simple yet [CONFUSING]

i am now a certified wedding planner :)

2011-02-20T20:17:00.003-05:00

For anyone who is serious about becoming a wedding planner, I highly recommend The Bridal Society Wedding Certification Course! I cannot even begin to tell you how much information i crammed in my head over the past two days and it feels phenomenal!

The course is taught by the amazing Laurie Hartwell, Owner of
A Wedding To Remember && President of The Bridal Society. Combined with her twenty plus years of experience and incredible personality you cannot afford to miss out on this course!! I have gained confidence, pride and
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Thank you so much Laurie, you are truly incredible!

They tour around the U.S. so look for them in a city near you! It is worth the money people. All of my friends can tell you, I am NOT someone to sugar coat anything or lie about anything that has to do with me spending my time or money.
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Check out more information on The Bridal Society Wedding Certification Program now!

Top Deisgn Artifacts

2008-12-13T09:33:00.002-05:00

BUS:shelter [Seeds For Change]

2008-12-04T11:30:00.009-05:00

For one of our final projects in Community By Design studio we will be designing and creating a bus shelter that will temporarily be placed outside of the Weatherspoon Art Museum on the corner of Tate St. and Spring Garden. To catch people's attention we will also be making three moments placed around Greensboro.

Concept: Germination
the awakening of a seed and the subsequent growth process

A seed alone is not self-sustaining: it requires a balance of elements to not only initiate growth, but succeed as a prosperous plant.

Form
-our bus shelter represents the germination process: the main vertical element representing the seed, accompanied by necessary supporting structures
-connections and joinery of the supporting structures are hidden, eluding to potential growth with a sturdy root
-the bus shelter would flourish, thriving off a communal effort and outreach
-the success of our bus shelter project relies on a holistic effort by all involved

Goals:
We hope that by planting the seed, as well as the means for growth, our efforts will flourish, spreading not only to the local objective, but will spark consideration in the unanticipated.

Moment 1:

Postcard:

BUS:shelter:

Process:

After about 50 + sketch models and volumes of drawings our studio finally came up with our final design of the BUS:shelter. There were 8 different groups that each had a specific job in the BUS:shelter process. Below are pictures that document our models and building process.

Design Group: They designed the final form of the BUS:shelter.

[Sara Easterling:Robert Fausset:Leah Petriccone:Lauren Foster:Maiken Schoenleber:Laura Snoderly]

Presentation Group: Conducted a seminar for the class on speaking skills + also presented our final project.
[Jayson Parker:Lauren Shepulski:Nacarra Lesane:Anna Will]

Moments Group: Finalized the designs that advertised our shelter at The Green Bean + Edward McKay.
[ ]

Events Group: Contacted different places so we could meet at Natty Greene's + advertise for our shelter.
[Katie Reynolds:Lindsey Strohschein]

Process Group: Set the budget for the final design + kept up with the group expenditures.
[Lauren Thore:Hannah Hall:Laura Dispasquale:Alexandra Camacho]

Donations Group: Sent out letters to businesses asking for donations.
[Hanna Selim]

Postcard Group: Sent out postcards + flyers to advertise about the shelter.
[Shannon Hegger:Jessica Crews:Maurshell Stokes]

Graphics Group: They chose the colors of burnt orange and brown to represent our shelter.
[ ]

Communications Group: Contacted local news stations to get coverage + send out press releases.
[Krista Giles:Ben Adams:Meg McMillian:Megan Schwarz]

Master Plan Group: Writing a paper about the necessities that are involved in having a bus shelter.
[Katrina Fischer:Jennifer Cochran:Emme Zheng:Brittany Dasso]

Documentation Group: Documented the progress of each group's work.
[ ]

[These were the sketch models that combined the winning designs of the BUS:shelter project.]

[Jayson Parker + two other members of the studio working to put together the moment]

[Ben Adams + Sara Easterling working on the main bench]

Mosaic Shelter:Bus

2008-11-17T12:42:00.007-05:00

Final Presentation Board & Model:

A mosaic is a combination of diverse elements forming a more coherent whole. These four relief workers, much like a mosaic pattern, come from diverse backgrounds, and bring unique skills and talents to enrich the lives of the hurricane victims. Likewise, the shelter bus' atmosphere reflects the worker's personalities and individual commitment to their mission. The bus has become not only home to the workers but a living example of how a mosaic masterpiece comes together. The community spaces on the bus allow the diverse workers to come together to share creative ideas for improving the lives of the victims. When looking at a mosaic work of art you can readily see that there are no two pieces exactly alike. The common unifier, or bonding agent, that holds the distinct pieces together hardens to create a long lasting product.

Process Sketches:

I went through many different concepts and forms before reaching my final one. It was a very long process but I documented it all below to show how I came to my final design.

War Memorial Auditorium Renovations

2008-10-24T12:21:00.003-04:00

Cohensiveness

2008-10-10T10:39:00.002-04:00

Relaxation Through Separation

2008-10-03T12:23:00.002-04:00

Our challenge was to design a mobile residence for 4 hurricane relief workers. Also one component of our design had to be able to rotate, flip, fold-out or transform in some way. The first step in my design was to come up with a concept that reflected hurricance relief and come up with a list of amentities I wanted to include in my shelter bus. I decided to name my bus Weather Proof to show how these hurricane workers are here to help the victims of natural disaters. After creating a list of the basics: bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, entertainment area and sitting area, I decided that my space was shaped around the idea of separation. The kitchen and entertainment area are divided by a curved accent wall and the bedrooms are all private with sliding pocket doors that connect to Jack and Jill bathrooms. There are two levels that each include warm interior wall colors for public spaces and cooler more relaxing colors for the private spaces. Below I have documented my process and final drawings of Weather Proof.

Jay Lennartson Postard

2008-09-29T12:14:00.000-04:00

SHELTER:BUS Context

2008-09-27T14:25:00.002-04:00

BUS:SHELTER:BUS Precis

2008-09-26T10:38:00.004-04:00

Marian Mahler's Curtain

2008-09-22T10:24:00.003-04:00

Marian Mahler’s swinging mobile curtain is a prime example of fascinating deco art from the 1950’s. David Whitehead Ltd. manufactured this contemporary screen-printed cotton fabric, in three different colors, and it is approximately 50’ wide. The deco art movement was based purely on decoration, as seen in Mahler’s curtain, and not on political or philosophical roots. The curtain also exemplifies a style of elegance and functionality that celebrates the Machine Age through the use of man-made materials. Mahler’s uses of repetition with the swinging mobiles are symmetrical which relate back to the designs of Asian and Middle Eastern influences. Mainly movements before the 1950’s, such as Neoclassical, Constructivism, Cubism and Art Nouveau, influenced designers such as Mahler, Eileen Gray and Jules Leleu. After spreading from the states to as far as Brazil and the UK deco art slowly came to an end after reaching mass production when it began to be derived as flashy and presenting a false image of luxury.

The Mahler curtain is similar to Alexander Calder’s actual mobile that was designed in 1972, mainly because of the contrasting colors and illusions to suspension. Calder’s mobile was the first ever made out of steel wire and aluminum. The mobile also has features of symmetry and repetition because of its wires and shapes.
The Mahler curtain is dissimilar to the Wurtemburgishe Metalwarren Fabrik punch bowl. The punch bowl was made in Germany in 1900 and consists of a silvered metal framework and green glass liner. Also, the punch bowl is smaller in size and has many intricate details. Although the curtain does have designs printed on it, it is not ornate but very straightforward and modern.

Sources:
http://www.theoldexchange.fsnet.co.uk/fabrics.htm
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/objectid/O69688

"We Got U Covered!"

2008-09-21T23:50:00.017-04:00

Guerilla Marketing:
The dramatization of political and social issues, typically performed outdoors, e.g. in the street or a park, as a means of protest or propaganda. Guerilla: a member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger regular forces Marketing: the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.

Product:

TATTOO When you see that a person has a tattoo, the first thing you want to do is read it, then always ask "What's that about? What's that mean?" We all know at this point the the words BUS|SHELTER|BUS are very puzzling together, so what better way to spread the word through a mystery and an explanation to go with it? *This was a mistake that turned out favorable in the end: YES! I did accidentally carve the stamp backwards, but I think that it works very well with the mystery of the situation.

People:

To advertise our Community By Design studio our group created these t-shirts for people to wear on and off campus. The front our shits say BUS/SHELTER/BUS UNCG:IARC and on the back it says "We Got U Covered!" We hope that the shirts will make people ask questions and want more information on what we do here in IARC! At first the shirts on people were going to be something like a movement or protest-esque kind of thing. Think: about 20 people wearing all white laying on the grass all day, kind of thing, or the orange "orphan" shirts that students at UNCG wore last year.

