Month: June 2016

When I first started my sketchbook, I felt like I was limited to exclusively drawing boutique displays. After receiving feedback on my sketchbook I decided to also start sketching anything that caught my eye at the different museums we visited. I sketched multiple lamps from the Alessi museum as well as a watch and a lemon squeezer that almost looks like a spider. I’ve fixated on sketching lamps from museums such as Kartell and Rotaliana’s because I find them the easiest to draw.
Although branching out in my sketches, I’ve continued sketching boutique windows, not only from
Milan but from other cities I’ve visited in Italy. There were three absolutely beautiful wedding gowns I saw in Rome that I sketched. One of them had a v-neck with a skirt that widened out at the bottom. The gown also sported a silver bejeweled belt and a white flower on the left shoulder.
I felt inspired to sketch some of the exquisite gowns we saw at Amani Silos. I feel like that goes along well with my theme of boutiques. My favorite gown was red-orange colored with sequins from Armani’s F/W 1993 collection.
While I am definitely still uneasy about my drawing skills, I’ve seen an improvement with my sketches. I’m grateful for my sketchbook for helping me improve but also because it’s helped me document my trip.

Last Tuesday, the entire class presented the group mapping projects. It was really interesting to see the different ways that the groups decided to prioritize the mapping. The group that mapped their route with artifacts they found along the way was a really nice display of using recent inspirations. The custom definitions and descriptions for the terms they used to label the objects was a nice way to contextualize the objects since the rest of the class wasn’t able to walk with them along the route. I also really liked the mapping of shoes. Shoes nicely tied in architecture to the life that fills up the streets.

For my group’s project, we decided to map the mood change along our path. We created a map on which we used circles of varying sizes and colours to describe different aspects of our walking experience that contributed to the moods we felt. The colours indicated the moods, moving from happy and energetic to gloomy and oppressive and the size indicated the amount of activity. We supplemented the little animation with images i took along the way to help with visualizing the path during our presentation.

In retrospect, this project was a nice way to get us to explore the city on foot. We’ve become familiar with public transportation, and following Jessica around, but this let us roam free for a while and see the city on our own time.

I am so happy with how my sketchbook has turned out so far. My focus on chairs has been so fun. At first I wasn’t sure that I would enjoy it, but once I realized how many different kinds of chairs there were, it became exciting for me. Pretty much every designer or architect has designed a chair in some point in their life, so there are a lot to draw. We went to two furniture design showrooms, Cassina and B&B Italia. I loved being able to sit in the chairs as well as draw them. Some of them are quite comfy! It was nice to feel the materials the chairs were made of; it gave me nice context for the notes in my notebook. These show rooms gave me a lot of content for my sketchbook!!

One thing I like about drawing chairs is learning about the history behind the designs through analyzing them in my drawings. For the chairs that I don’t know the history of, I can sometimes assume what their story or purpose might be. so chairs were inspired by architecture, others buy objects, and some just because!

Friday we had the chance to walk the famous cemetery known as Cimitero Monumentale di Staglieno. This cemetery was a great experience and really allowed me to get to know Milan in a way that most Milanese get to know and incorporate into their life. Religion is a large part of the culture of the Italian people and is primarily Catholic. This inspires the idea that death isn’t just an ending for the Italian people, but a new beginning with God. For this reason, the burial grounds of the deceased are built in an extravegant way to commemorate their ascent into heaven. As I walked through the grounds it was clear that there was much sadness and grief from those still living, but a type of happiness that they are with God. This was shown with sculptures and huge buildings to commemorate their passing. One amazing part of watching the graves as I was passing is seeing how brightly the flowers still bloomed in this famous cemetery and how those ancestors that are still present never forget those long past. Also seeing how well kept and organized each of the graves were and how intricate the sculptures were made me wish that I was loved in the same way as these individuals and remembered like they were. To have that kind of impact on the earth would be a great blessing.

