it looks much more open and exciting, with the miniature person making it look large and impressive (third photo) I think that structure was the most successful, also because it was unusual and unexpected.

The shadows created consisted of may parallel lines, which added to the cage-like effect. They also created new shapes and patterns, since the shadows can be seen through the gaps in the spaghetti.

As well as architecture and stationary holding, I tried to imagine my piece as an item of clothing, specifically a hat (as shown here) Although it sat on my head comfortably, it was not entirely functional as a hat because one of the legs was poking me in the eye (this can be seen in the third photo)

We were then challenged to protect our structures from a downward force using card. I identified the centre of my object as the weakest point, and folded the card back and forth to create a solid, zig-zag shaped roof. I also tried to protect the legs from snapping by encircling them with card tubes. I then used strips of paper to wrap around the points where the legs are attached to the structure protecting its joints. Finally, I reinforced the base with paper tubes in the shape of an X under the main platform.

Once finished, my object looked reminiscent of a hut on stilts, although the scale of the miniature person suggested that it would actually be much larger than this. The lighting worked well here because the shadows emphasised the contrast between the solid shape of the roof and the fine spaghetti frame. Placing a light inside the object was also successful because it created shadows on the inside of the paper that could be seen on the outside.

Finally, the class placed all our spaghetti objects next to each other to create a small city. Their strength was then tested by placing a downward force on top of them (a ball was bounced on them) Sadly, my structure did not survive, even after the paper modifications I made to it; its fate can be seen in the video below.

I enjoyed this project because I found using spaghetti a simple and easy way to construct my ideas. My design wasn't very problematic so in future I might challenge myself to create something more abstract. I also found working individually quite enjoyable, although my outcome was far more successful than when I worked in a group.

Concept and Process

We were tasked with listing every birthday present, physical or not. I immediately connected with this brief because list making is one of my favourite activities - I have a notebook where I write all my lists and this was the main inspiration for my design. I also took inspiration from Peter Davies' work, The Hip One Hundred because its rainbow of colours make it bright and eye-catching. I also like that there's a sense of order but the piece isn't entirely perfect and neat - this is something I tried to incorporate into my own list.

I tried to write my list methodically, by starting with my more recent presents and working backwards, then labelling each item with the year it's from. This idea didn't work since the order I remembered presents in wasn't chronological, however I think this worked in favour of the list's aesthetic - more presents are labelled individually as you move down the list. I also tried to include notes or punctuation next to important presents, to make the list seem more informal or personal.

First I drew all my presents in black fineliner. I drew my favourite presents the largest and positioned each item at a different angle, so that the overall image could be viewed from any way. Then I shaded my drawings using different colours; where the colour choice on my list was more random, here I colour coded the presents according to the year I got them. I found the thin outlines quite difficult to see, and resolved it by giving each item a shadow. This was successful because it emboldened each present, making them jump off the page.

Overall I am quite happy with this drawing. The composition was particularly successful, since there are no large empty spaces between each gift, and an even balance of large and small items. This piece was also a good chance for me to practise sketching quickly, since I had to fill the page with objects within a time limit. I think it would be improved if each drawing was coloured in, as this would make the whole piece more eye-catching, especially when cut out.

Here I pinned my drawings to a wall in many different ways. This was successful because my drawings were transformed into different angles orientations, which created a sense of movement and chaos, as if the presents were all swirling around each other. I also like the 3D elements of this piece - the perspective and different layers of drawings make it seem like the object is jumping out of the photo. However, I think it would improve my outcomes if my drawings were solidly coloured in, as this would make them contrast more with the areas of blank white paper on the back of the drawings.

I don't think my drawing was very successful as a garment because it only works as a scarf. I was hoping to wear it as a hat as well. However the variety of shapes and forms means it's quite dynamic as a scarf.

I bent the paper in on itself, to create lots of curves and tried to position the drawings on the outside so that the structure would have more texture and detail. There was quite a lot of negative space between my drawings when I cut them out, meaning as a structure, it was very abstract with lots of gaps. I tried to use this to my advantage, by shining a light through the paper to create interesting shadows. This was successful because it created layers and perspective within my piece, illuminating some areas while darkening others. I also placed a miniature person in front of various openings around my drawings, to suggest its scale as a building and where entrances might be.