Place:

We would market our Community By Design studio mainly on College Ave and other sidewalks throughout campus & off campus. We would include our website and current information on our projects.

Http:
This banner communicates to internet users. The scale and colors catch your eye and the words are confusing enough to make you wonder. Clicking the banner will take you to the "communitybydesign" blog! AND this banner is spreadable by copying the html code into your own webpage!

Codes To Live By part I

2008-09-19T11:36:00.003-04:00

Grid Shading Exercise

2008-09-19T10:17:00.012-04:00

Depicting Things

2008-09-19T10:17:00.011-04:00

Week 1:
Une Chaise (Chair)
Graphite/Crayon de Plomb 5B (Graphite Pencil)

Week 2:
Une Chaise Lounge (Lounge Chair)
Aquarelle (Water Color)

Week 3:
Une Table de Salle a Diner (Dining Table)
Encre (Ink)

Codes To Live By

2008-09-19T10:17:00.007-04:00

What was your experience with the various requirements to support human activities and needs?

While researching through the Federal Reserve and Interior Graphic Standards documents our group found it very interesting how much thought went into meeting the needs of humans. There were specific codes on things like railings, protruding objects, chairs heights and turning spaces for wheelchairs. I think it is very important to break apart spaces into codes and standards not only for safety reasons but also for accessibility purposes. The most important thing we learned while researching the codes, ergonomics and proxemics of our group’s bus shelter and shelter buses were that these codes are in place for everyone not just the average human. For instance just the other day I was walking down the sidewalk when suddenly there was a two-inch drop to the connecting sidewalks and I lost my balance and almost fell. I believe this was because the designer for the pathways did not follow the specific code for making surface heights distinguishable by color or texture. The Interior Graphic Standards book had diagrams showing people of all ages in different positions and also included height requirements for the max and min handicap persons reach.

What would you recommend to designers about changes necessary to better accommodate varying abilities?

We would recommend to designers that before you begin to design your space try to think about all types of people that would be experiencing or using your space. Take every part of your design into consideration and look up codes for things from height requirements to safety precautions. Also, make your design versatile so it is easy to alter to accommodate human activities.

How do codes help in design?
Codes help us to design for the community that we live in today. They provide us the standards of humans and their activities while allowing us to break the limit on how far we can go to help others.

How do you anticipate codes will change your work as a designer?
The codes that we have learned over the past two days have already helped us tremendously because they have forced us to look at specific flaws throughout our group’s designs. Later on we hope to learn more about different codes, as they will continue to change and impact the way we view design.

Shelter Bus: Hurricane Mobile Relief Group 9

2008-09-17T01:20:00.016-04:00

For our Shelter:Bus charette we chose to create two different types of buses. One included a cafe with lounge area and entertainment downstairs with tables in an open comfortable sitting area upstairs. The other bus model included a sleeping area with bathrooms. Below are pictures of our process with sketches and our final models.

Here are a few of our ideas for our final two bus models. We had 10 major needs that we felt should be accommodated....

1. water
2. food
3. clothing
4. first aid
5. sleeping arrangements
6. entertainment
7. daycare
8. recreation
9. showers
10. internet access

We combined in our two buses alot of the ten physical needs that we addressed in our list. Our extended bus is our sleeping quarters bus that includes clean clothing and showers to freshen up. there are beds included and various tvs for entertainment.

Our double decker bus is primarily used as a cafeteria. we included a cafe with tables and chairs along with pantries of food and a endless supply of water.

We wanted our buses to a comfort zone, a place where you could relax and clean up after a natural disaster a place that could implement the feeling of being home.

Both sketch ups used a by design by Kieran at the Google 3d warehouse in sketch up.

We also pulled common images from our drawings and with the use of photo shop to implement ideas about the contents of our buses.

Bus Interviews

2008-09-17T01:19:00.000-04:00

Ok… so our first interview was with a college student, her name is Nicole Taylor. She had on her Burger King uniform heading to work she complained a little about the bus being late and I asked her if it usually ran late and she said “No not ever.” She told us her mom insisted that she stay on campus for two years before moving to an apartment near campus. Lauren explained to her about her town house and the prices. She told us that she rode the bus to save money to help with school and it was just easier transportation for her while being in school. Just as the bus arrived we concluded our conversation by telling her about iarc and our plans to hopefully build a bus shelter here at Tate St. where she was waiting. We asked her if we could possibly take her picture she smiled and said sure before she boarded the bus.

Lauren and I then headed towards the bus stop to get some more details from the people about GTA. We honestly walked around for maybe 15 minutes trying to find the right person to ask and quite frankly this was a quiet Saturday morning. So we decided to sit inside the depot and low and behold as we where watching news about Ike on CNN a lady walked in and sat down beside us. She was an African American woman who looked to be in her thirties. We decided to strike up a conversation with her, she immediately took to us and we talked for a good half hour waiting on the bus. We asked her if she road the bus frequently she said “Everyday, if not I’m walkin’.” We laughed together and she asked us if we where students we said yes and preceded to tell her about our project and our hopes of helping the riders out with a few more shelters. I asked her if a lot of bus stops had shelters she said “ no, very few have shelters you just mostly have to stand, and even if you walk to some shade just a few feet away and your not directly by that sign they will leave you.” I was astonished, I had know idea they where so strict. She began to tell us a little bit about her life, she had always been riding the bus she said when she was little her family traveled a lot, her dad was in the military. She told us she was ready to leave NC “somewhere else,” she said, “new people new scenery.” We where also shocked to find out that you have to wait an hour for the bus on weekends, we couldn’t imagine what it must be like to plan your whole schedule around the buses. Before we left we asked her for her picture she said “no, no pictures I’m not the photo genic type” so we said that’s ok and asked her for her name and she said “Lolitta Mills”. Since we don’t have a picture I’ll do my best to describe her, she had on a flowing floral patterned white and red blouse with crimson red gaucho pants you know the big flowing business pants and white heels. Her hair was pulled back in small rows of braids that formed a pony tail in the back, she carried two bags which where clear that seemed to be like a purse carrying everything a woman might need.

We made a lot of observations while we waited as well…. There was one man who came in exhausted and hot from the humid air outside just to find out that he just missed his bus and would have to wait another hour before it would return. A lot of bus riders are just like you and me one man walked in sat on the bench and pulled out his laptop. Stereotypes get attached to a lot of things and we begin to judge when really it’s just people like you and me trying to save money with just as much class as someone driving an expensive SUV, actually their smarter they don’t have to pay for gas. Seriously though, you gain respect for something you didn’t understand, that now with a little research, you do.

Sustainability Postcard

2008-09-08T19:30:00.000-04:00

Project 2: The 3 R's

2008-09-04T19:07:00.006-04:00

I have to be honest when we received the instructions for this project I was a little nervous. I had never rode the city bus for any reason and I was definitely not looking forward to it now. I did not have a chance to first read the Chafe excerpt, so I read it after my experience.

While standing at the curb on the corner of Walker Ave. and Aycock St. I decided to be opened minded and make this a learning experience.

When the bus finally arrived, 15 minutes late, we swiped our UNCG first cards and boarded the bus. We took route 9 that headed inbound towards the downtown bus depot. While on the bus I noticed that it was truly not as dirty as I had previously imagined a city bus being. We started up conversations with some of the people that were riding beside of us and learned about why they were riding the bus and how long they had been taking city transportation.

A lot of the people we talked to heavily relied on it to get groceries, get to work and to go to school. While heading downtown on West Market St. I first noticed the United Methodist Church on my left followed by the huge Jefferson Pilot building towering over us on the corner of Greene St.

Then we turned right, by the by the line of apartment buildings, and dead ended on East Washington St. at the J. Douglas Gaylon Depot.

At the depot we pulled into our slip and let off the passengers that were connecting to a different bus and let new passengers on.

A few minutes later we started going again this time back towards the city and onto Friendly Ave. We turned left while passing Center City Park and Bank of America. A few minutes later we got onto Aycock St. and drove past UNCG. The bus let us off at the corner of Spring Garden and Mayflower Rd.

Overall I had a wonderful experience because of the people who I went on the adventure with and the people on the bus, including the bus driver, we so nice and helpful. I was so relieved to get back to my car though because it is definitely inconvenient to not be able to go directly where you need to go in the shortest amount of time.

After reading Civility and Civil Rights I was able to open my eyes to the struggles of segregation that were experienced here in Greensboro, NC. I can not imagine what it must have been like to live in those times, but I am however very proud of how far we have come today in our society. I found it amazing that there was a plaque for Rosa Parks placed in the front of every city bus, recognizing her for her actions in standing up against hatred. The article also made me want to further research the Woolworth sit-ins and appreciate the courage the students had to stand up for what was right!

