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5.2 Lab Report (from TextEdit)

2009-05-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

Archive No. 1

Title : Conversation with the Photocopy Machine

Test Date : Sat 16 May 2009

Materials Used : 1 HP Photosmart C4180 All-in-One, 1 HP Tri-colour Print Catridge no.342, 1 HP Black Print Catridge no.337, 1 Ikea torch no.10523, 1 Light bulb with the switch, 3 various sized plastic stencils, 1 white Lersta reading/ floor lamp, 1 Lloyds TSB envelope, 1 The Photographer's Gallery flyer, 1 HP Black Print Catridge no.337 product detail catalogue, 1 compact disc, 1 nail clipper, various computer components

Method : With the objects I found in my art box, I started photocopying straight from the machine. I played with the scale (mainly with 50%, 100%, 200% and 400%), layers and materials. Different techniques of scanning was tested especially shining the light while scanning, moving the object around while scanning. I also tried scanning just the light on the glass using a torch.

Results :

Conclusion : Depending on the position of the source of light, I was able to create beautiful abstract imgages. The reflection of the light on plastic stencil was also very pleasing so I tried layering different materials to see how the light reflected. Light was the very important factor while scanning and I concluded that it is very possible to make imagery with just light.

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Archive No. 2

Title : Conversation with the Television I

Test Date : Sun 17 May 2009

Materials Used : 1 Alba model CTV3451, Technika AESTBS7 Digital Terrestrial Receiver, Canon 400D, Tamron AF 17-50mm 1:2.8, Slik U8000 Tripod, The Movie 'Theodora Goes Wild' on Film4 with various TV commercials in between

Method : The frames of the movie were captured by the camera using the tripod. Different shutter speed and different size of aperture were used.

Results :

Conclusion : Depending on the speed of the shutter, I was able to capture various sized strips of light on the TV screen. The faster the shutter speed, the thinner the strips.

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Archive No. 3

Title : Conversation with the Television II

Test Date : Mon 18 May 2009

Method : During a long exposure of the TV screen, the camera lens was zooming in and out. Also, I tried shifting the camera upwards and downwards.

Results :

Conclusion : Zooming in and out with my camera during the long exposure enabled me to create different effects on the images. It certainly added this unique and somewhat horrifying distorted layer to the pictures. Shifting the position of the camera created different layers in one image and I concluded that these distortion techniques could be very useful in intimidating the viewers.

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Archive No. 4

Title : Conversation with the Typewriter

Test Date : Tue 19 May 2009

Materials Used : 1 Olivetti Lettera 12, 1 Olivetti 2780766 black typewriter ribbon, 1 Challenge Restaurant Pad, various A4 sheets with images (my own and some of Rankin's) printed on

Method : Applying the conventional way of using a typewriter, I tried to make some imagery with typography. I also used the pages from a restaurant pad to trace an image onto the receipt paper underneath it. The complete set of alphabets was spelled out with letters as well.

Results :

Conclusion : Depending on the composition of letters, the mood of the phrases changed drastically. Overlaying text on image added uniqueness to the image.

5.0 Science lab report format?

2009-05-21T21:08:00.000-07:00

I found some free science experiment report forms on About.com. I think it makes perfect sense to organise my findings in a science lab report format. I haven't written this in a while so this is gonna take me awhile to think about everything objectively for method & results and subjectively for conclusion.

4.6 Typewriter

2009-05-19T17:23:00.001-07:00

The components of my old-school keyboard looked fancy but I thought I'd start from somewhere obvious when it comes to word processing. I have a little Olivetti at home and I thought I'd start a 'conversation' with it and see where I end up. I started typing stuff, learning how it works, what each key does etc. The noise it makes, I reckon, is what is so great about this mechanism.

Then I started feeding it with different papers. A book of restaurant receipt (they write orders down and the paper behind it records what's being written as a receipt) was alot of fun and these are what I got from it.

There is a very similar way of creating with word processing called Ascii art. I had no idea it was called 'Ascii' before but yes, I guess that's what I was trying to do with the typewriter. And I created a whole alphabet set with it too.

Visit my website for more.

4.5 What television is really saying to us

2009-05-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

There was some kind of copyright issue on YouTube with 'The Secret Life of the Television', so I watched some short clips of it. I suddenly felt like taking photos of my TV screen. I wanted to see what was going on on the screen, to see if I could capture things that we cannot possibly see with our little eyes. I attempted to hear what TV is really telling us. Click on image for a much better view or visit my website.

Depending on the shutter speed and the aperture, I was able to capture various size of strips of light. I was fascinated by the appearance of the images as a set. It was almost like a music score or some kind of keyboard game. Perhaps it's morse code, perhaps it's sheet of music. Perhaps it's a conversation..

