Photo Analysis

To create a good work of art, the elements and principles of design can be used as building blocks. They can be considered in making a painting, drawing, or in design. To achieve good design the design elements and principles should be practiced considering they are the basis of all visual design strategies. The elements form the "vocabulary" of the design, for example, sshape, texture, and value. While the principles deal with the broader aspects such as unity, emphasis, and balance.

The elements of design are the basic units of a visual image. Line is the basic element that is created by the edges of shapes and forms. The horizontal lines that are created by the sofa and two side chairs give the room a sense of relaxation and rest. And the vertical lines of the high ceilings and windows give the feeling of openness and makes the room seem bigger. Color is seen by the way that light reflects off a surface and is used to draw the attention to a particular focal point. The purple in the side chairs and the yellow pillows on the sofa create a complementary color scheme because they are opposite to each other on the color wheel and are used to create contrast. Next, texture is a perceived surface quality and implied texture is the type of texture that can be seen in this image. The texture of the sofa looks like it feels soft and warm, although it can not actually be felt.

The principle elements are used to organize or arrange the design of an image. The way that the principles are integrated can affect the content of the work. Firstly, Balance is the concept of visual equality and relates to the feeling of feeling balanced and stable. In this image there is symmetrical balance because of the matching side chairs and coffee tables. If the image were to be sliced in half. there would be a reflected image. Proportion refers to the relative size and scale of various elements in an image. The furniture in the room is proportional to the height of the ceiling and window. The emphasis of this room seems to be on the vase filled with flowers that is on top of the coffee table. It interrupts the balance of the sofa, chairs, and coffee tables and strongly draws attention. This can be referred to as contrast. Finally, Unity is the principle that summarizes all of the elements and principles of design. Unity is used in terms of the room as a whole and the sense that all parts are working together to have harmony. I think that the variety of the patterns used in this room creates unity because they are not identical but they have a common style that draws the room together.

The elements and principles are needed to create successful visual art and should be considered in the design process as building blocks to go off of. They are important to the design world and should be incorporated in all aspects of work.

Unusual Materials - Shipping Container Buildings

Homes made from storage and shipping containers have been around for over five decades. Containers that were previously used to import toys from China, textiles from India, cars from Germany are used as the base material in these buildings. The containers have been used as makeshift shelters for homeless people but architects and green designers have turned the strong, cheap boxes into a major building block. They can be connected or stacked to create efficient spaces at the fraction of the cost, labor, and resources used than other conventional materials.

The green theme is growing across the map and more people are choosing this green alternative. There are countless numbers of empty, unused containers around the world that are just taking up space. This is because it is very expensive to ship the empty containers back to their country of origin. The result of this is the surplus of shipping containers that are waiting to become someone’s home.

There are many benefits to using the shipping container architectural model. A few advantages include: they are in abundance; they can be easily transported, they’re stackable, and relatively inexpensive. A used container can cost as little as 900 dollars. Applying the containers in residential design has become a topic of discussion among supporters of green design.

In other parts of the world like Odessa, Ukraine, the biggest shopping mall in all of Europe has been built by stacking shipping container. The award-winning office design by Clive Wilkinson is made out of stacked shipping containers is the home office of Palotta TeamWorks. The 47000 square foot warehouse is filled with shipping containers that have been transformed into modern office spaces. The design layout saved the company a ton of money on construction costs, and it allowed the entire space to be more open and airy. The use of these containers has saved firms and designers a lot of money and I think they will continue to be used and be introduced into more places in the world.

Last week I attended the Design Expo that is held at Texas Tech University every fall semester. It gives the opportunity to interior design and/or architecture students to connect with design professionals and learn more about what is most recently available in the design field. The Design Expo also gives exhibitors the chance to introduce products to prospective designers and to educate on the latest products.

The station that I found very interesting was the Sherwin Williams booth where they handed out a booklet with had the colors that were predicted to be popular in the year 2012. This forecast explains that a color palette does not have to stray from its roots to become a big design impact. It has been proven that colors that are analogous, or adjacent, on the color wheel are usually a dominant trend that are discovered when put into a variety of combinations. The experts at Sherwin Williams draw inspiration from color washing and ombre dying techniques to experiment with the values and hues within a color family. The sustainable landscape is also an influencing aspect of designing colors. The 40 hues selected to be in the Colormix for 2012 stay close to earth-inspired, color family groupings such as reds, blues, greens, and neutrals.

Another station that I found interesting was that of MDC Wall coverings by Candice Olson Contract. I researched the company and found that Candice Olson is one of North America’s most recognized and accomplished celebrity interior designers. Her highly regarded design skills are on display each week and have her earned her the number one prime time ratings for her television series on HGTV. At the exhibition booth were samples of her wall coverings suited for a variety of commercial facilities and applications. I like her designs because they are very sophisticated and are designs that I would use if I were designing or decorating a space.

Overall, the Design Expo showed me the latest trends in the interior design field and how new trends can be made from many unusual materials and approaches. The exhibition booths provided me with ideas that are helpful to incorporate in future projects in my Interior Design classes. I am excited to attend next year’s Design Expo to see how much has changed from one year to another.

Fabric Application

Interior fabrics can be used throughout six major applications: seating (or upholstery). window covering, wall covering, panel systems, floor covering, and fiber based art. Seating is an application that may occupy a smaller area of space than window coverings or wall- or floor coverings but it is the main statement spot for interiors. Today, there are millions of fabrics that are available for seating, but Leather is a material that is flexible in its use and color and has remained one of the most common staple fabrics in the design world.

Leather is a durable and flexible material created by the tanning of animal rawhide and skin. It can be produced through different processes ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry. The leather manufacturing process is divided into three sub-processes: preparatory stages, tanning, and crusting. All true leathers will undergo these sub-processes. Since many types of leather exists, it is difficult to create a list of operations that all leathers must undergo. These processes transform the rawhide into a variety of leathers such as vegetable tanned, chrome tanned, aldehyde-tanned, synthetic tanned.

Leather is beautiful, pleasant to the touch and has remained one of the most sought after materials in decorating. It stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter giving extra comfort to the home. Over years of use, leather softens and becomes supple. Factors such as durability, strength, quality, and color-fade resistance put leather furniture in a class of their own.

Because leather is made from cowhides and no two hides are exactly the same, every hide has its own unique character. The strength of leather cannot be compared to any other natural fabric and it is important to note that valuable leather furniture is created from material that would otherwise go to waste.

In an interior, leather adds sophistication and elegance and can make any room look luxurious. Not to mention its easy maintenance. Leather furniture just needs a regular wipe down with a clean cloth and this is why the leather sofa in the picture was applied successfully in the interior. It is in the Human Sciences building where college students are roaming in and out throughout the day. There is a risk of food or drinks spilling because of the fast pace that students move at so a fabric that is easy to clean is ideal. Leather has proven to withstand the test of time as a precious commodity.