Design making
Fashion and textiles team created a Loyalty card for customers to save 20% for themselves while stores gave 10% to ethical fashion. illustrated artwork in a textured wallpaper poster, a contemporary design to promote our cause. Keys are so symbolic and can have so many meanings for different people. We were asking people to be “Key conscious “and think about the ethics of fast fashion and support the cause while saving money and the planet.
Continuing to look at the fine detail and lines/textures inside mushrooms, trailling natural root dyes. Created sketches/paintings from dye sticks and polythene overlays to give alternative patterns. Want to try this on a large scale A3 to scan into photo shop to change the levels to create different density of colours. Also will try on linen fabric covered in vinyl for sculptural pieces. Will try and heat the polythene to see if it can create shapes.
Continuing to try the cad embroiderer to create a design which is very tactile, after dying PVC in bright colours, fitted it into frame tight as possible. Created a design with fine oval lines to represent the inside lines and textures of fungi. Being careful not to make them to close together or the embroiderer won’t cope with stitching the design. Manipulated sizes and angles of design, adding blanket stitch on some of the edges for contrast. Will stitch in white and ivory for a natural feel. Looking into Poison fungi, nature has made them so beautiful yet lethal to touch. I’m want to create a appealing surface you would want to touch, even if you knew it was poisonous! On clear PVC free machine embroidered designs with frayed silk, to add to the centres. Practice lines on polythene first, over laying design for variations.
Set up a background design on the CAD embroidery to hand or machine sew into. After dying the PVC fuchsia red. Main stitch in white, blanket stitch in ivory. Next time I would open up the stitch length and width. Also use a colour for the edges to give definition.
Machine stitched on a tight tension to bring in the PVC creating ridges to look more sculptured.
Free machine stitched onto clear PVC adding silk to fray out afterwards, can layer this over other pieces. Giving more options for design.
Using polythene to mark make and clear polythene to give options on design. Will dye PVC and stitch into for a textured areas. Will set up a contemporary design on CAD embroidery.
Cut clear acrylic using jigsaw in the thin stripes for dying, sanding all sharpe edges off
Using disperse dye bring to boiling point
PVC takes dye very quickly, acrylic takes a lot longer and more a stronger dye solution is required. PVC can’t be put under the heat press to smooth. Acrylic however needs to be watched continually as it bends in the hot dye bath and is very hard to flatten afterwards.
Used digital sublimation on mirrored acrylic
which created a matt finish. I quite like it, but needs refining if using in final piece.
Looking into easy to maintain interiors for a gym wall. I chose red as it is the Virgin branding and mirror acrylic as you can catch your reflection. Tried using the laser cutter for inspiring words to motivate the customers to work harder to achieve their goal. I looked at several different fonts to use but kept it plain and simple to read. Also simple spacing for the laser cutter to raster in acrylic in a limited time slot. In theory the words would appear when the room became warmer due to your work out in a heat sensitive area. An alternative to looking at TV screens, giving your eyes a break. The other area was a reception desk to keep your positive about joining the Virgin Active Gyms.
Below is our presentation for our experimental interiors for Virgin Active Gym, across the world. Which included monofilament weaves, Landmarks of different countries on mirrored glass. Printed designs, continuing the line theme, heat sensitive walls and inspirational wording. PVC skylines of other virgin gyms, positive comments from gym members.
Contemporary Mark Maker 