Reference Material: The Chair

Click here to download Chapter 1 from Galen Cranz's "The Chair."

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"Why do we have chairs, where do they come from, and why do we continue to sit on them?"

Reference Material: Key Anthropometric Chair Measurements

Reference Material: Structural Engineering Presentations

Click here to download my first structural engineering presentation, "Forces, Failures and Strategies for Resistance."

Click here to download my second structural engineering presentation, "Lateral Load Resistance."

Click here to download excerpts from 1000 Chairs by Charlotte and Peter Fiell.

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Reference Material: Orthographic and Paraline Drawing Conventions Presentation

Click here to download my presentation on orthographic and paraline drawing conventions as a PDF.

Open-book Examination: Concepts from Launching the Imagination

The following list of essential concepts was extracted from Chapters 7, 8 and 9 of Launching the Imagination. You have each been assigned one concept from the list. Please perform the following, posted to the blog.

• Define the word, as it is employed in design. Employ a dictionary, but paraphrase the definition, clearly and concisely.
• Provide two examples of the concept, as it is employed in design. Only one of your examples may be from Launching the Imagination. Illustrate your example with both prose and images.

Label your post 4.0 Reference Material, and title your post with your assigned concept.

Consider this to be an open-book examination. Your blog post will be evaluated for its correctness, clarity, conciseness and curation, and this evaluation will be part of your Participation mark. Your post is due at 9:00PM on Monday, November 2.

Note that, in parallel with this assignment, you will each be having a midterm meeting with me at the time shown on the list. Please be precisely on time.

Reference Material: Concept (and Project Two Tips)

What is a concept?

Three definitions are as follows:

• Something conceived in the mind
• Organized around a main idea or theme
• “The idea becomes the machine that makes. . .” -Sol Lewitt

With regards to Project Two, there are two primary conceptual approaches. The challenge in both cases is to develop a consistent and coherent interpretive strategy that allows you to resolve a convincing artifact. A literal approach would interpret the Proun as a technical drawing, either orthographic or isometric, or a combination of the two -- all of the Prouns contain suggestions of both systems. A figurative approach would interpret the Proun as an abstracted representation of an object or an idea. A successful transcendental response would likely combine literal and figurative interpretive strategies. The purpose of the mock-ups and the technical drawings is to create an iterative process by which transcendental results can be achieved. I strongly recommend that you continually refer back to your original Proun throughout your process.

Reference Material: Launching the Imagination Chapter 9

Click here to download Chapter from Mary Stewart's Launching the Imagination.

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"The combination of tangible material and aesthetic complexity gives sculpture a unique power. Like an alchemist, the sculptor transforms ordinary materials into conceptual gold."

Reference Material: Design Drawing

Click here to dowload excerpts from Francis Ching's Design Drawing.

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"In design, drawing systems provide alternative ways of thinking about and representing what we see before us or envision in the mind's eye. Each drawing system involves a built-in set of mental operations that directs our exploration of a design problem. In selecting one drawing system over another to convey visual information, we make conscious as well as unconscious choices as to which aspects of our perception or imagination can or should be expressed. The choice of a drawing system is as much a question of what to conceal as it is a decision about what to reveal."

Reference Material: Art and Design Material Suppliers

Below is a list of art and design material suppliers in or near Toronto. This list is slightly out of date. If you have any suggestions or corrections, please post a comment.

GENERAL ART AND CRAFT SUPPLIES
Aboveground (74 McCaul)
Architect’s Supply (199 Church)
Curries (various locations)
Gwartzsman’s (448 Spadina)
Loomis & Toles (130 Spadina)
Toose (229 College)
Woolfit’s (1153 Queen)

GENERAL BUILDING SUPPLIES
Fairbank Lumber
Home Depot (various locations; St. Clair at Keele)
King Lumber
ML Lumber & Building Supplies (Dundas at Bathurst)
New Canadians Lumber
Ossington Plumbing & Building Supply

LUMBER
A&M Wood Specialty (Cambridge)
Commonwealth Plywood
General Veneers
K&M Bamboo Products
McFadden Hardwoods & Plywood
Oliver Lumber
Robert Bury & Sons
Unicorn Universal Woods

