Form follows Function

Form - the shape, size, mass, weight and visual appearance of something.

Function - the practical use and purpose in a design

Louis Henry Sullivan defined the style of form follows function, which conveys simplistic forms of buildings. He specifies that the best architecture is which that 'walks the fine line between Art and function'

Form follows functions is widely associated with modern day architecture and product design. The key aspect of the design is the purpose of the building or product and not the visual appearance which follows after.

 

 

 

In the seminar, we had a task to find any object that we were carrying, my object being an iPhone 5s charger, and think about the relationship between its form and its function. Which do you think has been given priority by its designer?

 

The priority of the iPhone charger has definitely been given to the function and rightly so. The charger doesn't need to look good or interesting, it just needs to simply be able to charge up the iPhone, which is all its function is.

 

 How prevalent is the relationship between its from and function?

 

The design of the charger is very simple and plain, which follows the very simple function. People are not bothered about the aesthetics feature of the charger, however I think the aspects of the form of the product that has been well thought through is the shape and size of the product. The plugs are small enough to be able to fit into plug sockets behind tight and small gaps. Also the length of the wire is an average length for peoples needs.

 

Do you think that ‘The way something looks should be determined by its purpose’?

 

Yes, as the product needs to be the certain shape or to be able to be used for its function. Then I think the product needs to look as user friendly and be able to relate to the product as much as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Artist Typeface Transcription

 

 

In John's process and production session, we was given different pieces of artwork in which we had to take inspiration from to begin to form shapes of the letters A N E S G. I found this an interesting but challenging task.

 

 

I am happy with my initial designs as I feel that I began to from some interesting letter shapes from the pieces of art. The second and third designs are the ones I feel with the most potential to develop.



 I then developed a couple of the initial designs further to make a more readable and simplified font compared to the first ideas.

I feel that these rough typeface designs have room for more improvement. Also I think that the scale and dimensions of the letters are off. I will therefore create a neater and developed typeface on Adobe Illustrator.

 







 

I am very pleased with my final design as I think that I has finally got the more professional feel to it that I wanted. I enjoyed this task and I felt that it helped me understand the development process further.



WWF Advertising Campaigns

 

A propaganda poster is aimed at a wide audience to persuade, influence and change attitudes of people towards something. Wartime posters are the most popular and recognisable propaganda posters. They use creative and very effective ways of conveying information.

I decided to look at more contemporary propaganda posters and techniques that are used. I have found a couple of posters from a series of WWF advertising campaigns.

 

 

This poster gives the viewer an influential message about the importance of acting for the planet sooner rather than later. It compares the emergency services responding to an accident very slowly and casually, something that would be seen as shameful, with us not realising the importance of having to act fast for the planet. It shows that they are both as equally important and both need the same level of action taken as soon as possible. I think that seeing it explained in this way puts it into perspective, influencing people to think and take action immediately.  

This image sends a powerful message about climate change to the viewer, by using a thought provoking picture to shock the public and almost scare people into changing the way they think and live their lives. Sometimes it needs this kind of message for people to take note. I think that this method works very well.

 

Texture and Appearence in Illustrator

 

 



In this workshop, I learnt how to create an image in Illustrator using as few shapes as possible. We started the rocket illustration by firstly transforming an oval into a rocket like shape. Using the same shape, we created a dashed line on the inside of the rocket.

After getting the general shape of the rocket, we learnt how to add texture to an image.