Doing this Urban Artifact project, it was something new. I didn’t know what stable or ambiguous was. From this project, I learned about what ambiguous figures and stable figures were and how I can make these two figures using the objects we found outside on the streets. What I could have done better in this project was spending more time in sketching the stable figures. I kind of had a hard time with the stable figure and figuring out if the sketches looked like they were stable. But from critiquing, I got a lot of helpful feedback on my project on how I can make it better. From what I learned about ambiguous and stable figures, I would be able to use those techniques and ideas in the next project we have.
Author: Ashley Fernandez
Project #1 Introduction: Final
My name is Ashley Fernandez, I’m 18 years old and live in Queens. I graduated from High School of Applied Communication which is located in Long Island City. I am now a freshman in City Tech taking Communication Design as a major. I’ve always had an interest in art especially during my school years. I’ve always loved drawing and I would be doing it all the time whether it was in my notebook or on the paint program on the computer. During my years, I really didn’t know what I wanted to major in college or what I wanted to do in life. At that time, I wasn’t really passionate to do a certain thing. But, during my junior year I had to take a graphic design class. I didn’t know what the class was or if I would actually have an interest in it. As I got to learn more about it and go to do some projects, I actually enjoyed it. That’s where my interest in Graphic Design started from. I am passionate about creating and drawing. If I’m creating something, I like to put my own style into that work. When I don’t really have anything to do, I like to draw most of the time. I’m more of a visual drawer. I like to draw the certain object if it’s in front of me. I’m not really sure what my design aesthetic is, but I’m figuring that out slowly as I’m learning more in my major. In five to ten years, I hope to see myself still having an interest in Graphic Design or having a job creating logos or album covers. I describe myself as quiet, shy, and an introvert. I am quiet most of the time and like to have my own little space for myself. I’m the shy type of person who’s not really comfortable to approach or talk to someone first. But once I know the person more, I am comfortable going up to them and talking to them first. I’m not sure what makes me so shy. I think it’s just the way I’ve always been since I was young. I also love to listen to music and it’s what I do most of my time. Some genres that I like to listen to is alternative, pop, Kpop, and sometimes hip-hop/rap.
My avatar is the album cover and the new logo of one of my favorite band/group; EXO. I chose this avatar because I like the band but I also thought that their latest logo and album cover was creative and simple with color. When you first look at it, it looks confusing. At first you might see a hexagon but then you might also see a cube. But if you look really carefully, you can see the group’s name. I also liked that the album cover was simple with the colors. Using black as the background, it made the logo really stand out. Like the logo, I want to design something that is simple and looks confusing at first. But when you look at it more, you will see the obvious thing. But I also chose this logo because this band also made me like a new genre of music that I use to really dislike. I didn’t like it because I didn’t understand it and I also did not know why people liked that kind of genre. But as I listened more, I actually started to enjoy it. It made me realize that just because you don’t understand the language, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it.
My avatar can be misleading to other people. When they look at it, they might be confused on what this image might exactly be. They might only see a hexagon or cube. They might not be able to see the band’s name. This might mislead people to think that I’m confusing, hard to figure out, or just like shapes.
My profile will convey who I am and how I present myself in the work. It will also convey that I am simple and hardworking. It matters because I don’t really express who I am in person. But here, people would be able to see that more.
Urban Artifacts: Phase 3
The first one which was the stable piece took about an hour to an hour and a half. The second one which is the ambiguous took around three to four hours. All together it took about four to five hours to complete.
For this project, instead of inking in our ambiguous and stable drawings, we had to re-create using black paper and making cut outs of the objects. This project relates to the previous phase by having the same designs we made but using a different method to create it. Instead of inking the drawings like the last phase, we used black drawing paper, cut the shapes, and arranged it how it was supposed to be.
Urban Artifacts: Phase 2
ENG1101 Project 1: Draft
My name is Ashley Fernandez, I’m 18 years old and live in Queens. I graduated from High School of Applied Communication which is located in Long Island City. I am now a freshman in City Tech taking Communication Design as a major. I’ve always had an interest in art especially during my school years. I’ve always loved drawing and I would be doing it all the time whether it was in my notebook or on the paint program on the computer. During my years, I really didn’t know what I wanted to major in college or what I wanted to do in life. At that time, I wasn’t really passionate to do a certain thing. But, during my junior year I had to take a graphic design class. I didn’t know what that class was or if I would actually have an interest in it. As I got to learn more about it and go to do some projects, I actually enjoyed it. That’s where my interest in Graphic Design started from. I am passionate about creating and drawing. If I’m creating something, I like to put my own style into that work. When I don’t really have anything to do, I like to draw most of the time. I’m more of a visual drawer. I like to draw the certain object if it’s in front of me. I’m not really sure what my design aesthetic is but I’m figuring that out slowly as I’m learning more in my major. In five to ten years, I hope to see myself still having an interest in Graphic Design or having a job creating logos or album covers. I describe myself as quiet, shy, and an introvert. I am quiet most of the time and like to have my own little space for myself. I’m the shy type of person who’s not really comfortable to approach or talk to someone first. But once I know the person more, I am comfortable going up to them and talking to them first.
My avatar is the album cover and the new logo of one of my favorite band/group; EXO. I chose this avatar because I like the band but I also thought that their latest logo was creative. When you first look at it, it looks confusing because at first you might see a hexagon but then you might see a cube. But if you look really carefully, you can see the group’s name. I also liked that the album cover was simple with the colors. Using the black as the background made the logo really stand out. Like the logo, I want to design something that is simple and looks confusing at first, but when you look at it more, you will see the obvious thing. But I also chose this logo because this band also made me like a new genre of music that I use to really dislike. I didn’t like it because I didn’t understand it and I also did not know why people liked that kind of genre. But as I listened more, I actually started to enjoy it. It made me realize that just because you don’t understand the language, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it.
Avatar:
My avatar can be misleading to other people. When they look at it, they might be confused on what this image might exactly be. They might only see a hexagon or cube. They might not be able to see the band’s name. This might mislead people to think that I’m confusing, hard to figure out, or just like shapes.
My profile will convey who I am and how I present myself in work. It will also convey that I am simple and hardworking. It matters because I don’t really express who I am in person. But here, people would be able to see that more.
Urban Artifacts: Phase 1 Discover
From my journey, the three artifacts that I discovered was a caramel candy wrapper, a small green candy wrapper, and a green stick.
Caramel Candy Wrapper: I found this artifact in front of the City Tech main entrance. Someone must have been eating the candy before going into the building and just threw it on the sidewalk. The wrapper is kind of crumbled but wasn’t ripped open. The shape of the wrapper might be organic.
Green Candy Wrapper: I found this second artifact at the corner of Tilary Street. The candy wrapper is small and has Chinese writing on it. It’s also opened in the back. A person must have wanted something to snack on while going somewhere. While opening the candy they probably dropped it without realizing. The shape of it is a geometric shape.
Green Stick: I found this third artifact in front of a gas station. I’m not sure what is it exactly, but I’m guessing it’s a stick you mix your coffee with. It’s dirty and looks like it’s been stepped on. While filling up their car with gas, the person probably bought a cup of coffee while waiting. When they were done with it, they just threw it on the ground. The shape of the stick is a geometric shape.
Sketches: The each of the sketches took around 10 minutes
Ambiguous:
Stable: