Yung Siew Weng / 0339847
Design Exploration /
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Project 1 / HONOR Talents Global Design Awards 2023
Project 1
MODULE INFORMATION
Design Exploration - Project 1 :
HONOR Talents Global Design Awards 2023
INSTRUCTION
We are required to explore all forms of design skills - graphic, interface and animation. Using the design themes for the HONOR Talents Global Design Awards 2023, create, produce and submit artwork compilation for one of the competition’s category : Wallpapers, Themes, Watches or Open Design with one of the design themes :
1# Cultural Prosperity · Celebration: A Totem of Renewing Festive Culture
Create with important traditional cultural elements of various countries, such as Lunar New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Christmas, Mother's Day, Day of the Dead, Halloween and Eid al-Fitr.
2# Renewal of life · Return : Contemplate human beings' relationship with all things
With sustainable development as the starting point, your creations must incorporate the concepts of environmental protection, biodiversity, energy conservation and emissions reduction within the design details.
3# Genesis · The Future: Imagine the Innovative World of the Future
The world of the future will be constructed with the power of technology and art, using creativity and imagination.
EXPLORATION
After receiving the requirements from HONOR Awards, I embarked on a brainstorming journey to determine which themes to pursue and what kind of illustrations to propose. Initially, I contemplated deviating from my past work and focusing on the theme of "Cultural Prosperity" instead of "Renewal of Life." However, after thinking and thoughts, I felt that "Renewal of Life" offered more creative freedom and flexibility for storytelling. And, as this time, we are more freedom to create and the theme "Renewal of Life" seems to be more easier and freedom for us to create a story to emphasise our ideation, so yeah, at the end, I choose "Renewal of Life" as my ideal theme.
Fig 1.1 Moodboard, 4 Season
#Summary of Moodboard
The project's idea is to create an interactive wallpaper or watch wallpaper that represents the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Each season is associated with its own unique characteristics and symbolism. In the watch version, these four season illustrations will cycle throughout the day, with each season lasting for six hours, symbolizing the cycle of a day.
In this concept, the landscape remains the same, but the main character, a squirrel, engages in different activities during the four seasons. The choice of a squirrel as the main character is significant because squirrels exhibit varying behaviors throughout the seasons. They may be more active in spring but become less active in winter, perfectly illustrating the cyclical nature of life and the idea of "renewal." For instance, as spring begins, the squirrel is portrayed as a baby squirrel, representing new beginnings. In summer, it enters its puberty phase, while in autumn, it collects nuts as preparation for winter. Finally, during winter, it seeks shelter and protection in its habitat. This concept beautifully captures the essence of the changing seasons and the continuous renewal of life.
Feedback @ Week 2 / 07.09.2023
Your idea looks promising and has a healing aspect
but might considered on how would you like to frame your outcome into the submission template.Continuing from there, my attention shifted towards landscape design. I began to brainstorm ideas, and one concept that stood out was the idea of incorporating a red house into the design. This concept was inspired by the notion of implementing a unique perspective, akin to viewing the landscape through the "red house eye test."
Fig 1.2 Week 3 Progression
Feedback @ Week 3 / 20.09.2023
Try to work within the requested resolution size 6000 x 3000 px to see how the design fit in together. Good job!
Despite my initial planning efforts for the landscape design, I recognized that there was room for improvement in achieving the desired final outcome. This led me to reconsider and re-design the landscape. However, during this process, I found myself at a crossroads in terms of the art direction. I was torn between choosing a 2D graphic approach and opting for a 3D perspective. Overall, this dilemma had added a layer of complexity throughout the week.
Fig 1.3 Week 4 Progression
Feedback @ Week 4 / 27.09.2023
- Focus on 2D graphic instead of 3D
- Consider to contemplate the scale of wallpaper as the upper space usually will feature application icons, which could limit the design possibilities.
Continued then, I found myself grappling with creativity and ideation during the idea sketching process. To overcome this, I spent some times to regaining focus and reproduce the desired outcome. As there was some discussion on the previous consultation about the "clamping vibe", I decide to walk into the concept of "an island, in the middle of the ocean, with clamping vibe".
