Research and Communication Skills: Reflection and Review

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Over the last semester I was tasked to produce essays on topics covered in lectures. With a 500 word limit per essay, I was terrified from the get-go, however the experience, not without its difficulties, has been enlightening in regards to my understanding as a game designer.  

The first issue I had was that I would tend to choose the question pairs that I had the fullest understanding of without much research involved. Retrospectively I would have like to push myself a little more instead of staying in my comfort zone – it might have resulted in really interesting research that brought to light subjects I hadn’t considered before. That said, as the semester progressed, the quality of my research increased and deepened as I became more enthusiastic about what I was doing.  

My process from lecture to end product was as such: I would take notes during the lectures (despite the slides being readily available to me I find I absorb more by re-processing what’s being discussed, and it gives me the ability to note down topics that I found particularly interesting), and then take to the internet when it came to doing the research. Admittedly, I never once used the library facilities, which is something I would really like to do in the future as I think it could unearth some unusual commentary on different subjects. By the last few essays, however, I was looking less at Wikipedia pages and more at scholarly articles and credible newspaper reports, which helped to further deepen my understanding through absorbing other people’s opinions.  

Two subjects that took my particular interest, which are close-enough related that I’ll discuss them together, were HCI and AI. Whilst other topics such as the history of indie gaming really helped me to appreciate the context in which I’m currently playing and designing games, HCI and AI unpacked the actual logistics of the games I’ve played in the past – purely for fun – and helped me consider them in a more critical, intelligent way. Learning about HCI specifically helped me to appreciate what it is that makes a game “flow” for me, after all, “a well-designed interface makes the video game experience more fun” (Fox, 2005). My hope is that having a deeper understanding of these things will increase my integrity as a designer, having the ideas and opinions of other people in the industry under my belt.  

The referencing of other’s work, however, was a bit of a challenge for me. I’m wildly opinionated, and while I am perfectly capable of crediting others for their contribution to those opinions, it’s not a habit for me, so this project was challenging in the way that it required me to back up my ideas with specific examples from others. If I were to do it again, I would include references from the start to achieve a more airtight argument. 

I enjoyed this project. I think it stretched and challenged me, and while there are areas I could improve on I’m proud of the work I’ve produced and all the research that went along with it. 

 

Reference list: 

Fox, B. (2005) Game Interface Design. Thomson Course Technology PTR. 

 

Helpful links: 

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4869/a9cc94292332faee0b9e741bc93419d155a5.pdf 

Question pair 1

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What were the key ideas of Bauhaus?

First thing that was laid out in Bauhaus’s manifesto was about functionality and its number one importance when it came to making products. Bauhaus believed that all products made had to have a unique selling point in terms of aesthetics and had to be functional in their design, this meant making products inexpensive and long lasting while maintaining functionality of the product. Therefore, mass production was very helpful in saving costs. Second thing listed in the Bauhaus manifesto was about being smart and tactical with money and time spent building the product, this didn’t mean buying poor materials or trying to rush the production of the product and making it an unusable product for the means of profit, rather it meant using time and money efficiently together to make sure there was budget set and a time set for the completion of the project. The third part of his manifesto consisted of Bauhaus explaining how he believed that there was always a need for discovery in terms of design, this meant coming up with unique ways to use art and architecture to influence product designs, Bauhaus used this technique to come up with the earliest form of graphic design, this was because of his use of negative space which created graphic design as we know it today. Lastly Bauhaus emphasized the need for simplicity and effectiveness, this meant removing things that are not required for the product to function. Adding unnecessary things that make the product look pretty made the product clunky in the eyes of Bauhaus, so making sure that the products production was focused on multi-functionality and not just a focus on making it look pretty. Bauhaus really enjoyed influencing design that were more organic and felt down to earth in a way this made them more beautiful than products focused on being beautiful. I will be using the ideas of multi-functionality from Bauhaus in my game development.

Sources and references

https://www.widewalls.ch/bauhaus-manifesto-key-points/

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-bauhaus.htm

 

Do you feel the ideas have an influence on contemporary game design?