Entropy

2008-09-03T08:19:00.003-04:00

The first week of school can only be summed up in one word, ENTROPY! I was having a very calm and successful first week until it came time for the studio class as a whole to come together on Friday. We were asked to create one huge project with our smaller and dissimilar projects. It was absolute mayhem because their should just never be that many people in one area trying to state their opinions at one time. I learned two important things last week one is that 60 people should never have to work together on anything and two that there is more to way finding than meets the eye. The picture that I chose represents how I felt while sitting in the lobby downstairs last Friday. Every one's words were getting lost in the chaos and I just ended up getting a big headache.

Project 1: Path

2008-08-27T11:06:00.007-04:00

For our first project in studio this semester we started with taking a look at the community and the different paths that people take on a day to day basis to find things. When I first started thinking about this assignment I wrote a simple list of things such as signs, colors, shapes but now after reading Kevin Lynch's book The Image Of The City I have opened my eyes to details such as huge landmarks, lighting, visibility and obstructions. Below are some of my initial sketches from my house off of Tower Road to my destination the Glenwood Branch Library.

EUC Sketch

2008-05-07T18:14:00.002-04:00

5 Vignettes

2008-05-07T18:07:00.002-04:00

Stair Project

2008-05-07T18:05:00.001-04:00

Elsewhere Artist Collaborative

2008-05-07T15:10:00.012-04:00

For our final project in drawing class we were asked to recreate the first room of the Elsewhere Artist Collaborative Museum downtown. When we first we given this assignment I honestly did not even know where to start my sketches! All the stuff hanging down from the walls and ceilings and on the floor was very overwhelming, so we decided to divide up the space into individual sections. That helped us out a lot trying to keep everything straight. Below I have included some of my sketches I did at Elsewhere and also a lot of pictures I took to remember our class experiences.

Below is my first sketch of the front window at Elsewhere. I tried to highlight the items in front of the window and also outside the window to give it depth.

When you first walk into Elsewhere you are overwhelmed by the amount of stuff in front of you. So I decided to break the museum down into parts, and this is the view to the left of the front of the store.

I also took this photo at the front of the museum with Shannon in it to give people the sense of what it feels like to be surrounded by that much stuff!

This one took a long time to draw because of all the little details. It is the tree house looking thing in the very back part of the museum. Shannon and I got the opportunity to draw one more time before class ended, when we came back on the 8 of May.

The space that I chose to draw as a part of the class project was in the press office right as you walk in to the museum. It included a tv, radios, snoopy dogs, a typewriter, loose wires, and a few books one day and the next day it transformed into a tv with huge letters, no typewriter, no radios and lots of books. That is what I found very interesting about this museum, because the purpose of it is to show the shifting of the collections as people change them.

I enjoyed going to the museum because it was a very different experience. I was able to look at the mounds of stuff from a new perspective, where it was not only sorted into collections but how it transformed day to day.

Project 4: Frida Kahlo's Studio

2008-04-28T12:56:00.013-04:00

This project was very interesting for me because at first when I heard Habitable Wall I was like ok, well ill just make a wall with furniture built out of it. But further into the project I learned that just because we had a restricting space of 20x20x14 didn't mean that we still could not use some of our past ideas. My definition of a wall is a not only that it is a separator but I believe it is a blank canvas where we can express ourselves. First I made a bunch of sketches and different zone layouts that showed the different spaces then I moved on to making a 3D model of Frida's studio space that I designed for her. I went through about four or five of the same model layouts before finding my final one and below is my process.

This was my first sketch model of Frida Kahlo's studio space. It was a very curvy figure with no specified areas for rooms. It was an open floor plan but I wanted it to be separated in terms of public/private.

This was my second iteration of Frida's space but with more separations between public and private and full of color. For the color choices I wanted to keep with the Mexican colors but also tie them in with what we learned during color week. Red, blue and yellow are all triadic colors which means they are all primary colors that make up the basis of the color wheel.

The space to the right in blue is Frida's work space that will be directly facing the side windows of the Gatewood building. I chose blue to keep the room looking and feeling cool as it sits beside the rows of windows.

This birds eye view of my model shows the kitchen space on the left and the bedroom which is positioned at an angle to the windows.

Above shows the living room/entertaining area of Frida's studio space. I chose red for the space to warm the room up because it does not directly face the windows, also to emphasize Frida's Mexican heritage.

This top corner view shows her work area as well as the living room that leads into the kitchen.

Presentation:

Below are a few pictures from my presentation May 2. I presented with Meg McMillan, Josie McKinney, Michelle Bodon, Brianna Cerame and Kevin Lahti.

Stoel's House

2008-04-21T12:20:00.003-04:00

Below is the view of the southeastern side of my model of Stoel's house that I did in Sketch Up. I really enjoyed creating the space but I did not like the program as much as 3DS Max. I found it hard to use, but all it takes is practice!

Sketching @ El Carreton

2008-04-08T12:48:00.004-04:00

Furniture Renderings

2008-04-01T20:27:00.002-04:00

Floor Plan Perspective

2008-03-26T16:30:00.003-04:00

Below is my sketch floor plan on trash paper.

Unusual Sleeping Quarters

2008-03-24T18:58:00.008-04:00

Jungle Hammock w/ Mosiquto Net

Japanese Capsules

Hydrogen Floating Tipi Bed

Cots

Airplane Capsules

Precedent Analysis: Baths Of Diocletian

2008-03-24T01:35:00.006-04:00

Project 3: Bottle Cap Lampshade

2008-03-19T13:35:00.016-04:00

17 March 2008

Our assignment was to make an everyday item out of used bottle caps. Today we got into partners and decided on our design for our object we would be making. Katrina & I decided on making a lamp shade for our design and below we have included the total steps and time it took to complete one lamp shade.

Step 1: Boiling the white and blue bottle caps

Step 2: Drilling holes through caps and tying them with old fishing line to a used coat hanger

Step 3: Glue down final ties and let dry!

19 March 2008

Today we presented our ideas to our teachers and got feedback for our final model. I think for our final model Katrina and I will make another lamp shade with only white and blue caps, and maybe some larger colorful caps. We will have to find a substitute for the glue we used but I think we will still use the used fishing line and possibly a used lamp shade wire instead of a coat hanger.

24 March 2008
Final Product

Terracycle will be very excited to see our idea for bottle cap lampshades because it is not hard to manufacture and will in the long run be good for the environment. Our lampshades will be able to be reused over and over again using the same materials or the materials can be recycled into different items.

Benefits
Reuse bottle caps over and over again to make new lamp shades

Materials:
Bottle Caps
Coat Hangers
Coccoina Almond Scented Paste: Eco-Friendly Glue

Nontoxic
Non-Solvent
Acid-Free
Tastes Of Marzipan

Dremel
Tin Snips
Pliers

Step 1: Separate top part of bottle cap from ring, using a dremel or tin snips

Step 2: Sand edges of bottle cap pieces
Step 3: Create lamp shade form with coat hanger
Step 4: Glue edges of bottle caps together forming lamp shade shape

Step 5: Bend bottle caps and connect with coat hanger in the middle

Building Presesentation Boards

2008-03-04T10:25:00.009-05:00

These are my classmates and above them are their final presentation boards! They all did so good, and we are all glad that our presentations finally are over!

Mossman Building
Kara Petrisko, Zach Hunt, Melia Danals, Tiffany Garber, Shannon Hegger & Hanna Selim

Ferguson Building
Lily Glover, Molly Jacques, Christyn Dunning, Heather Link & Jessica Crews

Elliot University Center
Josie McKinney, Anna Will, Kurt Huizenga & Megan Schwarz

Curry Building
Chelsea Jackson, Leah Petriccione, Sara Easterling, Lauren Foster & Troy Link

Foust Building
Kevin Lahti, Sara Zales, Missy Wicker, Ben Adams & Jennifer Cochran

Drinking While Drawing (part 2)

2008-03-04T09:40:00.004-05:00

These are my new set of drawings I did at coffee shops and cafes... below are my best five sketches I did while relaxing.

Project 8: Plan, Section & Model

2008-03-03T17:54:00.007-05:00

Below is an exercise we were given that shows a floor plan, the side elevations and our final scale model.

Project 7: Doors, Walls & Bathrooms

2008-03-03T17:53:00.002-05:00

Frvegetables Presentation Board

2008-03-02T19:02:00.005-05:00

For about the past month we has been drawing patterns of our produce we selected, and below is my groups final drawings. Our group decided on the name Frvegetables because our produce consisted of both. My individual board title was "Eggstatic", Hanna's was "Five Star", Katrina's was "Nutty Professor" and Ben's was "Nirvana". We based our design around the concept of a seed branching out.

Project 2 (part 2): Nature & Tools As Teachers

2008-03-01T15:00:00.008-05:00

For the past month we have been drawing patterns, altering the patterns with tools and creating 2D and 3D statements from our produce. Below is my process from my 2D model to my final 3D statement, I created these models from the following pattern of my eggplant leaf.