After seeing these amazing graves I felt inspired to go to Florence for the day and see the grave of Galileo Galilei. I had heard great things about how intricate his grave was and others like it inside the Basilica. I wanted to see firsthand how this famous individual’s grave was and how he was remembered after his death even though the church didn’t entirely believe him until recently. However, once stepping inside the basilica I was blown away by the intricate tombs, but even more blown away by how on the ground were tombs themselves. Everywhere there was marble and letters of those that were placed and constantly remembered. There were even areas that had been blocked off with rope in order to preserve certain graves. These had intricate carvings into the marble in the ground and had clear lettering on each grave. It was a beautiful site and even the amazing grave of Galileo was something that took my breath away. It was set in marble and matched with two amazing statues that clearly showed how scholarly and amazing he was as an individual in his life. I loved the gold add-ons and loved how he was clearly shown as he used to look. It was a great experience and one I will highly recommend to everyone I meet in the future when going to Florence.

June 24, 2016
We took a visit to the old studio of Vico, the architect + designer. The studio was modest, but the beauty was in the details. The front space had been set as a welcome + learning space for visitors, showcasing some of Vico’s work (which is still being continually documented by his granddaughter).

Then, one travels into his office. Apparently he didn’t allow a computer into this room until 2003, and even at this, Vico never touched it. The most he would allow before that time was a phone and a fax machine. He kept a mirror by his window, so that from his desk he could look out and see the reflection of a building his father (or possibly grandfather, my notes got smeared at this part) had built. Milan was indeed his city.

In his meeting room, a table with a large white light hanging above it and his seats (along with some of Kartell’s) encompassing it, we learned of his life. His granddaughter sat at the head of the table and recalled his projects, mainly held over the phone, relaying his ‘simple’ ideas to manufactures. The statement, “That’s so stupid I could do it myself,” was indeed his favorite compliment.

The simple yet genius (and what he definitely considered genius) nature of his thought shows in the simple yet beautiful + functional designs of his lamps and chairs.

 

“Look at usual things with unusual eyes” – Vico Magistretti

 

When you hear of Armani, one pictures a powerhouse of fashion and design; walking in though, you can feel the power and energy of the company within the first few seconds of being there. Founded by Giorgio Armani, the company designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, eyewear, cosmetics and home interiors.

We were given a tour around the building, and we were shown all of the works throughout the seasons that the company has gone through. Intricate and innovative patterns and styles greeted you at every turn, and you never knew what to expect next. It created this illusion of mystery of pieces that have long since been tucked away, only accessible through the archives or your grandmother’s closet.

My favorite pieces were the ones that were influenced from various areas around the globe; I also really enjoyed talking with the girls as we imagined the models who had the honor of wearing such pieces.

Each piece more unique than the last.

The way Armani designs pushes the envelope. He doesn’t like the social constraints or the unspoken rules of fashion; he enjoys making his own rules or simply not listening to the ones in place. It’s quite possibly the main reason he rose so quickly in the industry.

Pictured below is one of my favorite layouts. The three gorgeous, white dresses with a spotlight that illuminated the intricate details of each one individually was an awe-inspiring moment.

As we turned the corner, we were provided with a new take or new season or new color scheme, and each piece was better than the last, and I look forward to seeing what Armani does next.

A Project of FM Studio
Mudec: Brand Identity/Advertising 2015

FM studio was challenged with creating a new fun/playful identity for the museum of culture, Mudec. It had to be playful to invite people in to see such a seemingly scattered collection of artifacts. To entice people they had several campaigns. Firstly, they created the identity + logo. FM studied the history of written language, and created a logo that contained interesting marks used in the past. Their logo can change with time and can be mixed/matched many different ways. They also studied the history of horns to create the winged marks on the edged of the ‘M’. This playful logo was a call to younger guests/viewers.

Their second campaign utilized images of the pieces actually within the museum, all colored brightly and arranged in a kaleidoscope pattern. They wanted colors that clashed, loud colors.

For the third visualization, FM decided to show off the beauty of the museum’s architecture. They placed the logo on top of images of the space, edited in bright colors.

The fourth campaign, they decided it was time to ‘take off the mask’ and show people what was inside the exhibit. In this way they decided to photograph the visually interesting pieces and place them on a black background. The background gave the pieces mystery, a kind of creepy call for viewers to look closer.

This project was a great insight into all the different ways a studio can explain the launch + emotion of a place. It included their initial research of the client + audience + application.