Fig 1.4 Week 5 Progression
It seems like a big step from zero to something there, but still having a big step towards the final outcome and the deadline was almost there; which make the overall progress to be very tight and under pressure. So, I continued on my progress and fasten the progress as much as possible to showcase my new progression on the class session during week 6.
As saying goes, deadline made the speed in speed. Before our upcoming class section, I had completed the foundational colour schemes for the four seasons and the basic character design, squirrel :
Fig 1.5 Week 6 Progression
Feedback @ Week 6 / 05.10.2023
Lovely artwork! Keep up the work as you finalise your project. As part of your submission, consider creating a looping animation lasting approximately 20 seconds.
After received the feedback from Ms. Anis, I spent my full weekend to "vomit" out the final outcome. The process proved to be quite stressful, given the time constraints and the simultaneous deadlines for other assignments. Nevertheless, it's with great satisfaction that I can say, regardless of the challenges, I successfully completed my final outcome.
Fig 1.7 Overall Visual Design, Final Outcome
Fig 1.9 Animation Design, MP4 Final Outcome
YouTube Link : https://youtu.be/p6lJFR5b8gQ
As I completed the design artwork and started documenting the design elaboration, I felt that the title "4 Seasons" was too mundane. To better capture the central theme of cyclical renewal and the perpetual cycle of life, I decided on the dual-language title "Eternal Seasons • 永恒 季节". "Eternal" conveys a sense of everlasting, while "Seasons" symbolizes the four phases of life. 永恒 季节 (Yǒng Héng Jì Jié) reinforces the idea of something enduring indefinitely. And, the full compilation of design elaboration and the full progression throughout the week are documented below :
Fig 1.10 Design Elaboration, Eternal Seasons • 永恒 季节
FEEDBACK
Week 2 / 07.09.2023 @ Ideal Design Process
Your idea looks promising and has a healing aspect
but might considered on how would you like to frame your outcome into the submission template.Week 3 / 20.09.2023 @
Progression Check
Try to work within the requested resolution size 6000 x 3000 px to see how the design fit in together. Good job!
Week 4 / 27.09.2023 @ Progression Check
- Focus on 2D graphic instead of 3D
- Consider to contemplate the scale of wallpaper as the upper space usually will feature application icons, which could limit the design possibilities.
Week 6 / 05.10.2023 @ Progression Check
Lovely artwork! Keep up the work as you finalise your project. As part of your submission, consider creating a looping animation lasting approximately 20 seconds.
REFLECTION
Over the six weeks of this assignment, I found that despite what may seem like a generous time frame, managing it effectively was a challenge. As a student with five other ongoing design modules, I was stretched thin. Initially, I didn't invest much thought into my mood board as I had a clear direction on what topic to focus. The broad idea of "4 seasons with a migrated animal" consumed my thoughts, and I decided to run with it. Although it appeared to be a promising concept, I soon realized I was stuck when it came to translating this idea into a concrete outcome.
As the weeks passed, my efforts seemed to be focused mainly on designing landscapes. I dedicated considerable time contemplating their potential and final appearance, only to eventually hit the "delete" button and return to the drawing board, pondering the themes of "return and renewal." Interestingly, it was the looming deadline that often acted as a catalyst for generating ideas. The pressure that Week 6 brought served as a powerful motivator, pushing my brain to generate ideas that I was truly satisfied with. The creative breakthrough finally arrived, and the pieces of my design puzzle began to fall into place.
Reflecting on this assignment, it highlights the intricacies of the creative process. It reminds me that as a designer, even when you feel stuck and frustrated, persevering through these challenging moments can lead to the most innovative and satisfying outcomes. The design journey isn't always straightforward, and sometimes, the best ideas emerge when you're under the pressure of time constraints. This experience also underscores the importance of comprehensive planning and ideation from the very beginning, ensuring you have a clear and well-thought-out path to follow from the outset.
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