After awhile I started also playing with the lens. While exposing, I zoomed in and out. These are the beautiful results;

Then I started shifting the camera too;

4.4 The Secret life of the Word Processor

2009-05-18T04:27:00.001-07:00

Watch this video on YouTube

I have an old keyboard at home. I picked it up from the college backyard, it was black and I had a feeling it might be useful one day. After watching The Secret Life of the Word Processor, I wanted to open it apart and see what it looks like inside. The result was incredible. It was just a simple mechanism with a circuit board.

There were three films - the top and the bottom ones had lines with circles and the middle one had no pattern on it but some holes. The patterns were really appealing and I started wondering what these patterns mean..

4.3 Random

2009-05-18T04:07:00.000-07:00

While I was editing the photocopied and scanned-in pictures to make the imitate / repeat website, some unexpected images were created by Photoshop and 'All Windows' function on Mac. The irregular alignment of ruler of each window on Photoshop made some kind of code that only computers might understand.

Looking at both images now, I am starting to wonder if these two images appeal to me because of its randomness. Sometimes I think too much about grids and aligning things - surely there are golden ratio and how to line up things, but like the 'All Windows' function on Mac, scattered images in irregularity almost like on the wall are also interesting.

Repetition in pattern is attractive but repetition without pattern is also attractive!

2.10 The Secret Life of the Fax machine

2009-05-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

The Secret Life of the Fax Machine is a brilliant show explaining how fax machines work. To state it briefly, the fax machine reads the input line-by-line then reproduces the output line-by-line.

After watching the series, all I could think about was to go off and make my own series. Perhaps I could study how a machine works and apply the concept in making imagery.

Watch 'The Secret Life of the Fax Machine' on YouTube

4.2 Conversation with the photocopy machine

2009-05-17T07:49:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the paper jams and the way Karel Martens works, I started producing images without having to think about what the end result might be like. He like to overprint using simple forms so I thought I'd try to 'imitate' him.

While I was doing this, I found myself having fun with the process. I was trying things out; enlarging; repeating; layering etc. I was able to find what to do next by looking at what I previously have produced. There was a constant voice over my head going 'what if I tried this instead...'

During this process, I found how light affects the scanning process, so I started playing with a torch, a light switch (turning it on and off while photocopying) and I managed to produced very abstract yet beautiful images. The way light reflected a plastic stencil was the biggest discovery of the day.

Visit my website to see more of these stunning results.

4.1 Printer vs. Me

2009-05-17T03:01:00.000-07:00

Pulling the papers, stopping the papers (while printing) - this was the moment I realised, once more, 'happy accidents' do lead to originality.

4.0 Paper Jam

2009-05-17T02:35:00.000-07:00

When printing at home, the last thing you want to see is a paper jam. With my printer at home it happens quite alot (it probably is a built-in planned obsolescence). But when things like this happen, you start to appreciate the paper jam a little bit more.

I thought I'd play with this, challenge my printer to see if I can create a 'new' imagery.

3.0 Paul Rand says (again)

2009-05-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

Don't try to be original just try to be good. Sometimes it's naive but its true. Without aesthetics you can't find the truth to do things with quality ... Art is an idea that is found its perfect form but too many possibilities. No matter how perfectly you do something it still can be improved.

I think there's a distinction between 'imitation' and 'inspiration'. Using other designers as inspiration, you could create your own stuff you cannot always do something exactly the same because we're all different. Of course, unless you did it deliberately. So I guess my hypothesis at this point would be yes, imitating others could lead you to your own design, unless it was your intention to copy from one. Originality doesn't seem like a huge big deal to a lot of designers anyways.

2.9 Helvetica Alternatives

2009-05-07T06:52:00.000-07:00

According to Fontshop -
'Overused typefaces can lose their impact, especially in branding, advertising, and package design where originality is important. Here we recommend fonts that are less common but just as serviceable as old standbys Helvetica, Futura and even Comic Sans.'

Typography is something that didn't pop up in my brain immediately. But looking at this article made me realise typography is something that is constantly imitated and adapted. Notice how FF Schulbuch is very similar to Helvetica Neue.

Find out more

2.8 Karel Martens' Counterprint

2009-05-07T06:23:00.000-07:00

I have recently purchased the book by Karel Marten called 'Counterprint'. This is simply because I couldn't afford 'Printed Matter'.

Looking at his work made me realise how collection of found objects can come together beautifully. He layers different materials without having to worry about what the end product will be like, he carries on producing. Then it got me started thinking. Maybe the point is not in the 'imitation' part, it is in the 'production' part that mades things 'original'.
Another thought, does it matter to achieve originality? Can something seem original to somebody but unoriginal to others?

2.7 Paul Rand says

2009-04-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

'Design is the manipulation of form and content ... Content is the idea, or subject matter. Form is what you do with this idea.'

Most of the times, when working on a brief, I spend the majority of my time researching for the content and looking up designers and artists for the format. Sometimes I feel that I limit myself too much by imitating what is out there or finding out the trend. I do not imitate completely though, I make some development and changes whether it is good enough to be 'original' or not. I guess my next question is then 'what is original, isn't everything done before?'

