Visual Pursuits
The Line between Paper and Screen : An Analytical Reflection of the Researcher’s Own Costume Sketching Practices
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kirsi Maritta Manninen
This paper traces the development of costume sketching methods. In this study, the source of knowledge is thinking through drawing. The artistic researcher investigates the shift from paper-based, hand-drawn sketching to digital screen sketching in the field of costume design. This research uses a qualitative approach by illuminating retrospective accounts related to sketching techniques. The material for this paper is collected through autoethnography, through the analysis of the designer-researcher’s creative processes through epiphanies. There have been no previous controlled studies which compare differences in physical and digital costume sketching. The assumption is that digital screen sketching gives a larger variety of sketching tools for costume designers use and that sketching on the online paper could be an aid to overcoming “blank paper phobia." This project provided an important opportunity to advance the understanding of what effects digital screen sketching has on the design process for costume and other designers related to character creation: e.g. animation and story books. The paper is the first study to undertake a longitudinal analysis with a SOM, a self-organizing map, to trace the development from physical to digital costume sketching.
Emptiness and Context: The System of Space in Bauhaus Graphics
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ekaterina Vasilyeva
The study addresses to the question of presentation of space and emptiness in images. The graphics of Bauhaus is considered as one of the most important examples of the new system. The form of the visual space is mentioned as a system that has a specific meaning — it exists as the formation of an autonomous program of visuality and sense. The graphic system of the Bauhaus and Russian Constructivism disputes and questions the principles of figurative images and at the same time it verifies and correlates it. The using of abstract and collage formats creates the new spatial constructions, which, at the same time, finds its parallels in classical understanding of space.The Bauhaus principles supports and continues the understanding of linear perspective as symbolic form. With all the differences in the visual system, the figurative image and the graphic program of the Bauhaus reveal similar conceptual foundations, which allow us to consider space and emptiness as an important semantic element of the image.
Shared Repertoire: Externalising Realms of Knowledge in Graphic Design
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Halldór Björn Halldórsson, Daniel Ohrling
This paper brings light to different realms of knowledge in the field of graphic design. Interview respondents were asked what is needed to succeed, advance, and develop within the domain of graphic design. Mapping respondents’ experiences through phenomenological and thematic analyses resulted in the classification of individuality, universality, and commonality as different realms of knowledge within the discipline. Individual knowledge can be seen as making the appropriate choices for each project, both culturally and historically, and having both artistic and professional qualities to even break the rules when needed. Universality, in this study, consists of knowing methods and tools. In light of constant technological changes, the respondents considered it important to possess historical knowledge to correctly use tools and to not lose touch with manual work methods such as sketching. Respondents considered it imperative to be a part of the graphic design community, and reflected that this knowledge is not taught in design schools. Experience was seen as fundamental when it comes to being able to argue for your designs, however such experience is difficult to articulate. The three knowledge domains of universality, individuality, and commonality provided insights into different realms of graphic design knowledge. The study thus delineates graphic design knowledge elements in the analysis of the interviews, in relation to universality: the fundamentals and tools, in relation to individuality: the artistic aspects of being able to develop your own styles and repertories, and in relation to commonality: the shared community of practices among graphic designers.