FINISHES
Exclusive Paints
Goudey Manufacturing
Paint Colours Unlimited
Water-Based Finishes

PLASTICS
Plastic World
Johnston Industrial Plastics
Warehoused Plastics

METAL
Metal Supermarkets
Access Metal
Skara Metal Foundry
Solway Metal Sales

HARDWARE
Brafasco (Mississauga)
Canadian Tire (various locations; Yonge at Davenport)
Lee Valley (King at Bathurst)
Dayvan Wholesale
Genco Marine
Jacob’s Hardware
Spaenaur Fasteners
Summerhill Hardware
Trans Canada Hardware

TEXTILES
MacDonald-Faber (Queen at Bathurst)
The Brand Felt
Capital Findings & Leather
Designer Fabric Outlet
Textile Importers

RECYCLED MATERIALS
Reno Source
ReUze Building Centre

MISCELLANEOUS
Active Surplus
Princess Auto
Adanac Glass
National Bearing
Noah’s Boat Building
Rotblott & Sons
Toronto Gear Works
Supremetronic
Paul Woolf Electric & Lighting
BC Saw & Tool
Used Tool Depot
TNT Used Tools

Reference Material: Launching the Imagination Chapter 8

Click here to download Chapter 8 from Mary Stewart's Launching the Imagination.

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"Artists and designers use each element very deliberately. Extensive exploration and experimentation are used to determine the best means of integrating disparate parts into a cohesive whole. Dozens of drawings or three-dimensional models may be produced before an idea is finalized."

Reference Material: The Critique

The critique is a systematic inquiry into the conditions and consequences of a set of concepts, and an attempt to understand their limitations. Criticism in general means a democratic evaluation of the suitability of a subject for the intended purposes, as opposed to an authoritarian judgment: criticism is always open for debate. In politics, criticism almost exclusively refers to disagreement, while in an academic, artistic, or literary context, it refers to the activity of subtle interpretation or analysis. The first question is always one of like or dislike: the critic’s responsibility is to deconstruct this first response.

Our critiques will always be constructive. Constructive criticism is offered with the intention of helping the designer improve, and is a crucial element of participatory learning. Whether critiquing or being critiqued, communicate your thoughts and feelings about how the work affects you in a clear way. We are critiquing the work, not the person.

Some constructive questions you might ask or be asked in a critique:

• Can you see the time and thought put into the work?
• Is the artifact well crafted? If not, is this intentional? If yes, can you describe what attributes make it well crafted?
• Is the lighting natural or artificial? How is light employed?
• How are point, line, plane and volume employed?
• How are positive and negative space employed?
• How is colour employed?
• How are materials employed?
• How is scale employed?
• How is texture employed?
• What mood does the work create?
• Does the work have a structure? Is it organized or disorganized?
• Are there successful transitions in the work from one space, colour or material to another? How does the work make you move your eye?
• Does the work draw you in? Repel you? Is the author moving you physically?
• If employed, does the integration of sound or text add or detract from the work?
• If employed, does the designer’s verbal presentation add or detract from the work?
• Does the physical presentation add or detract from the work? What about the juxtaposition with other work, if any?
• Does the work have a message? Are there other possible messages in the work?
• What is the cultural, social and/or political content of the work?
• What does the work reference? What does the work remind you of?
  
• How do the author’s biases affect the work?
• How do your own biases affect your response to the work?
• How could the work be improved?
• What future directions does the work suggest?
  

Ultimately, you are in control of your critique. Use it to your advantage.

Reference Material: Launching the Imagination Chapter 7

Click here to download Chapter 7 from Mary Stewart's Launching the Imagination.

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"Used poorly, the elements of a three-dimensional design can become adversarial, resulting in a disjointed composition. Used well, each design element contributes to a wonderfully complex and compelling artwork."

Reference Material: Form and Structure

What is Form?

Two definitions are as follows:

• The shape and of something as distinguished from its material
• The essential nature of a thing as distinguished from its matter

What is Structure?

Two definitions are as follows:

• The action and manner of construction and creation
• The arrangement and pattern of co-ordinating elements

In this course, we will explore the complex interplay between form and structure, in the context of three-dimensional design.