2.6 Sierpinski Triangle

2009-04-30T17:09:00.000-07:00

A perfect example of repetition would be the Sierpinski Triangle. It is created by repeating the process of dividing each side of a triangle into half to create four small triangles inside it. It is a mathematically generated pattern that can be reproduced at any magnification or reduction. Though the process was based on a mathematical formula, originality was introduced by repetition.

2.5 Mimesis

2009-04-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

The word mimesis represents imitation or reproduction of the supposed words of another, as in order to represent his or her character. Wikipedia states that it is a 'critical and philosophical term that carries a wide range of meanings ... Aristotle defined mimesis as the perfection and imitation of nature. Art is not only imitation but also the use of mathematical ideas and symmetry in the search for the perfect, the timeless, and contrasting being with becoming. Nature is full of change, decay, and cycles, but art can also search for what is everlasting and the first causes of natural phenomena.'

2.4 Biomimicry

2009-04-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

Biomimicry (from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) is an ancient concept recently returning to scientific thought that examines nature, its models, systems, processes, and elements— and emulates or takes inspiration from them to solve human problems sustainably. Scientific and engineering literature often uses the term Biomimetics for the process of understanding and applying biological principles to human designs. This includes biomaterials, biomechanics, biological systems composed of individuals of one species (e.g., schools, herds and swarms), or multispecies ensembles.

Looking closely at nature as inspiration and guide is something I have not considered doing in my design practice. However it makes perfect sense. For instance, spider's thread is considered the strongest than anything produced by people. It self-assembles inside the spider at room temperature, uses its prey as raw material and it leaves no toxic by-products. It uses available materials and resources with high efficiency and zero waste. Biomimicry is beyond merely imitating forms in nature, it means imitating natural processes and systems as a whole.

Reading about biomimicry made me think of Fibonacci's spiral and how it can also be found in a seashell;

2.3 The sincerest form of flattery

2009-04-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Louis Vuitton must be sincerely flattered..

2.2 Definition of imitation

2009-04-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

Looking at my previous questions, I suddenly thought I need to define what imitation means.
According to Wikipedia, imitation is an advanced behaviour whereby an individual observes and replicate another's. Susan Blackmore argues in her book called 'The Meme Machine,' that we unconsciously imitate others, especially our parents and those we admire. Imitation is what makes humans unique among animals.
Imitation applies to everything. From fashion to a little product like iPod. If a manufacturer want to make a cheap version of an iPod then engineers tear the real thing apart and work out what all the parts do and how they can be made. It is not easy, but it does happen all the time.

Great example of 'reverse engineering'

Reading this book made me think more and more about how humans are natural imitators. Babies learn their language by imitating their parents. We learn a new skill the quickest when looking at somebody doing it and imitating it. Darwin's Natural Selection theory has been talked about alot and so has been Algorithm. More reading materials!

2.1 Johnson Banks says

2009-04-29T07:30:00.001-07:00

'Writing this (and realising how many happy accidents there have been) makes me think that the mistakes, albeit unintentional, must just be part of the way we work. ‘Mucking about’ with an idea seems to be more productive than I previously thought.'

Find out more

1.2 'The' Question

2009-04-29T07:29:00.001-07:00

Does imitation lead to seeking originality?
Does repetition lead to seeking originality and if so,
is design dependent on the 'happy accidents'?

1.1 Five Questions

2009-04-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

My starting point was what I'd like to call 'the basics' of Graphic design.. forms, typography etc. and I kept on questioning and questioning..

i. Text vs Imagery
For instance, when you look at books/ magazines for inspiration, do you pay more attention to the text or do you flip through the pages and seek for the images that catch your eyes? I certainly skim through and concentrate more on images then see if I am interested enough to read on.
When you are at an exhibition, do you look at the title first or the work first?
Sometimes, things are straight forward like how Mark Titchner likes it.

Another example, when you're listening to a song, do you pay more attention to the lyrics or the music itself like the drum beats or guitar riffs?
Come to think of it, do you pay attention to certain aspects of things on purpose? Or does it just happen? Does your eyes follow images first, or the text? What kind of relationship do they have and what kind of effects do they have on each other?

ii. Seeking inspiration - Imitation vs Originality
Does the process of imitating someone else's work eventually lead to achieving originality? A friend of mine from a womenswear course has been told by her tutor to imitate what is available in 'high fashion' till she makes it to the top later in her career. In graphic design, are we longing for the beautiful accidents to occur? What happens if we repeat repeat and repeat a process. Does repetition create originality?

Einstein onces said;

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

iii. Golden ratio = 1.61803399
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However I do believe the golden ratio can almost define beauty. If so, can we train our eyes to recognise the golden ratio? Can we train our eyes to spot the beauty?

iv. Colours
Do colours ever become meaningless? If so, when does it lose its meaning?

v. Awareness test

It's easy to miss something you're not looking for.
Is it really?