Development

Developmental sketches.

Now that i have a more focused idea to work with i played around with the elements of it >> the tree and the form.

Here i was doing thumbnail drawings as compositional studies as well as looking into how it will be placed/elevated from the ground.

Roger's drawings from the discussion about how it will be placed on the ground which was something i hadn't entirely thought about previously in the project. Will it be raised on wooden blocks? on blocks from the same material as the bench? How will it be secured to the ground?

More developmental sketches >> creating different aesthetics.

With the time left available i chose a simple yet nice form to work with which was actually pretty similar to my original concept sketch of the idea.

Park Benches in China

Examples of park benches found in China. Pictures were collected with thanks to my friend Jessie in Shanghai.

Examples of benches found on the net that are manufactured in China.

Nearly all of the benches have none of the design values as seen in european furniture nor do they have a Chinese feel about them.

Parks and the Outdoors

Photos of the outdoors and parks of China. From the constructed parks to the enchanting natural geographical features. My bench will go in these places also.

Streets of China

Images of the streets of China. My product will be in places like the above.

Escofet: Outdoor Furnishings

Escofet is a Spainish outdoor furniture and outdoor design manufacturer. Their products are quite popular in europe and have a unique spainish design aesthetic to them.

As i have taken up the role of being an outdoor furniture designer for this assignment Escofet is a good model to look at and learn from. What i'm attempting to do in a few weeks Escofet has been doing it for over a century!

http://www.escofet.com

Concepts!

Concepts!



This image was drawn alot earlier in the project when my drawing skills were still warming up! Just a few ideas. The stand out one is the cloud hanging from a tree.

Concepts on brown paper! a personal favourite for substrates. With the idea of transition on my mind towards westernisation Forks came to mind! Why not a fork seat? Unfortunately i was beaten to this well before my time in the 60s by Claus Oldenberg!

Other stand-outs were the accompanying knife and spoon to the fork haha.. and then there was also the boxy turtle park bench. Turtle patterned bench with angled out feet. Funky and interesting form. There's also a few notes regarding public furniture and from my discussion with Roger> main point of discussion: Furniture as a canvas. Combine a simple form with surface patterns/textures.

Simple forms as well as complex forms. The concept on the left of the page is a traditional table with a cropped table top for sitting on.

Straight geometrical based forms. Simple again. Stand-out concept is the combined tree/plant vase with bench. The lower level of the bench is a trench that flows to the base of the vase to water the bench flora.

More concepts, planning notes for the project and presentation.

More concepts.

There were 3 stand-out concepts on this page.

The top left: simple form with a wooden top for seating.

The top right: each bench is different in that it has part of one story inscribed on it. As you seat yourself on the furniture you can look towards other benches to reveal the story.

The bottom right: the images on the benches are slotted on and replaceable. Can be used to create a new story, decorate the city for an event, promote something etc.

On discussion with Roger on the latter idea the concept of instead of creating new plates to slot onto the bench>> interchangeable moulds. Applying the same effects but in the opposite way.

The concept I have chosen to develop is the bench with the integrated vase. It is a simple idea, can be visually captivating, and has room for finer detail development.

Initial workings

My Research wall includes images and information on various ancient Chinese Artifacts and calligraph.

My lecturer was in the paper! Included in the article were products from past students at Unitec.

The matrixing creativity technique based on the words Park and Furniture.

Thoughts on the transitional space.