Research Project

How can composition and pattern be descriptive elements when trying communicate the characteristics of a buildings function?

The communication devices I shall be exploring are pattern and composition. These elements have always been something I have had an interest in and I want apply them in a way that will allow me to represent the functionality of a building as this subject matter is a recurring theme that crops up in my illustrations so I shall be taking this further with the communication devices.

I shall be beginning this process by investigating buildings in my surrounding area that I could potentially use and create diverse and interesting functions for this collection that I will illustrate whilst considering my six references and how they do what they do in relation to what my own intent is. 

I shall be looking at the work of Camille Walala. She applies her bold patterned work to architectural canvases. She works with small businesses such as cafés, coffee shops, dj sets, clubs and then extends this to clothing and footwear.  She creates these decorative pieces and applies them in relation to the functionality of the canvas. I too shall be considering this whilst regarding the patterns and compositions. Walala uses very bold, striking patterns whereas the patterns I usually create are a little more expressive with the mark making and not with the colours I use.  When it comes to considering the function of the buildings, I shall also look at the colours and patterns I shal design and develop, having a similar intent as Walala. I will want to engage the audience with a vibrant design portraying the atmosphere and characteristics of the buildings functionality. By experimenting with the different buildings I shall choose I can then see what will work best with this intent and if the patterns and compositions best represent what I wish to say about the buildings.

The Memphis Movement is the design of postmodern furniture, fabrics, ceramics, glass and metal objects. Bold, flat colours with hints of pattern run through the designs and are inspired by Pop Art and Art Deco. The intent of this movement was to question why something had to look like a typical version of itself. This feeds well into the abstract compositional values I am going to explore. I want to take shapes that reflect the functionality of my chosen buildings, whether this be something like a coffee shop, and piece them together in a less than conventional fashion. This way the shapes are recognizable but not a typical version of itself. I can then explore this further by designing patterns with these unconventional shapes that represent and reflect the buildings function.

The artwork of the Ndebele Tribe is an identifying factor for them and their culture. They combine exterior sources of stimulation with traditional design concepts borrowed from their ancestors. The concept is to allow the bold patterns and colours to represent the tribe. I have the same concept when it comes to representing the buildings I choose. I will identify what it is that represents the buildings use and portray this in a bold abstract, patterned manner. I want to explore and experiment with the identifying factors of the buildings and see what way compositionally I can best portray the patterns I create in terms of the original concept. I can break down and pinpoint in more detail exactly what is the focal point that reflects the function of the building so that there is a strong idea behind the outcome in the same way the Ndebele Tribe does.

Mondrian creates pieces with a white background upon which he paints a grid of vertical and horizontal black lines of varying thicknesses, and the three primary colours to allow for an abstract outcome. I shall look at the composition in a much simpler way allowing for a much simpler outcome compared to some of my other experiments. Using a selective colour palette may add to this simpler outcome and could also abstract further as I could use colours that may not be expected to be seen on the things I will end up illustrating. I could use the actual buildings external layout as the base for this simplified composition thus furthering me being able to portray the buildings function. 

The consideration of shapes and colours are very apparent in Anna Higgie’s work. Figures along with some typography crop up in her illustrations as they are aimed at the fashion industry. She is able to take these patterns and shapes and express an individual’s persona. This engages the audience and allows them to think about the devices used and how it portrays character. The way in which she uses the shapes with the patterns is what interests me the most as she abstracts the original image to a certain extent by chopping, changing and covering the subject matter. I can too do this with my subject matter, this being the buildings I choose. The shapes, colours and patterns can reflect the function and I can then abstract the composition. I will investigate how successful this is as a communicative device for the audience.

James Gulliver Hancock uses travel-based focal points within a lot of his work. He reimagines the world he sees and then illustrates what he has seen. I will be adopting this way of working with my experiments so as to replicate the intent of Hancock’s work. Whilst still considering pattern and abstraction, as Hancock does use these elements in his work too, I shall redesign the chosen buildings based around their functions so that they have a new image all together that better fits their created function. I will still look at my intent in the same way, so I shall be looking at motifs I can illustrate that will help describe the buildings function but I can then apply these to the redesigning/ reimagining of the building. I feel this could be a successful outcome as a strong portrayal of what I want to say about the buildings function can be illustrated.

Using the influence of Camille Walala’s work, with her bold patterns and colours, I have experimented with a heavily patterned based investigation. Having chosen the building and its functionality I have gone on to designing motifs to represent this to a certain extent. Colours and pattern are a strong factor within Walala’s work and the abstracted, simplification of them so I have tried to exhaust my experiments in this area too.

The chosen function of my first building is a sociable space for friends to have coffee. It was essential that the motifs I created portrayed this. Walala doesn’t use the same kind of portrayal method with the pieces she creates, she uses the patterns to

bring it  life and give it character, so I have taken this into consideration and thought about my colours choices and the shapes I have integrated so that I could then go on to create patterns with my motifs in a similar fashion. I have first tried a couple of different compositions whilst creating patterns. The idea that this is a coffee shop is apparent but the fact that it is also a social space is not as obvious as it could be. I can now go on to achieve this portrayal by again trying different compositions to see if I am able to communicate this with the devices I am choosing to explore.

