Biographical Toy

     When I was growing up music was a very important part of my life. I watched my mom play guitar for years, as she sang me to sleep each night or entertained our family. She used to play and I would sing along. I decided at a young age that I wanted to play music, so I picked up my mom's guitar, which was about twice my size, and started teaching myself. Music was my favorite toy as a child, and is still something I use to entertain myself. Isn't that what a toy is? A means to keep a child entertained.
      I chose to make the guitar actual size so that it would really make an impact. I added light pink details over brown cardboard with different textures to create contrast. I decided to use recycled guitar parts as well. I think using parts of an actual guitar really brought the project to life. I really enjoyed this project. I think my final product turned out really great.

Polyhedral Structures

         For phase one of the project we were instructed to make a mask using polyhedral structures. I am from New Orleans so the first thing I thought of was a Mardi Gras mask. I really wanted my mask to be a half mask, so I began playing with both symmetrical and asymmetrical designs. I decided to focus on balance rather than symmetry. The final mask I created is very well balanced while remaining asymmetrical. I kept the design simple and sleek, which is very indicative of my personal design aesthetic. I used black paper for the main structure of the mask so the brightly colored polyhedral shapes would pop against the dark background.

         Phase two of the project, as a graphic design major, was to use polyhedral shapes to create a packaging design. My original idea was to create packaging for a perfume using transparency acetate to give the illusion of a perfume bottle. Due to un-forseen circumstances (a teething puppy and flimsy acetate) I began a new packaging design. I decided to use different folding techniques and different depths of cubes to create a make-up packaging design. I hand painted the outside of the package with cherry blossoms, which corresponds to the color of the eyeshadow. I think my design looks very legitimate and could be successful in a real life production situation.

Phase One Research

Phase One: Polyhedral Masks

Phase Two Research

Phase Two: Polyhedral Packaging

Serial Planes Studies

      Serial Planes can be seen all around us. The use of serial planes is found often in both art and architecture. Although man-made serial planes are more easily recognized, they can be found in nature as well. During this project I began to see serial planes everywhere.
      For the first part of this project we used serial planes to transform a book. I really enjoyed the challenge of working with the book. The fact that the pages were all attached to the spine made it more difficult to completely lose the form of the book. For this part of the project I chose a beautiful book about the art of books.  It was a rare edition book that my dog had partially destroyed, so I really liked the idea of giving it new life. I used both folding and cutting techniques to give it a balanced feel. I looked through the book to find the more decorative pages and folded them around to show the color and text. The black and white text contrasted with vibrant colors gave the piece a lot of visual interest. I found it to be a creative solution to the problem, and I really think the final piece turned out great.
      For phase two of the project we took plain white foam board and used serial planes to create a three-dimensional piece. I found this part of the project to be less challenging. Although the possibilities seemed endless at first, I quickly realized I wanted to do something using positive and negative spacial relationships. The research process was helpful. It allowed me to see how the foam board could be used to create a completely new shape. I enjoyed working with serial planes and I think I came up with an interesting and unexpected solution to the problem.


Phase One

Phase Two Research

Phase Two

Anything But A Box

            Creativity is one of the most important assets a person can have. George Lois, a controversial American art director and designer, said, “Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything.” These words really reflect my understanding of creativity and why a chose to pursue a career in graphic design. The ability to think creatively and solve a problem is what drives designers, and it is how I approached the first assignment project.

          When I started thinking about the problem, transforming a cardboard box completely, I knew I wanted to make it into something more organic. A cardboard box is so geometric and symmetrical, and I really wanted to eliminate that feel. I then started thinking about the background of a cardboard box. Where did it come from? I decided to create a tree because I liked the quiet irony of making a tree out of cardboard.

            I learned a lot about being resourceful during this project. When I ran in to problems with my design I had to adapt and learn how to continue solving the problem at hand. It also gave me a chance to work with material in my hands which was a refreshing break from the computer. Overall, I enjoyed the challenge of finding creative ways to manipulate the cardboard and alter the look and feel completely.