Through the key concepts lectures as part of the Creative Studio module (TMA1431), Rowan Bailey introduced us to the concept of form, matter and meaning-making.
Through the critique group session that was held after the lecture, we reflected on the lecture and the quotations that Rowan had released prior. During the crit, we reflected on the concept of objects and their place in the world around us. It can be said that we often never truly think about the objects around us. We are often focused on the tasks/activities at hand that we never think about or acknowledge them. Objects being the carriers of meaning is one concept that stuck with me. As creatives we are surrounded by items and tools such as sketchbooks, pens, pencils and a plethora of technology. It is these objects that allow us to be creative in the first place, and yet how often is it that we truly stop to acknowledge them? We reflected that objects are carriers of stories, emotions and history. For example, each sketchbook and notebook carries the learnings from the day, the sketches of concepts and ideation. Each one of my sketchbooks and notebooks tells the story of my growth as a creative practitioner, every scribble, spelling mistake and every rushed note. It was reflected in the group by some members that they do not see the world around them in this manner, that a tree is just a tree and a book is just a book. That they hold no meaning. I believe that this must be a rather, for lack of a better word, sad view of the world around them. I believe that things such as notebooks and sketchbooks become charged with energy due to our analogue use of them and the amount of emotional energy through the note-taking and sketching that is done in them. The importance of sketchbooks is reflected throughout the creative industry, one example being Micheal Beirut, designer at Pentagram and author of how to use graphic design to sell things, explain things, make things look better, make people laugh, make people cry, and (every once in a while) change the world. In the book, he shares that he has saved each sketchbook he has ever used and that it was a notable occasion when he opened his 100th book, with many of the pages being shared in the book.
During the crit, we reflected on Tony Cragg’s drawing practice which in turn lead me to reflect on my own use of drawing within my practice. I shared how my use of drawing has adapted over time, how my drawing practice was once a detailed endeavour and that through my professional career as a graphic designer at IKEA has adapted to suit. Due to time restraints and commercial needs, I have adapted to use my drawing practice to efficiently and effectively convey layouts and concepts to stakeholders quickly, leading to sketchbooks filled with fast line drawings. The convergence of these two methods being the daily user interface wireframe challenge I undertook during the creation of my project proposal in term one. Does the meaning of the fast sketches differ from the detailed variant? Do sketches undertaken from a work perspective differ from those for a personal endeavour such as university or personal projects? They certainly carry different stories. Does the emotion that is carried and held not only within me at the time of sketching, but also the attitude towards the physical space where the sketch was made, for example, my home versus the IKEA office determine the meaning of the object?
References:
Beirut, M. (2015). How to use graphic design to sell things, explain things, make things look better, make people laugh, make people cry, and (every once in a while) change the world. (ed 1). Thames and Hudson.
Bailey, R. University of Huddersfield. (2021, 12, 02). Week 4: Key Concepts - Form, Matter and Meaning Making / Or / Making Theoretical Friends
Video. https://brightspace.hud.ac.uk/d2l/le/content/134131/Home
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