The final activity was to recycle and reclaim my drawing. My initial idea was to give it to my cat to play with and destroy, but he wasn't interested. I then decided to recycle it in a literal sense: I cut out the drawings individually then pieced them back together to try and create a new piece of paper.

I tried to stick the pieces into a rectangular shape, to replicate the shape of A4 paper and make it easier to reuse. These photos are shown in the order I made them, so each sheet became more disorganised as I ran out of drawings to fill the spaces. Although, I think this gives the sheets more variety. For the final part of the recycling, I put the paper in a scrap paper pad that lives in my kitchen.

My birthday is also coming up, so I used the new paper I'd made to write my birthday list. This makes my project cyclical, and adds irony to it.

Overall I've enjoyed the Concepts and Processes project. I enjoyed creating this drawing and in the end was proud of my work, but I also managed to take risks and not be such a perfectionist. I found it fun creating something I could connect with.

Fashion

Market Research

For feedback, I was told to do a 2 minute continuous line drawing, a 5 minute drawing with shading first, but with a mix of media and a 10 minute full-body drawing using different colours.

I found the life drawing exercise very useful because I've never done it before and it allowed me to practise drawing human proportions and anatomy. I also developed new styles of line and shading, through the different techniques we were taught, like continuous line.

Fashion & Textiles

We then combined two of our found objects to create a new one - I taped a pizza saver to a toilet roll tube - and used that to make marks.

I tried to show perspective by making the dots at the top of the page more dense and compact, while the dots at the bottom are more sparse.

I made an error on my blind drawing, because I forgot to use continuous line. However, I think this gives the drawing a more floaty, disjointed effect, which I like.

For this drawing, we had to use continuous line with multiple media, exaggerate one part of the outfit and use our object to make marks on the drawing. I chose to exaggerate the model's feet because I like the shoes and socks she's wearing, although I don't think this is obvious from my drawing; this is something I'd improve in future. I then used my pizza saver to create the pattern on the socks.

We were given the brief to choose a photo, then draw it with continuous line and our mark-making objects, while taking inspiration from a fashion illustrator.

I looked at Bil Donovan because I like his use of negative space and the way his drawings are comprised of shapes rather than lines. I tried to use this technique in my drawing, and chose that photo because of the different coloured shapes the jacket is made up of. I used my mark-making object to colour the trousers. I'm happy with how this drawing came out, because my practise of continuous line drawing meant the proportions and anatomy were quite accurate. I also think the way I used mixed media was successful, because I separated them into different parts of the drawing. We then had to choose a brand for our drawing: I chose Dover Street Market because this outfit is quite unusual and extravagant, which reminded me of the kind of outfits I saw while I was there.

I particularly enjoyed fashion illustration because using objects to make marks is something I haven't done before and it was quite successful. I also got to practise using continuous line, and I think some improvement is evident in my drawings.

I designed 3 shapes (pictured below) based on my error research then used them to experiment with making garments for a mannequin. One of my shapes was based on the patterns on a checked shirt, one was different on both sides, inspired by my asymmetry research, and the final one is based on natural forms. I cut out 3x of each.

I used only one type of shape to create a sleeve. I'm happy with this outcome because I curled the paper round to create bouncy, complex shapes. When sketching it I coloured the negative space to give a sense of the paper's volume.

In this piece I used symmetry, making a collar that was the same on each side. I don't think this was successful because it made the garment unexciting. I tried to capture the shapes made when I sketched it.

Here the brief was to make our paper stick out off the body, which I was able to do. However, my paper shapes were quite small, making my outcome less striking. I tried to use more randomness and less order in this design, and when sketching it, focussed on the shapes created in the negative space.

I enjoyed using paper shapes to design garments but my shapes were quite small, and I think it would have been easier to create more interesting designs if my shapes were more substantial, because this would have allowed me to bend or fold the paper more.

Here I stuffed the clothes with socks or tights, to give them a 3D shape and enhance the silhouette.

