For the Luggage Tag assignment, I was looking to take inspiration from many different areas of interest, from candy to movies. I was considering the visual technique and the theme while simultaneously keeping in mind how and when to incorporate my initials. At certain moments I even found myself having to improvise because I did not think an idea through thoroughly, but through this lack of perfection I was able to think on the spot and let inspiration flow from all directions. Sometimes not having a filter for your artwork can be useful for having the unique outcome you desire. I tried to incorporate shapes, lines, and especially color. I enjoy how my objects are all concrete but the design within is abstract. I started my process by drawing a few basic shapes which helped inspire my ideas and themes based on my basic knowledge of shapes. My first idea was to base my luggage tag on a candy bar, so I chose Reese’s because I love the colors and simple aesthetic of the design. I decided to directly adopt this idea and do my initials in place of the word “Reese’s”. Candy made me think of Halloween so I did some related themes like a ghost, a pumpkin, an owl, and a lantern. These in turn gave me even more ideas so I went on to draw various animals and then I became more elaborate, adding my initials to a snail, a mushroom, a leaf, a volcano, and other nature-inspired luggage tags, in an effort to maintain the familiar aesthetic of the object while adding the embellishment of my initials, a contribution rather than an interference. I incorporated other techniques such as “yin and yang” into different luggage tags, because I think that adds some flare to otherwise consistent initials. One of my favorites was a stack of pancakes with my initials being the cherry atop the pancakes and in one instance my initials were the lava flowing out of the volcano. Sometimes, in the case of the house and the owl with the scroll, I found that I had made a mistake, so I went with it and formed something entirely new. My house was originally a redo of my ghost but I did not want two ghosts because that goes against the assignment, so I decided to leave my original ghost as a representation of the simplistic start to my process and I made the second ghost into a house. As for my owl, it was originally supposed to be the batman symbol but I made a mistake and I was thinking about having my initials on a scroll, and a bird carrying a scroll or letter reminded me of Harry Potter so I went with this idea and ended up enjoying the unique quality to the improvised design. My favorite movies are the Marvel movies so I chose to do Spiderman and Captain America’s shield for two of my themes, the shape of the Spiderman inspiring me to do an alien head as well. My favorite theme overall was Christmas, because I did an ornament with the initials looking like a glimmer on the ornament, a present with the ribbon and bow meant to spell out my initials, a Santa hat, skis, and snowflake. Overall, different themes led to different ideas, from holidays, to nature, to music and movies, and even photography, because one of my ideas was a camera. I tried to have objects be familiar so a client could choose relatable objects by preference, but I also made sure to maintain a unique visual design so people will think “wow I want her designs”.
To go into detail about the second image above, I chose this one to focus on in more detail because it is simple and easy to decipher, while still drawing the audience in visually. I applied the concepts of closure, continuity, texture, and color, among other techniques, but these were the primary ones. I tried to keep the shape clean and organized with colors that provide contrast, creating a more appealing and clear visual. I kept the initials enclosed within the border. I also made sure to connect the letters because my theme was fire and flame and I wanted the flame to be one entity, flowing from one letter to the other. The texture got less smooth towards the “w” and this region has a more rough, spark-like feel to it, the type of shading providing a distinct texture complementary to the theme. Most importantly, I used color to draw the viewer in, utilizing contrast with the fiery flame against the black backdrop. I think having the flame change colors in an artistic blend was a way of bringing the visual to life. My other favorites were the Reese’s-inspired one, the pumpkin, and the leaf, where I tried to incorporate the initials into the veins of the leaf. Overall, I found these to represent the largest variety of visual knowledge and the most visually appealing themes.
On a technical level, I struggled at first with the idea of drawing 36 different images, but it turned out I had more than 36 ideas, so the free-flowing process I went with turned out to be helpful and fun. I used my knowledge of lines, shapes, and color to show my initials in a way that complemented the object or theme, using certain outline techniques to align well with my visual. My initials flow well with the shapes of my luggage tags, being guided by the outline of the tag and often the tag shape is decided along the way. The goal was to engage the audience by showing various line properties and formations, to space out certain colors and lines to add some excitement to the visuals, to shade certain tags certain ways to add texture, to utilize continuity to have my initials flow in certain circumstances, and to use symmetry at times but only when it applied to the theme. I wanted to keep things exciting and to show both familiar and not so common themes, showing people visuals they may never have thought of, yet still recognizable within a certain theme.
My overall goal was to show familiar objects in a new and unique way, providing people with a visual for what their luggage tag could look like. It is important to take from ideas that people can actually relate to or find preference in, but to do so while being original. I think my process was very effortless as time went on, ideas constantly popping into my head. At one point I wrote some down but I realized the best way to capture my flow of consciousness is to do just that and not obsess so much over every idea. I ended up remembering and using all my ideas but what is most important is the work I put into each one. I think my “aha” moment was when I was able to provide myself with some context with the Reese’s theme which then led to another theme which led to another, each one linked in some way to the previous. If given more time I would have maybe provided more detail on certain luggage tags, but I feel I put equal effort into each visual. I think this assignment was helpful for learning the Gestalt concepts because it allows us to not simply copy but to create without focusing on the technical aspects and then to go back and apply them, so that our process is not overwhelmed by constant deliberation over which technique to use. I feel that I learned the concepts while learning more about my own creativity and this is a style of learning I deeply enjoy.
gwilson424 