From my understanding I believe that Bauhaus had a small influence on games this is due to the complexity of games today and how they’re made with the idea of making them look as beautiful as possible, for example Triple A titles like Destiny focus on being beautiful rather than being functional. This has made the very popular titles being released today very lacklustre as they lack multi-functionality in terms of story and function. On the other hand, Bauhaus does have some influence on indie game designs this because they’re mainly focused on functionality which follows a memorable story line along with a gameplay which flourishes of functionality, this in a way gives them their own beauty in design as they organic in their design and aesthetics like the indie game Fez. Even today Bauhaus influences many small parts of the game industry which are growing bigger and bigger due to many platforms allowing for indie games to sell, therefore Bauhaus continues to influence contemporary game designs in small ways in this current period.

 

Sources and references

http://www.gamesreviews.com/news/07/fez-cost-over-half-a-million-to-make/

https://www.gamersnexus.net/game-bench/3037-destiny-2-gpu-benchmark-frametimes-graphics-optimization

Task 5/6-Visual Research

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Alexander McQueen’s Spring/Summer 2010 Plato Atlantis explores colour and texture whilst mainly inspired by nature. I feel inspired by this collection as he has included many references and portrayed each of them through techniques on each garment, for example life above sea, moth and snake prints, as well as the transition to underwater with stingrays, jellyfish and blue/green hues. These two opposites are heavily explored with a twist of Si-fi fantasy such as aliens/creatures and under water cities, Atlantis and Ridley Scott’s Alien, 1979. As well as reversing the ideas of Darwin’s theory of evolution by making the garment have more amphibian like features.

McQueen’s Spring/Summer 2010, is split between under water life and above sea level. The garments exploring underwater life are covered in blue and green hues mixed with iridescent sequins. The full body garment has Ÿ sleeves a high neck and a jellyfish like puff around the thighs. The full iridescent sequined garment mirrors the scales of a fish or the gleam of the sun on the sea’s surface, while the puff looks like the head of a jellyfish.

The colours and textures of snakes and moths heavily inspire the above sea garments. The garment is a mini dress with oversized long sleeves and a small collar with a zip down the front, it is covered yellow, green and brown tones of snake skin print, teamed with mustard like yellow sequins on the waist to look like the scales of a reptile, shaping the waist in an unusual way. Inspired by John McTiernan’s ‘Predator’ 1987. The strong/structured garment accentuating parts of the body giving the human body animalistic features.

Overall, I really like his SS10 collection, I find the combinations of cool blue tones and warm brown tones from the inspiration of nature are really well explored and are interesting within each garment as well as the over exaggerated structure of the Si-fi element in the garments.

 

-Darwin nineteenth century theories of evolution
-twenty-first century concerns of global warming
-Snakes, moths, Jellyfish, Stingrays
-Atlantis
-Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’ 1979
-James Cameron’s ‘The Abyss’ 1989
– John McTiernan’s ‘Predator’ 1987

 

Bibliography
Bethune K. V&A The Museum of Savage Beauty (2015) Encyclopedia Of Collections: Platos Atlantis. Avalible from: http://www.vam.ac.uk/museumofsavagebeauty/rel/encyclopedia-of-collections-platos-atlantis/
Accessed: 29th November 2017

Skill, Stamina, Luck

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> A) select one example to outline the key concepts of the interactive narrative genre?

In my opinion, The Stanley Parable is a game to which can be a shining example of the key concepts of the interactive narrative. Though categorised on Steam as a ‘first person exploration game’ The Stanley Parable is one game that highlights its interactive narrative by having a narrator that says what Stanley (the player) is going to do and where they are going to go, the player can then choose whether or not to follow the Narrators, well, narrative. Your decisions as the player directly affect the narrative of the game as shown by the Narrators reaction to such choices and in some cases the Narrator trying to coax the player back into his own narrative or getting somewhat passive aggressive when you continue to ignore him.

With the players decisions come multiple endings to the game, roughly nineteen in total, all of which are dependent on what the player does during the game and at what points the player chooses to listen to or ignore the Narrator. There is an ending in which if the player obeys the Narrators every word, Stanley destroys the ‘Mind Control Facility’ whilst the Narrator talks about how Stanley is now free and can do whatever he wants. That ending is both clever and ironic in the context of games as although the player may have freedom to do what they want in games; the majority of players are still controlled by games and the narratives that drive them even in the interactive narrative genre.

> B) does the interactive narrative still have a role to play in video games today. Give exemplary examples?

In a word, yes. Interactive narratives and games with them still have a major role to play in the video games of today because giving players the ability to choose what they do can immerse them in the game more so than if they were just following one set narrative path. On top of that, giving the player choices with consequences and changes in plot points adds a replay ability factor to the game, the option to play through the story x number of times to see all the endings.

