Communication Basics (Week 12)

"... design has become the language with which to shape those objects and to tailor the messages they carry. The roll of the most sophisticated designers today is as much to be storyteller, as it is to resolve functional problems." - Sudjik, D , 'The Language of Things' (2008).

The objects that we buy, use and make often have messages woven into their designs. Models are no different, and as modelmakers it is our job to not only incorporate the message into the design, but to ensure the audience has the context and language to receive and understand that message. With a closer look, many designs are made of clear influences, that can be broken down into individual parts.

A simple example is the bottles for the drink 'Orangina', glass bottles have been used for soda and fizzy drinks long before plastic and are recognisable, but these bottles have been made rounded and bumpy to imitate the skin of an orange, which is the flavour of the drink.

Another example is Moominpapa, a main character in the Finnish childrens book series about the Moomin family. Moomins are visually similar to hippos, but bipedal. Moominpapa is a Victorian era gentleman type character, with top hat, cane and an obsession with writing his memoirs.

My final example is the mask worn by the main character in the game series 'Dishonored'. The mask is a mix of industrial, clockwork aesthetics (often called steampunk, which is present through the design of the whole game) and a human skull, a morbid image meant to represent death and strike fear into your enemies within the game.

The first part of the design process is to choose a topic. This unit offers an abundance of choice, between a model made for the cover of a magazine, and a model to represent the first person to accomplish something. I have mind mapped a few topics for each brief that interest me. In my next post I will discuss which I have chosen and how I might go about designing a model that communicates the messages and meanings of my chosen topic.

References

Quote: Sudjik, D. 'The Language of Things' (2008)

Images:

Glass bottle: https://www.glassicalguru.com/soda-and-cold-drink-glass-bottles.htm

Orange: https://www.italianfoodexcellence.com/moro-and-sanguinello-orange-from-sicily-to-japan/

Orangina: https://www.retrotogo.com/2008/06/everyday-design.html

Victorian gentleman: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/41/f1/3a/41f13a2bc169efba47fbd60be204f91d.jpg

Hippo: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/hippo-sunscreen.htm

Moominpapa: https://moomin.fandom.com/wiki/Moominpappa

Clockwork: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clockwork

Human skull: https://www.livescience.com/golden-ratio-human-skull.html

Corvo's mask: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/B5YlD

Mind maps: Own image