Moore Building: Presentation

2008-02-29T10:21:00.007-05:00

Below is our final presentation board of the Moore Building. For about a month we researched the building and drew tons of perspectives. Our group members included Liz Brown, Brittany Dasso, Meg McMillian and Hannah Coble.

Project 6: Fisher House - Ching Exercise

2008-02-18T19:38:00.001-05:00

Project 5: Orthographic Shapes

2008-02-18T19:34:00.003-05:00

Project 4: Floor Plan

2008-02-18T19:23:00.002-05:00

Project 3: Orthographic Cuts

2008-02-18T19:17:00.006-05:00

Project 2: Orthographics

2008-02-18T19:17:00.005-05:00

Project 1: Lettering Assignment

2008-02-18T19:05:00.001-05:00

Drinking While Drawing

2008-02-16T10:24:00.003-05:00

We were asked to draw 5 perspectives at a coffee shop or cafe. Below are my sketches I did while at the different locations. I really enjoyed this assignment because I was able to relax while drawing and actually get into my environment.

Entourage Sketches

2008-02-16T10:20:00.011-05:00

Below are my examples of entourage sketches.

Professional Scale People
1.

2. City of Nanaimo

3. Terrain Group
Design Drawing Portfolio

4. Drawing & Designing With Confidence

By: Mike W. Lin

5. Architectural Graphics
By: Francis D.K. Ching

6. Architectural Graphics
By: Francis D.K. Ching

Moore Building: Divide & Conquer

2008-02-07T12:23:00.003-05:00

Below are my first sketch thumbnails of the Moore Building.

Picture #1: Staircase in Moore Building

Techniques inspired by Dick Sneary

Drawing & Designing with Confidence by: Mike W. Lin
Published by: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1993

Drawing by: Dick Sneary

Picture #2: Entrance to the Reception Office/Waiting Area
Techniques inspired by Rebecca Smith

Drawing & Designing with Confidence by: Mike W. Lin

Published by: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1993
Drawing by: Rebecca Smith

Picture #3: First Floor Hallway of Moore Building
Techniques inspired by Jim Leggitt

Drawing Shortcuts by: Jim Leggitt
Published by: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2002

Picture #4: Outside of the Moore Building
Techniques inspired by Jim Leggitt

Drawing Shortcuts by: Jim Leggitt

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002
Computer Model by: Doug Spuler

Picture #5: Inside Lobby of the Moore Building
Techniques inspired by Jim Leggitt

Drawing Shortcuts by: Jim Leggitt

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002

Moore Building: Function Diagram

2008-02-05T00:00:00.001-05:00

Project 2: Produce Views & Cuts

2008-02-03T21:47:00.007-05:00

8 February 2008
Pattern Drawings of Eggplant

10 February 2008
Patterns Altered With A Tool

13 February 2008
Patterns Altered With A Tool Inked

Project 1: Self Sustained Wood System

2008-01-31T19:57:00.000-05:00

For studio class we received a project where we had to create an object out of an 2x4 without using any type of adhesives. I chose to keep it simple and make connect the pieces so they would be sturdy as well as a system. I really had a hard time with this project because it was very challenging to work with the wood. I had never cut or connected two pieces of wood before so I think I did an overall good job.

Detail Sketches

2008-01-31T17:56:00.000-05:00

I loved this assignment because it really made me focus in on one detail and draw larger! I think these three turned out the best and I am really excited about how my drawing skills have progressed.

Project 1: Furniture Piece

2008-01-30T13:07:00.001-05:00

For our first assignment in drafting we were asked to create a desk for Pat that incorporates a seat/workstation/table. It also had to be different on every side of the piece of furniture which made it a challenge. The following pictures are my sketch models of my piece of furniture I chose for Pat. I loved making this model because I believe my piece works very well together and it is also very appealing to the eye. Below are my thumbnail sketches, sketch model pictures and my furniture orthographic drawing.

The orthographic sketches above represent my furniture piece.

Clutter Sketches

2008-01-29T08:58:00.000-05:00

The three sketches below are my best clutter drawings for Perception & Communication class. I enjoyed doing these sketches because I felt like it didn't have to be perfect and I also loved using my colored pencils to highlight the clothes. For the shading of the sketch I used vertical and horizontal hatching.

Annie Han + Daniel Miller Sketch

2008-01-29T08:54:00.000-05:00

Below is my sketch of the Annie Han + Daniel Miller exhibit in the Weatherspoon Art Museum. It took me about 2 hours to fully complete it and I believe it turned out really well. It was hard for me to figure out which light sources to draw because there was so many to choose from, natural, on set lighting and museum lighting. Overall I loved this sketch!

Clutter Sketch

2008-01-22T09:02:00.000-05:00

This was our first assignment for Perception & Communication class... to find the biggest mess we could and draw it. We took direction and ideas from Ivo Kircheis' sketch of his work space.

Leaf Drawing

2007-12-10T01:14:00.001-05:00

The drawing below was Phase 2 to our IARC 110 final exam. We were told to use the different techniques that we had learned over the semester and incorporate them into 9 different leaf drawings.

Ten Foreign Design Journals

2007-12-09T12:48:00.000-05:00

1. Architese : German

Also while I was in Europe I was able to view the Architese Magazine in Germany. This sleek, simple magazine is full of stories about the designers lives and articles about their designs. I didn't really like the style of writing they used, it was almost as if the writers were trying to give a lecture rather than trying to intrigue you into wanting to design your rooms the way they did.

2. Case da Arbitare : Italian

When I traveled to Europe two years ago I was introduced to Case da Arbitare Magazine which is an Italian interior design magazine that is full of their wonderful culture and design techniques. This magazine is completely full of ads but is balanced back out with its use of pictures of buildings, modern products and designers. Each month it shows new products, materials, interviews, garden architecture, news and events from all over the world.

3. Cztery Katy: Poland

This Polish magazine started in 1991 and has since grown into the most popular interior design magazine in the country. This wonderful magazine includes ideas on how people can arrange and renovate their flats (homes) by themselves. I love their designs because they are based on pleasant, comfortable surroundings which a lot of readers want in their own homes.

4. Design Week : English

Design Week magazine is the UK's leading interior design magazine which specializes in design news and jobs. It also includes a variety of top designs, awards and graphic layouts from all over the country. It is not the most eye appealing magazine but it has so much useful information that you will find yourself reading it cover to cover trying to get inside tips on the newest ideas and products.

5. Divaani : Finnish

The newest interior design magazine in Finland, Divaani, targets middle aged women who view their homes as an endless project. It is a luxurious and attractive magazine that contains articles drawn from Bonnier Danish interior design magazine "Bo Bedre". The magazines has multiple articles on how design helps to bring out a person's style & personality. It has a wonderful layout that is classy and sleek.

6. Domus : Italian

While reading Arbitare I also found Domus which is also an Italian interior design magazine. This magazine was much better than Arbitare because it was created by Gio Ponti, famous designer/architect of the 1940's, and it is of a much better editing quality. Another bonus of this magazine is that it is bilingual, the articles are in both English and Italian. It keeps you wanting to read more because some of the pages are interactive, meaning they catch the eye and keep you attention focused on the designs.

7. Experimenta : Australia

This bimonthly, 6 times a year, magazine from Australia is published in Spain, and also includes bilingual text in English and Spanish. It was first published in 1989 and mainly focuses on Design Architecture and Visual Communication. I love how each page is specifically layed out to focus on that designers main ideas, whether it is water or straight lines. It is full of beautiful pictures that draw you into the pages, as if you were really there in the rooms.

8. I Design : Thailand

I Design magazine was Thailand's first interior design magazine ever published. It include a wide variety of bathroom, trend and workshop designs. It also contains articles on each designer used in the magazine and their products. They have amazing pages that are filled with beautiful pictures of their culture and styles. They even offer a design club membership for subscribing to their magazine which gives you discounts on many different items in Thailand.

9. Interior Design China : China

This internationally known magazine covers everything from interior rooms to large business design firms. It is a well designed magazine that includes every aspect of design you would ever need to know about, accessories for your rooms such as, hand carved tables, ornate lamps and cultural chairs. I love the layout because it is not too overwhelming with the pictures but includes enough so the reader can get the main idea of the design concepts. The magazine originally came in only Chinese but is now available in many other languages such as English.

10. Urbis - Architecture & Design Magazine : New Zealand

Urbis is unlike any design magazine that I have ever read. It delivers a stimulating, but entertaining look at architecture and design to a public which responds to the urban environment. I love this magazine because it includes the hottest news in design, architecture, interiors, art and fashion from New Zealand and around the world. Although it is only bimonthly every issue is packed with complete design and style guides that are delivered with intelligence and humor.

