Experiment#1: Gestalt

The First Step: First Iterations of Designs

For these first few iterations, I think I had a good idea set for each word. I mistakenly misunderstood that we were supposed to use squares not rectangles, but despite that, still had some solid ideas I was able to replicate with just square.

For order, this idea of neatness and organization resided within me in these drawings. Although, through critiques, I found that these were only “order” because they were more things I was comfortable with, so a few of these ideas actually became my iterations for “comfort” later on.

For Tension, I thought the close touching of the boxes demonstrated tension, however, through critiques, my idea was rejected because there were no outlines allowed, and without the outlines, it was more difficult to see that tension. From this, I came to like the bottom iteration more, where instead of touching the outlines, the square was very closely nearing it.

For congestion, the idea was more consistent and straightforward for me. Just this idea of cramped space, squares on top of each other, and tilting like items in a box. Though I mistakenly used rectangles, I still stuck with the idea of being visually cramped as it displayed that congestion.

For playfulness, this was definitely the hardest word, as the only thing I could think to utilize was this tilting effect. None of these ideas really made it to my final piece, because playfulness was just always something I was stuck on. Looking back at this, I should have gone with my 3rd iteration, because it again has this toy box feeling that I like.

Lastly, comfort was something I thought was easier for me. Even though I ended up not using any of these ideas, just the organization and comfort that I liked in my iterations were a good experience. Overall, I probably like the last iteration the most, because I was trying to replicate something like a bedroom, which is my comfort spot.

The Last Step:

For a few of these, I did not even use my first few iterations and even used my order iteration for my final comfort piece. I would rather just leave my work shown below, but the few things I have to say is that I focused on the same concepts as I previously did for each of these designs. For order, I pictured an organized show of visible hierarchy. For congestion, it was just cramped and enclosed. For tension, it was the close touching of squares. For playfulness, this was again the hardest for me, so I just included tilting and making it seem like it’s raining with the simplicity you would see in a child’s tv show. Lastly, for comfort, this piece was more personal as it reminded me of a bento box and the wide space of white rice with just one plum in the middle. Such a concept provided me with much comfort.

Overall, the experiment showed me that design is indeed hard. There are so many small things to take notice of, and sometimes you have to think if you are really communicating to others the sense of tension or comfort that you believe is conveyed. The assignment was difficult, but I will take from my experiences of failure and flaws to improve upon them for future work.