Gaming companies have taken on board the interactive narrative, modelling their games to give the players choices that directly affect the game and how the plot unravels. Titles such as Life Is Strange, Dream Daddy: A Daddy Dating Simulator and Until Dawn are three exemplary examples of how the interactive narrative is being still being used and used well in video games. All three employ multiple narrative arcs dependent on what the player chooses to say/do, each with consequences that appear later in the game or right after the choice has been made.

Life Is Strange has the most interesting use of the interactive narrative though as it also uses a time travel mechanic that allows the players to change some of their choices right after they’ve been made, seeing only the short-term consequences as an indicator for what their choice has resulted in. The games immense popularity and multiple game awards show that interactive narrative does still hold a place in the gaming industry.

Ried, M. Bulitko, V. Interactive Narrative: An Intelligent Systems Approach [pdf]  Available at: https://www.cc.gatech.edu/~riedl/pubs/aimag.pdf [Accessed 1 December 2017]
The Stanley Parable on Steam. Store.steampowered.com Available at:  http://store.steampowered.com/app/221910/The_Stanley_Parable/ [Accessed 1December 2017]
Endings. The Stanley Parable WIki  Available at: http://thestanleyparable.wikia.com/wiki/Endings {Accessed 1 December 2017]

Summary

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Throughout the research and communication lectures I have learnt a great deal of information. Each lecture we have learnt about significant movements throughout the years and furthermore, introduced me to new artists. Each week I have been able to see how art has evolved and its connection to current 21st century art. Personally I have a keen interest in Graphic Design however, these lectures have also introduced me to other mediums of art and allowed me to gain a great deal of inspiration from them. In addition It has also help me with my analysis skills and further encourage me to utilise the facilities that I have access to such as the library. Moreover, writing blog posts has also allowed me to progress in my essay writing as well as working on my time management skills.

These lectures have enabled me to progress within other aspects of this course as I have been able to see connections when I’m in lessons. I’m able to refer back to knowledge that I have gained within my research and communication lectures and response to work more clearly. This has been immensely helpful as it has allowed me to see how art is continuously inspired by past movements and artists. Furthermore, It has also shown me how current situations inspire art. To create and design something that is successful an artist needs to ensure that they’re fully aware of the context and purpose of what they’re designing. A clear and comprehensive understanding of theory allows artists to accomplish a successful design practice outcome. This is evident within the  postmodernism movement work, artists are aware of previous work and re appropriate it or create something new in the style of it – pop art for example.

Each lecture has been significant for my progress within this whole graphic arts course however, week 5 lecture regarding the ‘Underground Culture’ was one of the most inspiring. It motivated me to consider how I would design a piece of graphic design work. The work produced and shown during this lecture was all very vibrant and innovative. I could see various elements within the work that inspired me. Primarily the typography, it was playful and decorative which was ideal for the message that was being portrayed. What I gained from this lecture was the importance of ensuring you have a clear understanding of what you’re trying to communicate. Furthermore, it also encourages me to be more inventive with my design work. When I consider graphic design I think about clean, clear, sophisticated work mostly computer based. However, I now deliberate on whether I could create my own typeface. If it doesn’t confuse the message that I am trying to convey then I don’t necessarily have to with default use a font found on computer design software. Moreover, the lecture also inspired me to think about layout and composition. The alignment of elements of the artwork can help the final outcome as it can make or break how successful the work is. For example if a piece of design is primarily text then you can play around with that and manipulate the text to mimic shape.

Overall, the lectures have given me important knowledge and allowed me to work on my research and writing skills. I’m able to take what I’ve learnt into my other lessons to expand on my practice work.

final summary

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From doing these blogs over the past few weeks I have learnt how to constructively create my own opinions on subjects and correctly respond to the questions given I have done this by not only including my own opinions into the blogs, but also researching the subject of the task. I have also learnt from these lectures how to evaluate the work of artists and create an informed written argument of the work they have produced by commenting on the way the work has been made and how it may be relevant to my work as a practitioner.

I have seen the connections between the lectures and how they all link as I’ve noticed we are almost being taken through the time line of art starting from the early 20th century, starting with abstract art all the way through to post modernism. Also, I have noticed with the ideas and my developing practice is that by going through the timeline of art it is extending my knowledge into the history of art and how it’s developed over the years. When doing these blogs, I have been constantly referring back to different notes from other lectures which is almost linking them all together so they flow nicely and make sense.

