visual note taking D

rough sketch/color rendering Presidio Officers' Club

These chilly days of autumn bring allure back to the fireplace, (former real-estate bonus, now green-planet bogeyman). With a few delightful exceptions, most activities done near the fireplace at night need more illumination than simple firelight. The assignment is to find a couple hearth-like settings and see what the other light sources are besides the fire. This includes windows, sconces, lamp fixtures, ceiling fixtures...etc.

visual note taking C

volumetric solution above, flat diagram below

illustrations ©JFMahoney, all rights reserved

Describing a technical situation volumetrically might reach a wider audience, or bring a different level of understanding to a condition. Above are two solutions to illustrate the same topic. A robust diagram saves words. It may more effectively persuade someone to adopt what might otherwise seem too complex a solution. Students: New and old technologies for screening and mitigating light or heat can be represented diagrammatically. Find types of window treatments that are specifically addressing heat gain/loss and the filtering or enhancement of light and fresh air. Sketch them, leaving space for diagrammatic arrows and annotations. Bring them to the next class.

freehand perspective #2

In class, we reviewed a procedure for detecting the perspective orientation between a subject space and a camera. Given appropriate visual cues, a scale can be assigned with a vertical measuring line (VML). Thus, a photograph serves as a mannequin for spatial design ideas. Dress your photo with prime focus on window openings. In two separate sketches, show the same mannequin dressed in two ideas that you generated during visual note taking B.

visual note taking B

3 variations on a single application of a window to a kitchen; watercolor

Assignment: Observe three different window styles. Take note: How deep is the wall in which the windows are set? (thumbnail section) Is the glass closer to the interior or the exterior surface? How high above the floor is the bottom of the window? (thumbnail elevation w/human figure) How is the transparency adjusted (curtains, blinds, shades, film, etc)? How is the adjustment made? Can the window be opened or closed? How? Minimal annotation is encouraged.
All VNT must include thumbnail plan & section/elevation as well as a site sketch.

freehand perspective #1

ideation sketches for menu area at a juice bar

 

#1 of 7 freehand perspective assignments: Take ideas from your VNT.A and apply them to the transaction area perspective sketch. Generate two variations on the transaction/signage theme. Using the skeleton perspective handed out in class, apply your ideas to the volumes in space. Additional explanatory thumbnail plan and/or section is encouraged. Keep it to pen or pencil line only. Shrink each concept down to large index card size. Make 4-6 copies of each. Bring in all the work.

visual note taking A

Observe three or more situations described as point-of-sale (POS), where a retail transaction is made. Take note: If and how is the transaction space illuminated? What type and size of surface is provided for the transaction--if any? What form does the digital component of the transaction take? (ie., paper receipt, on-line documentation, bank card access, none) Has the overall ambience around the transaction been addressed? All VNT must include a thumbnail floor plan.
Blind contour: menu board/bar/counter 

get another perspective

 

The above OFS clip (and fantastic soundtrack) grants thinking space to create one's own relationship with the visual data presented. A morning TV news show packaged video footage described as "another perspective" on the Gulf oil spill. Amidst anxious narrative and jumpy editing in the news clip, the broad associative power of visual content is diminished. Underwater footage is always slightly uncomfortable, since the familiar figure/ground orientation is denied its usual ground. The landlubber's eye seeks horizontal planes: an undulating sandy ocean bottom, the occasional sparkling sunlit surface above. Apart from reminding me of Turner's atmospheres, the OFS clip is uncomfortable on all accounts.