Fun Times In IARC

2007-12-07T13:38:00.001-05:00

Ten Graphic/Media Designs

2007-12-06T13:12:00.000-05:00

1. Titleist always does the best job with their graphics. They are able to catch your eye with the design and colors while keeping your focus on how their golf ball will make you play better.

2. Pepsi is my favorite drink and they are always coming up with new unique designs. I love the contrast of the blues and different shapes they use to capture our attention.

3. My new favorite snack are the Special K protein bars. They are delicious and make apparent on the label that you can lose 10 lbs in only two weeks. The Special K company is very successful at convincing the public to begin their diet with all their slogans and distinct colors.

4. The Deer Park label is so relaxing with its use of colors and setting that it draws you into believing that their water is straight from a fresh water creek.

5. What comes to mind when you think of the color orange and chocolate? Thats right . . . Reese's! I know for a fact that the label works because every time I see the mouth watering label it makes me crave the candy.

6. When I think of an energy drink I think of the late nights at studio and all my 24 packs of Full throttle. I love the different layouts of the cans and how the colors are not dull but pop right out at you conveying the feeling of energy.

7. When you think of chips and cheese you think of Doritos. Besides Lays, Doritos is the classic American chip that puts a whole nother meaning on Cheesy! I love the new designs on the bag that display the amount of cheese and flavor of the extreme chips.

8. Coca-Cola is the original soda that has kept with their original logo from the beginning. Although they have added to the backgrounds of their product labels they are most known for their coca-cola red.

9. One of the best designed software boxes is by Adobe. The colors get your mind going with imagination as you begin your journey with their software. Creative Suite 3 is relatively new so it is one of Adobe's top design softwares and it is well represented in the box layout.

10. I never used to be a cookie dough eating kind of girl until I was walking through the grocery store one day and I saw the packaging of the new Pillsbury cookie dough. Now I am addicted to it and basically everything else made by them! The label had such a big impact on me with its colors and mouth watering pictures of their food items.

Hagia Sophia Project

2007-12-06T12:49:00.001-05:00

Tuesday we were given an assignment to turn a picture or title 1" x 1" box and into a 12" x 12" cube. Below is my title part of the secret project.

Time Capsule Layout

2007-11-29T13:00:00.000-05:00

Below is my page layout for my Time Capsule.

I have also included my orthographic drawings of my time capsule.

Ten Design Firm Websites

2007-11-27T09:43:00.000-05:00

Below are the ten websites of design firms and organizations that I have visited, and my constructive criticism of the quality of the website.

1. Ai3
http://ai3online.com
The clean lines of the website really make the layout stand out because the eye can easily navigate the page. The web page opens with the companies background and goals, and at the bottom of the each page is their contact information. I love how you can scroll the mouse over the topics on the home page and it is followed by a solid orange line. It is a simple addition that really helps the websites composition. Overall Ai3 did a very good job of creating their website to be user friendly and attractive to the eye.

2. Triad Design Group
http://www.triad-designgroup.com
Located in Greensboro, this home town company is known for their spectacular work with the Grandover Club House & Piedmont Triad International Airport Renovations. Their website is very user friendly which helps a lot because you can find the information you need quick and easy. The page consist of a simple blue and purple layout that is able to catch your eye beside of the architectural lines across the pages. All of the section titles can be easily read but the font size for the descriptive information could be a little bigger. The fact that it is really hard to read the small paragraphs in blue is the only problem I see with their design firm website.

3. Pink Door, Inc.
http://pinkdoorinteriors.com
Also located in Greensboro is the design firm of Glen Lavinder called the Pink Door. They have become well known all over the world for their passionate all inclusive interior design services. Their website is wonderful because of the strong contrast in the lettering color and the beautiful pictures on every page.

4. Brett Climan Design
http://www.brettcliman.com/bcgraphixlogo.htm
I love this website because it is what I think of as digital eye candy. This very interactive site is creative while keeping the theme of modern design. All of the links load quickly and the user is able to read the fonts with ease.

5. Urban Interiors Florida
http://www.urbaninteriorsflorida.com
This sleek website is layed out very well because of its. The simple yellow squares and 4 picture a page layout helps keep the web pages consistent and modern. The text is all readable for the titles as well as the paragraphs and I think that the font that they chose is perfect. Everything just mixes together and forms the perfect user friendly website.

6. Greenough Interior Design
http://www.greenoughinteriordesign.com

This layout is similar to the other websites because it has the section titles at the top of the page and the information that loads underneath it, such as pictures and paragraphs. I don't really like this design because it is kind of boring. The colors do not match very well and the font in the paragraphs alternates between blue and black lettering. It distracts the eye from the true concept of the page. Other that that this website works good and gets the companies point across.

7. Chase Collaborative
http://chasecollaborative.com
This website is wonderful! I love the page layouts with the beautiful interior design pictures. This very interactive site is simple and sleek where you can find quickly exactly what you are looking for. The pictures alone make you want to explore the website further. The text size and color is perfect and readable.

8. Fletcher Design Consultants
http://www.fletcherdesignconsultants.com
Compared to the other websites I have commented on this one is more words than pictures. I think it actually hurts the pages because it is not as pleasing to the eye as the other colorful ones are. The navigation tools work but they are kind of hidden on the right side of the page. It looks like the web page was put together in a few minutes due to the fact of the lack of extra options and pictures.

9. Cippananda Interior Design
http://www.cippananda.com
There is only one word that can describe this website... SIMPLE!! When the homepage opens you only see four things the three topics and logo for the company. The other pages however are similar but have a few added pictures of their designed rooms. I kind of dislike this website only because you do not get a feel for what the company is really like.

10. O Design Solutions
http://www.odesignsolutions.com
I love this elegant website. It catches your eye while keeping your attention on the rooms they have designed. The navigation is very simple and has clean lines a the top of each page to keep the pages consistent with the rest of the website. All of the text is readable on the white background and overall the site flows very well.

Two New Technologies

2007-11-26T10:33:00.000-05:00

When looking at the field of interior design you can see how quickly technology is changing. Each and every day there are new inventions that makes work quicker, easier and more energy efficient. Below are two examples of new technology in the design field.

1. Adobe InDesign CS3

This new professional page layout program delivers new features that allow you to explore more creative possibilities, experience greater productivity ad streamline repetitive tasks. It was released in April 2007 and offers upgraded programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, InCopy and Dreamweaver. For around $699.99 you will get an amazing package of programs that have been specially designed to run on Windows Vista and Intel Macs. This package is being innovated into the environment we inhabit by allowing designers to better develop web sites, page layouts and be apart of an online community forum called CSS advisor.

2. Genius PenSketch

PenSketch is a new high resolution design tool for professional artists. The cordless digital pen and mouse is used to draw and illustrate effortlessly and process the images more precisely and rapidly. This product by Genius cost about $49.99, but it also comes with a Adobe Photoshop CS (trial version), Corel Painter IX (trial version), and Adobe Photoshop Elements (full version). This PenSketch drawing pad is innovated into the environment we inhabit by making it easier to quickly transferring a drawing or hand written paper into the computer. It makes our society much more efficient.

Ten Sustainable Designs

2007-11-26T10:01:00.000-05:00

After searching through dozens of research journals I have come up with my final definition of what a sustainable design is, it is essentially designing objects and their built environments which both comply with the principles of social, economic and ecological sustainability.

1. The Journal of Sustainable Product Design

This wonderful quarterly journal put out by The Centre for Sustainable Design not only stresses the importance of economic, environmental, ethical and social issues in product design and development but also the assessment of dematerialization and system changes. JSPD aims to initiate leading-edge thinking in eco-design and sustainable product development and design. It also provides a platform for organizations and individuals to discuss new solutions to complex issues surrounding sustainability.

2. Scarpa & Brooks Firm

Lawrence Scarpa sees strong solar architecture as the ultimate solution to the debate between the pros and cons of solar energy. While remodeling, Scarpa became a serious sustainability pioneer by reinforcing that solar panels should be treated as art objects. He later was a finalist in the 2003 World Habitat Awards for his inventions.

3. HOK
I love how HOK embraces their responsibility to advance sustainable design for every building type, geographic region and budget level. Their approach to sustainable designs includes limiting the consumption of resources, improving the building performance, and promoting health.

4. Sustainable Design Group
This very active group is devoted to helping you design buildings or renovate your home to make it as energy efficient and harmonious with the environment as possible. The designs try to incorporate nature and self sufficient in energy, water, waste and food production, with the use of solar, wind and biological cycles.

5. Syska Hennessy Group
The Syska Hennessy Group is well known for their work on the Santa Monica Library because of the sustainable mechanical, electrical, and plumbing that they added into the building. The library contains high efficiency lighting systems, underfloor air distribution, demand-controlled ventilation and many other features that make this library truly stand out of the ordinary. They strive to establish sustainability goals and to implement green building strategies.

