Graphic Reflection: A Semester of Growth

Throughout the course of Interior Design 205, perspective drawings played a major role. Although I started with a strong knowledge of how perspectives worked and how to draw them, my understanding was on a more artistic level, in which more guesswork was involved. With the first project, I was introduced to the idea of creating a grid to build a more accurate perspective drawing. Fortunately, my existing knowledge of perspectives assisted me while learning this new technique.

Since the first project, I have become more familiar with the process of making a perspective grid, and as a result, can draw one more accurately and within a shorter amount of time. My ability to do this quickly has definitely been a strength of mine throughout the class, as it leaves me with more time to focus on the quality of the drawing itself.

In this course, I have also learned how to render drawings. My artistic background was once again proven helpful, as I was able to identify how and where colors needed to be applied to achieve the desired effect. Working with the Chartpak markers, however, was completely new and a bit of a challenge, and I still struggle with some effects of the markers, such as bleeding edges.

My sketching abilities have also improved over this semester. I am able to draw a free-handed straight line with ease, and have developed a quick, loose style for field sketching. One difficulty that I encountered frequently was my tendency to shade in my dark values right away, as opposed to building them as I worked.

Overall, I would say that this semester, I learned a lot about my own style and abilities in visual expression—whether it’s a simple couch or an in-depth perspective of a room.  Perhaps even more importantly, I have developed techniques that will carry me through this major and this field. 

Habitat For Humanity

On September 9th, myself and a handful of classmates spent the day volunteering for Habitat for Humanity at the Albion site. At the time of our visit, only the foundation had been constructed, and that had been done only a few days prior. Our day at the site was spent putting in drain tile. This involved moving a LOT of gravel. (Several tons, in fact.) Throughout the course of the day, most of my time was spent in the ditch surrounding the foundation directing gravel pouring and evening it out. 

The physical labor was actually somewhat enjoyable for me, as I hadn't done any "heavy lifting" so to speak since my summer job. While the progress that we made wasn't so readily evident like putting framing up would be, we certainly accomplished a lot throughout the day. 

When I was much younger, a housing development was constructed up the hill from my neighborhood. Since it was so close, my dad would often take me up to see the houses being built. Usually when we went, the framing had already been put up, so I had never really seen what really goes into a foundation. It was really interesting to be able to see and participate in the construction of a house before the walls go up.

Overall, this project was both enjoyable and rewarding, and it has made me consider volunteering for Spokane's Habitat for Humanity over the coming summer.

Sketch Crawl at the Armory

My sketches done during the Saturday morning sketch crawl exhibit a strong capability for loose, free-handed rendering of plants. Unfortunately, they do not have color in them, as I only had watercolors with them, and watercolors cause the Flair pen to bleed. For other field sketches such as this, I would be sure to bring my colored pencils or basic rendering markers for color application. I think that my first sketch is much better than the second one, and a lot of this has to do with spending more time on the first. I was also drawing from a very difficult angle in the second sketch, especially for the subject matter—the Space Needle at Seattle Center.

Starbucks Job Shadow

I had the wonderful opportunity to do my job shadow with Anna Ratkoviak, one of the interior designers for Starbucks. In the few hours that I was able to spend touring and observing the interior design department at the headquarters, I feel like I learned several new design process techniques, especially for the inspiration and brainstorming portion. Perhaps the most helpful of these is the use of an inspiration board, which can include such a multitude of images, colors, and objects. I've actually started one of these for one of my other design projects which is centered around designing a residential space.
Prior to this job shadow, I was pretty adamant about my desire to do residential design. Seeing all of the thought and regional personality that Starbucks puts into the designs of their stores, however, makes me start to think twice. While Starbucks is very much a commercial company, the design of their stores is soft commercial at most. They successfully create a third space—something that I think is very important.
I would say that overall, this job shadow will affect my design work because it has provided me with insight to the creative process of design professionals.

Frye Art Museum Visit

The entry to the Frye Art Museum begins while still outside, and the sense of being enclosed increases as one ascends the ramp. The small foyer area has several tall windows which allow lots of light into the space, maintaining its connection to the outside. From there, the natural lighting and the connection to the outdoors is dependent on the art exhibit—if it’s too light-sensitive, any source of daylight is blocked off completely.
When I visited the museum, light was allowed to enter the building. This created patches of natural light flooding from the ceiling and highlighting the stark white walls and light hardwood floors. The interior form was very interesting, acting somewhat like a maze as one’s path weaves through rooms. Some pieces blocked off passageways that would otherwise be usable, which was somewhat frustrating to navigate, as there was really one path to take.

Chapel of St Ignatius Visit

The use of natural light in the Chapel of St. Ignatius was very interesting, because aside from the foyer area, windows did not let in a direct stream of light. Rather, the light was reflected and diffused softly throughout the space, sometimes going through colored glass to create patches of colorful light on the walls. The walls had a very distinct textural pattern to them without being rigid. The minor breaks in pattern are crucial to making the space feel personal, rather than manufactured. This personal feeling brings a stronger sense of community and human connection, two very important things for a church.

  

New Horizons and Street Bean Visit

Visiting the New Horizons shelter really made me consider organization in a more in-depth manner. While there are designated areas where certain activities take place, there is no definition of space. Of course, for the purpose of the building, an open layout is more practical. In residential terms, however, I feel that some sort of structure is needed, whether it’s with full or partial walls, or placement of furniture.
For this space, I think that it is important to consider the environment that teens face when they aren't at the shelter. By then determining positive qualities that these circumstances lack, a space can be designed which creates a retreat for the teens who visit New Horizons. Throughout the tour, I noticed that while it is intended to be an inviting space, the lighting does not aid this aesthetic at all. In some areas where lights should illuminate the entire space (namely the office cubicle portion), it was far too dark. In the area open to the teens, the lights were very harsh and cold, which is not comforting at all.
My personal recommendation for upgrading the area that the teens use would be to more strongly create the sense of distinct areas by using different types of lighting for the different areas. This would maintain the open floor plan which is necessary for the function of the space while forming a feeling of a more comforting and homey space.