Week 4: 2D

GROUP EXERCISE – EXPLORING AND CHALLENGING

From this exercise, our group came up with the following ideas for my lantern design concept:

EXPLORATION

Designs/themes

Materials: translucent, fire resistant, non-smudge print

Templates: whether to glue or fold together

CHALLENGES

Designs, not only for the decorative component, but also for the practical 3D application.

Will these be able to be reproduced fairly easily?

Could it be produced on a mass scale or should it be a boutique item?

Is it fire safe/water proof for outdoor use?

PRACTICAL – CONCEPT EXPERIMENTATION, VARIATION & EVALUATION

Two experiments I could conduct on my design concept:

1.It is important to determine what paper (or other material) the lantern would best print out on. To be able to print the design, the lanterns would need to be made of materials that are translucent, strong, and thin enough to go through a printer.

Ideas to try:

·       Print out on normal paper

·       Print out on translucent (baking-paper like) paper

·       Print out on tissue paper

·       Print out on fabric

I will need to test the ease of which the above-suggested materials can be printed on, also if they smudge or soak up too much ink. I also need to be mindful of the reproduction of the colours as well as the safety of the materials ie fire safe.

2. What would be the most practical way to create the lanterns?

I could try:

·       Folding

·       Tabs

·       Gluing

·       Sticky tape/double sided tape

I need to establish a good working template.

Below is one I sketched out:

Pros:

·       Once a workable template has been developed, it can be continually used.

·       The lanterns can be unique in the way it has been designed, both from 2D and 3D aspects

Cons:

·       Most materials that I print out on will not be fire safe (will need to explore sprays/coatings I can put on the lanterns instead)

·       Normal printing paper would most likely favor printed designs, others such as tissue paper or even fabric may prove to be too delicate, soak up too much ink or not reproduce the colour well.

·       Access to printers

·       Establishing a good template will take lots of time and experimentation

·       Working within a budget (need to consider costs of ink, paper, glue, etc as well as cost of lights to complete the lanterns)

Choosing and Refusing

Most of these ideas can and should be tried out before refusing them outright. I guess I would be a bit more hesitant printing on a material like tissue paper for fear of it getting stuck in the printer!