6. American Society of Landscape Architects
This professional design group is committed to ecology based planning and design. They create landscapes that balance the needs of man and the environment while benefiting both. While trying to balance the needs they also plan to advance the theory of sustainable design in landscape architecture and planning.

7. Sustainable Suites Initiative
This partnership between the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the United States Botanic Garden to develop guidelines and standards for landscape sustainability. Their services provide climate regulation, clean air and water, and an overall improved quality of life.

8. Sustainable Web Design

Not only do we need environmental sustainability but we also need web design sustainability which is offered by the Sustainable Web Design Group. Their guideline is that the web should be an informative, lively place that includes as many individuals as are wiling to participate.

9. Solar Power
Solar power is more widely used now because it has become cheaper and people have figured out that it has no negative effect on our environment.

10. Geothermal Energy
This method of heating emits only minimal amounts of gases into the atmosphere making it a very reasonable source of energy. It actually keeps the water below ground above boiling point and the pressure from the heat causes it to stay in the liquid form underground. When the water is pumped out of the ground it reduces the pressure which causes the water to flash into steam and turn a turbine to generate the needed electricity.

One of the biggest challenges of sustainable design is blending it with architecturally appealing and interesting design. Would you rather live in a house without windows that may be more energy efficient or in a house with windows?

Tiffany Layout

2007-11-20T16:46:00.001-05:00

In class today we made a composition layout of our subject Tiffany. We drew her with 4 different styles we have learned this semester.

Le Corbuiser Sketches

2007-11-20T10:32:00.000-05:00

My favorite sketch I did of the Visual Arts Center by Le Corbuiser was of the stone corner with the pipes hanging out. Below is my rendention of his picture.

Project 6: Time Capsule

2007-11-09T08:35:00.000-05:00

I was really excited when we got this project because I have always been interested in what a time capsule is and what goes in one. We have broken down this project into 4 phases so we can keep to a schedule and get this done by December 3.

Phase 1: Conception

For the beginning of our time capsule project we had to create a parti, an ideation and a statement of understanding and intention. For my parti I tried to answer the following questions in order to come closer to finding a better understanding what a time capsule truly is.

What is the capsule going to be shaped like?
What will go in the time capsule?
Where will it be located inside of the studio building?

Phase 2: Research

I was in Group 3 for the research part of the project and we were responsible for interviewing the faculty. Lindsey and I chose to interview John Rife, Stoel and Robert Charest, to find their views on the department and design as a whole.

Phase 3: Synthesis

Friday 11/9

Today we were asked to present the sketch models of our ideas and a refined parti with defined parameters, concept and goals. I made 5 different models that each represent time, and pictured below are my time capsule ideas.

I took some pictures of my designs to show my progress from my sketches on my parti to my final products.

Monday 11/12

Below are my revised models I made over the weekend, the first one is still the cluster of balls but I added paper mache to it to give it the feeling of being like a pinata. The second one is where I combined my hour glass model and my clusters to make a tower looking object that houses the spheres with the artifacts inside. Also pictured are my shaded sketches of my models for drawing class.

Wednesday 11/14

Today in class we made a detailed charette of our final model. My model showed how the spheres is connected with toothpicks, basically the simple design I drew earlier on trace paper. I cut out the inside to show how the spheres will connect.

Friday 11/17

Today we turned in our two detailed models that show specific parts of our project and how they are connected. While doing my first model, which shows how the two spheres are connected with two nails, I realized that I wanted to do more of a free standing model for Monday that incorporated the bowl like features that will hold little spheres. The spheres would be something that we could all contribute to, rolled up journal entries where we write to ourselves in the future about things that are happening to us this year.

Monday 11/19
Over the weekend I was able to design a new time capsule idea that incorporated my cluster of spheres and a couple of new ideas. The shape of the spheres basically resembles how we come into the IARC program as first year students and learn to branch out from one another and find out who we really are.

Tuesday 11/20

Today I turned in my Time Capsule Process Zine which included my 15 thumbnail sketches and my prototype layout of one of my thumbnail ideas.

Phase 4: Design

Due on November 30, 2007 is our full-scale prototype and a composite drawing of our final time capsule.

My Cube

2007-11-08T12:58:00.000-05:00

There are so many ways to design a perfect cube. Unfortunately, I had to find out about 8 different ways of how not to before I was able to make my perfect cube. For my final one I used sobo glue to connect the straight edges of my matte board box cut out. The edges were cut straight for once and I actually measured it right down to the flap. I love my box and I think that this process has really helped me in my overall sense of detail.

Below are my drawings of a still life of 3 cubes I made. I used the diagonal hatching technique to show the difference in values.

On this one is used the same 3 cubes in a different still life and the smearing technique. It is kind of hard to see to differences because it is so light but I think it turned out pretty good.

Ten Buildings

2007-11-07T10:02:00.000-05:00

1. The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures

The picture below is of the Tokyo National Museum that was designed by architect Yoshio Taniguchi. It was built in a natural & cultural setting to create and environment that is rare to present day Tokyo. The museum is widely known for its tranquility, order and dignity. This new gallery building was built over the old gallery in 1999, which was originally used only to preserve the works rather than to display them. I love this building because of how light passes through the outer glass walls to the middle of the building but is then suddenly blocked by a stone wall, in order to preserve the works. Inside the museum, Taniguchi included solid steel structures and extruded aluminium mullions that incorporates his qualities of accuracy and pure elegance.

2. Beach Cottage in the Hamptons

The beach house below was designed by Preston T. Phillips for close friends that live in East Hampton. Phillips created this house to evoke the informal houses of a simpler time, almost to contradict the fact that the Hamptons have changed so fast that people do not enjoy the beach anymore. They just go to say that the have a house in the Hamptons rather than to relax in their calm, carefree environment. I love this house because Phillips took his ideas from Edward Steichen's beautiful photograph of Isadora Duncan at the Acropolis. The peaceful photo was then transferred into a modern day beach house retreat.

3. Disney Concert Hall

Located in downtown Los Angeles, California this concert hall was designed by Frank Gehry for Walt Disney in 1987 and was finally finished in 2003. This concert hall is home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. It was built for $274 million dollars to replace the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, which had very poor acoustics. This building is so unbelievable because of its geometric shapes that come together to form a modern house of music. It houses a large concert organ that was also designed by Frank Gehry, whose keys are said to look like a bunch of falling french fries.

4. Falling Water

I chose this house because it looks like it was carved out of the rocks and it fits perfectly in its environment with the natural tones and huge waterfall, rightfully giving it its name "Falling Water". Designed by Frank Loyd Wright in 1935 this extraordinary house was built for Edgar Kaufmann. It replaced an old rundown cabin outside of Pittsburgh, owned by Kaufmann, for around $155,000 dollars. In 1964 Kaufmann donated the property to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and was opened to the public as a museum. This house is known for its dynamism and organically designed structure.

5. Burj al Arab

Located off the coast of Dubai, this gigantic hotel is not only the second tallest building in Dubai, but it also known as "The Best Hotel in the World". This amazing building was designed by Tom Wright and resembles a blowing sail. The hotel also has the world's tallest tennis court that is located on the top side of the hotel. I love this building because it is luxurious and symbolizes Dubai's urban transformation. It is made out of Teflon-coated fiberglass that curves around the reinforced concrete tower inside. The hotel was built by Said Khalil in 1994 at 321 meters and is about to be passed in size this year by the newest skyscraper in Dubai, the Rose Tower, which is 333 meters.

6. Emirates Office Tower

Standing at an outstanding 354.6 meter tall, the Emirates Office Tower is the tallest building in Dubai and the world. It was designed by architect Hazel W.S. Wong Norr and was finished in 1999. I like these buildings because they look very futuristic, like there from a Star Wars movie or something. Norr designed these towers deliberately and successfully to provide an iconic profile that dominates the business districts skyline. Below the towers is an oasis shopping mall and looking out to the side of the building is the horse racing grounds. The outside of the buildings are made out of aluminium panels with copper and silver glass the constantly capture the light of the desert sun.

7. Adobe Towers

The headquarters of Adobe Systems Inc. is the model for sustainable operations and the best example of an energy saving facility. I love the layout and intricate design of these three towers, it really proves that you can create a green building for a reasonable price. The buildings were designed by Bill Valentine in San Jose, California and is was completed in 2007 for $1.4 million dollars. This office building consist of three different towers and they all include high-pressure fluorescent tubes, motion-activated computer monitors and fans that only run twice a day for 3 hours at a time to keep the air quality above standards but at an energy efficient level. New products and technologies have been used around the buildings which make this more of a modern day appliance.