I have gone on to try out some repeat patterns with my motifs I have already used and tried to give the impression it is a social space as well as a coffee shop. I have also applied one of the designs I created to the building to see what kind of effect it would have on a larger scale in terms of achieving what I am investigating.

The much busier repeat pattern gives the social element to the portrayal of the buildings function. In terms of the process to create this pattern I would deem it more successful than the previous as it is a lot more adaptable when it comes to creating other things around it such as the pattern within the speech bubble. I have therefore found a better compositional method with I can now take into my next experiments and adapt to the functions of the other buildings and my references.

The Memphis Movement questions why something needs to look like a typical version of itself. I therefore went onto simplify the shapes that I am using to describe the functionality of my next building, this being a Luxe Food Hall. Simplifying and to an extent, abstracting my motifs has allowed me to design patterns in a different way as the shapes are already interesting so I have built on this, whilst combining with typography that I have also designed considering the Memphis Movement.

The patterns I have created are quite delicate and have a very uniform composition. In terms of trying to describe the functionality of the Luxe Food Hall I think these patterns would be more fitting in the interior as something smaller such as packaging. Bolder, more striking compositions would work better as a more descriptive communication device as they have a more engaging element to them. Combining this with the typography I have designed may make this achievable and will be my next experiment based on the Memphis Movement.

Using the simplified shapes from previously I have now designed patterns that are bolder and better express a purpose for the chosen building. Combining this with the geometric style lettering I made, the strong shapes are striking and the compositions and patterns correlate well together. The balance of the more delicate patterns with the bold typography was an interesting compositional method and is one that works well as the contrast allows the audience to explore both aspects of the piece separately. In my final outcome I shall consider this idea and explore it further as I think is the most successful.

The Ndebele Tribe use their patterns as a strong, identifying factor of their tribe, so I have taken this concept when applying it to the next building I’ve chosen, this being a cosmetics store. I began by mimicking the existing patterns of the tribe, which then lead me to create my own. These six patterns will be the basis for this set of experiments.

I created some motifs based around the function of the building so that they are able to portray its function. Combining these two elements, the patterns and motifs, in a number of ways will allow me to see how the compositions work in terms of being a descriptive communication device. The first set of designs, where the pattern fills the canvas and the motifs are behind, allows for a very busy outcome. In terms of this being a portrayal of the buildings function, the composition is too dense and hectic for the purpose. This may engage the audience but it doesn’t allow the identifying factors of the buildings function to be the focus. A contrasting composition will be the next experiment to explore to see how it differs and whether the needs of my investigations are met.

I went about the next experiment in the opposite way to the last. I used the motifs as the main starting point and then applied the pattern to this so that it wouldn’t be as crowded as the last. This is a much clearer approach when considering the composition. I can take the new motifs and create pattern with these too so that I can explore the compositional values in a different way.

I combined text with these compositions which breaks it up in a way that it can still be a busy composition but doesn’t come across as too much for the audience. The buildings function is therefore better communicated via this. This can now feed into my final outcome, as this is a successful experiment when referring back to the original investigation.

Simple shapes and a selective colour palette are the basis of Mondrians work so I have created motifs for my next buildings function, this being a bakery. Taking from my previous experiments I have designed very simple shapes to correlate with the function and the style of Mondrians work.

The bold lines were a challenge to work with, as they were a very prominent element when creating the patterns to describe the function. I experimented with the compositions and how full the canvas was, using the variety of motifs I designed. The fuller compositions worked better visually but not necessarily as a descriptive communication device as the frame became too full and abstracted. The use of typography does however, break up the composition, which I also found when conducting experiments previously.

When considering my final outcome, I shall be taking into account the communication devices I will use as from these particular experiments I can see more clearly what will work and what will not and in order to successfully allow for a descriptive outcome I can draw my findings together so that this is shown in my work.  

It is extremely apparent from Anna Higgies work that shapes, pattern and colour play a big part in achieving the desired effect. She uses the shapes to abstract the forms in her work, which is what I have attempted to do with this set of experiments.

Whilst still remaining recognizable to some degree, I used the motif I created and cut it up to achieve an abstracted outcome. From this process I was then able to apply the broken up image into a pattern. As a piece on its own, the pattern doesn’t achieve my desired effect of being descriptive and informative to the audience of the Whiskey Store. Combined with the original motif however, a more successful outcome was produced.

Using the shape arrangements I made, I used the fractured motif to again try and achieve my desired effect. I developed from this though as like the stand-alone pattern, these weren’t successful pieces.

As previously discovered, the use of text helped to anchor the illustration and break up the image so that the descriptive outcome could be achieved when paired with the motif. The colours and shapes allow for the motif to become a more distinct feature of the final outcome as they are complimentary and highlight it, which is what is achieved in Higgies work.

Using these experiments I can now consider my final outcome in terms of the shapes and colours I use as they could be quite an anchoring device when trying to achieve the desired effect of pattern and composition being used as descriptive communication devices.