Theory is the before bit where you plan and research before doing the practical part, this is the connection between the two because it is very difficult to do one of those without the other as you can’t really make a piece without the evidence of planning as people want to know and understand the reasons behind your work otherwise they wouldn’t understand why you have done what you have done. In some cases, it is possible to just do the theory side of things, but again people will want to understand why you may have not completed the work and by showing them that you end up creating a piece to support that evidence.

A key part from the lectures that I have taken and how it has helped my studio based practice is the Netflix series “Abstract: The art of design” that we have watched in some of our lectures because I feel like this has really helped me as a practitioner to see inside the minds of different artists and how they work. In the series, they don’t just focus on what form of art, but many and so far, I have watched the illustrator, stage designer, graphic designer and photographer. I have found this to be helpful as in my studio based practice I look into these practitioners and research them for my theory side of my work to support my evidence in my sketchbooks. Not only that, but I also visually enjoy their work and how they explain the reasons for the work they created.

500 word summary

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These past 9 weeks have really been educational teaching me the importance of research in my work and how it can shape me as a contemporary practitioner in the future. The research lectures have taught me the history of art and design engaging me in the different art movements through the years and the relevance it had in society. Having this new found knowledge of different art movements it has defiantly given me a new perspective in design and has widen my understanding of what good design looks like. As well as the different movements we had sets of new artists, photographers, illustrators and graphic designers that I found greatly inspirational seeing all the different piece of art gave me a whole catalog of work I could reference and use in my own personal work to develop my style. 

Having had this research and communication skills course it has prepared me for the second semester developing my skills in researching knowing where to look for information in the library, being able to use the facilities effectively and also going online and finding resources and being able to properly reference them using the Harvard referencing. Taking on board everything I have learnt hopefully I can use my skills to to refine my work using research to get a better understanding questioning my work and using the resource I have found to help refer and develop my idea hopefully allowing me to create more in-depth and visually interesting work.

In our publish or perish lecture I was most interested when we watched a video about Platon a photograph on the Netflix series Abstract. In the video Platon says “Taking a picture is technical but 99.9% is spent on the connection” this reminded me that all the software and techniques we learn about is only a small fraction of are working and we have to develop are way of thinking and working to utilise these tools effectively. Story, message, feeling and connection where important roles in Platon’s work shaping the way it looks. By having all this home work of information behind each photo creates a something that speaks to the viewer using only a single frame.

The importance of connection and feeling was reinforced when I had to write up about the publish and perish blog. When I was looking for published work I found two pice that really spoke to me the Bloomberg business week cover titled no apologies and the International Society for Human Rights poster about children victim from the war. For both these piece I read a lot of articles and news stories about each event and really got engaged and interested with the research I was doing. By doing this blog write up it has shown me the importance of message and content behind my own practice.

I think overall the research lecture skills have widen my knowledge in art, expanded my catalogue of artist I’m inspired by and improved my way of researching and approaching my practice.

 

 

Authenticity

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What does authenticity mean? The dictionary describes it as “of undisputed origin and not a copy; genuine”. Meaning being real and true.

To be authentic in todays creative industry is is harder then before; the development of social media has influence more artist to create amazing art/ design. Now day finding and sharing an art work has become earlier. The positive side is more people are being inspired through social media, and it has influences people to create they own creative medium. Internet has allowed us to share our creative skill meaning most of your work is inspired by someone or something. Therefore, in my opinion to be truly authentic in today’s world can be challenging but not impossible.

During the early development of the Modernism movement Paul Strand was one of the greatest and most influential photographers of the the 20th century whose images have captures abstract viewpoints also defined the way fine art and documentary photography is understood and practised today. Edward Hopper was influenced by this style and produced paintings with a similar effect.

This is relevant today because modernism as a principle strips away old convention to the bare bones of simple style in pursuit of making new, this still holds value in modern practice, we see these principles in our everyday lives with the use of abstraction and sans serif design.

The argument to Hoppers authenticity could be the differences in subject matter and media. He was influenced by an artists work but interpreted with his own style and ideas to create an original concept.