8. The Chicago Spire

I first saw this amazing building when architect, Blair Kamin, from Chicago came to Greensboro to talk to us about our architecture here and what we could do to improve. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava, who began construction on it in 2007. This skyscraper cost around $2.4 billion to create and reaches up 610 meters in the sky. I think I am so attracted to this building because it reminds me of the tower in the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz. It is so tall that you cannot help but stare at it. It is definitely in the right location though, the city where skyscrapers were born. The top of the building looks like the end of a drill bit or a space ship taking off. It is awesome!!

9. BMW Headquarters

Shaped like a four-cylinder engine the BMW Museum/Headquarters in Munich, Germany was designed by architect K.Schwarzer. Clearly visible from the U-Bahn this enormous building towers over Munich as the highlight of the city. Shaped like a clover from above people say that the structure has brought BMW a lot of luck in their business affairs. Inside of the museum is the technical evolution of the automobile through the 20th century. I love the idea of bringing the inside of the automobile out and exposing it to the world in a different way.

10. The Louvre

One of the oldest, most beautiful museums in the world is the Louvre which is located in Paris, France. The glass pyramid of the Louvre is a true symbol of Paris, making it one of the most popular attractions along with the Eiffel Tower. The building used to be a royal palace and still is home to the Mona Lisa, Madonna of the Rocks, Venus de Milo and over a hundred more famous pieces. I first fell in love with this building when I went to Europe for a month in 2005 and was able to take a tour of the Louvre. It was absolutely amazing to be able to see something that is so old but still so unique.

Ten Products

2007-11-05T09:21:00.000-05:00

1. Derek Marshall Lighting Marrakesh

I chose this Marrakesh lighting fixture because of its unique organic feel that incorporates American art glass and metal drop tubes. This was designed by Derek Marshall for his newest Pendant lighting fixture collection, and cost around $1,050.00. It was designed to create a strong local light such as over a dinging table or an island in a kitchen. Other types of Pendants by Derek Marshall include the Vortex, Sushi, Genji and Django. These beautiful pieces of art are well known in New Hampshire not only their beauty but also for their striking features of American contemporary finishes.

2. Jamie Young Butterworth

This very interesting Butterworth table lamp is designed with a mercury glass base and gathered drum shade in sheer black organza. Jamie Young designed this collection of table & floor lamps to "glam" up any interior space with elegance and sophistication, and have also been used in many TV shows and design magazines. I like this particular lamp because it is a great example of a modern accessory that is not extremely expensive, it only cost $645.00. Jamie Young's lamps are made by hand out of organic and natural materials.

3. Hartcorn Furniture + Design Dragonfly

This abstract Dragonfly desk tricks the eye with its duality of motion and rest. The bowed out table legs and simplicity remind me of the actual insect that inspired Hartcorn's design, the Dragonfly. Although this blonde-tone cherry desk is very beautiful, it comes with a rather large price tag of $6,800.00. I love this contemporary piece because it is very calming and takes me to a quiet place of relaxation. It is definitely a step up from our old, boring table desks. These Boston natives have won many awards for their unique designs & collections.

4. Heller UltraCube

This modern cube by Frank Gehry represents the evolution of his previous Right Twist model, with the added bonus of new technology and materials. I love this piece because it allows you to use our imagination for its purpose, whether you want it placed beside your front door or as an end table, it is so versatile. It is made out of three-ply urethane which is covered in silver automobile paint, making the outside of the cube very durable. With its sleek surface and flowing lines in a high gloss finish the UltraCube is a perfect example of Frank Gehry's attempts to better "humanize" a building.

5. Saunder Education Trey

Trey is by far the best invention of a chair since the rolling chair. It not only can be used as a floor rocker but it can also be used as a table/stool. This fabulous chair has a contoured seat and back cushions, pneumatic height adjustment, and is also spine-friendly! At around $60.00 you can have this comfortable chair to use in your office or dorm rooms. I like the neutral colors that the Saunder Education Co. chose because it is easy on the eye and the soft material reminds me of a relaxing spa recliner. It is also wonderful because its purpose is geared towards making today's students more comfortable & relaxed during their most stressful times.

6. Vitraform Peach Confetti

Since the bathroom is my favorite part of a house I chose this Peach Confetti glass sink. Just by introducing a new color to a room it can completely be transformed into a new, modern space. This freestanding sink by Vitraform is made out of matte glass and offers over ten different design engravings for the glass bowls. This particular sink was featured in Home & Garden magazine for its ability to bring art into home accessories.

7. Roche-Bobois Nonchalance Sofa

This new technology sofa definitely looks like it could live up to its name, I just want to run up and fall into it. It is made out of comfy leather which covers up a goose feather duvet. This one of a kind sofa comes with a remote control that allows you to choose your specific elevation for your legs and support for your back.

8. Terzani Untitled

This stainless steel creation by Bruno Rainaldi, of Terzani, is my ideal light fixture for a modern dining room. This lamp consists of a collection of geometrical plates, laser cut and lacquered in white on the back. I love this product not only because of its unique shape but also because of its new creative outlook on shapes. This sleek lighting piece is suspended both vertically and horizontally which creates a wonderful eye candy. It runs for around $3,731.00, which is not bad for a beautiful piece of modern day art.

9. Niedermaier Avalon

I chose this hourglass end table by Luke Wong because it immediately reminded me of the "Tulip Table" by Eero Sarrinen that we saw yesterday in class. I love its sleek, classy design with the curvy fiberglass body that turns into a thin glass top. It almost looks futuristic in a sense that the clean lines create a simple, modern space. This small accessory represents how our modern day designs are always going to be based on the past.

10. Brave Space Design Tetrad Bamboo

This bamboo storage piece by Brave Space Design was inspired by the game Tetris. These shapes were specifically chosen for sustainability purposes so they can be functional and hold a good amount of weight. The materials used include natural & amber bamboo, which provide relaxing warm tones to any space it is chosen to be put in. As playful as the shelving unit sounds the price however is not, at an outstanding $2,000.00 per unit. I love this unit because the style is a lot like how I want to design spaces in the future, playful but modern.

Shading Exercises

2007-10-31T08:24:00.000-04:00

Yesterday in class we did shading exercises from our drawing book. Below is my best drawing from section 2.1.

Below is my best drawing from section 2.4.

Ten Designers

2007-10-30T13:20:00.000-04:00

1. Vicente Wolf

Mr. Wolf has been an accomplished designer for over 30 years and owns his own company "Vicente Wolf Associates" in New York City. Not only does Wolf design restaurants and office spaces he also is involved in designing wine cellars, guest cottages, and retail stores. Some of Wolf's top designs include L-S Store in Hong Kong, the Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive & Cafe and the Lobby of the Fifth Avenue Office Building.

2. Thomas Pheasant

Thomas is from Washington, DC and opened his own firm, Thomas Pheasant Inc., at 23 years old. His work shows his own personal design style of simplicity. One of his most successful pieces is a 19-piece collection for McGuire Furniture which focused on sculptural lines, symmetry and scale.

3. Albert Hadley

Hadley an 84-year old designer, from Nashville, is known for his ability to study a room see the style and scale of the furnishings and create a rough sketch in a matter of minutes. He was first in a firm, McMillen Inc and was later in a partnership, Parish-Hadley Associates, with Henry "Sister" Parish, until he died in 1994. The archives of their firm's work became part of the permanent collection the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. He is a devout Modernist who hates when a customer over accessorizes a room. In 1986, Hadley was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fall for his contemporary designs, and is now recognized internationally as the "Dean" of interior design.

4. Thomas O'Brien

Mr. O'Brien is from upstate New York and is the founder of Aero Studios and is a design partner with Target. His design trademark is neutral patterns, pale colors and dark woods. These are all incorporated in with his furniture, linens and decor which make him a distinctive twentieth century designer. O'Brien has divided his design practice in New York City into three main groups: creating interiors for select clients, running his own store, Aero; and designing a wide range of products to make domestic life more beautiful.

5. Holly Becker

Becker first worked in the corporate world for 10 years before she pursued her passion of interior design and writing. She launched her design practice in 2005 called Decor8 which is known for merging new items with found ones, layering in special objects and adding plenty of fresh flower, lighting, inspiring music and scents to attract all the senses. She has a lot of successful rooms such as Rev4, Brocade Home, and Jonathon Adler + Simon Doonan's Home.

6. Andree Putman

Mrs. Putman has liberated French interior design from its proper, stuffy roots with her unmistakable vision of elegance, clarity and wit. In 1978 she opened her first design studio, Ecart. Ecart, not only produces interiors but also reissued, obscure furniture designs from the early part of the twentieth century. Through her work on The Morgans Hotel for Ian Schrager, Putman was able to launch a new genre of designer hotels. Her nickname in the design world is "Grand Dame of Modernism," because of her huge impact in the design field with her original French style.