James Gulliver Hancock observes his surroundings and takes from what he has seen so that he can interpret and illustrate them in his own way. Using the final buildings function of a haberdashery, I have adopted a similar intent with this experimental process.

The original buildings aesthetics did not fully portray its function without the creation of the motifs and patterns I put alongside them. I therefore, like Hancock, reimagined and redesigned the building with a few key points in mind so that the intent and function were better described. When thinking of my final outcome, I will consider this aspect for the five other buildings I have looked at and see if I will redesign and illustrate them in a similar fashion so that I can fully answer my investigation.

From this, I went on to design some motifs to correlate with the function that I could then use in conjunction with the redesigned building.

Involving the motifs and building within the same pattern worked better than just using the motifs, as compositionally, it was more interesting and descriptive which is what I am trying to achieve. However, thinking about the application of the singular motif patterns in a different way, they may be something to develop along with typography and will again be something to consider for my final outcome.

Considering previous experiments and what was successful, the shapes we a complimentary factor for the motifs, and typography helped to anchor the image. I have therefore applied this to the compositions of these experiments and once again found it to be successful. Hancocks work also involves background elements of patterns that compliment the building illustrations compositionally, so a similar effect was also achieved here with my compositions.

With all of the experiments completed I can now gather together what has been successful when trying to fulfill my investigations and apply these to my final outcome.

The most successful parts of my investigations have come from the application of pattern and compositions of the cosmetics store and the Ndebele Tribe, the selected colour palettes that have occurred throughout all the experiments, the strong complimentary shapes from Anna Higgie, the redesigning of a building from James Gulliver Hancock and the inclusions of typography that helps to anchor the illustration to achieve the original purpose I will bring these elements together for my final piece so that I can build strong patterns and compositions to best show off my experimental results.

I developed from my cosmetics store and Ndebele Tribe experimtents as the motifs I created were the ones that stood out to me the most in terms of compositions, colours and patterns. I therefore chose to base my final outcome around a perfume store so I could continue with similar motifs.

I began with sketches of possible motifs and some shape arrangements as these were a strong complimentary factor in my experiments. I went on to develop the sketches on Photoshop ending up with a small colour palate that I could also change if necessary. My experiments proved that having limited, selective colour palettes worked better compositionally as it didn’t compromise any part of the final image.

My experiments also proved that the use of typography was an extremely helpful element when allowing for the final piece to be more descriptive and informative to an audience. I chose words that correlated with the function of the building, so as to allow for this to be a descriptive element, I created a pattern with these words and typography.

Even though in my experiments I hadn’t tried using typography as a patterned element, it still works successfully along with the motif as I had decreased the opacity so that the other elements could become more prominent, as proven in the following image.

I took the elements and designed a composition for my final outcome. The first included the typography in the background with the opacity decreased so that it doesn’t become too much of the main focus compositionally. I included a shape on top of the motif as once again, in my experiments I found the to be complimentary of the motif which is the element that should be of quite a lot of focus. Again keeping to a selected colour palette, I chose this to be a colour that went with that of the motif, once again making it a complimentary element. Even though the pattern I made was typography based, I still added more over the shape and motif that was more prominent than the rest as I found this to be an anchoring part when it came to being descriptive.

I cropped the next version down so that the motif could again become more prominent compositionally within the frame.

I did find however, that the patterned background was taking up too much of the frame. My experiments informed my that a more successful outcome was produced when the composition was a little more contained like my pieces for Anna Higgie and James Gulliver Hancock. Therefore to bring me to my final outcome, I removed some of the background so that some white space was visible. This allowed the main elements to become the focal point within the composition, as these are the descriptive factors.

In sum, the process to achieve my final piece has been very informative when investigating composition and pattern. I have discovered considerations that may not have come into play previously but are things I now consider important when achieving a successful outcome.

Composition is extremely important in allowing for a descriptive outcome as well as the different elements that are involved within it. I can now combine pattern, motifs, colour and typography within a single composition successfully so as to achieve my original investigation.

Bibliography

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1) Camille Walala. (2009). Camille Walala. Available: http://camillewalala.com/about. Last accessed 14th Dec 2015.

2) Dan Howarth. (2014). The Return of Memphis: "it's something that's in the air". Available: http://www.dezeen.com/2014/04/13/the-return-of-memphis/. Last accessed 14th Dec 2015.

3) Tate. (2015). Piet Mondrian 1872–1944. Available: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/piet-mondrian-1651. Last accessed 14th Dec 2015.

4) The Art Story Contributors. (2015). Piet Mondrian. Available: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-mondrian-piet.htm. Last accessed 14th Dec 2015.

5) Anna Higgie. (2014). Anna Higgie Draws. Available: http://www.annahiggie.co.uk. Last accessed 14th Dec 2015.

6) Darya Kosilova. (2012). Anna Higgie. Available: http://thelabmagazine.com/2012/12/12/anna-higgie/. Last accessed 14th Dec 2015.

7) James Gulliver Hancock. (2015). James Gulliver Hancock Illustration.Available: http://jamesgulliverhancock.com/illustration/. Last accessed 14th Dec 2015.