I think it is impossible to be truly authentic; we learn from history with even new ideas and styles can be related to another even subconsciously in some way.

reference 

http://www.jobdig.com/articles/1778/What_Does_it_Mean_to_be_Authentic%3F.html

task 7

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My interests as a practitioner mainly consist of photography and illustrative pieces, especially portraits.

 

I chose a piece made by Chuck Close “self-portrait” I chose this as portraits are relevant to my interests as it is something I really enjoy; Chuck Close is also an artist whom I have admired for many years. I enjoy his work because I find his piece always tell a story within them as he only ever draws friends and family, or himself so he’s always got that connection with his pieces as they are close to his heart and knows them more on a personal level which he may not have had with strangers.

Close, C. (2004). self-portrait. [oil on canvas].

 

 

 

Another artists whose work I really enjoy is Cristina Troufas. I really enjoy her unfinished paintings that she paints onto a coloured background that contrast her work. I like this because it’s different to other work as by giving it the unfinished look especially when it’s the clothes she doesn’t finish it gets you to focus more on the people in the piece allowing a connection between the viewer and artwork.  “The painter uses simple lines and negative space to punctuate her compositions, choosing to highlight the flesh which makes her figures essentially human.” Lesley Frenz, 2012, artsyforager.com.

 

Troufa, C, (date unknown) pedestal. [Acrylic on canvas]

 

 

Platon, (2007) Vladimir Putin, president of Russia. [photography]

 

Breaking away from the illustrative side I looked into ‘Platon’, a famous photographer. In a previous lecture, we watched a documentary on him and his work and I found him really interesting in the way he works with his models. Platon likes to make sure he has that connection with his model when working with them and by doing this he asks them questions about their life whilst he takes the pictures to show this emotional side otherwise people when looking at his work won’t feel this connection with his pieces, I feel as this quote from his documentary supports my opinion best “taking a picture is very technical, but 99.9% is spent on this connection that allows me to reach someone. And through that connection, there’s just a chance you’re going to feel something too.”  Platon, 2017  , abstract: the art of design.

Summary

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In this semester, I take 8 lectures to learn the communication and research skills. Theses lectures talk about history and academic knowledge of art including Counter Culture, Postmodernism, Modernism and Postmodernism. I learn how to consider and appreciate an art project with their deep meaning, and it also let me know how to do research to help myself design work.

Research and communication courses benefit my graphic design skills. From my research I appreciate various famous graphic designer’s projects which form a new world for my design thinking. As for a poster, when I design it, in the beginning I will chose typefaces because it may influence the overall sense of the poster, and I will read text carefully to find a most suitable typeface for the expression of writer. ‘The Crystal Goblet ‘said that typography like a cup for text, so my design must around the sense of text. In my opinion, design is not self-expression, but communicate and text. Therefore, I need to use typography and consider the hierarchy, alignment, weight, space, margins, cropping, scale, contrast, and proportions of the poster to stop people. In addition, I should consider the key point of a text, and lead reader to catch the most important information in the first time.

Kenya Hara is one of my favorite graphic designer. According my research, I gain lots of design ideas from this designer. He told that “Art is an expression of an individual’s will tosociety at large. Design is not self-expression. Instead it originates in society. The essence of design lies in the process of discovering a problem shared by many people and trying to solve it. I really like his projects about haptic and re-design, which is fantastic and innovative. Especially the haptic design, it let me know design need to communicate with pubic and infect them by my projects. Another my favorite graphic designer is J.Muller-Brockmann who is a swiss modernism graphic designer. The first time I know him is on the Modernism lecture. From my research about his artworks and read his books. I how to use the grid as an organizational too, harmony between image and type was achieved, resulting in a unified composition.

These lectures also take various photograph skills for me. when I do some research, I find a very special photographer who is Luigi Ghirri. He considers the ability and defect of photography, and good at using painting frames, windows, doorframe, and even ridges form the cutting of the photo. When I do my 15 photos work in the photograph course, I always consider the special form of frame and used different view and point to express a project.

Overall, Research and communication skill course let me know that as a designer, I need to gain more and more art history and academic knowledge, and I need to consider some society problems to communicate design and public. When I do a artwork I cannot only limit my idea in own work , and should do a lot of research from famous designers and history.

https://www.ndc.co.jp/hara/en/books/2011/05/haptic.html

https://www.moma.org/artists/4154

http://www.dazeddigital.com/photography/article/16236/1/luigi-ghirri