7. Victoria Hagan

With a successful furniture, fabric & accessory company, Victoria Hagan Home, Hagan is a noted interior designer who strives for graphic, elegant & appropriate interiors. Rather than being one specific style her company focuses more on being versatile in its textures, colors and strong silhouettes. In December 2004, Hagan was inducted into the Interior Designer Hall of Fame and also was named last year "Furniture Designer of the Year" by Elle Decor Magazine for her collections with her company.

8. Thad Hayes

Native of Louisiana, Hayes attended Louisiana State University School of Environmental Design and also studied interior design at Parsons School of Design. Hayes received his first job offer in 1982 with Bray-Schaible Design and in 1985 broke off and established his own company, Thad Hayes, Inc. Architectural Digest Magazine named Hayes one of the "Deans of Design" and has also been honored as one of the Architectural Digests "Top 100". Thad Hayes, Inc, is widely known for their collections such as "Upholstery Collection At Donghia" and "Kentfield Collection for Boyd Lighting".

9. Madeline Stuart

Over the last 12 years, Stuart's projects have reflected her unique collaborative relationship between architecture and furniture, function and form, client and designer. Stuart, who is one of the leading interior designers for Los Angeles, stresses in her work the importance of the relationship between integrity and beauty. Her clients include a wide range from the entertainment industry and the business & finance world.

10. Craig Wright

Also a native of Los Angeles, California Wright has worked with many clients internationally all over France and also worked with many A-List clients in the US such as Tom Werner, Dan Ackroyd and Paul Junger Witt. Wright completed his first decorating project in 1966, which turned his interest from antiques to a love for design. His main tips about designing a room is to start with a fireplace or an antique rug and go from there, working around features that the client already has. He has been honored by Architectural Digest "Top 100" and is well known in LA for his 1920's Spanish Colonial Revival Style house that he bought and redesigned to connect his past in Palos Verdes and his last house Andalusia on Sunset Blvd.

Shading

2007-10-23T15:49:00.001-04:00

Today we did multiple sketches of shading in drawing class. I really enjoy being able to capture the different values with different types of shading...cross hatch, diagonal, smudge and random. Below I used two of the types of shading diagonal on the chair and cross hatch on the table lamp.

Design Research

2007-10-23T13:33:00.000-04:00

Design research is essential to the act of designing. We must first experience a variety of settings and cultural contexts to gain a level of environmental discernment that enables us to envision and create new and appropriate environments.

Project 5: Metamorphosis

2007-10-08T13:20:00.000-04:00

For this project we were told to select two different projects from two people in our IARC class and combine them into one final project. Then we were asked to draw 10 sketches to show the metamorphosis between the projects. Even though we only had a week to work on this we definitely had some wonderful ideas to work with.

Below are my five stages of my metamorphosis.

Stage one was Leah Petriccione's memory container.

Stage two was my mix of the two different projects that is closer to Leah's memory container project. I took the negatives from Leah's project and the egg from Lauren's project.

Stage three was my "Middle Mix" of Leah's memory project and Lauren's egg project. I used the geometry shapes from Lauren's egg project and the negatives and loose movements from Leah's memory box.

Stage four was my mix of the two different projects that is closer to Lauren's egg project. The shape looks more like Lauren's project but keeps with the transparency of Leah's project.

Finally stage five of the metamorphosis was Lauren Foster's egg project.

Project 4: Self Portraits

2007-10-08T13:13:00.000-04:00

For our next project we were asked to design an installation to house 8 self portraits. I had a really fun time with this project because there was no limits on our materials we could use so I just went with my imagination from there.

This picture portrays more of my playful side by me blowing a kiss.

I drew this picture from a photo that I took of my eye. This picture expressed how I can be scared easily... im so jumpy!

Ten Interior Environments

2007-10-08T13:12:00.000-04:00

The Zine that I have created includes ten examples of interior environments that I think are well designed and inspirational. I have selected dining room spaces for my Zine, since these environments are where families and individuals gather for social interaction and good cuisine. Dining rooms should be warm and inviting, thus encouraging guests to enjoy the overall experience.

Magazine Layout

2007-10-05T08:47:00.001-04:00

Project 3: Memory Box

2007-10-04T09:24:00.001-04:00

For our third project were we asked to write a narrative of a memory we chose and develop a parti that described what our intentions were in creating our memory box. We had about a week in a half to finish the process. The picture show my process in creating my final memory box.

Portrait Sketches

2007-09-25T09:53:00.002-04:00

Black & White Shading Sketch

2007-09-25T09:48:00.001-04:00

Project 2: Pencil Box

2007-09-20T17:18:00.000-04:00

This is my final iteration of my second project... my pencil box.

People Profiles

2007-09-13T17:18:00.002-04:00

Also today during class we were able to draw profiles of our classmates using angles and lines to keep their faces proportional.

Afternoon Exercises

2007-09-13T17:11:00.001-04:00

Below are two of my still life exercises I did in class today, they also show the orthographic lines I used to keep them proportional and in line.

Today we also learned how to draw proportions with people in different positions.

My robotic hand did not turn out too good, I think I just need to show more movement with the hand.

I love this sketch I did of my car keys!! I think by using negative space it really helps to define the object.

Today in class we had to draw our set of keys to show our understanding of negative spaces and how to draw contour lines.

Perspective Sketches

2007-09-13T10:25:00.001-04:00

I tried to capture the angles of the door that was open during class the other day but I am still having problems with perspective. . . like where to start.

I sketched this hallway on the third floor of the Studio Arts Building, my problem was that I did not really know where the angles actually were. Almost like I was just trying to draw what I saw not what was really there perspectively.

People Contours

2007-09-13T10:10:00.002-04:00

During lunch today I was finally able to complete a contour drawing of people! I was lucky enough that they did not get up and leave half way through my drawing, that was probably the most difficult part of this assignment. . . trying to get the people to sit still long enough for me to draw them.

This sketch was my first negative space drawing of people. I think it turned out pretty well since just the thought of having to draw people scares me!

I was able to sketch this in psychology class before my teacher noticed that I was not paying attention. It was so funny because the people who I was drawing kept looking at me weird. They were probably a little freaked out that I was drawing them!

This was another drawing during class the other day where I was trying to pick up the basics on how to draw the human figure.

Project 1: A Place For An Egg

2007-09-12T11:23:00.004-04:00

This is a digital picture of the right side view of my egg project I just completed for IARC. I really enjoyed this project because it was challenging to have to think completely out of the box an actually create a place for an egg that also celebrates a quality of that egg. I loved working on this project!

This is a front view of my egg project.

This is the left side view of my egg project.

Ai3 Critique

2007-09-12T09:49:00.000-04:00

When looking at the Ai3 website I was so amazed at how extravagant their work was. The designs are so clean and functional but at the same time is able to look at a room for its beauty. Their portfolio of work inspires me to work hard so that maybe one day I can be apart of something so exciting!

Downtown Contour Drawings

2007-09-11T13:21:00.002-04:00

This is a contour drawing of the Carolina Theatre in Downtown Greensboro. This was the first of my four drawings so I was not exactly sure how much time to spend on it or how big to make it so it basically turned into my basic setup for my other drawings.

First Sketch of Education Building

2007-09-07T11:01:00.001-04:00

This is my first sketch of the Education Building on campus. We did this during class the other day and I really enjoyed learning how to capture the angles of the building and how to create a focal point in the drawing.

Negative Space: Corner Unit

2007-09-07T10:53:00.002-04:00

I sketched this corner unit in my dining room during lunch one afternoon and I think I did a really good job capturing all the negative space and keeping it symmetrical.

Upside Down Bicycle Drawing

2007-09-07T10:46:00.002-04:00

After a few days of practicing negative space drawings we were asked to draw a bike that was downstairs in the lobby. I believe my bike turned out very well, even the smallest details made so much of a difference.

Second Sketch of Education Building

2007-09-06T12:59:00.001-04:00

My second drawing of the Education building turned out so much better than the first because I not only took more time to draw it but I also payed more attention to details.

Blind Contour of Left Hand

2007-09-04T13:47:00.001-04:00

This blind contour was very interesting because I was trying so hard to capture every little line on every part of my left hand. I could not believe that is actually turned out decent, it was exciting for me to be able to draw a blind contour for the first time!

Negative Space: Stool

2007-09-03T23:47:00.001-04:00

Although this negative space drawing was easier that the other ones I attempted I was able to use it to learn how to keep the different lines symmetrical.

Negative Space: Wooden Chair

2007-09-03T23:32:00.001-04:00

This was my second negative space drawing ever and I think I did a good job capturing the angles of the chair. It took me a while to get right but I it turned out pretty even.

Negative Space: Wooden Chair

2007-09-03T23:09:00.001-04:00

This was my first negative space drawing ever! I think it turned out really well considering I have never drawn anything difficult, let alone a chair, in my life. I was very pleased.