Week 2

Monday 24 January 2011 

Technology Report (core)

 First lesson - introduction
Home work : Next week, bring in any timber product and think why it is made out of wood/ that specie of wood.

Product in Context (support)

First lesson - introduction
 Homework: draw 20 patterns of 5 shapes. They can tough each other / overlap / bordered.
2 of them Red, 1 orange, 1 white, 1 clear.

Research Methodology (core)

"MA Research Methods Audit Reports"
Need to write 1500-2000 word report shows the plan and type of research you are going to use for your personal project. Deadline Mon 28th March 2011, help desk 4th floor.
Pass and fail only (need 40% to pass)

Things to remember:

• Note down everything and file it. Be systematic!
• Back up! Remember to photograph your work as well, in case something happened to it.
• Keep all images systematically. Don't forget to not down image origin, date, place, and why you save it.
• Keep a hard copy of the important things
• When do the research, record financial costing / time consuming as well.
• Project Plan. Set up the deadline.  "Gantt Chart" - timetable
• Is your research unique?

Vitra Project - Introductory Project 3 (not assessed)

The project will be shown at Vitra showroom in London along with 2010 MA students' works on 15-17 Febuary.

What do you think Eames will do for his new collection? Evolution of his chair? Something futuristic? New materials and technology? His wife: she is also important as they always work together? Grandchildren? Sense of Humour? Found object? Design for need? Something for masses? War? Plywood splints?

Think of what type of furniture first. It doesn't have to be chair.
Vitra use scale 1:6. However, it is up to what product you are going to make.
All the details have to be the right scale.
The model need to be EXQUISITELY MADE!
Plan your time.


Book: An Eames Primer
www.vitra.com
Film: http://www.ted.com/talks/the_design_genius_of_charles_and_ray_eames.html

Week 1

Monday 17 January 2011

Last week was an induction week, so it is called week 0. I will call this week the first week according to University time table to avoid confusion.

This is just a list of what we did on Monday.

• Visited BCFA - British Contract Furnishing Association
• Visited HANDS - a furniture manufacturer based in High Wycombe
• Induction to metal and upholstery workshops
• CAD session, which will teach AutoCAD, Rhino, and 3D studio in following weeks

Monday is a long busy day.


Tuesday 18 January 2011 

Lynn showed us the example of old MA works.

•  There is no mark on making
• Nice model is impressive
• Good brief leads to good design. It must indicates what you want to achieve.

She also told us about the link the University got with the industry.

Then we discussed a bit about our research title.
Mine is: How to use knitting structure in furniture design?
Keywords: modular, toy, screen, better use of space
She advised me to get some support from the industry, and should try to contact Herman Miller as they might interested in mesh chair.

Recommended book: 

The Craftsman by Richard Sennett

Wednesday 19 January 2011  

 Lynn was ill - no tutorial
Tutorial with Karina (textile tutor)

• looking at container : skip, dust bin, book shelf,...
• need to find aesthetic inspiration. Study surface & texture from photos
• geometric?
• modular: Bloco (soft building toy), Stackable
• shoes rack
• Jewelry
• * Handbags * 

We ended up with:  Portable storage handbags / storage on the go - trolley? 

Back to University!

week 0 
10 - 16 January 2011  
 
I just started my MA in Textiles and Fashion Product at Buckinghamshire New University last week. I found the course very well constructed, and the most important thing is it is built around me. As I have done my BA Textile and Surface Design at Bucks, I don't need a lot of teaching from the textile area. I will be spending my time with MA furniture students as I need a lot of input on furniture side. (Lynn, head of MA furniture, has already counted me as one of her students.) This included workshops, seminars and tutorials. I will have a chance to learn AutoCAD, Rhino, and 3D studio as well! I am excited!

I am the only textile student this year though. However, I have already learned a lot from furniture students. The fascination of MA course is your classmates have already had a lot of experience in different areas, so you have got wide range of knowledge. The discussion could become very interesting.

The first week was more about induction and introduction, also some exercise to help us get started.  Lynn told us to "look" at the newspapers and learned how to use ephemera to inspire your design. Sometimes it is good to look at something completely out of your field, not just look at design magazine. It is very useful exercise. We were given a brief, but I still have not done anything. I was overwhelm by other things in life; packing, shifting, unpacking. I was not settle yet.

I still don't know what my project is going to be this year. Still need more discussion.