I found fabric more difficult to experiment with than paper. The fabric was floppier, making it harder to build shapes. It was also much heavier, meaning I also had to think about weight and balance as well as aesthetics. However, I had fun thinking of non-traditional uses for existing garments (eg: I designed a dress out of some trousers)

We then did further experimentation with paper drapes, only this time with one shape. Using what I learned before, I made larger paper shapes so that my work would be easier to handle.

For my final design, I chose to make a collar and sleeve because these parts were my favourites during my experimentation. Due to time constraints, I was only able to make one sleeve but I think this improved my outcome - the single sleeve adds asymmetry, making my design more eye-catching. When drawing it, I used shading to show the different layers of paper in my design.

Fashion Promotion

I watched the video above as inspiration for my shoot and noted down words I associated with it: "abstract", "sensual", "mysterious", "overwhelming", "dramatic" (to list a few of my ideas. However I chose the two words "unsettling poetry" to build a narrative around my shoot, because they encompass the mood of the video but they're quite different ideas. I also found the definition of poetic to be "having an imaginative or sensitively emotional style of expression" and used this as inspiration, rather than using its literal definition.

I made this collage to represent the narrative of "unsettling poetry" but I don't think it was very successful. I focussed too much on finding unsettling or poetic imagery to include instead of the overall design of the collage, meaning it looks too busy to properly convey my theme. In future, I would use fewer images to make my design more concise.

My shoot is inspired by Ib Kamara, a fashion stylist and editor of Dazed magazine, who considers mood, colour, camera angle, set and silhouette in his work. I like the way he uses random objects to create balance in his pieces. The variety of contrasting objects also makes the photos more striking, which is useful for me because my shoot is going to involve objects.

I did a photoshoot to represent my narrative of "unsettling poetry" and using random objects. these were my most successful images. I tried to make the close up unsettling by holding a hair grip and recorder over the model's mouth and eyes, which worked well because the objects are reminiscent of the features they're replacing. This helps draw the viewer's eye. For the full-body, I used the narrow corridor as a set. I had the model stare through a kaleidoscope as if it were a spyglass, but while facing the wall. This adds poetry and irony to the photo, and the eerie green light unsettles the viewer while balancing out the composition.

I found this exercise useful because at first, I tried to think of ways to incorporate as many objects as I could into my photos. However, I soon realised this was ineffective and the best way to shoot was by focussing on the image I wanted to create, regardless of how many objects it included. This was successful because it gave narrative to my photos.

To better inform my concept of "unsettling poetry", I made a shoot plan: a moodboard of images to represent the mood, model poses, photography style, location and styling.

I wanted the styling to be elegant but unusual and I used an alleyway as inspiration for the background because its slightly poetic in its symmetry but also a little eerie. I chose a contorted pose because it looks very unsettling and unnatural to the viewer. I wanted the mood to be quite calm, but with a duller colour palette to create a sense of unease. I quite like the low camera angle as a photography style because it distorts the background.

I'm happy with the photos I took The unusual poses and angles I used made the photos more aesthetically interesting and the draped fabric was effective at suggesting movement. For me the hardest part of the shoot was capturing my theme of "unsettling poetry" because it's quite an abstract concept but I didn't want my photos to be ambiguous. I also didn't have a clear vision of how I wanted my photos to look and achieved these by experimentation; I think having a stronger idea of my outcome would have allowed me to take better photos.

Overall I'm happy with my spread. All photos show off my paper garment. My favourite image is the one on the right - I thought it was more striking when isolated, so I centred it and put the DSM logo above to accentuate this minimalist style. For the left side of the image, I used a background of squares to contrast and exaggerate the diagonal angles in my photos. I also coloured the background a pale grey, so that the photos blended in more and the whole page was easier to look at.

To improve my spread, I would use a consistent theme when editing the images. As it was, I edited each photo to try and improve it without thinking about how they would look together and as a result, the lower left photo is much darker than the others. In future, I would edit each photo in a similar way, to create a more consistent theme.

I found fashion promotion interesting because it's something that I'd never done before. I don't think I was very good at it - I found it quite difficult creating a shoot that accurately represented my theme - and would need more practise. However, I enjoyed working as a team and helping others with their shoots.

State of Play